A Beginner's Guide to BlizzCon 2010

Before I get started, I have a confession to make: I don't play ANY Blizzard games. Not once have I built an SCV in Starcraft II, and the last time I built one in the original Starcraft I was probably still concerned about what kind of Megazord was going to be in the next season of Power Rangers. Diablo II has never entered my computer, and I've never been willing to make a foray into the World of Warcraft because I've traditionally believed in only paying for my games once. But after a trip to Blizzcon, I have to say that my perspective's changed a bit.


Anaheim Convention Center, host of BlizzCon 2010.

Blizzard Entertainment is the company responsible for World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, and the upcoming Diablo III, and is one of the largest names, if not the largest name, in PC gaming. They host their own convention, BlizzCon, in Anaheim each year, and thousands of people show up from all over the world. You've gotta understand that this company is a HUGE deal. Starcraft is a national sport of S. Korea. Tickets to this event sold out in under 3 seconds. That's right: UNDER. THREE. SECONDS.


Seriously, Blizzard is composed of a bunch of WINNERS.

So how did I get in, you might ask? The legendary PRESS PASS, hehe. Since I work for a gaming website, 411Mania.com, I was able to get press access to the convention. It was pretty...well, legendary.


About as legendary as this statue. I dunno exactly what's going on here, but it's still pretty awesome.

But what was more legendary, honestly, was the kindness I experienced from the people at the convention. I stopped to watch the Starcraft II World Championships, an event which was definitely standing room only on the Main Tournament Stage. And since I don't really play Starcraft, I had no real idea what was going on. It's an RTS, or a Real-Time Strategy game: that basically means that the player is a general commanding an entire army in real time. The more time you spend to think, the more time your enemy has to blow you to pieces. The people playing the game were taking on average 250-300 actions per minute. That's ungodly fast. It's like watching a high-speed chess match.


Just watch a few minutes and you'll get my drift.

So while I was there, I started talking to this guy, Steve, who was standing next to me. I asked some of the most ridiculous questions, ones that were OBVIOUSLY the most basic-level ridiculous questions ever. I felt like the girl on TV who asks her boyfriend how much a touchdown is worth during the Super Bowl. But he answered my questions and explained everything pretty well without any condescension. By the second game of the match I was just as into the battle as everyone else.

Honestly, that's the vibe I got from the entire convention. People went around wearing whatever they wanted to, even some of the craziest costumes you'd ever see, but there was still this overwhelming feeling of equality. I mean, even people who were going around in wheelchairs and everything just flowed through the convention, and everyone was really happy to be around other people who spoke the same jargon as they did. It was a really strong, stereotype-breaking experience.


Though she looks like she's going to insta-kill you, she's probably pretty nice. Maybe even buy-you-a-cookie nice.

Frankly, I'd go again in a heartbeat. I had a great time, and I'm glad I was in California to witness it. Gotta say, being out here is giving me a lot of opportunities...it's so hard to figure this all out, lol. I love being able to go to things like this, but I don't know if they have many conventions back home... I'd love to just travel to them all and cover them for news articles and stuff. In the meantime, I'm just living it up however I can! Right now it's all about optimism! :)