My five (real) seconds of fame

While at E3 this year, I mentioned earlier that I was interviewed by Maxim Online. Well, I am happy to report that a whopping 5 seconds of that 30-45 second interview has made it's way on to the Internet:

The Maxim Online video is of course just my stepping stone to real stardom (eyes rolling). Yeah. My next step is to actually star in a porno with Pac-Man.

E3 is over and I find myself already thinking about next year. I have to go again, don't I? I can't just say "been there, done that" and leave it be. I mean, I could, but ... hey .... it's E3! It's video games. The whole industry is just so cool.

Enough blubberin'. Go watch the video. Now.

E3 - Day 3

I wasn't sure on the last day of E3 if I was going to go to the show or just do other things. First things first, I followed Kristen to work and got inside Treyarch. I can't really talk about what I saw inside (since I'm under an NDA) but I can tell you that it was a great experience actually being inside a development company. It felt oddly familiar but fresh and interesting at the same time. Some of the home grown tools they use are just incredible. It's quite the challenge taking the regular game assets and moving them into the game to be usable, and I really got a better understanding of that before I left.

I dropped down the street to photograph the head office of Activision and then let my Garmin take me over to Naughty Dog's HQ. I didn't get to inside of course, but it felt interesting being in the place where so many great games that I love were created (realizing they have moved offices of course several years ago, but the vibe is still there).

I ended up heading back to E3 to catch some of the content I missed first time around. The coolest thing was definitely the Indian Jones 2007 game--this looks really hot and not to be missed. I left around 3:30 and headed back to the car and up to Universal to meet Kristen and Shavonne for dinner. What a great trip!

E3 - Day 2

So I wandered back to E3 today, this time by myself. Kristen had to work so he said "adios Amiga" and I went back the same way we went yesterday.

I walked into the Sony booth and started downloading Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters demo on the PSP. I look over, and it's David Perry (former President and Founder of Shiny Entertainment). Dave is responsible for the Matrix games and Earthworm Jim among other titles. We taked for at least 15 minutes, what a great guy! I'll post a picture with him shortly.

I also got to see Diane Mizota of G4 and even ran into Kevin Rose and Alex A. formerly of G4. I couldn't believe how many of these guys were just walking around doing their thing.


The first conference session I went into had Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) the creator of Ultima. I was actually brave enough to go up and ask a question to the panel. The second conference had David Jaffe, creator of God of War. True to his style, he let 2 f-shots go before the end. Yeah, I knew he wouldn't let me down.

On my way out I decided to stop by the G4 booth. Adam and Morgan were there, and so were Olivia and Kevin. Saw them up close and actually got ON "Attack of the Show" in a crowd shot. I yelled out "Hi Mom" but I'm pretty sure it was drowned out by the dozens of other bumbling idiots.

On my way back I found out that my friend Ed Jenks lives just 1 mile from where I parked the car at the subway, so I went to Universal with him and had a drink. Wow, it's such a small world. Ed made a donation to the Personal Computer Musuem (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) and even had some old Nintendo games for me. Thanks Ed!

Anyways, off to dinner. Tomorrow I get to tour Treyarch!

E3 - Day 1

Well I did it! I'm finally here, E3 for the first time. Wow this is a busy place. Fortunately, my press credentials get me in a full two hours before the general populous gets let in. Yet, there is still an incredible number of people walking around.

The first thing I see is the new PS3 -- at least, the empty shell of it. Some of the games are running and they look pretty sweet. As I walk up Kaz Hirai is being interviewed by Geoff Keighley (Spike TV and G4's Electric Playground)...I almost walk into the shot! Then later I see Peter Moore (Microsoft) and that's where things just get started!

Besides the incredible games like God of War II and Guitar Hero II, I also met Tommy Tallarico from G4's Electric Playground and also Reviews on the Run. We talked for a bit and I got a photo with him. That was just after I was interviewed on Maxim Online (www.maximonline) -- we'll see when (if) that shows up!

I also had the pleasure of talking with David Foster from Digital Leisure and see the new upcoming Dragon's Lair HD - yes, DL remastered in HD and it looks amazing!!! Can't wait for this one.

Finally, I got autographs from Morgan Webb and Adam Sessler from G4's X-Play. They were really nice and we had a few laughs. I can't believe I finally got to meet them. I also saw Tina Wood and Laura Foy wandering around as well.

So many people, so little time it seems. Feet completely SORE after walking around. And for any of the nay-sayers, the Nintendo Wii is actually pretty cool. I'm surprised.

More tomorrow!

Games that be remade for the next gen - part 1 of ?

I've been thinking lately a lot about the "old games" as I usual do. There is something about them that's attractive. I used to think it was just the "warm fuzzy" feeling we got because it was a different time in our lives when things were different, we were different, and so on. To some degree it is, but in other cases it's not. Some of these games are just downright fun.

Today, I'd like to mention Miner 2049'er. Bill Hogue's incredible game back in the day still brings back the warm and fuzzies for me, and I can just picture Bounty Bob in a 3D platforming world, struggling with mines that have incredible booby traps.

Big Five software has an emulator written specifically to play Miner on today's machines and you can find it at their website.

Did the donkey have a name? Now I need to know. Not sure why. I didn't really play Bounty Bob Strikes back and of course, Scraper Caper was advertised but never released. Maybe Bill (please, please, please) could take the elements of all three games and put them into some next gen love. My XBox 360 screams to play Bounty Bob on the widescreen!