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Invading Comic Con
Written by Bill Roper
Friday, 29 July 2005
Although we've been back for a while, I wanted to mention a few memories from this year's Comic Con down in San Diego. We brought a whole crew down, had a lot of meetings with some fine folks in the comic, manga, film, CCG, board gaming, collectibles and action figure industries. Comic Con has really become a celebration of pop culture instead of just comics, so we had a lot to do and see while we were there. It’s day one so Phil Shenk (Character Art Director) and I are raring to go, go, go!
First and foremost, I am a Star Wars fanatic - but definitely from the old school. There were more Jedis, Stormtroopers, Bobas and Darths at the Con that you couldn't swing a dead Bantha around without hitting a dozen. Vader was easily the most represented figure at the show, with the 1/4 scale collectible from Sideshow Collectibles being impressive. Most impressive. Of course, as well as being a fan of Darth Vader (the James Earl Jones interpretation, thank-you-very-much) I have always been a huge Boba Fett fan boy as well, so when the chance to be a Star Wars action figure along side of the infamous bounty hunter, I grabbed a pair of blasters and leapt at the chance.
One of our very talented artists, Jason Felix, shared a booth at the show to display and sell some of his private works. We even had some company and E3 T-Shirts there to give out to anyone that happened to have read about his being there on the Flagship website.
It was a good thing that Jason had a booth, too, because it soon became our secret hideaway for swag we didn’t want to carry all over the place. Of course, Jason got me back by co-opting my big suitcase to bring all his goodies back from the show. We had to run out and buy a new bag for our clothes, but it was a good trade off because I now own two awesome Flagship green bags that I'll alwats see at the airport baggage claim.
Speaking of things I don’t want to miss, I made sure to find and hang out with the incredibly talented Scott Kurtz. If you’ve never read PvP Online, do yourself a favor and start now. I mean it. Open a new browser window and begin the reading. I’ll wait here.
Good stuff, eh? I’ve been a fan for years, and have come to establish something very akin to a real friendship – if we lived near each other at all, we’d probably end up as best buds. I used all my influence (read begged) and stole a few minutes to get a picture snapped with Scott, Frank Cho, and Brandon Peterson.
If you want to read and see some amazing stuff, treat yourself to Frank’s wonderful world of Liberty Meadows and run out and get every issue of Strange that you can get your hands on. His art is awesome and the writing by J. Michael Straczynski is simply fantastic.
There were some really amazing things to do and see this year, from all the upcoming figures and collectibles to new graphic novels, comics, and manga. There were about a bajillion light sabers being whooshed about the floor, and in some of the panels the usual cell phone and pager announcements were augmented with, “and also, could all lightsabers be turned off before we show the film clip?” There were at least five Princess Leias in attendance as well, with the Jabba’s palace chain bikini version winning out against the white robed bun-haired version 3 to 2.
There were also a lot of other props, costumes and set decorations around the floor. They had one of the sets from the upcoming Tim Burton film Corpse Bride at the Master Replicas booth and showed how some of the stop motion photography was done. There was a covered truck that looked strikingly similar in outline to Optimus Prime there to promote the upcoming Transformers movie, although they disappointed attendees by saying it was not going to be revealed during the show. There was a full-sized Terminator endoskeleton on display, as well as some incredible steel statues of Jango Fett and the Alien.
One prop I had to sneak a moment on was a replica of the throne from Conan the Barbarian. I have some pretty fond memories of watching that film in the theater when it came out, hoping that it was going to be the beginning of a string of great fantasy films. So given the chance, I couldn’t help but tap my inner Barbarian King and strike that famous pose from the end of the film.
I also got to meet a couple of actors, actresses and directors, and even snagged a photo and autograph from Amber Benson – Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was warm, funny, and very genuine in being happy to talk with the fans. We talked a little bit about her singing and both agreed she had the second best voice on the show, behind multi-talented Anthony Head. I also got a 3-second handshake with Bryan Singer as he was hustled past where I was standing near the DC booth. Among the other brushes with Hollywoodsters, there was the “I love your work” nods to Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin from the upcoming Serenity film (based on the short-lived but much-loved Firefly series, of course) and a close encounter with Jim Lee who I caught sitting all alone at his table in artist alley.
All in all it was a busy 3 days of meetings and racing back and forth, but we met some talented folks, made some great contacts, and had a few nice dinners in the aftermath. Next up for me is the big show in Leipzig, Germany. I will be speaking at the German Game Developer’s Conference before the event and then will be cruising the show. From what I hear, it is AWESOME!
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Ah, sweet music!
Sunday, 10 July 2005
This past week my wife Kyle and I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to attend the Video Games Live premiere at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, it is the first ever concert tour where all of the music is from different Video Games. While there certainly have been other tours, those have focused on the works from a single composer or game franchise. What made the Video Games Live show so unique was that there were pieces from a slew of games, including Metal Gear Solid, Sonic the Hedgehog, Zelda, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, Medal of Honor, Halo, Advent Rising, Everquest II, God of War, Myst, Warcraft and a slew of others.
