Yes!  That is the best line from Telltale’s nifty new video installment of Playing Dead.  Never fear though, this peek behind the curtain offers even greater insight into life behind the scenes of The Walking Dead video game series.  The fourth installment of the web series interviews lead designers Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin.  This duo delves into daily chaos involved in making the first Episode “A New Day” and gives fans a sneak peek of what players can expect from the second episode entitled “Starved For Help!”  They explain the critical importance of dialog choices in the game and how it may affect the player’s final outcome in the series.  They hope to make player choices tougher.  This is a world thrown into impossible choices.  The designers explain that there are no good choices.  the player is forced to choose from several bad choices.  The designers admit to tracking these choices and using player choices as well as forum feedback on the game when creating new episodes.  This is good news for those who loved the premiere episode.

SPOILER ALERT!  I will warn those unlucky enough not to have played the first episode.  Oh yes I believe the shouty caps are warranted because several key dialog choices are revealed in the video.

Six million and climbing may also serve to explain the glut of day one issues plaguing the service, as well. Diablo III has been playable for far, far too long (evidenced by my Barbarian, level 52 as of this writing). There have been occasional glitches in the system (currently I’m waiting for 40,000 gold worth of auction house items to reappear from the ether) and outages, but overall things are running relatively smoothly in the game’s first week of play.

It wasn’t exactly news that Diablo 3 was going to sell well, but six million sales puts this game into a whole new position. That market should prove very interesting when the cash auction house hits. The current expectation for that launch is the May 29, though current auction house issues may push that back further. Regardless of this, Diablo III has definitely proven the isometric clickfest that Blizzard likes to make isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Maybe get some ice packs for your index finger.

Earlier today, Capcom unveiled its plans to celebrate the Street Fighter milestone by showing off the limited edition Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set, which will be available in North America on September 18th for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Created as a celebration of the franchise and a tribute to its fans (as well as a way for Capcom to earn a few extra bucks), the limited edition set is individually numbered and bursting at the seams with Street Fighter games, video, art, music, and exclusive collectibles. The items are housed in a specially created chest complete with a certificate of authenticity.

The limited edition Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set includes:

• Past and Present Street Fighter Games – Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (with all costume DLC), and Street Fighter X Tekken (including all character and Swap Costume DLC) are included in the set, playable on PS3 or Xbox 360.
• Exclusive Video – The two-disc Blu-Ray set includes a documentary that highlights the profound influence the franchise has had on fans – and vice versa – throughout the years. The collection of videos also includes Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV anime movies, as well as all episodes of the Street Fighter animated series and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.
• Light-up Ryu Statue – A specially commissioned and highly-detailed collectable Ryu statue stands prominently at 8” tall and features the iconic character in mid-Shoryuken, with flames lit from below.
• 11-Disc Soundtrack – Street Fighter game music spanning the past 25 years, in addition to remixes and fan-created music inspired by past Street Fighter games .
• 64-page Hardcover Art Book – A tribute to Street Fighter game fans from all over the world, the art book includes fan pieces submitted by professional and aspiring artists alike.
• Ryu’s Belt – Created to regulation specs, the full-size martial arts black belt is a replica of the one Ryu wears and even includes his classic “Fūrinkazan” in kanji.
• Certificate of Authenticity – Each Collector’s Set comes individually numbered complete with a certificate of authenticity.

The Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set carries an MSRP of $149.99.

And finally, to keep the celebration going, a new Street Fighter 25th Anniversary website will also be created, allowing fans to share their stories of how the Street Fighter series has influenced their lives. The site will host all the details of the year-long anniversary celebration, including how to register for a special series of tournaments Capcom is organizing throughout the year in locations across the globe that will include over $500,000 worth of cash, non-cash prizing, and amenities. This high-stakes tournament series will culminate in a grand finals event held in San Francisco on December 8, 2012. The new website will be released soon and will be located at: http://www.streetfighter.com/sf25

“While our games portfolio continues to grow across many different genres of online gaming, the addition of Bullet Run brings an entirely new level of entertainment to the gameplay experience for both the free-to-play community and fans of first-person shooters,” said Christopher Sturr, Executive Director of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, Sony Online Entertainment. “The game promises a high energy persistent combat experience that few FPS games have obtained, while also lowering the barriers of entry for more casual players looking for a unique gaming experience.”

