It’s been a busy last few weeks, and it’s getting busier by the day. Tomorrow night though, I’m going to be taking some time out to attend a charity event I’m excited about called Twestival LA. It’s one of many Twestivals happening around the country that’s being organized through Twitter and supports the cause of Charity:Water. You can learn more about the event at http://givewaterla.org/ .
Essentially though, the goal of the charity is to collect donations that will help provide clean water via the construction of wells in underdeveloped countries. If you buy a child a bottle of water, you help them get through the day. If you provide them the means to build a well, you help their entire village for a lifetime.
So if you’re in the LA area tomorrow night and want to hang out, I’ll be at Club 740
I’ll be hooking up the volunteers of the event with some Call of Duty 4 water bottles while I’m there. I figured Charity:Water…. COD4 Water Bottles. Seems like a good fit eh?
If you plan on attending, let me know! I’d love to hang out while you’re there. Drop me an email, or hit me up on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/fourzerotwo
Will Arnett, Justin Theroux, and Jon Glaser swung by the studio late today to talk games, check out an early sneak peek of the project we have in the works, and to hang out to play a little multiplayer during our weekly Friday Night Fights. Arnett is best known for his role as Gob from Arrested Development while Justin Theroux and Jon Glaser are probably more known for their awesome writing. Justin’s most recent work was the Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. comedy Tropic Thunder, as well as being announced as the writer for Iron Man 2. Jon Glaser was a Conan O’brien writer for 5 years before breaking off to do various other TV shows and projects such as Assy McGee and the Human Giant series recently. Funny guys, but most importantly, fucking hardcore COD4 players.
I started playing MP with Will, Justin and their crew awhile back after a Conan O’brien appearance where Will spent most of the interview talking about playing online in COD4. Ever since, everyone pictured above have been meeting up regularly on COD4 for some RPG + Knife only private matches where we entertain ourselves by jumping off roof tops and attempting to RPG and / or knife each other as they fall (DON’T JUDGE US!) - as well as whatever other drunken rules can be come up with at the time.
Regretfully we all live on separate coasts (IW on West Coast / Will + Justin on East Coast), so this was the first time we all met in one place while they were in Los Angeles on some business. Jon Glaser typically isn’t part of the regular crew, but after today he said he’s going to finally give in and join our 10 pm - 4 am gaming sessions. So hopefully he’ll feed into the COD4 addiction and join in on the fun in future matches.
It was great to finally meet in person after playing online together for so long. We’ll be meeting back up, hopefully late Jan / early Feb, to blow shit up. I’m in the process of planning a weapons shoot for early next year and there is no better reason to get together with friends than to blow up cars, watermelons, and anything else we can talk the range owners into letting us destroy with automatic weapons and explosives.
Friday went by pretty quick today. It kicked off with our standard weekly Leads meeting, where all dept. leads sit down and talk about what’s happening in their individual deprtments; but once that was wrapped, I headed to the lobby to meet up with this years World Series MVP and Phillies pitcher, Cole Hamels. Seen above (on the right) with one of our resident baseball fanboys and animators, Chance Glasco (left).
For being the most highly sought after player in league right now, after securing the MVP award at the World Series recently, he’s an extremely down to earth guy and a most importantly a huge gamer as attested to by his wife who confirmed he’ll disappear for days only to reappear fully bearded from a week of uninterrupted gaming. A life style I can relate to.
Although, from talking to Cole, it seems those game-a-thons are few and far between, especially when preparing for the World Series. He said gaming during the season is typically reserved for the early hours of the morning after games, when him and fellow team mates jump on. So if you’re playing between 11pm - 2:30 am and hear an abnormal amount of baseball talk, then you know why.
We gave him a tour around the studio while he was here, and it was especially interesting when we were showing off some of our Motion Capture. Cole started talking about how he’s done it before, but not for a game. He uses Motion Capture to record and analyze his pitching form, so that they can determine how to further improve his pitching and prevent injuries.
It was a good visit. It’s always nice to meet fans of the game, especially if were fans of theirs. Cole admitted he’s not alone in his COD4 addiction, saying he typically parties up after games with fellow team mates like Adam Eaton or teams they’re facing that day like the legendary Ken Griffey Jr.
Just goes to show, you never know who you’re going up against when you log on.
I‘ll be heading down to the opening night festivities of the 4th annual i am 8-bit art show tonight in Hollywood, CA. Any Los Angeles locals planning on attending as well? If so, drop me a line, let’s meet up, check out some game art, and chat. It’s an awesome show, you won’t be disappointed.
For those who can’t attend, don’t worry. I plan on having the good ole’ Flip handy (that thing is becoming quite useful) and grabbing plenty of footage to let you guys share the experience with me.
Update: I went, I saw, I left. The crowd was outrageous so we bailed early. Sorry, no video tonight guys. I’ll be taking some when we return a bit later and can see the actual artwork instead of the backs of people’s heads. Way too crowded to actually enjoy any of the art, but I did score an awesome Mega Man 9 retro boxart poster.
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Who knows, you could end up in my office (I’m sorry in advance…)!
