E3

I just got back from E3 in LA, and it was really awesome.

The theme for 2015 games is "multiplayer cooperation". Pretty awesome, especially since Cyber Heist fits right into that mix. I'm really glad that games are trending in this direction, because video games have a much greater potential to bring people together in positive ways than what is currently being met.

One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with Andrew Witts, former team member of HackNHide. Andrew is now one of the lead designers on Rainbow Six: Siege, which looks quite excellent. Destructible walls and environments, hostage control, all kinds of good stuff that makes it seem like it'll be a really stellar game. Andrew apparently fought hard for the destructible environment, which is what seems to make the game stand out from other games of the same genre. It's really good to see team members succeed, and Andrew is really taking that to the next level.

The purpose of my trip was to help promote Vinyl, another game from our cohort in the Entertainment Arts and Engineering program. Vinyl was chosen to compete in the college-level design competition, and got a spot on the floor at E3 for people to come by and see the game. We were floored by how much positive response we got, and how many people not only came by to play the game, but gave us incredible feedback and really liked it. Vinyl didn't end up winning the competition, but the experience was definitely worth it and I anticipate future EAE teams competing as well.