The Chronicle
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T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2018 DUKECHRONICLE.COM
How a computer game made sophomore Alex Balfanz millions By Shannon Fang Towerview Managing Editor
On the evening of April 20, 2017, sophomore Alex Balfanz released his game Jailbreak on the creation platform Roblox. When he woke up in the morning, more than 60,000 people were concurrently playing, making it one of the most popular games on the site. “Overnight, it all changed,” Balfanz said. “All the things I had been dreaming were going to happen just happened.” Jailbreak is an open-world, multiplayer cops and robbers game, where the players can choose whether to be on the team of the police or the prisoners. The prisoners must escape from jail, and once escaped, can wreak havoc on the city. The police attempt to catch the criminals and put them back in jail. On Nov. 8, Jailbreak reached 2 billion total plays, and it recently hit more than 170,000 concurrent players. The game often has more than 100,000 concurrents, and more than 75,000 years worth of Jailbreak has been played. The game attracts hundreds of millions from all over the world, with only about 65 percent of the players being English speakers, and it is quickly expanding by adding new languages.
Simran Prakash | Staff Photographer Sophomore Alex Balfanz’s game Jailbreak has been played more than two billion times.
Building Jailbreak Balfanz said he never played many computer games as a kid, but he always thought about ways of improving them. He began programming when he was nine years old. His dad worked in programming, so he was surrounded by it as a kid. After being introduced to it, he said he was entirely self-taught. “Programming is something I’ve always loved, never been told to do,” Balfanz said. “The big thing was wanting to create cool things, and then relentlessly researching until I could create those things, and I learned really quickly that way.” Balfanz would learn how to program the main feature of a game, and after he finished, he would quickly move on to learning a new feature of a new game. Through 10 years, his programming skillset vastly grew. At that point, he wanted to build an original See SOPHOMORE on Page 4
Snow stalls campus as students prep for exams By Isabelle Doan News Editor
Finals begin Wednesday morning, but that didn’t stop Duke students from enjoying a snow day. Several inches of snow came down on campus during the night, with snow still falling Sunday morning. The University went under severe weather policy beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday and will remain under the policy until Tuesday at 7 a.m., according to DukeAlert as of Sunday night. Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek noted in an email to students that she was “a bit disappointed that given the timing, classes are not impacted.” However, students still found time for winter fun in between studying. Sophomore Kaitlyn Boncaro participated in a snowball fight with her friends. “We went outside at Swift and built a snowman and had a really great snowball fight and it was super fun,” she said.
Sujal Manohar | Photography Editor
See SNOW on Page 3 Impending final exams did not keep students from enjoying the snow Sunday.
ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 30
When does Duke make a statement? An ‘art, not a science’ By Matthew Griffin Staff Reporter
Duke students frequently open their emails to see messages from President Vincent Price or other University officials. This semester has seen statements by Price on such subjects as racist graffiti at the Mary Lou Williams Center, Hurricane Florence and on-campus voting. There is no established system for doing so, administration officials said—rather, the circumstances surrounding each statement are different. “This is an art, not a science,” said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. Schoenfeld explained that there are many people who want Price to make a statement on a topic at any given time, and the president must be “thoughtful and judicious” in deciding when to speak. He added that Price often consults with a variety of people—including senior leadership, student leaders, alumni and faculty—before deciding to speak, but that the final decision is ultimately Price’s. Price added that several criteria help him decide when to speak out. These include the importance of the matter to Duke and its values, the probability of the issue receiving significant media coverage and the number of people at Duke who will be affected. Timing is also a consideration—there are certain moments, such as the beginning and end of a semester, the period before a break and the arrival of a storm like Florence, when members of the community may expect a statement. However, Price said he sometimes decides that a statement is not the best way to reach the community. “We do have other ways of reaching out, in combination with or in place of statements, including personal outreach,” he said. Price isn’t the only member of the administration who can make statements to the Duke community. Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, has sent emails on a variety of topics this year, ranging from weather conditions during hurricanes and snow storms to criminal incidents on campus. Last month, L. Gregory Jones, dean of the Duke Divinity School, released a statement See PRICE on Page 3