When I was in Omaha for Big Omaha this past May, I had the opportunity to participate in a little press day they had set up to showcase the Omaha entrepreneur and technology community.
My guide, a member of the Nebraska Angels, drove me around to meet a few local entrepreneurs. We left downtown Omaha, cruised past Warren Buffet's modest house (that he still lives in), past a large university surrounded by a gigantic public park, down a little hill, to an area that used to be a racetrack, but now is being redeveloped into retail and condos.
We pulled up to a new looking building and opened a door on the first floor to walk into the office of SkyVu Entertainment. The place was bustling with 20-30 young people working on SkyVu's latest mobile game apps. They created the popular Battle Bears games (which I had coincidentally never heard of before visiting SkyVu).
I took an amazing tour of their office, learned a lot more about their games, their team, and their culture, and about their founder Ben Vu.
Why am I even sharing this?
Because I was blown away that this profitable, growing, exciting mobile game studio, who has a series of hit iPhone games, is located a few miles outside of downtown Omaha, NE.
The students attending that university who want to be a mobile game developer don't have to leave Omaha and head for the big city. They can get their career started right there.
"... I was blown away that this profitable, growing, exciting mobile game studio, who has a series of hit iPhone games, is located a few miles outside of downtown Omaha, NE."
I'm actually surprised at your reaction. They're making iPhone games. iPhone games can be made anywhere there is internet access and developers. Is it so shocking that in Omaha, near a university, there are enough programmers, artists, business-minded folks, and other creative types that want to make mobile games that a company like SkyVu can succeed? Why would I want to move to a big city when my goods are completely virtual?
The game industry ends up concentrated in hub cities because when companies fold, a large proportion of the talent wants to get another job quickly. If SkyVu is the only option in Omaha, that's actually a huge risk.
As it happens this is part of the recent 38 Studios shutdown story: 150 employees were enticed to move out to Providence, RI; subsequently the company shut down with little warning, and without clearing its payroll debts. If they were in the Bay Area, the employees would have an easier time recovering, but having moved so far away from a hub, their personal finances have been heavily impacted.
When I think of game development studios, I don't think of Omaha, NE (for better or worse). I may be alone.
Ben Vu, the founder of SkyVu, actually used to be an animator in Hollywood. He moved back to Omaha to start SkyVu when Battle Bears (which was originally intended to be a movie) took off as an iPhone game.
My guide, a member of the Nebraska Angels, drove me around to meet a few local entrepreneurs. We left downtown Omaha, cruised past Warren Buffet's modest house (that he still lives in), past a large university surrounded by a gigantic public park, down a little hill, to an area that used to be a racetrack, but now is being redeveloped into retail and condos.
We pulled up to a new looking building and opened a door on the first floor to walk into the office of SkyVu Entertainment. The place was bustling with 20-30 young people working on SkyVu's latest mobile game apps. They created the popular Battle Bears games (which I had coincidentally never heard of before visiting SkyVu).
I took an amazing tour of their office, learned a lot more about their games, their team, and their culture, and about their founder Ben Vu.
Why am I even sharing this?
Because I was blown away that this profitable, growing, exciting mobile game studio, who has a series of hit iPhone games, is located a few miles outside of downtown Omaha, NE.
The students attending that university who want to be a mobile game developer don't have to leave Omaha and head for the big city. They can get their career started right there.