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The Dead Space community event has come and gone and I’m once again back in my hometown and trying to relax and gather my thoughts after what was one hell of an event. Before I get started with my recap, impressions and other self indulgent ramblings, I have to give credit to the guys responsible for putting this together and pulling it off as well as they did. So, thanks to the guys at EA for inviting me out and the development team for being so receptive to myself and everyone else, I had a great time.
Now that the thank yous have been doled out, I can begin recapping the event proper for those of you who care enough to check out this post. The trip began when, around 10:30, a black Cadillac DTS pulled up outside my place of residence and I proceeded to stuff my backpack and suitcase into the trunk. Pretty much everything including the ride to the airport and the four and a half hour plane ride is an uncomfortable blur, being squashed between the side of the plane and a portly Asian gentleman for much of that time.
Once I got to the hotel though, things seemed to become more coherent and before I knew it, I was checked in, dropping my bags off in my room and quickly heading back downstairs to meet up with my fellow journalists in the hotel lobby. All 30 of them. Yeah, this event was much bigger than I thought. Shortly after, our EA contact showed up and carted us off to EA Redwood Shores where a relatively short registration period ensued in which we were asked to sign NDA’s (yep, that means there are things I saw that I can’t tell you about, sorry) and received our official clearance badges.
Once we’d all been registered and given our badges, we walked into the café area where our dinner was still being set up. So, instead of standing around doing nothing, we schmoozed in EA’s game room which had everything from various arcade cabinets and an air hockey table to high end PCs and consoles set up further into the room. After a few minutes of relaxation in the game room, it was finally time for dinner, which consisted of a buffet of delicious barbecued foods, mini appetizers and amazing cupcakes for dessert.
Dinner passed quickly, as everyone was ready and waiting for the highlight of the evening, the Dead Space double feature. Two films, voted on by attendees were to be shown in EA’s movie theater. I kid you not. EA has its own theater (most likely used for large company presentations) because, apparently, that’s how they roll. Having never seen the two movies shown (Evil Dead II and Sunshine) I was in for quite the treat, watching Evil Dead II’s hilariously ridiculous take on the horror genre and Sunshine’s more serious, gut-wrenchingly tense take on the genre.
When the movies were over, it was time to retire to the hotel, as we had an undoubtedly long day of Dead Space coverage the very next day. Many among us chose not to head directly to the hotel room and instead partake in the ambience of the hotel bar and lounge. There, I relaxed with my peers and had many rather insightful and interesting conversations without drinking too much (didn’t want to add a hangover to make the jet lag that much worse). Altogether it was a great finish to an already great day and when I finally did retire to the comfort of my hotel bed, I was enthusiastic about waking up the next morning and trying out Dead Space.
More on the Dead Space community day including developer interviews and gameplay impressions coming very, very soon. For now, I must get some sleep. I had to take the red eye in yesterday morning and the flight wasn’t exactly the most comfortable flight I’ve ever taken.