Bullet Run is a team-based shooter that pits groups against one another in the ultimate reality television show, where contestants live and die for great ratings (literally). Performance is everything on when the cameras are rolling. It’s not enough to just kill your opponents, you’ve got to do it with style, panache, and a touch of flair if you have any hopes of staying in the spotlight. Luckily, in the world of Bullet Run, death is simply a minor setback, as “Synth” technology allows contestants to simply reincarnate in a new body, and jump right back into the action.

Of course, if you’re going to take center stage, you’ve got to look your best. According to SOE, Bullet Run will feature an array of customization options which will allow players to create unique looks for their characters and ensure the style system spotlight is on them. With six different “Synth Arenas”, ranging from oil rigs and jungles to abandoned shanty towns, the game focuses on individual character and weapon advancement and progression. Through their showmanship, players will have the opportunity to unlock (or simply purchase) new weapons, weapon modifications and attachments, wardrobe items, accessories, and custom weapon decals, all contributing to thousands of possible unique character combinations.

“We are excited to bring players what we think will be the best FPS experience in the PC free-to-play market,” said Andre Herbst, Founding Partner and Marketing Director, ACONY. “We designed Bullet Run with the same quality and attention to detail as a AAA retail product but focused on making it a great game experience for a full range of players regardless of their skill level.”

“We believe the sexier, media-driven storyline sets it apart from other FPS games and will continue to attract new players who might be tired of the same military shooters,” added Frank Trigub, Founding Partner, ACONY.

Bullet Run is on track for release on PC later this summer, but if you’re itching to tune in to the Bullet Run reality show, potential “contestants” can find out more information and register for the beta at the game’s official website.

In addition to the “Death Strikes” trailer, we have also been treated to a “Darksiders II Behind The Mask: Death’s Story” video which includes a recap of Darksiders and a look forward at what obstacles Death will have to face in the upcoming game. Will you be ready when Death comes for you on August 14, 2012? For a hands-on preview of Darksiders II and to see the rest of our coverage, go here.

The new Fruit Ninja content update will include:

*Gutsu and Truffles: These two traveling merchants, friends, and business partners have set up shop in the Fruit Ninja dojo.  Gutsu’s Cart has been added to the menu offering players access to their wares.  Click this link if you would like to watch their debut in an adorable animated short created by Halfbrick and the People’s Republic of Animation.

*Powerups:  A visit to the afore mentioned Gutsu’s Cart will offer three new items to purchase. Berry Blast will bring some juicy explosions to your game, Peachy Time gives you more time to play, and Bomb Deflects will help you deflect those annoying little bombs.  Powerups can be purchased by spending your Starfruit, which you can earn at the end of every game based on your ninja skills.

The folks at Halfbrick are currently running all over Australia promoting the new update and handing out free download codes.  Before you rush off to hop on the next plane to Australia to get your free code, try this link instead.  You can check out all the new features of the update and get a FREE download code for Fruit Ninja on the App store.  There are limited quantities available, and if you already have the game you can surprise someone you love by passing the code on to them.

For more information about Halfbrick, visit Halfbrick.com and for more details on Fruit Ninja, check out their fruitastic Facebook page.  You can pick up Fruit Ninja through the iTunes App Store for $0.99. or for the iPad for $2.99.

Happy slicing everyone!

This week Chris and Kelly discuss Superheroes, the movies, the video games, and one of us gets a little confused as to what makes a superhero. Also we dive into the Diablo III launch and the recent problems with 38 Studios in Rhode Island. All this and more in episode 255 of The Married Gamers podcast.

Check out The Married Gamers Facebook Fan Page or if you have a comment, send it to us at mailbag@themarriedgamers.net.

