Day two, and my BLISTERS have blisters. I must remember to buy a new pair of boots, as I think QuakeCon has done this pair in.
Last night, after filing my last blog posting, I sat in on the keynote speech by id Software co-founder John Carmack, and was even able to film the first half hour of the Q & A session. The man is passionate about what he does, and explained the programming hurdles he and his team have had to overcome so that even a programming n00b like me could understand. It’s no wonder software titles like Doom and Quake have such a fanatical following: they are built by people who love games and are dedicated to quality programming.
Before Carmack hit the stage, id reps got the crowd going by making some exciting announcements about upcoming projects, most notably about the progress of their next big title Rage (complete with new trailer), and an upcoming new installment in the Doom series. During the keynote, Carmack announced that due to licensing limitations, the Xbox version of the much anticipated Rage will be less visually appealing, as the costs of publishing three DVDs for an Xbox game were prohibitive. He noted that he hoped Microsoft would make some sort of concession to avoid this. The news, only a few hours old at this point, is already sparking some interesting discussion.
I also discovered that QuakeCon is featuring a documentary about professional gaming, aptly named “Frag,” and caught up with the director, Mike Pasley, for a quick on-camera interview about the project. I will see the screening a little later, and will be sure to report back.
After finally making it back to my room after 10 p.m., I decided to play a few rounds of Team Fortress 2 to tire myself out. I realized there had been so much to see and experience that I’d forgotten to do what everyone comes here to do in the first place: game. That just wouldn’t be right!
I’ve spent most of today visiting booths, doing walkthroughs on camera and viewing more gaming madness. Many people have been “marathon gaming” since the start, and have been staying awake only by consuming mass quantities of an energy drink aimed at gamers and college students called Bawls. I’m admittedly jittery from downing the stuff myself. We’ll see how well I sleep tonight…
The Extreme Gaming Tour has been hopping, and the DJ has kept the crowd worked up. I’ve been promised a walkthrough tour by PMS Athena to give you a closer look at the hardware and software being featured, as well as a group interview with all the PMS girls at the event. We should have that to you by the end of the Con.
After viewing the movie premier tonight, I’ll be doing some heavy video editing/uploading. I’ve got a ton of stuff I know you’ll want to see!