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Blizzcon by Maynarde (Part 1)
 

Hi SC2sea I been meaning to do this for you guys straight after the main event, but still being in California it's been tough! Lots to do and lots to see. Kalikah and I are having an awesome time seeing the sights, and of course Blizzcon!

Just as a forewarning, this isn't a pro-gamer blog of behind the scenes blog, JazBas already did that. And you should read it, it's fun This is all from the perspective of a guy that walked the floor, had lunch with awesome people and attended many an after party. This blog is also lengthy, because of photos mainly. So without further ado:

Maynarde's Blizzcon Blog! (Part 1)

We had a big night before Blizzcon, and barely made it after the opening ceremony (which was apparently good haha). First thing we had to do was walk down into a giant underground carpark with booths full of people that gave us our passes once we proved who we were, then basically followed the bodies into the main area. But before I got inside I was distracted, I had been there for 10 minutes and already found a celebrity!


Already buzzing from meeting Jon, I speed walked to the doors of the main floor. When the doors opened it was literally like walking into a treasure cave (cool breeze, shiny lights and fog included). Kalikah and I just went "woooooowwwww..." and couldn't really say anything else. There were thousands of nerds, and it didn't stink! Once we got past the initial shock we had to head straight to the merch line (we had a list of stuff to buy for people at home) which was a long wait but while in line we passed the Audio Stage which had Blizzard's sound designers talking about Diablo 3's music, along with a performance of the music on a sweet 12 string guitar and met a couple guys in the line who tried to convince us WoW > SC2. It was then off to the RTS area so that I could watch me some SC2! Didn't want to miss any Aussie games.


We arrived to Day[9] and JP casting some games, and I'm not gonna talk about the games because I'm sure they've been discussed to death already. What I AM gonna discuss is the atmosphere, which I sincerely hope comes to a SEA country one day...


Every medivac sniped, every EMP, every fungal had a roar that can only be compared to some of Australia's biggest sporting arenas. It was chilling. I had goosebumps from the excitement the crowd and those amazing casters generated together, you could NOT wipe the smile from my face. Especially since this friendly fellow was nearby and happy to say hello!


We found Kalikah's friend who works for Blizzard (Jason) and sat with him at the artist's stage for a bit. We watched some of Blizzards artists work live in front of us on some digital images of Diablo and environments. It was amazing how fast these guys worked and how talented they are, it's frustrating how better they are than me lol! We head back to the SC2 area and found Kelly Milkies, who introduced us to this handsome devil who was understandably a little low after being eliminated


After watching a few games, Kalikah and I were famished. We didn't realise how fast time was flying just watching games and wandering. We needed sustenance to continue being awake / alive for more games! But you know what? Seems like you can't turn a corner at Blizzcon without bumping into famous people, and they're not all pro-gamers either. Met one of my idols from my favourite company in the world and his rockstar mate who I recognized (eventually) as I'm an old school metal head.


George mentioned that he was hungry as well, so he decided to take us to lunch! Giddy from fanboyitis (which is a syndrome I suffer from a couple times in this blog) we had burgers and beers with a f*cking rockstar. He told us all about his family, his band, his friends and how long he had been a gamer and avid Horde supporter. Samwise had just hand drew a custom poster for George since he got the sexy tattoo on his forearm as they were good mates, and once we got back to the convention centre we were now a threesome (not the kind you think). George, Kalikah and myself had returned to geek out some more but we spent too much time at lunch! It was time for Barcraft!

We head to the Hilton, which is where every we talked to told us to be from 7pm onwards for drinks and such. Samwise met up with us downstairs in the main lobby area which was pumpin' with nerds (I'll show you pics in the next part) and was really fun Bumped into this guy downstairs!


We followed him upstairs to the big event with our small entourage, and I was so excited to see what blending bars and GSL would be like. The big final was going to start shortly (George was not keen on the K-pop...) so we got our seats. The room was filling up fast, and we were starting to get a little messy from too many drinks.


We watched the final, with aching drunk brains and sore feet and about 1 percent battery life left. MMA FIGHTING! Time to head home, and yeah so that was it for Day 1! See you in Part 2 for Day 2

-Maynarde