The Married Gamers app is available on iTunes and Amazon for $1.99

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There is also a nice little tutorial.  I am more of a play-to-learn kind of guy, so I’m excited to sink my teeth in and see how the mechanics will play out.  They seem pretty basic with a nice Persona-esque twist.

Now, the place where fighting games so often break down is in the story.  But I have full faith in Atlus and the teams behind their games that they may be the ones to create an interesting and coherent fighting game story.  From the synopsis, the story seems to follow the events of Persona 4 directly one year after, where the TV world is a-buzzing again.  So now the old investigation team has to go in and find Teddie, with the help of some new friends apparently.  We know 3 and 4 are related some how (Even in Persona 4 you visit the highs chool from Persona 3) but how these teams actually meet up will be interesting.  I don’t have too high of hopes for the story (as it is still a fighter) but trust Atlus enough to at least make it worth while.

Anyway, I’m rootin’ for you Atlus!  Give us another gem!

If the Tom Clancy brand represents anything, it is the willingness to evolve with the times. In his fiction, we’ve seen the focus swing from the 80′s Cold War to the modern day war on terror. In his latest novels Jack Ryan, Jr. is having his own adventures while dad is running for president. We’ve seen the Clancy-verse expand into strategy board games, submarine simulator computer games and more recently, shooters on consoles.

The latest entry is Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, yet another military-themed shooter that can serve as the poster boy for evolution. Starting as an off-shoot of the then-uber-tactical Rainbow Six, Clancy’s 2001 Army shooter sported multiple fire teams, squad commands and a more deliberate and slower pacing compared to mainstream shooters of the day. Fast forward to 2004′s Ghost Recon 2 and we see the series become more action-oriented in order to be more appealing to a wider audience, a stage of evolution that hardcore Clancy fans roll their tactical eyes at. After all, Rainbow Six was arguably the first popular pioneer of the tactical shooter, a game type that Ghost Recon was built for.

Fast forward to 2012 and we see fast-paced shooters like Modern Warfare and Battlefield dominate the space, obliterating any other competitor in terms of sales and popularity. With release fast approaching, does Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier have a place in a genre top-heavy with cinematic experiences and frenetically paced, summer blockbuster action?

One problem that the franchise itself faces is its waning mindshare. It’s been four years since Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and five years since Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2. That’s a long time to be absent from a sub genre that’s already fairly niche.

Luckily, it looks like Ubisoft is firing on all cylinders with its online ads and behind-the-scenes videos meted out strategically throughout two or three months ahead of launch. With a fantastically-made twenty five minute live action short that serves as a prequel to the game, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier seems to be hitting all the right marks and ticking all the right boxes on the successful shooter checklist.

Another challenge the game faces is its competition. High action is a staple of Modern Warfare 3 while team-based motivation is the forte of Battlefield 3. With those two big games going strong, why should anyone pick up Future Soldier?

If the beta from last month is any indication, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier retains its own signature style of gameplay. Not only does it promise a team-oriented campaign and multiplayer experience, it also showcases prototype military tech that soldiers of tomorrow may be using.  From its sophisticated cross comm augmented reality to the scout’s active camouflage, the game comes close to crossing into science fiction territory.

At the same time, the game continues the franchise’s effort to appeal to more gamers. Most notably, the pacing is a touch faster than previous incarnations. But, in the same way the Tom Clancy brand has always tried to change with the times, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is also becoming more than what its predecessors were. Partially building on Terrorist Hunt and borrowing a bit from Gears of War, Future Solider will have its own Horde mode with a Clancy makeover, called Guerilla mode. The game also expands on the mark-and-execute mechanic from Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction to evolve it into coordinated enemy takedowns.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon certainly has come a long way since its decade old roots. Whether the changes are for better or for worse, we will get to decide very soon.  Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will be ready for deployment on May 22, 2012.

But what does this event mean for those of us who are actually in the games industry, especially for us small indie studios? I butter my bread every morning thanks to the money I make slaving away on video games, which means this event has an entirely different meaning for those of us who actually produces the entertainment. To an outsider or a gamer, E3 is like Disneyland, if Disneyland was a 720,000 square foot arcade. Everyone wants to be there, and everyone who knows someone going is jealous.

