Team Gaming Update Diary -- E3 Days 0 & 0 + 1

Regular readers here at Gaming Update will be familiar with the extreme efforts that we go to whenever there is a major gaming event to provide coverage for, with our top-notch editors and subeditors dispatching a hand-picked team of skilled news hounds with the support of Interns, and words of encouragement that even under the most stressful of times seem to have the desired effect: "Go out there and get the good stuff, or don't bother showing up at the office next week!"

It has become something of a tradition here at GU to share with you the observations and behind the scenes experiences of the GU Event Team in the form of irregular diary updates published to the site -- so to maintain that tradition, we present to you the Team Gaming Update Unofficial Diary for E3 2011!

E3 Day 0 -- 4th June 2011

The trip to the airport was uneventful; we arrived in plenty of time to run screaming through the terminal, late for our flight thanks to an hour's delay while TSA searched through our bags not once but twice just to be sure, and managed to get to the gate in time to actually board the plane. Whew.

Departing Boston on a shiny new Airbus A320, the GU Team spent most of the flight abusing the in-flight chat system that is part of the video entertainment screens built into the back of each seat, using the tiny QWERTY keyboards on the gamepad-slash-remote controls we found concealed under the arm rests of our chairs to chat with each other and, as the mood struck, with perfect strangers. We can only imagine the surprise when the movie or TV show that they were watching on their screen was interrupted with the announcement that "Mister Wiggles in Seat 3C would like to chat!"

Eschewing the dozen odd video games, 3,000 MP3's, movies, and music videos that were put there to keep us entertained, we figured out how to play an improvised game of Hangman, Name that Smell, and Air Disaster Trivia, the latter being very popular until a flight attendant politely asked us to stop calling out the answers.

When we landed at LAX the nice young woman in charge of the cabin staff began the usual announcements, ending them with "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have." We made sure our notebooks and other like-to-have's were properly in their cases and with us as we exited.

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[b]air-traffic control [air-traf-ik][/b]

-noun

a game played by airline pilots and air traffic controllers. The game has no rules, and neither side knows how it is played, but the goal is to prevent flights from arriving in time for passengers to make connecting flights.

Origin:

1930-35

-- Related forms

air-traffic controller, noun

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Arriving in LA we quickly located the line for the Shuttle Bus and, holding on for dear life as the driver proved that a three-ton van can indeed mimic the moves of an Indy Racer, somehow managed to reach a hotel alive. Note that we said "a hotel" and not "our hotel" because the driver of the Shuttle, eager to get rid of us, dropped us off at the first hotel he could find, quickly driving away and wishing us a great time in LA!

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Inside at the desk they had never heard of Team GU and did not have a reservation for us, so it was back outside and another hour's wait before the dispatcher at the Shuttle Company was able to trick another driver into coming to get us and take us to the proper hotel.

Getting our gear up to the room and unpacking occupied most of the rest of the day, and once that was accomplished we checked out the Briefing that was prepared for us by the Plans and Strategy Group at Gaming Update -- just a short file that was intended to help us get our bearings and provide a bit of background on the event.

As E3 is held in Sunny LA right on the doorstep to Hollywood, the P&S Team felt it would be helpful to provide us with a glossary of common terms and their meanings that we might encounter here at the event, and as it turns out that was an incredibly helpful, useful, and enlightening tool that we share here with you in case you ever end up in LA:

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E3 Glossary

Verbs

to schmooze - befriend scum

to pitch - grovel shamelessly

to brainstorm - feign preparedness

to research - procrastinate indefinitely

to network - spread disinformation

to collaborate - argue incessantly

to freelance - collect unemployment

Nouns

agent - frustrated lawyer

lawyer - frustrated producer

producer - frustrated writer

writer - frustrated director

director - frustrated actor

actor - frustrated human

Compound Words

high-concept - low brow

production value - gore

entry-level - pays nothing

highly qualified - knows the producer

network approved - had made them money

Financial terms

net - something that apparently doesn't exist

gross - John Riccitiello's salary

back-end - you, if you think you'll ever see it

residuals - braces for the kids

deferral - don't hold your breath

points - see "net" or "back-end"

Common phrases

You can trust me - You must be new

It needs some polishing - Change everything

It shows promise - It stinks rotten

It needs some fine tuning - Change everything

I'd like some input - I want total control

It needs some honing - Change everything

Call me back next week - Stay out of my life

It needs some tightening - Change everything

Try and punch it up - I have no idea what I want

It needs some streamlining - Change everything

You'll never work in this town again - I have no power whatsoever.

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The instructions on the briefing were clear -- we should settle into the hotel, fire off emails to verify the last minute appointments that were made for the show, and then head off to dinner at someplace called "Pink's" which is where you are legally required to eat each time you arrive in LA from somewhere else according to the briefing.

The instructions said to walk across the street to Union Station and take the Red Line towards North Hollywood, getting off at the Vermont & Beverly Station, where we were to walk over to Melrose Avenue and catch the bus, getting off at the corner of Melrose and La Brea.

Finding Pink's was not a problem, it is the place near the corner of La Brea and Melrose with the long line outside -- but waiting in that line for the required hour while the enticing aroma of chili wafts over you each time the wind changes direction is near murder!

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Special Note: Our Intern being something of a Coke Fiend somehow tracked down the only Coca Cola Freestyle Machine in the area -- a special Coke Machine that uses Micro-Dispensing Technology that allows it to dispense up to 106 different flavors of soda -- or a limitless number really since you can mix and match the flavors you want at the press of a button using the patented Micro-Dosing Technology that is part of the machine. The touch-screen activated soft drink dispensing device can be found in All About the Bread, which is right around the corner, and according to the Intern, is the greatest single piece of computer technology ever created by man.

