However, the Tecmo/Team Ninja booth IPL will be working at is right next to Square Enix, one of my all-time favorite developers. Hopefully they'll have some cool stuff to show off in addition to Tomb Raider, which looks more like the movie Hostel than a Playstation game. Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and more of the big console developers will be around and will have plenty of stations for us video game nerds to gawk over.
This event will be an interesting one for me. I didn't find out I was coming until just about two weeks ago, when IGN Alliance (the YouTube network my channel AskJoshy is a part of) offered up some passes for its partners. Just two days ago, I got an official invite on behalf of IGN as well, so I actually have two passes waiting for me. x.x I also have a friend who develops an indie game called SUPER COMBO MAN (remember the name!) who is going to hook me up with a press pass if/when it's needed. =P
If only my 15 year-old, video game addicted self could see me now, as an "industry professional" getting multiple invites to the biggest video game spectacle in the U.S.... I'm not sure he would believe it. I'm not sure I believe it. How can I be a professional? My wardrobe is the same as when I was a college freshman. I've rocked the same stupid haircut for about a decade. All I do is play video games, talk about video games, promote video games, and watch video games! It's sick, really. Unbelievable.
Of course, I have many, many people to thank for helping me get to this point. Team Liquid guys included. MLG Dallas 2010 is not lost on me, and I won't forget Hot Bid, Nazgul, and Kennigit ever for trusting me to do their video interviews at the event. My work with compLexity Gaming was a lot of fun, and I regret not having the time to commit to their awesome team this year. IGN Pro League obviously is the biggest thing I have been a part of, and working there is an absolute joy that I cannot take for granted.
Oops, it looks like I've begun to ramble. The actual semi-live blog part for today goes like this:
Today I woke up before my alarm, really nervous. I showered, groomed, did some last minute work for the Dead or Alive 5 reveal Tuesday, packed up too many clothes, and called a cab for the Oakland airport. The guy driving was insane, and talking on the phone most of the way which I'm pretty sure is illegal in California. I just got my CA license last month and that was one of the questions on the written exam. =P No problems at all at the OAK airport, but I am kinda nervous about what's going to happen when I actually land in LA. I'm sharing a room with Josh Shaw, one of our technical directors at IPL, but he'll already be neck-deep in DOA5 stream rehearsal when I arrive, and our hotel is 12 miles away. I'm scared I'm going to be stuck with all of my luggage at E3 all day, haha. I guess things could be worse. I hope I can just call someone from IPL and the E3 people will let me in, despite not having an exhibitor pass. We shall see!
Anyway, I'll update this again tonight before bed (maybe) and I'll be uploading videos from the show floor all week long on my channel: http://www.youtube.com/AskJoshy
If you'll be there, don't be afraid to @ me on Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/AskJoshy ) and try to meet up! I check it all the damn time. =) Thanks for reading!