The Glamorous Life of a Gaming Journalist
Because Chris G and myself are uber cheap we decided to walk the sixteen blocks to the eFocus media event in downtown L.A. Neither of us was sure what we were going to see, but we figured “Hey, we’ll do it for the QJ readers *cough*freefood*cough*… besides, we might find a hidden gem.
Read more of our adventures after the jump!
Because Chris G and myself are uber cheap we decided to walk the sixteen blocks to the eFocus media event in downtown L.A. Neither of us was sure what we were going to see, but we figured “Hey, we’ll do it for the QJ readers *cough*freefood*cough*… besides, we might find a hidden gem.
We didn’t find a hidden gem, let’s get that out of the way right now. There were lot’s of pretty ladies though, all waiting to liquor us up and toss their wares at us… their gaming wares that is, well more usually gaming related. In between pretending to be interested in the boring gaming related technology showcases READ: LCD’s, gaming memory, dodgy 3D displays, etc, there were a few interesting little nuggets. The first being a real time controllable demonstration of the AGEIA PhysX Chip. The card was running a sandbox level using assets from the PC game Cell Factor. Keen readers will remember that AGEIA’s software technology is a key part of the PS3’s middleware solution. Have a look at some of the screens and be sure to download the crazy mad physics demo here (Divx format).
Moving along we ran into the food cart, which we detained for further inspection. Upon reaching a satisfactory level of strawberry cheesecake fullness, we moved on to scrutinise the bar (this is where I lost Chris G by the way). Round the corner I ran into a lady in a black dress promoting a bizarre MMO called Entropia Universe. The game looked a little dodgy to be perfectly honest, but I listened to her spiel because she had… assets to show (get your minds out of the gutter!). Entropia is apparently the first virtual universe with a real cash economy (“w00t, zOMG!” I thought, but didn’t say). The game focuses on social interaction and the ability of users to become entrepreneurs by creating their own business endeavours, while other players can take part in the experiences provided, thus driving the virtual economy. Here are some screenshots for your perusal.
Upon returning to the hotel room I find we’ve been given a complimentary bottle of Sunny Delight and a complimentary bottle of water, SCORE!
Tomorrow the show begins, expect pics and video, we’ll be hitting the Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo booths to get some sweet, sweet hands on time. Expect detailed reports on all the big titles and a ton of the little ones everyone else forgets about.
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