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As we stood in line it soon became evident that almost all of the people in line with us were in town for E3, as the conversations we overheard included speculation on which of the big three would announce their new 8th Generation Console, and what the various journo's in the queue thought would be the game to play this season.

One pair nearly came to blows when it was suggested that Brothers in Arms: the Furious Four was little more than a rip-off of Inglorious Bastards... But that sort of thing can happen anywhere, we are just saying.

At the counter we discovered that Pink's claim to fame is (1) their different types of "celebrity hot dog" and (2) the fact that they willingly put chili on pretty much everything that they sell. No kidding!

The walls of the place were covered in tenderly dedicated and signed publicity head-shots and promo photos from every level of star in Hollywood, including Jay Leno, the entire cast of both CSI New York and CSI Miami, Martha Stewart, Chicago (the entire band), Guy Fieri, Will Ferrel, and William Shatner, just to name a few.

While we were in line we saw one of the cast members from the show Entourage exiting with a bag of dogs, and as we were leaving someone in the line pointed out Kiefer Sutherland arriving -- it turns out he is actually a regular there. If you are not in the know, Pink's is something of an LA Institution, having been on that site for over 71 years, where it has always sold hot dogs.

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E3 Day 0 + 1 -- 5th June 2011

The day was mostly spent doing a dry-run to the event site in order to work out the bugs with respect to accessing the site via public transportation if that should become necessary, and since we were already there we stopped by the Media Center and picked up our ID's so that we could fast-track in the following day for the semi-official press events, and on Tuesday when the Big Show officially kicked off.

Cole's vs. Phillipe's

As we were leaving we ran into colleagues we had last seen at PAX East, and spent the better part of an hour exchanging gossip and tips on where to get the best food -- and we learned about an infamous LA eatery rivalry between a restaurant called Cole's Pacific Electric Cafe and Phillipe's -- two old school LA eatery's that each claim to have originated and made famous the "French Dip Sandwich."

Since we were in the area anyway and it was lunch time, we popped into Cole's, which is a short walk from the LA Convention Center. Situated in the ground floor of an old building that must date to the 19th Century, Cole's has a homey feel to it, its walls covered by period decorations that bring to mind the pre-war era of LA (and when we say Pre-War we mean Pre-Spanish American War), and whose centerpiece is a 40-foot-long solid mahogany bar!

Our server sat us in the booth that was the regular spot for the notorious gangster Mickey Cohen when he ate at that establishment, confirming for us that the place has a long and colorful history. On the day that prohibition ended in the USA, he explained, the Cafe went through over 36 full-sized kegs of beer, with the truly interesting though being -- just where did they get that many kegs of beer considering that the stuff was against the law just a few hours before they opened for the day?

The fact that Cole's also happens to be LA's oldest public house (licensed drinking establishment) with an unbroken history of serving quality libations, that tacitly suggests that it may have been one of the best speakeasy's in the city...

We ordered the celebrated French Dip Sandwiches -- a nice sliced lamb dip for the Writer, and a beef dip for the Intern -- which came with a very hot and crispy pile of fries and large pickle spears coated in herbs and seasoning that are identified in the menu as "Atomic Pickles" and that have something of a kick to them!

The sandwiches came in generous portions, and each was served with a large bowl of broth in which you are meant to dip them -- hence the name "French Dip" -- and we did.

A Trip to Phillipe's

That evening we popped into Phillipe's to try out their version of the sandy and get their story -- the restaurant is right down the street from our hotel near LA's Union Station, so it was a no-brainer and an opportunity for the staff of GU to weigh-in on and perhaps settle the question of which is the best, you know, to do our bit to help out the good people of LA as thanks for playing host to us and to E3.

While it is identified outside -- and in most guides -- as Phillipe's, the deli-style restaurant is also known as Philippe The Original and is one of the oldest and best known restaurants in Southern California. Established in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu, who also claimed the distinction of having created the "French Dipped Sandwich," their official website offers a detailed history of that historic event:

"One day in 1918, while making a sandwich, Mathieu inadvertently dropped the sliced french roll into the roasting pan filled with juice still hot from the oven. The patron, a policeman, said he would take the sandwich anyway and returned the next day with some friends asking for more dipped sandwiches."

To maintain a scientific approach to the matter we made it a point to order as near the same thing as we had at Cole's earlier in the day, substituting two packets of crisps for the fries (Phillipe's does not do fries), and adding a slice of cheesecake and a slice of Blueberry Pie for desert.

The primary difference between the

"dip's" is strictly in how the broth is applied to the sandwiches -- at Cole's it came in the form of a cup of broth, while at Phillipe's the carver dipped the pieces of sliced roll upon which the sandwich is built into a pan of broth. Both ways are equally effective at providing a tasty roll softened by broth, and both sandies are incredibly good.

After considerable argument, debate, and finally falling back upon the scientific method, Team Gaming Update arrived at a simple yet logical conclusion -- both Cole's and Phillipe's make the best French Dip Sandwiches in California and, possibly the world, but before we can get back to you on that last bit we are going to have to eat a LOT of sandwiches!

With that experience completed, the Team settled into the final planning session and got ready for the Monday-Before-The-Show, the day that traditionally is used for holding the opening Press Conferences that are meant to unveil all of the really important and new stuff -- just the sort of good stuff that our editors want us covering in other words!