From the Hilt(on)

Another day, another press event, and another Hilton Hotel it seems. These shindigs, whether they be for previews , reviews, showcases etc… will often be held in random Hotels or Bars around London. It’s one of my favourite bits about going to these things, actually – simply discovering all these weird and wonderful location around London. The more I go, the more I map out the place as well, as it’s probably a handy skill to be able to navigate at least the main parts by foot.

I’ve visited London several times while growing up of course, but I never properly explored the place, you know? Not sure why that was… it wasn’t too much of a trek to get to, but we just never felt like going. Same with the beach down in Brighton, actually – that wasn’t that out of the way and we never went there much either.

Forgive me If I seem to be rubbing this in or anything, but I just found it amusing how, barely a week after getting back from New York (where I stayed in a Hilton), I go to a press event that’s also held in a Hilton. I got to stay the night as well… maybe I should start ‘collecting’ Hilton visits. You could argue that the Hilton is a chain, and so the fact that I ended up in one isn’t exactly rare or anything – but I don’t remember ever going to one in the two and half years I’ve been doing this before, and I find coincidences like these amusing.

Can’t tell you what the game was that I saw, mind. Embargoes and all that. It was interesting though… more interesting than I thought it would be, and the perfect personification of dick-swinging.

Until next time.

Word Docs are Taking Over My Life

I know, I know. I’ve been back since Sunday, I’ve been tweeting, the photos have already gone on Facebook… I should have posted something by now. If not about America, then just about something, anything. I’M SORRY. DON’T HURT ME!

But as  I said, all the way back at the beginning, I was never going to force myself to post. That’s where I went wrong last time – you force yourself to post, things get messy, you start to resent it, and it either comes through as crap writing or you just run away and pretend you don’t have a blog. I like it here, I like you guys (except you, Marco) and so I want to keep this up.

Problem is, the price of an all expenses-paid trip to New York is that I now have content coming out of my ears. Not to mention the several events I went to before NYC, as well as several new developments that occurred once I got back. Between round-up, previews, interviews, transcriptions, embargoes…. shit got real, basically. I’m probably going to have my keyboard glued to my hands for the next couple of days. I’ll try and get some stuff up, but again no promises.

Hmm, linking to my old blog made me go through some of my posts from back then. Man I was so up myself. In the mean time, enjoy a selection of photos from New York (if you can’t see them on Facebook).

Until Next Time.

Quick Note

So, last day… I would update you guys more as to what I’ve been up too and everything, unfortunately we have to check out soon as I’m not sure when I’ll next have access to the internet. Catching a flight this evening around 5, and going to wind up back in the UK about 8 in the morning Sunday.

Things to ponder whilst you wait:

• Steak Gorgonzola is amazing.
• Baileys Coffee in a wine glass, with a dessert spoon, is also amazing.
• Waging a stealth war against the waiters is priceless.
• Vickie Natale is a bit of alright.
• Oh yeah, I saw some videogames didn’t I? Yeah, they were ok too I guess…

 

I’ve never been this far away from home…

… which is a lie, actually. I’ve been to America twice before in my life – once to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and once to Indiana, both of which are ‘further’ away from home than New York. I just wanted to use that Kaiser Chief song for a title. Still, I almost don’t count my previous two trips to the US. In Indiana I was just visiting family, and the California trip I was like, 12? 13? Couldn’t really enjoy the finer points of the place, so this marks my first trip to America as an adult.

I’m here for the next few days to see Paradox Interactive, a Swedish-based videogames publisher who specialise in niche PC titles, mainly strategy. They’re holding their annual conference, and as a change of venue from Stockholm they decided to go to New York instead – result! Had to get an early flight from London Heathrow to Dublin, and then from there to New York so I’ve been traveling/in transit for most of the day.

Almost ended before it started mind… we traveled in a group, and one of our number lost his boarding pass and the muppets at Heathrow kept sending him here there and everywhere. Ended up him and the PR guy in charge not getting on the flight and having to wait for the second one, whilst the rest of us went on ahead. I also had this kid behind me on the plane to New York who I actually wanted to punch in the face, he was so bratty. The fact that he had an American accent just made it even worse!

Anyway… not sure how much you’ll see me over the next couple of days. I’ve got to actually cover the event and write up content for Strategy Informer, as well as socialise and generally have fun. Hopefully I’ll have some interesting stories to tell when I get back.

Oh, and seriously: BEST. HOTEL ROOM. EVER. I mean this place even has a sofa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time.

Coming to you live from…

… my new laptop!

It arrived on Friday morning, and I spent most of the day fiddling with it and getting it set up. It’s pretty sweet, I have to say. Not the colour I would have chosen, and the lack of a removable battery means that when the current one inevitably wears out, getting a replacement is going to be a bit of a pain. One of the reasons my old one lasted so long was because I was able to replace the battery relatively easily, even with the cost.

The real test is going to be this coming week though. Got a very active time ahead of me, so apologies if not many blogs actually go up, I’ll try and keep up. It’s much lighter than my old laptop though, so carrying it around is going to be easier – I’ve got two events coming up on Monday and Tuesday, so I’ll test out how good it is being carried around then.

On Wednesday morning, I go to New York! Very excited about this trip – never been there before and it’s going to see a publisher who’s games I like, so all in all not a bad way to start the year off. Paradox Interactive is a company that hails from Sweden, and primarily deals with niche PC titles, although they’re starting to experiment in more the console space. They’re mainly known for their more hardcore strategy titles, like Europa Universalis, Victoria and Hearts of Iron.

Just a short one today, mainly just testing what it’s like to type from here (not bad, considering). Going to be a very busy week I think!

Until next time.