Of course, E3 is not really about the media frenzy. It’s not about the giant booths and the coverage. Technically, it’s not even about the consumer or gamers. It’s about business… Only business doesn’t make for good media coverage, unless you like watching CNN.

Today I am going to pull back the curtain and reveal what goes on at E3 that the news does not talk about. And I’m going to do this by talking about what E3 means to an indie studio, and how to prepare for and make E3 a success for you. But to do this, I need some sort of a comparison… Something that is so similar to E3, that we can without question use it as an example….

That’ll work.

I present to you… Indie’s Inferno: The Nine Circles of E3.

Circle 1 – Limbo (Sort of but not really knowing what E3 is)

I have heard many people speculate what E3 is, including….

“It’s a conference for game consoles.”

“Going there is only worth it if you are in the media.”

“E3 is a waste of time. All you do is walk around and look at what all the big corporations are showing off.”

“OH. MY. GOD. E3!?!!!!??? That’s only the coolest event EVER! I would give ALL MY HAIR FOLLICLES just to be in the same CITY as it!”

And you know what? All of those are wrong. Wrong like banging your sister. And that’s REALLY wrong.

Let’s pull back the curtain a bit and look at E3 for what it really is. E3 is a time when tens of thousands of game industry professionals assemble in the same location for three full days. This assembly is done in the form of a gigantic convention center, where the large companies are able to show their stuff to the media. But those giant booths house a hidden purpose – almost all of them contain office rooms, which are used to meet with contractors, executives, and game industry business partners, large and small.

Circle 2 – Lust (All the reasons you should want to go)

E3 is a business event. E3 is a networking event. E3 is your opportunity – possibly your one big opportunity of the year – to meet and connect with like-minded businesses. Indie business owners – this is your chance to meet your clients face to face, talk with publishers, distributors and marketing partners. I personally made contacts with major corporations all thanks to attending E3. Of course, just going isn’t enough – be prepared to step up to the plate and say hello. Only in this case, the plate is the reception desk of each booth. Oh yes, each of those giant media frenzy booths with hidden office rooms? They also always have reception desks for you to check in to your meetings.

Circle 3 – Gluttony (What you will get from going to E3)

As we have clearly stated, E3 is about the business. And you attending will help to improve your business. But what are you actually going to get from E3 to boost your business? Just so happens I’ve got a list right here.

• Meet your clients face to face, most often for the first time
• Connect with publishers and demonstrate your game to them in person
• Connect with investors and meet them face to face
• Meet new potential clients, business partners and more – all face to face.
• Get the low-down on what is happening in your industry, and get it immediately. You’ll have the opportunity to jump on things before anyone else – because you are there, and so are the opportunities.

Circle 4 – Greed (Preparing for E3. Yes, Greed. It makes sense, just read…)

Preparing for E3 is like preparing for a vacation, if the vacation was in the Death Star and they had fixed that whole ventilation problem. The key here, as a business-human, is that you are spending a chunk of change to travel, stay and survive while in LA. You should technically be seeking to make that money back through events that occur at E3. That money may not be made up this year – but if you are planting the right seeds, your beanstalk will start to grow.

I start preparing for E3 in December. Early as frosted balls? You bet it is. But in December, I have a pretty good sense of what internal projects my company will be ready to show off and discuss by June of the following year. That tells me what we will want to focus on, and helps to assemble a set of milestones to make sure those projects are show-worthy before June.

With projects in production, my next major E3 prep time is about two months in advance.  Starting April 1st, I will spend the next 20 days researching who I will want to meet with at E3. Which publishers might be interested in our games? What companies would make good marketing partners, or would be good for cross-promotional opportunities? What individuals do I want to meet with?

By the end of April, I’ll have a long list of desired contacts. Starting around May 1st, the emails begin, contacting everyone on that list. I say hello, see if they are going to E3 and ask how their schedule looks during the convention to meet. Depending who I’m contacting, I may go into some detail, too – like saying I believe we have a great cross-promotion opportunity.

