Guest Post by AMP 2-11
According to my friend Jace, it’s good to be a woman at Blizzcon. She says it’s one of the few places on earth where the line for the men’s room is longer than the line for the women’s. That’s not saying there is NO women’s line. There are women here. Tons of them. Yes, attractive ones. Women who can gank your ass and make it look good (The ganking, not your ass.)
My friends and I start the day watching a teaser trailer of the forthcoming Warcraft movie. The job ILM has done on animating the Orcs is nothing short of astounding. I’m not talking “Gee, they look dope charging into battle” type animation (though there is plenty of that and they DO look dope), I’m talking Oscar winning emoting from a CG character. If I didn’t know better there would be no question in my mind that it was a living breathing Orc on film. Keep in mind I worked in film for fifteen years, I cherish and study the craft. I have never seen anything on this level. Ever. I loved Avatar and Lord of the Rings but this is beyond them. It’s that good.
March 11, 2016. Your butt in a theater seat. You will be blown away.
The capstone on a thoroughly Epic weekend was the closing ceremony featuring Metallica. I have been STOKED for this. Metallica has been part of my life even longer than Warcraft, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, so that should tell you something.
I grew up on music of, shall we say, a much softer variety. I was listening to the likes of Chicago and Richard Marx when a friend of mine handed me a bootleg tape (“What is that?” the younglings ask) and said, “Listen to this.” The growl of guitars as Hit the Lights poured into my pubescent ears was nothing short of revelation and revolution pounded into one. (Coincidentally it’s also the song they opened with tonight.)
I have to be honest: when the opening chords of Master of Puppets sundered the air in the hall, I got choked up. Yep, at the time when everyone else started head banging, I got misty eyed instead. Hey, I’m not afraid to admit I’m in touch with my sensitive side.
It’s pretty clear the guys in Metallica don’t play Warcraft, but they gave the show everything they had. They really did. And when James Hetfield told us we were part of the Metallica family he meant it. He didn’t care if we were all part of a culture he didn’t fully understand, he respected it and respected us as fans. (Are you taking notes Tom DeLonge??)
After everything was over, I asked my friends what the highlights of Blizzcon were for them. Without hesitation Jace answers that it was the overriding sense of just how much Blizzard recognizes and listens to us, its fans. And how it’s obvious that the people making the games are fans themselves.
This genuine enthusiasm for the games and for the people who play them is what make Blizzcon so amazing and what will keep it vibrant and vital for years to come.
To Blizzard and my Blizzard family, thank you all for making this such a special event. I had an absolute blast! I can’t wait to see you again next year!
Guardian of all things LOUD! Defender of everything with blinky lights! Champion of full frontal nerdity! Zombie by day, Rockstar by night (blatant plug: www.eyesopenmusic.com) AMP 2-11 loves taco carts, anything featuring David Grohl and long walks on the beach.