Although he doesn’t explicitly state it, the impression I got from Robert Trigaux’s column on Orlando’s blossoming videogaming industry — signified by the imminent opening of UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy — was that Orlando is poised to become a new-media entertainment center of the universe.

First, Orlando must be congratulated for leveraging the arrival of Electronic Arts (which bought a Maitland game developer called Tiburon in 1998) and making the graduate-level Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy a reality. If Orlando plays it smart, the metro area could emerge as a significant player in what is clearly an industry poised for megagrowth.

On a smaller scale, Electronic Arts is to Orlando’s video gaming industry what Scripps Research is expected to become to West Palm Beach’s (if not all of Florida’s) bioscience industry.

Second, the academy will train game developers, many of whom will be hired locally and at healthy salaries. This becomes a plus not only for generating better-paying jobs, but for attracting younger, educated adults to remain in Central Florida. So kudos to a practical plan to produce people with specialized skills.

Third, beyond traditional theme parks and tourism, Orlando and UCF have demonstrated a knack at developing promising and higher-paying business hubs. The metro area is well regarded for its concentration of entrepreneurs and young companies with expertise in laser technologies. The area also is gaining a stronger reputation in the defense industry.

Hollywood and the movies, New York and television, and now Orlando and gaming. The seeds are certainly being sown.

I’ve been aware of EA Tiburon and the Orlando videogame industry for some time now.