You may be sitting there saying, “But I don’t know anyone! And anyone I do want to contact would never listen to me”.

My response to that, in the nicest way possible, is to shut your face and stop over thinking it! How do you know they won’t listen wouldn’t you rather go to E3 and have an amazing surprise meeting with a company, rather than walking the show floor constantly asking yourself, “What if…” I have personally had conversations with many amazing people in this industry’s including a number of celebrities, simply because I asked. Even if the conversation goes nowhere it still took you further than never contacting them in the first place.

So! Moral of Circle 4 – Plan your contacts, contact them, and schedule meetings. Keep a very good calendar – preferably whiteboard for quick glancing – so you don’t double-book. By the time you get to LA, you will find your schedule booked to the gills with meetings, and will be set with many opportunities to make E3 an amazing success.

Lastly, make sure you have a company overview document that says what your company is, what it has done, what it is looking for, and why Mr. Bigshot Investor / Publisher / Client / Movie Studio / Very Well Connected Individual should give a rat’s sphincter about you. This is a document you should be mailing to people in advance of you meeting them – so make it good. It’s what you throw over the wall and hope they notice.

Circle 5 – Anger (Preparing YOURSELF for E3)

You’ve got your seven thousand meetings scheduled, you’ve learned of secret parties each night to go and schmooze at and you’ve got dinner scheduled with Ashton Kutcher for the second day of E3 (good job on that one – told you that you just need to ask!). But E3 is still a month away… what should you prepare next?

Well, how about YOU?

Aside from a business event, E3 is three days of hardcore, epic stress on your body. You will be doing most of the following over the course of the convention…

• Walking
• Getting around 3 – 5 hours of sleep a night. Probably less.
• Walking
• Drinking at Parties (not required, but people will look at you weird if you’re the only one not drinking – and since parties are essentially networking events – be prepared to get your drink on. If you don’t want to drink much, just grab one beer and carefully nurse it throughout the party. At least you’re holding a drink, then.)
• Walking
• Talking almost constantly
• Walking
• Being exposed to germs from around the world
• Walking
• Standing in football field sized rooms with upwards of 40,000 other people. Probably more than that.
• Walking

This means you are going to want to be prepared on a personal level as well. First off, you might be doing a little bit of walking, so be sure you are in shape. Start by going to the gym regularly, start walking long distances, and jogging. Just get yourself moving, and get yourself moving a lot. The last thing you want is to get through the first day of E3 and have your legs give out on the show floor during day two. That tends to look bad in front of executives. Also, train yourself to stand and walk with a straight back. If you hunch, you will look weak. Weakness does not last long in this, or any, industry.

Next, have a nice wardrobe of clothing ready. Being the games industry, yes, pretty much ‘whatever the crap you want to wear is perfectly acceptable’, and that is true for E3 as well. I normally make a game of counting the hair colors I see that don’t exist in nature. Even still, make sure you dress in a way that makes you look confident, professional (game industry professional), powerful, and strong. If you sweat a lot, you will be soaked at E3, so wear something under your clothing to absorb the sweat. You are going to be making hundreds upon hundreds of first-impressions. Make them count.

If you are an introvert, or just don’t do well around large groups, be prepared to take ‘show floor breaks’. There are, surprisingly, incredibly quiet areas outside of the convention center, especially out back. If you look scared of the groups of people, you will start to look weak, which is bad – so mentally prepare yourself for the huge groups of people, find a quiet spot to take your occasional break, and schedule them around how long you know you can manage the groups.

Lastly, I would suggest having some sort of a bag on you. This does not mean a backpack or a fanny-pack. You’re not a hippy; you’re a game industry business person. Unless you are a photographer – then it’s okay, as you will need those kind of bags to hold all your lenses. Otherwise, have something very ‘businesses-ey.’ Don’t bring a briefcase – those take too long to fish through, and just look rather stuffy amongst the game industry crowds. A ‘bag of holding’ of some kind works great. I personally have a sort of over the shoulder business bag I take with me to conventions which allows me to store all my show-floor supplies.

