Game developer displays products for officials

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Gov. Martin O’Malley, Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith and other dignitaries watch a video game demonstration at BreakAway Games in Hunt Valley on Thursday. – Chris Ammann/Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Gov. Martin O’Malley acknowledges he’s not the biggest gamer, but there is one he would have liked to see developed by Baltimore County software technology firm BreakAway.

A virtual simulation on how to run a special session of the General Assembly.

“That would have been really helpful,” O’Malley jokingly said after a tour of BreakAway’s offices in Hunt Valley on Thursday.

O’Malley joined Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith and other state and county economic and civic leaders to learn more about BreakAway, a leading developer of video games and game-based technology.

“BreakAway is a big deal to Baltimore County, and it’s a big deal to the state,” Smith said. “Baltimore County’s growing technology sector is an important element in our economic growth strategy, and we are a major East Coast hub for the video game development industry.”

Baltimore County is also home to gaming companies like Firaxis Games and Big Huge Games. These and other tech firms continue to expand in the county, said O’Malley, who added that Forbes magazine recently ranked Maryland as home to the third most highly skilled work force in the nation.

Doug Whatley, BreakAway’s founder and chief executive officer, along with about 100 BreakAway employees, thanked O’Malley and Smith for working with the General Assembly to repeal the 6 percent computer services sales tax introduced during last year’s special session. Before the tax was repealed, Whatley said he and his employees gave some thought to moving the business to Pennsylvania to avoid the tax.

“They recognized the leading role companies like ours play in generating growth for Maryland through the innovative technology we build,” Whatley said.

BreakAway has developed games like “Civilization III: Conquests” and “Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom,” but it’s also working on game-based technology for incident training sessions and medical simulations that require real-time decision-making skills.

“These training simulations make things totally flexible,” said Richard Muth, director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. “This technology will be very helpful, especially if you want to do a statewide emergency drill.”

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com

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