 Actually, that is just one of the things that made it so unique. Since it was the premiere of the concert series, it was really treated like a game's launch event mixed with a fan festival. There were about 15 to 20 game designers and over a dozen composers in attendence that participated in the festivites by meeting with fans and signing autographs. I was honored to be included in and got to meet with a lot of gamers. I heard everything from, "When is Hellgate: London coming out?" to "Can you tell me if they're working on StarCraft II?" to "What exactly was the meaning behind Arthus putting on the Helmet of the Lich King in the end of Warcraft III: Frozen Throne?" I also signed somewhere between 100-150 posters, art books, game CD cases, concert programs and even a T-Shirt or two, During the signing I sat between Lorne Lanning (Oddworld) and Ted Price (Spyro teh Dragon, Ratchet & Clank). I was also a couple of tables down from Doug Tennaple (Earthworm Jim) who would always draw the worlds most famous worm with his signature. It was one of the many occassions I have wished for some real art skills, just so I could add something as unique to the posters and so on.
After the signing I made the obligatory stop by the concession stands for the evening's sustenance and met Kyle at our excellent seats (another great perk of being involved in the festival - thanks Tony!) and settled in for the show. Well, almost, that is, since I realized we had cold drinks, but not hot ones and the temperature was just starting to dip. I ran back out for coffee and hot chocolate so we could mix our own Mochas, This ended up being somewhat fortuitous as while standing in line to come back into the concert, I chatted with a woman who had brought her two sons to see the show. She obviously wasn't a gamer, but I thought it was very cool that she was willing to be involved with something that her kids were into, even if if meant fighting L.A. traffic.
Once the concert got started, it was evident that the packed house - and the huge Hollywood Bowl isn't a place to roll tenpins, by the way - was excited and ready for a night celebrating the music of the games they love to play. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Choir were in fine form, and guitar god Steve Vai was even on hand for one of the pieces. As the music was played, images from the games were displayed on giant screen above and next to the stage, creating an incredible "multimedia" experience. In a few of the pieces, live actors took the stage to portray some of the characters in the games, and while I wasn't quite so taken with this aspect of the show, I will admit that the very first time it happens is the best because of what they do with it. I won't spoil the surprise in case you go and see the concert.
Speaking of surprises, during the intermission one of the show's creators and on-stage co-host Tommy Tellarico called out numbers from two of the concert tickets. He asked that the holders of those tickets please come up to the stage for a prize. When the second half of the concert started up, the audience learned that the two ticket holders would be competing for an AMD laptop by playing Frogger on stage while the orchestra played the game music. Here is where one of the night's twists happened. One of the two contestants was a 13 year old kid named Ben. The other (and first up) was the woman I had met in line while bringing back our hot drinks. As soon as I saw her on the stage, I started laughing and then had to explain the whole story to the people with whom we were sitting. She scored a whopping 170, and obviously Ben walked away with the laptop. She did get a home version of Frogger to practice with, but more importantly walked away with a story of how the first time she played a video game it was on stage. At the Hollywood Bowl. Accompanied by an orchestra!
The concert was a lot of fun, and I admit that I got a real chill when the Warcraft music and images started up and the crowd cheered. It was also great catching up with composer Jason Hayes (now doing his own musical thing) and also seeing all the Blizzard guys that were there, including Rob Pardo and Mike Morhaime. We got a chance to hang out both before and after the concert in special "VIP area."
I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little about the one part of the concert that the audience didn't get to see. Before the show the designers and composers (along with a few folks that are better known than us to the world) did the whole red carpet / press line thing. This concert was newsworthy because of the venue, the level of performers involved, and that gaming as an industry has "grown up." While I was excited to be rubbing elbows with people like David Perry, Lorne Lanning, David Jaffe, Hideo Kojima and Nolan Bushnell, not everyone out there knows these folks - even if they know their work. Two people I got to spend a little time in the company of, however, added that "air of legitimacy" that seems to be creeping into our industry - which isn't a bad thing, by the way.
When we went through the press line, they tended to send us through in groups of four. I was excited to get to hang out and talk with Nolan Bushnell (Pong / Atari - you know, a couple of little things). The uber-geek in me was in full force, however, when I got to shoot the breeze with the other two gentlemen in our quartet - Stan Lee and Elijah Wood. Stan is amazing to watch and listen to as he goes from interviewer to interviewer. His energy is incredible, and his passion for what he does is undeniable. Elijah is a gamer - and he's unabashed in his enjoyment of games. I had the chance to talk with him for a few minutes, and he was just great. For someone so well known, he's as real a person as you could ever hope to meet. I also watched him with the hordes of people both during the fan portion and backstage that wanted to say hello and he was gracious and friendly. Even though we were all professionals up there talking about how games are firmly entrenched in the mainstream, I had to pull out my phone and snap a photo...
If you get a chance to see the concert, you'll enjoy it. Music is an important part of the overall gaming experience, and this is a great celebration of it.
| | **Copied from the official Flagship Studios site for easier reading, all work is done by the owner and not by us.** | | |
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