In that bag, there are some very important things you will want to make sure you have with you…

• Mobile tablet device (You’ll want something to show off your games – the big screens of tablets work great for this. You can also then use this to show videos of your products, take quick notes, send emails, and show any documents).
• Breath mints (I shouldn’t need to explain this one).
• Deodorant (I shouldn’t need to explain this one, either).
• Charge cables for your devices.
• Business cards (and bring A LOT. More than you think you will ever need. Better to have more left over, than not have enough and run out.)
• Printouts of your company overview document (So you’ll have a bunch handy for when you meet new people and they want to learn more about you RIGHT NOW! Give them the document, then discuss it with them).
• Pens (When you get business cards, write notes on the back of them. By the time you get home, you won’t remember what every single person said to you unless you’re some sort of a savant. Bring a buttload of pens, and write what people tell you on the back of their own business card – but wait until AFTER you leave their presence, unless they specifically tell you “Write this down…”)
• Have room for a water bottle, and then always keep one or two water bottles in your bag. You’re going to get thirsty. You can always buy more at one of the MANY concessions, or can refill them at water fountains.
• Bring some snack bars in your bag as well. Calorie + protein high bars are the best, as the walking will burn a ton of calories making you hungry quick, so you will need more calories than you are used to, along with the protein to help you stay full and thinking straight. Stay away from candy bars (the sugar will just give you a quick boost and then you’ll crash like an idiot), and get nut-heavy bars. I recommend Mrs. May’s Trio Bars (Google it).
• Some sort of pain analgesic. Tylenol, Aspirin – whatever works best for you. If your legs start to ache or you start to feel sick – pop some immediately. Don’t let yourself look sick, or you won’t be doing you or your business any favors.
• Toothbrushes. I happen to be quite a fan of those disposable, self-contained toothbrushes – the ones with the little dot of toothpaste in the center. Use them after you eat, and pick the crap out of your teeth with the toothpick end. Don’t forget to floss! Food stuck between your teeth can make your breath smell like a Rancor’s butt. Even if you can’t smell it, everyone else can.
• Finally, hand sanitizer. Don’t give me some argument about how manly you are! H1N1 will knock you down like a rag-doll either way. You’re about to be surrounded by people from around the world, and all of them are bringing awesome new germs with them. You sure as hell don’t want to give an executive a new form of The Vomits, and you don’t want them to give it to you. And even outside of handshakes, you’ll be enjoying enough games on the show floor, touching enough game controllers and keyboards and mice (all of which have already been touched by the tens of thousands of other disease carriers) that you’re guaranteed to get something exciting on your hands. Sanitize!  (And for the record, H1N1 is actually an airborne pathogen, so ignore the companies who insist their HAND SANITIZER protects against AIRBORNE PATHOGENS. Doesn’t work.)
• Also, don’t waste your money on anything heavy in Vitamin-C, like those ‘drop in your water’ pills to keep you healthy. There actually has never been any concrete research that Vitamin-C does anything to help your immune system. Now… Zinc? That’s got some solid research behind it. Bring a bag of Zinc candy drops to suck on to help your immune system.

Circle 6 – Heresy (Traveling to E3)

You’ve got your man (or woman) sack full of all the necessities. You’ve kissed your wife / husband / significant other / dog / cats / creepy dead mother in the attic goodbye, and are officially on your way to the convention. Confetti rains from the sky, the caffeine soars through your veins, and it’s dark as pitch out there since you got the red eye flight (not a bad thing!). Depending where you live, your airport could be more crowded than usual due to the convention. If you are traveling from somewhere like Tennessee, you probably won’t see any extra crowds.  However if you live in Texas, your airport will probably be bustling with E3 attendees, all trying to get there on or ahead of time.

Since this write-up isn’t about ‘how to survive an airplane trip’, let’s jump straight down to when you actually get there. The one tip I will add here, however, is to get there in advance. Arrive on the Monday morning or even sometime over the weekend. Chances are, you will end up with meetings on the Monday anyway – a whole day before E3 begins. Even if you don’t have meetings on Monday, you at least will be able to get yourself situated in LA and figure out where everything is in advance.

