Games Convention 08
The Leipzig Games Convention in Germany took place from 21 August 2008 to 24 August 2008. CnCSaga was invited to take part in this world-renowned event as a press website, by Electronic Arts France on behalf of Tchutch, and by Electronic Arts Switzerland on behalf of Zéphyr. This was Zéphyr’s first time travelling to such an event, unlike Tchutch, who had been invited in 2006.
Thursday evening:
Tchutch set off from Strasbourg and arrived in Leipzig in time to meet up and be ready for Friday.
Friday:
As Tchutch was already there, he took a look around the venue whilst waiting for Zéphyr, who was due to arrive at 3.30 pm at the Leipziger Hauptbahnhof (Leipzig Central Station). He took the opportunity to chat with Grégory Queste, Community Manager at EA France, and Aaron Kaufman.
From that point on, things really picked up pace, with meetings with the EA Community Team (EA Deutschland), the EALA team present at the venue, and Raphaël, our colleague from Time of War. Zéphyr, meanwhile, had an appointment with Ms Kind, Director of EA Switzerland, to obtain his VIP Press passes, which allowed him to move around the exhibition and the Press Centre so that he could arrange an interview with Amer Ajami and Aaron Kaufman later in the trip. Meanwhile, Tchutch was getting ready to film the AR3 trailer, which was due to be previewed for the first time at the EA stand. Then later, around 5.30 pm, the Battlecast Primetime, presented by Raj Joshi and David Silverman, was due to be broadcast live. They began their presentation, which Tchutch was filming whilst Zéphyr watched from behind Aaron Kaufman, the Command and Conquer Community Manager, who was acting as a cameraman, capturing the programme in a ‘wider format’ as it was being broadcast on the camera’s screen. Chris Corry, one of the producers, took the floor during the Battlecast to explain what AR3 would feature.
By the end of the Battlecast Primetime, there wasn’t much left for us to do; everything had been recorded, so we went to say goodbye to Raj, David and Aaron, and we decided to go out for dinner with the Community Team at a restaurant before ending up in a pub later in the evening and then heading back to the hotel to prepare for the next day.
Saturday:
Another morning; we arrived on set at 10 am after getting ready. It was then, after saying goodbye to our colleague from Time of War, that we were due to film the Pilot for Battlecast Primetime France. A little anecdote, by the way: we had to do it nine times over, because between Zéphyr’s stumbles and the sound of car horns and other people walking in front of the camera, it was brilliant! Anyway, after that, Tchutch decided to head off with his camera to show the BCPTFR what the Leipzig Games Convention would be like. Later, there was the Community Question and Answer session in the Community Team Lounge, where Chris Corry answered questions from the Community Leaders (fan-site administrators). And it was there, during a reply to a question from Muyang Li, that we learnt that the EALA studio was going to adopt a new name – one that would be different from Westwood.
The day drew to a close after this hour and a half of discussion.
Saturday evening was, shall we say, quite epic. Tchutch and Zéphyr were invited to this event, where EALA and EADE (as they were the organisers) were present, with food and drink on offer; in fact, that’s where we filmed some reactions for the CnCSaga anniversary. The evening ended on a high note.
Sunday was departure day; Tchutch and Zéphyr set off together early in the morning at 10.55 am, before parting ways in Frankfurt at around 1 pm. Tchutch arrived in Strasbourg at 6.00 pm and Zéphyr in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, at 9.00 pm.
It was a brilliant trip – fun, with some fascinating people – and one we’ll definitely be repeating next year when they announce C&C 4!
