{"id":7611,"date":"2011-10-03T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2011-10-03T08:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=7611"},"modified":"2011-10-03T09:00:45","modified_gmt":"2011-10-03T08:00:45","slug":"gamer-diary-badrep-goes-to-eurogamer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2011\/10\/03\/gamer-diary-badrep-goes-to-eurogamer\/","title":{"rendered":"[Gamer Diary] BadRep goes to Eurogamer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Picture<\/a>

Yessir, that does say VIP!<\/p><\/div>\n

That’s correct, folks! \u00a0I trundled my way down to London last Thursday to insert myself into a world of new and upcoming games, developer sessions and general geekdom. \u00a0What’s even better is that Eurogamer<\/strong><\/a> were kind enough to give me a press pass to do so, and now, my dear readers, you get to hear all about it!<\/p>\n

First of all, this post right here is going to be a general look at the whole experience, and I’ll give you some insight into what else I have in store for you in later posts. \u00a0Simple as that, really! \u00a0Shall we get started?<\/p>\n

As I had to travel down from our second city in the morning I didn’t get into the Expo until close to midday. Even so, with a little ticket with the words “Press Pass” on I still got in without issue (even if they did give me the wrong wristband). \u00a0My brother had come along for the Thursday and was already inside, so I had a task trying to locate him. \u00a0In the end I gave up and darted straight to see Rage<\/strong><\/a> (coincidentally, so did he) as I am a mild id Software<\/strong><\/a> fanboi… don’t tell anyone!<\/p>\n

After that I went to visit Special Effect<\/strong><\/a>‘s World Record Attempt and did my practice run – you’ll be hearing more about this in a dedicated post – in which you have to complete a racing track using nought but your own eye movements. \u00a0These guys were there trying to raise awareness for gamers with disabilities who need modified controls to enjoy the world of gaming. \u00a0Very admirable, indeed. \u00a0I had a nice chat with one of them on the Friday and I will be urging you all to give them a shout however you can.<\/p>\n

After a bit of milling around I headed up for my interviews with Trion Worlds<\/strong><\/a> on their games Rift<\/strong><\/a> and End of Nations<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0I had a good hour between the two and some interesting responses to questions, but you’ll have to wait for the interview posts to hear more about that.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the two days I also got round to playing quite a few of the big names like Skyrim<\/strong><\/a>, Mass Effect 3<\/strong><\/a>, Battlefield 3<\/strong><\/a> and CounterStrike: Global Offensive<\/strong><\/a>, as well as some of the more family-suited games like Sonic Generations<\/strong><\/a> and Ratchet and Clank All 4 One<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0You’ll get to hear what I thought of all the games I played in my round-up post, which will include a series of mini-reviews for your delectation.<\/p>\n

Another excellent facet to the Expo was the Indie Arcade and the Retro section – in which there was Wolfenstein 3D<\/strong><\/a> on no less than a Jaguar<\/a> – where I had great fun playing with games I hadn’t seen in years on consoles and arcades that are likely part of someone’s private gaming museum. \u00a0This and EG’s Game of the Year for the past decade wall were a genuine pleasure to see.<\/p>\n

Also upcoming from my experience at Eurogamer there’ll be a post on what I think about the prevalence of oversexualised women as a (meagre) excuse for marketing at these events – what does this say about how\u00a0marketers\u00a0view gamers? – with interested snippets from an overheard conversation between two stall workers (they weren’t being all that covert about the chat, either!).<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Onwards to meet your heroes of geekery!<\/p><\/div>\n

Another piece I’ve been brewing for a while, but held off just in case I could corner someone from id Software after their Developer Session to ask them about it: Dystopian Beauties. \u00a0Ever noticed how almost all the women in the post-apocalyptic world are pretty stereotypically hot? \u00a0What happened to all the ‘normal<\/em>‘ women, hmm? \u00a0Is there some sort of “Kill the Trolls<\/a>”\u00a0global event that occurs simultaneously with the collapse\/destruction of the world? \u00a0I will be exploring the many possible explanations for this.<\/p>\n

On the overall experience front it was pretty great for me as a first time Expo-goer, with a few snagging points: the demonstrable exclusion of female gamers in the marketing; the assumption (several times) that I was clearly “new to FPS genre” or “new to war games” (so tedious) on the basis of what I looked like and the assumptions stall reps made about a) my gender and b) my personality; the ridiculous prevalence of consoles on the playable games – I am a dedicated PC gamer and trying to play things with thumbsticks drives me up the wall; and, finally, the fact it cost me \u00a36 for a sausage in a roll and a bottle of water. \u00a0Otherwise, the punters were all very friendly with each other and it was a good environment full of like-minded individuals that I really enjoyed.<\/p>\n

But what’s that, you say? \u00a0A competition?<\/em> \u00a0Why, yes! \u00a0Yes there is a competition! \u00a0I have gathered a few little goodies at the Expo to give away… but more on that later my eager chums! \u00a0For now, I will have to leave you with feverish eyes filled with the fire of excitement – to be continued, fellow travellers…<\/p>\n