If you’re looking for Day 1, there it is.
Wednesday, June 12th, 2013
2:00pm – Driving up to E3 after pretty much an all nighter of post – Room to Improv rehearsal stuff/design stuff. So far, this is not going according my plan of being here by 9am.
2:30pm – Parked pretty much in the same location as the previous day. Hope the street lights are operational here when I get back. Newfangled parking meter with the card reader. Sorcery. I wonder if these operate via Wifi.
2:50pm – Looking at the OUYA “Open to All” Park outside the convention center. Must go here before the day is done.
2:56pm – Went back to badge pickup because I broke my lanyard as I was pulling it out of my bag.
3:06pm – Making my way to the Square-Enix booth. I haz a hankering for new Final Fantasy.
3:10pm – Lines are too long for Final Fantasy. I’ll just watch the giant screen.
3:15pm – Final Fantasy XIV lines showing no sign of shortening. Hopped on Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD instead. Cuz… BLITZBALL!
3:45pm – Yes, I just spent half an hour playing a game from 10 years ago… at E3, surrounded by games that aren’t even out yet.
3:50pm – Konami booth. Watched the new Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain trailer. The trailer music feels like it’s pulled straight from a James Bond flick. Still badass. Also, Kiefer Snake.
3:55pm – Ran into a college roommate Kris’ current co-worker and his friend as I decided to head to West Hall to check out first party booths. We exchanged numbers. Yeah I’m slick like that. Facetious.
4:20pm – Xbox One booth. Checked out Ryse for a bit. It almost feels like people have been saying: “Quicktime: The Game,” though, I’d argue that Heavy Rain was moreso, and I loved it. Hopefully Ryse has a badass story.
4:26pm – The Xbox One, in all its Xboxy glory.
4:28pm – The Xbox/PlayStation hallway. This picture is the E3 equivalent of toes at a beach, or friends jumping. Tempted to take a selfie. Punched myself in the face as a preventative measure.
4:28pm – PlayStation booth. My gods. Last of Us. Beyond: Two Souls. Nerd sploog. Also, another failed panoramic.
4:35pm – Walking around the edges of the exhibit floor. I run into the fantastic Cyndee San Luis.
4:45pm – Quick walk around Nintendo booth. OhmAGAAaAHH. Wind Waker HD (YES!), Duck Tales HD (YES!), Bayonetta 2 (Yeah.), Mario Kart 8(YES.), Super Luigi Wii U(YES!). Full disclosure: Nintendo Fanboy. I wish they had the new Super Smash Bros. teaser playing on loop somewhere.
4:50pm – Live Injustice battles sponsored by MadCats. I wish I still knew how to play fighting games. Put up Street Fighter II regular ass edition, we’ll see what’s up then!
5:03pm – Back at PlayStation booth. As you can tell, I have no plan. I’m like a tay ina win.
No wait… let me try that again:
Better.
5:o6pm – I attempt to leave West Hall and back to South to see if I can jump on Final Fantasy XIV. As I am about to exit, I get tapped on my shoulder by this guy:
He’s there with his new project Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. It’s fun, bloody, bloody fun.
5:10pm – Having a talk with Toby for a minute, when another person that I worked with on Tomb Raider comes up, Mr. Damon Shelton, the man that got me into my first MoCap suit.
5:30pm – Besides working on The Last of Us, I learn that Damon is a former CounterStrike pro. I realize that I may have accused him of hacking at some point.
5:45pm – Run into Jakob and Adrian from the old Anteater days. Zot!
6:05pm – Meet some people from the Last of Us team. Also a dude working on the new Killer Instinct.
7:30pm – Heading to the WIGI (Women in Games Internatonal) E3 afterparty at the Belasco. Intercepted by Andrew, a fellow former tester at Treyarch.
7:40pm – We meet up with his friend Veronica and head to Belasco.
7:50pm – This party has people in costume, nerds in no costume, loud music, giveaways, and circus performers. I’m in.
8:14pm – Stop by the swag table. Throw my business card in to win more PlayStation swag and hopefully a PS3 or Vita. I’m staying for the drawings, at least 8:30pm, 9:30pm, and 11:00pm.
8:40pm – First drawing. I don’t win.
9:42pm – Second drawing. Lose.
10:12pm – Walking outside in the smoking patio. Two guys come in with costumes on. Both are carrying Doomhammers. I already want to be their friends. I must touch their hammers. They end up being a WoW-Themed musical duo called Songhammer. Bad ass.
10:40pm – Meet some cool dev/artist/QA folks. One of the dudes, Evan, is working on a horror/puzzle/adventure type game for the OUYA/PC/Linux called Whispering Willows. Pretty darn cool.
11:10pm – No drawing yet. Starting to sleepify. Old man levels rising.
11:25pm – The bass and dubstep is starting to scar my soul.
11:30pm – Drawing for the PS3 Uncharted Bundle!
11:34pm – I don’t win. Sleepy time.
12:01pm – Back at my car. There is a surprising amount of street light happening. Lucky me.
– End Day 2 –