Once arriving in LA, get settled in your hotel room, then plan to scope out the convention center, especially if you have never been there before. The LA Convention Center is 720,000 square feet of walking. The building itself is gorgeous, and is nestled comfortably next to LA Live – a large lifestyle district.

Take a walk around LA Live. It is filled with shops, restaurants and – of course – a Starbucks (maybe 12, not entirely sure…). If you haven’t picked meeting spots for all your meetings yet, scope out restaurants and meeting locations. Go inside the lobbies of the hotels. There are NUMEROUS meeting spots available – but if you are planning to meet at a restaurant, GET RESERVATIONS RIGHT NOW. You’ll look like a fool if you invite your meeting to the restaurant, and they have no space available.

E3 allows you to pick up your badges up to 2 days in advance. At the time of the writing of this article, badge pickup is located outside the South and West halls of the LA Convention Center. You can pick up your badges in advance on Sunday, June 3^rd between 1pm and 6pm, or on Monday, June 4^th between 8am and 6pm. Badges can also be picked up the days of the show – but you want to get a head start and be ready in advance, so grab that badge on Sunday or Monday.

The convention center itself will also most likely be open the days in advance, so take some time to walk through it. Stay away from the actual show floors, however. Unless you actually have a ‘Vendor’ badge, security won’t let you onto the show floors – plus the booths are in the middle of construction, making the show floor actually rather dangerous to walk around right now. Providing a door isn’t too busy, security will most likely at least let you peek through the door past them, so you can see what booth construction looks like.

Once you are fully situated, you have acquired your badge, mapped out the convention center in your head, know where you want to meet people at LA Live… go grab a concert ticket for Video Games Live! Then relax. This is probably the last time you will get the chance until Friday, June 8^th. Maybe get to bed early as well. This may be the last chance you get to sleep until Friday, June 8^th.

Circle 7 – Violence (Balancing the Show and Work)

Let’s face it. This is a business convention, but you’re bound to have some free time between meetings. Plus there are so many shiny things in all directions that you just know you need to touch everything in sight. And that’s perfectly okay to do – actually, I recommend it! I mean, you most likely got into this industry because you’re a gamer, right? So go let your inner gamer have some fun! Check out the sights, ogle some booth babes and booth beef, and play some in-production games. If you see a long line, learn what it’s about – you might find yourself playing Deathmatch in a multiplayer game that won’t be released for 5 or 6 months still.

Aside from letting your inner gamer loose, let your business-side also consider what you are seeing. Much of what is on the show floor won’t be released for 3 – 12 months. Now is your chance to get an incredibly solid understanding of what will be trending in the following year. Take note of it.

Circle 8 – Fraud (The Burnout)

It happens to the best of us. You’ve been walking around the show floor, shaking hands, talking, drinking, learning, making connections, hand covered in paper cuts from severe business card injuries. Now, you’ve lost your voice, your legs are aching, your back feels like Thor drummed on it with his hammer, you can feel a fever kicking in and – you just realized it’s only Wednesday morning.  Two full days left to go.

Like that famous book said, “DON’T PANIC.” We’re going to get through this.

Focus on one thing at a time. Let’s start with that fever. It may be a fever, it may not. You may have just exhausted yourself yesterday, had a bit too much to drink, or a mix of both. Or maybe it really is a fever. Either way, grab yourself some medicine first thing – you should have some of this in your bag. Make sure to also drink a lot of water, especially when you first wake up. Technically, your body has been fasting while you were sleeping (which is why breakfast is called breakFAST). It has also become dehydrated due to not having any water while you were sleeping. Drink water, re-hydrate your waking body. All of this will help with your headache. Also – and this may sound weird – open the blinds of your room, and let the sun in. Sunlight helps your body to realize it is time to wake up, and can help somewhat with headaches. Just don’t stare into the gigantic ball of hate in the sky – let its rays tickle your eye sockets indirectly.

