Quakecon 2008: It's a Wrap!

So Quakecon is over. I know I promised more updates while things were still going on. But I gotta say, being with 3000 gamers, some friends I knew from before, a few new friends I got to know pretty well, you guys get the short end of the stick ;). I had a ton of fun, and work seems a lot more like.. well, *work* now that I'm back ;P

View from the back

Getting ready to shoot

Intel trailer

My one regret for this years Quakecon, is missing the keynote speech from Carmack. Getting stuck in the line-up for BYOC, and after 2 hours, hearing “The keynote will be in 10 minutes”. There were more “boo’s” in that line than any bad call from a ref in any sports game.

That keynote didn’t really surprise anyone who has been paying attention to id Software at all, more info about the next game / engine being developed. RAGE, to me doesn’t look that different graphics wise from Doom III and Quake 4. The game is much brighter, and doesn’t seem to have any “spooky” moments like Doom would.

Lego case

wtf 40"!

New in box even!

The latest Wolfenstein looks like it should be familiar to people who played the last game, better graphics, lots of nazi’s, lots of guns. Not really going to be a shock if it becomes a success.

something new

ATI's Ruby

More N.B.B's

Quakelive. It’s a browser plugin that is mostly just a new way to deploy Quake3, still the most popular id Software game hands down, especially at Quakecon. I was kind of leery at first when I heard about Quakelive, but I gave it an honest shot, and I warmed up to it a bit.

Kingston's all smiles

Case ad

Yes, apples

It’s still in beta, and you can tell when you look at the browser menu’s, some things like map filters aren’t there yet. But it only takes a few minutes to get into the tutorial game. It was one of the more popular games at Quakecon, and I started to see why. The only real requirements are a computer and Firefox, it’s free, and there is no difference from the regular Arena Quake III for the fast paced gameplay.

Twins even

Showing off his mod

lit up

The Venders area was a lot smaller than the last Quakecon I attended in 2k5, I don’t really know the reason why. The big Intel/Dell/Alienware trailer always had a lot of attention, tournaments and giveaways. AMD/ATI took up the largest area, with gaming stations on all 4 corners, and a small stage in the middle.

damn!

Lights

more lights

Most of the other venders were mostly small booths with a few displays, some only had a table with 2 or 3 people handing out information and swag. Of all the swag, I’m going to have to give Kingston top prize for their super bouncy ball that lights up when you hit it.

New at Quakecon, at least to me. Were the "Booth Babes". ATI had their girls who where Rose look-alikes, then Wolfenstein had their "Nazi Booth Babes" (N.B.B's). I have my doubts if they did anything for either ATI or Wolfenstein, but they had their photo's taken more than anyone else other than Carmack.

Tourny area

Bawls Lamp!

X2

BYOC, it was large, it was fun, and it was way too short! Every kind of system, every kind of gamer and every kind of game. Some crazy nutjobs were bringing 40 inch LCD TV’s to use as monitors, some people just brought a 12” laptop and squinted away.

mmm bbq

Probably hot as one too.

Wonder whats on his mind?

While the number of custom modded cases might have been smaller than I expected, there were a few gems to be found. The BBQ case was a big hit with everyone, ton of work must have gone into that monster.

 

Please don't ask

Your head would explode

Oh and... Ya... just don't ask. Really. Don't ask :(

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