THE EA EVENTAs posted in another thread, I was one of 10 people from around the world (one flew in from Naples!) invited to Electronic Arts in San Francisco to preview the game, meet and talk with the game developers, and take a tour of EA's main campus.
Most of the guests were video game reviewers, of course, and I was invited for other, yet obvious, reasons. ;-) Here's a brief rundown of what we did last weekend:
3/9 - I arrived at the airport and was picked up in a black Lincoln with tinted windows. Already I felt special. lol Everyone arrived at the hotel and in the banquet room they had 10 consoles set up, PS2 and X-BOX. While enjoying a cold cut spread, we were privileged to meet each other and play the game for a couple hours to get a feel for it.
Later that evening we walked over to EA's incredible campus and watched The Godfather film in their theater, enjoying some nice subs. Of course, I enjoyed watching GF on a big screen, but damn was I tired from a long day already -- having gotten up at 5:30AM after 3 hours of sleep, and now it's like 10PM my-time. But it was fun, and even having seen it so much, there's always something new I pick up, especially when it's on a big screen! After the movie we went back to the hotel where we were able to play the game again until 2AM local (5AM for me!), but I didn't last too long. lol
I was gonna get a drink at the hotel bar before bed, but they "pulled a Somerset" on me! Even tho the web site said the bar was open until 1:30AM, it now closed at midnight!!!! WTF?? Just as well, tho, since I was exhausted and didn't need any help getting to sleep!
3/10 - This day at EA was all planned out for us, and was so much fun! We had breakfast with a couple members of the team, then got a tour of the HUGE campus that blew me away! And by campus, I mean it -- this property and multiple beautiful buildings rivaled that of any college! There were game consoles scattered everywhere in all the buildings where one could just stop and play. They had an NBA-regulation basketball court, soccer field, a huge gym for employees to work out, a beautiful open cafeteria, game rooms with all types of table games, historical displays and showcases all concerning video games, etc. Blew my mind.
But what blew my mind the most was visiting "The Godfather Floor" -- almost an entire office building floor devoted to the 100 or so developers working on this game alone. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photographs as some things were under development *cough*GF2*cough* but I was in heaven. All the walls were filled with GF artwork from the game, and from the movie. Storyboards, proposed sets and backgrounds, photos from not only the movie but 1940's era New York. Man, my collection would've rocked if I could take just a few of those things!
We stopped at 6-8 cubicles where developers were working and got a short talk on what they were doing, and how it worked. We saw what creating a video game was like, and I tell you, it's quite tedious! Each developer had their own specialty, and I was pretty amazed how the team all came together to create such a beautiful product. Some worked on backgrounds, others characters, sounds, music -- even one person to do the lighting of scenes. I was truly impressed.
We also visited the EA employee store. Not only did they pay our way for airfare, room, and meals, but even spotted us $50 in the store. That may not seem like a lot, but this is the employee store -- every game, including boxed sets, was only $10! Not being a big gamer myself, I just picked up 2 for the PC: Tiger Woods 2006, and the Battlefield 1942/Vietnam collection. I also got 2 t-shirts, and a baseball cap. And I probably didn't even reach $50!
After the tour, we went into a room where consoles were set up again, including 2 PCs to check out the PC version. We were able to play the game more, for a few hours, during lunch, at the same time being able to talk to more dev members and even the executive producer.
At one point, they pulled us each aside to interview us on video. While they asked the others about the game itself, they asked me more about the movie (thankfully!). And this time, I got my favorite line correct!! I think. lol
After this, we were taken out to dinner to a nice Italian restaurant (what else??). EA didn't provide alcohol the entire weekend, but the executive producer was sitting at my table (there were 3 tables), and he picked up the few beers I and a couple others had. After dinner, they thanked us for attending, and held up a framed poster of the game characters, signed by all the development team. Everyone was wondering who'd be the lucky winner of that -- and we were all pleasantly surprised when they told us that they'd be mailing one of these out to all of us! EA rocks!!
After we returned to the hotel, most of us sat in the lounge and had a few drinks and talked a while. All the invited guests, as well as the people who made this game, are great people and I even befriended some whom I will try to stay in touch with. Some of you hardcore gamers who visit gaming sites might even know some of these people. And I was happy that at least one other guest knew who *I* was. lol
3/11 - Return flight home, exhausted. lol
lol
