With the Cataclysm World Events now starting to kick up some dust, it seems a little late to talk about the Blizzcon that was.  Kind of yesterday’s news, so to speak.

I agree.  But I’m going to do it anyway.  Trust me, it won’t take long.

From what I’d heard from prior attendees, the Opening Ceremony was where the big announcements tended to happen.  This year, people were expecting to hear about Diablo 3’s release date.  Maybe the new MMO that Blizzard is working on (mark my words – RIFTS is going to be it) would be the big news.  Instead we got two things of passable interest –

The fifth and final Diablo 3 class:  The Demon Hunter.  No relase date, four years later, just Blizzard telling us “Hey we finally got around to finishing off the classes!”

Secondly, we were treated to Chris Metzen’s trip down memory lane (aka How am I going to kill fifteen minutes of the Opening Ceremony because I have nothing to talk about?)

If this seems less than thrilling, you’re right.  That’s what Blizzcon was – a series of disappointment.  Jesus, just thinking about it is clipping my desire to even finish this post.  In fact, it has.  Bullet points for the win!

• The Q&A panels were a joke.  Check them out on Youtube if you haven’t seen them yet.  Any World of Warcraft Q&A resulted with the same answers:  “We’re looking into it,” or “We can’t say at this time.”
• I’m sure they’ve done the Costume Contests before.  But from what I saw, and what I heard from participants, that thing was so piss-poorly organized it was a miracle nobody got hurt.  Polished ramps, spiral staircases, poor lighting backstage, no idea where to film the contestants when they came out on stage… what a gong show.
• Gong show?  Oh wait, that would be the Dance Contest.  They shoved groups out as per the racial dance they were planning to do (RACISM!), but then gave the contestants no instruction as to what they were supposed to do once they got out there.  It could have gone smoother if someone had explained how the contest would go before sending folks onto the stage and expecting Kat Hunter or Jay Mohr to set them straight.
• Helpful Tip:  When a guy falls down and claims that his leg is broken, DO NOT GRAB HIS FUCKING LEG TO CARRY HIM OFF THE STAGE!

• Jay Mohr:  I don’t believe for a second that he plays WoW, or any Blizzard game for that matter.  In fact, I question whether he owns any gaming system at all.  However, whoever wrote those jokes for him and handed him a stack of papers to read off of needs to be shot.  I know the papers wasn’t his idea, because the man is a professional comic.  No comic would go on stage with a mound paper like that, unless he was planning to work it as a prop.  Mohr wasn’t.  He struggled with it and, unless he was trying to look like an ass, he knows better.  That being said, I’m not going to crucify the man.  He was funny at times, adequate as a host.  People bust his chops for not being a gamer.  I don’t want a fanboy hosting.  I want a professional.  Jay Mohr would be fine if he was allowed to just come out and be funny.  He doesn’t have to pander to the crowd, just respect them enough not to openly insult their nerdish intelligence.
• The Guild meetup was great.  Nothing like overtaking an entire bar with your own people.
• Attended the Twisted Nether meetup on Friday night.  Thanked Hydra once again for the chance to buy my Blizzcon ticket.  Got a chance to hang out with Kenjioba and the Rawrcast crew for the evening, which was the highlight of my Blizzcon experience by far.  Happy Birthday Pig!

So that was it, Blizzcon in a nutshell.  For all my complaining, would I go again?  I thought about that very question.  My main reason to go to Blizzcon was to hopefully embrace the social aspect of the game, and meet some quality people.  I think I did that.  So would I go next year?  Only if the right people were going to be there… probably.  In fact, I’m already starting to save up so that next time, I get a hotel closer to the Convention Center.  Walking 6-8 miles a day leaves much to be desired.  Even for an Uberman like me.

This is Herculano, still basking in the post Blizzcon glow.  Oh yeah, kill Elementals something something Cataclysm.