What I Learned from Blizzcon 2011

Having finally recovered from the wild and crazy activities at Blizzcon 2011, I give you, in no particular order...

A Not So Serious List of Things I learned from Blizzcon 2011

1. The journey of a thousand li starts by crossing the Anaheim Convention Center

I've been to the Anaheim Conventer center once before, at MLG Anaheim several months back. During MLG, I remember marveling at the size of center, and at the amount of space MLG had acquired. Little did I know that the space was, literally, a fifth of what was available.

The play area by thedz_, on Flickr

Let me paint you a picture.

All Friday, I was parked squarely in front of the RTS stage watching StarCraft. Occasionally, I might make jaunts up to the press room to quench my body's pressing need for sustenance, and sometimes I might run to the bathroom and stand in line with all the other residents of Orange County as we fought to maintain composure in the face of nature's call. I might stand up to stretch, keeping a hunter's awareness in case an errant viewer snatched up my empty seat. I might ogle at the cosplayers during game downtime, I might stare wide-eyed as pro-players and casting archons a like ran up and down the stage. I did all of these things.

I did not go into the two-thirds of the conference.

Or, more accurately, I didn't know there even was 2 entire other sections. But once, early Saturday afternoon, in a moment of downtime, I peered towards the back of the hall. And through the misty red and blue and green tinted air, through the crowds of fans and players, I first noticed the World of WarCraft section. Then drawn to a brief flash of (real) sunlight, I noticed the courtyard. And the food there. And the people.

I walked towards this newfound land of wonder, and approximately 15 minutes later, after making my way through the crowd and lines, I made it to the opposite wall. And found, in a corner, the retro arcade. So I played a game of Lost Vikings. And WarCraft II. And then finally Brood War.

Brood War. My eyes must be tinted rose, or my coordination and mechanics must have atrophied, because I lost my match pretty quickly. I watched, in vain, as my resource counts grew higher and higher. I grouped and boxed units, and cursed when only 12 of them moved. My fingers, duty bound by muscle memory, tried to inject larva and spread creep. It was humbling, it was awesome, it was a great reminder of where the game has been, where it is now, and where it could go in the future.

So thus satisfied, I left this strange area where people played games other than StarCraft II, and went back to my seat.

Only someone had already taken it. Bastard.

2. You owe it to yourself to try to attend at least one GSL Finals.

There was a moment about twenty minutes before the GSL Finals started where they started playing songs that were featured in prior seasons of the GSL. Most of you probably know these songs by now. They're normally used as a repeating theme throughout a GSL season, and is one of the better qualities of GSL's production.

It goes something like this: "READY TO ROAR, READY OR NOT, READY TO GIVE IT ALL I'VE GOT...".

The GSL Stage by thedz_, on Flickr

Artosis speaks frequently of nerd chills. I've had a few in my time watching StarCraft. When FruitDealer won the first GSL Finals, when MarineKingPrime (then known as Boxer/Foxer) faced off against Kyrix in a display of some of the most immaculate stimmed marine control I've ever seen, when SlayerS came back from a dismal GSTL1 showing to win it in an ace game against IMMVP in GSTL2 -- these all induced such excitement and wonder at the events unfolding that "nerd chills" is the only really reasonable way to describe the sensation.

But it all paled in comparison to that one magic moment.

People were crowding into their seats. Tasteless and Artosis were at their casting desk, fingers to their headsets, listening to instructions and rifling through papers. In the front, where I sat, the photographers and writers and others of the media sat on the floor, aiming to get good first-hand views and good photos from the events that were about to unfold. It was a scene of organized chaos. Everyone was talking, a thousand different conversations about the way that the finals would go.

But then, in a flash so fast I would've missed it if I hadn't been looking at the stage at that moment, the first words of that familiar chorus came on. <i>"READY TO ROAR..."</i> reverberated through the waiting crowd. Conversation around me paused for a quick instance, as everyone who heard that refrain stopped to remember the first season of GSL. When the SC2 scene was relatively nascent. Before titans of the scene like oGsMC and IMNestea would rise above the rest. It was the theme of a simpler time, a less refined time. A time when a player named BitByBit could advice deep into the GSL tournament off oddly timed SCV all-ins. A time filled with players whose names rarely pass the lips of today's GSL casters. It was the time of Maka, of Genius and of Rainbow. It was a time when Tester was considered the best Protoss in the world, when a little known player called oGsMC was still struggling to make it through the qualifiers.

The song came on. The world stopped. And as the world resumed its normal motion, and the sounds of Roar echoed across the stage, yes.

Nerd chills. GSL Finals. There's no substitute for live.

3. And now for something shorter.

Rapid fire now. Here goes.

Mr. Chae is apparently amazing with faces. I met him at MLG Columbus at a bar at an afterparty. We drank together that weekend, and lamented together that bars closed to early. He remembered me. It was awesome. He is awesome.

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Mr. Chae by thedz_, on Flickr

Artosis has some of the most amazing expressions I've ever seen. He's super expressive.

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HE-TOSIS by thedz_, on Flickr

Excited Artosis by thedz_, on Flickr

Artosis by thedz_, on Flickr

Tastosis by thedz_, on Flickr

Nestea plays on lowest quality graphic settings. More importantly, Nestea will sometimes macro in the ways of old Brood War pros. Rather than constant use of hotkeys (though he does use them a lot), he will frequently click on hatchers and other buildings manually. But his mouse movements are incredibly precise, and you rarely see him overshooting a target.

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Nestea in his booth by thedz_, on Flickr

Some people, like Boxer, are the easiest people in the world to photograph. People like that look good from almost any angle, and tend to exude the kind of in-photo magnetism that draws the eye. Tasteless has that too.

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Tasteless by thedz_, on Flickr

While wandering the many rows of computers set up with Heart of the Swarm and Blizzard DOTA, I spied none other than Gabe Newell of Valve sitting in a chair, reading his iPad, waiting to check out Blizzard DOTA. I spoke to him briefly, and he was incredibly down to earth and humble.

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Gabe Newell waiting for Blizzard DOTA. by thedz_, on Flickr

You probably already knew this, but I thought I'd just confirm it. John is about as baller as you think he is.

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John by thedz_, on Flickr

That damn beam of light. The one shining over the case with the rings. I waited all weekend for someone to step into it. On the last day, someone finally did.

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The ring case by thedz_, on Flickr

Jeff films Sons of StarCraft by thedz_, on Flickr

The GOM CEO. Enough said.

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Thumbs up by thedz_, on Flickr

What I Learned from Blizzcon 2011

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