Ok. With your headache taken care of, let’s look at those legs. They probably ache. I once got out of bed, and literally collapsed to the floor as I didn’t realize my legs were THAT shot after a single day. Pick yourself back up and sit on the bed. Massage the muscles in your legs. The pain meds you already took for your head will work their way to your legs as well. Make sure you are eating a lot of protein throughout the days, too. Technically, you are giving your legs a serious workout. When you work out muscles, what you are actually doing is tearing the muscle fibers. Your muscles get stronger because when the torn fibers heal, they strengthen and get larger. Your body uses protein to help heal the fibers. So, when you walk around the show floor and don’t get a lot of protein, your muscles take longer to heal, and will start to hurt and ache. I suggest eating a lot of animal protein – steak, chicken, etc. – along with a lot of whey protein, as it takes longer for your body to digest, which will act as a slow-absorption system.

Now, let’s attend to your back. Again, the pain meds will be doing their thing soon enough, but do some stretches. Stand up, touch your toes, do some back bends, etc. This will stretch out the muscles in your back and help them out.

Finally, let’s pay some attention to your lost voice. Drink a lot of fluids – especially water with some lemon. Tea with honey and lemon is very good, as well – not bottled iced tea, but warm tea with lemon and honey. It’s very soothing and will help your throat. That’s about the best thing you can do.

Circle 9 – Treachery (After E3)

The booths have been torn down, and you are collapsed on the bed at your hotel thinking, “Holy CRAP that was a ride!” It probably isn’t even crossing your mind at this point – but what should you do after E3?

First, for the love of God, GO REST. LA is home to some awesome attractions including Disneyland and Universal Studios. If you’ve still got some power in your engines, go enjoy the local attractions and hot-spots and get business off your mind for a few days. You just burned every piece of focus you had to the ground making E3 successful – don’t try and KEEP doing business just yet. Take a little time off.

Now, the following week, when you’re back in your office is when you can focus again and take advantage of everything you got. First things first, everyone you made note to follow up with – do it now. Do those first. Call and email them. Thank them for meeting with you at the show, and schedule follow-up meetings. So much happened that it is easy for leads to go stale. Don’t let them go stale.

After you have gone through the priority contacts, take that humungous sack of business cards you acquired and put them on your desk. Start from the top and work your way to the bottom. For every single one, send an email thanking them for meeting with you during the convention, no matter who they were, how big they were or how small they were. This looks great in business, and keeps you connected. Never know – one of them may want to talk more. And if you want to talk with one of them more – ask in the email to setup a call.

Also, whenever you are trying to setup a call to meet with someone – ALWAYS suggest a time. They’ll say yes, suggest a different time, or just say they are not interested in meeting right now. But if you don’t suggest a time, there will be more back and forth emails to pick a time. Expedite it and look like you got your act together.

And that, my friends, is E3. That is what E3 is really about, that’s what it’s like to go, and that’s how you make E3 successful. And who am I to sit here and write this up like some freaking professional? I’m the CEO of a startup game company that has seen some great success. We were founded in 2009 and since then have done video games for such brands as Power Rangers Samurai and the Discovery Channel’s Wilbur. We have grown from a single person working by himself to a team of people and partners working around the world. And a lot of this comes from attending conferences, learning what to do and what not to do, and how to survive them. And not just E3 – I have attended many conferences, including multiple instances of both GDC and PAX, along with local conferences in my own state of Colorado.

In the end, E3 is as successful as you make it. You have the opportunity to come home with everything you need to keep growing your business. Even if those leads don’t pan out this year – keeping in contact with them will tell you who to meet again with the following year. Always keep business flowing, and never tell yourself you can’t do something or you or your business is “too small or not good enough”. If you own your business, then you ARE your business. Your strength will show as your company’s strength, and what you do at E3 will show as what your company does at E3.

Make it worth it.

(Want to meet with me at E3 this year? Feel free to get ahold of me – dave@ceruleangames.com, or through the E3 Meeting Application).