An exclusive look at Cipher Prime's Splice

It’s First Friday. The Old City art galleries are bustling with a fine mix of genuine art lovers and college kids feigning interest, the latter of which are just eager to grab some free cheese and wine. Both groups are swarming into the small boutiques and studios that line 2^nd St, each a tiny refuge from the chilly Philly Autumn air. As I stroll down 2^nd, making my way towards Chestnut, I spot a small line forming outside of one of my favorite First Friday venues… the office of Drink Philly. 

Tucked away above Paradigm and nestled on the second floor, Drink Philly’s annual First Friday gallery and party never fails to disappoint. On this particular day, there is a whole roast pig being carved up in their kitchen as glasses of wine and half-pint cups of microbrew beer make their way around the room. Beautiful people talk and laugh, eat, and ogle the local art on the walls. The smell of roast pig wafts through the air, and I sigh, turning away to visit the office that shares the second floor with them.

Next to the bright red Drink Philly sign, is a shiny, silver and black logo that reads Cipher Prime.

I push the heavy steel door open into the video game studio, where William Stallwood, the Co-Founder & Creative Director for Cipher Prime, is swinging back and forth from gymnast rings hanging from the ceiling. He’s giving directions to his intern, a young looking college kid that towers above me, at least six foot five. Will dictates these instructions while launching himself across the width of the studio, flipping and spinning, like a blonde Bionic Commando. Smooth jazz from Drink Philly’s First Friday event plays in the background, the sound of an upright bass and electric guitar echoing in the open studio, adding to the absurdity of this scene.

After one final powerful swing and a back-flip, Will lands on the polished hardwood floors with a light thunk. He shakes out his arms, stretches and cracks his neck, smiling.

“Ready to check out Splice?” He asks this with a grin, as though he wasn’t just doing circus tricks while explaining licensing to his intern.

For a multiple award winning game developer (including honors from the Webby Awards, MOCHIs, FWAs), Cipher Prime’s studio is pretty unassuming. Wood floors, a small, separate room for interns (likely a bedroom when this place was an apartment), a large central space littered with computers and a few workstations, and big bay windows that overlook Chestnut St.  And the Old City view isn’t bad. Right out the window is the Independence Living History building with its bright red brick sidewalk and walls. William affectionately calls it “the wall ball building,” as kids frequently hurl tennis balls at it in on warm Summer afternoons.

Of course, there are also the things you’d expect to see scattered about an indie game studio. Oddities that wouldn’t surprise you, like the blue mini-racing bike on the windowsill or the arcade (Strikers 1945) near their practically-covered-in-scrawl whiteboard.