This is a 2 part article – If you’re looking for what each game played was like check out that separate post here.
Travelling down to London from Lincoln is always a bit of a trek. You find your limited to 2 choices, either by car or by train and regardless it takes hours and a fair bit of forward planning to get there in one piece. I went to EGX last year (read about that trip here) and it was such a pleasant experience seeing so many people having a positive feeling towards gaming that it was definitely time to check out the London-based EGX Rezzed. There has been disappointment from myself and a few other people online that EGX is now going to be in London instead of up north later this year but Rezzed has always been based down south and given it was my first trip to it I was still pretty excited. The car was loaded up with wine gums and Elouise would be joining me this time (Alex couldn’t make it and Elouise missed out on EGX). It was time to find out what the buzz was about.
This was the first time I’d ever been offered press access to an event so I was absolutely buzzing and terrified at the same time. When people tweet about impostor syndrome I can definitely relate to those posts with gusto. Picking up my lanyard and guidebook, firing up the app and digging out a fresh new notepad it was time to document this colorful mess. Rezzed starts off great with its location. It’s easy to get to the Tobacco Dock and you can just head towards London Bridge to get a general idea of where it sits in relation to the rest of London. Nearby is a tiny understaffed McDonalds, a petrol station with a coop and even a Dominos. They’re all close enough to avoid the ridiculous gourmet food on offer in the venue or just take sandwiches like us oldies did.
If you’ve ever been to a video game event of any kind you pretty much know what to expect. The same old setup of display stands to play switches on, PC monitors with controllers, headphones, mice and media, things to stand around and see, the usual. The handy thing about Rezzed rather than EGX or other larger venues is that everything was sectioned off into conference rooms with a layout that encourages exploration and wandering around looking at new stuff but not being deafened or overwhelmed by it all. The chill out area was big enough to find a seat and not feel crammed in with plenty of bean bag chairs and space to take a breather. You’ll also still find amazing costumes and one or two outstanding cosplayers who clearly spent months on their outfits. The EGX app became a lot more essential to set timers to remind me to see things and constantly popping to the map to figure out how to get where to go next.
One of the best things about any big Eurogamer event is the many famous faces from sites and media that can be seen as you wander around. Just as we were off to see some interesting indie games Elouise points out Alice Bell chatting in a packed room. We made our way to the frindge theatre in time to see Video Games Journalists vs The Transformers (The Movie) which was hillarious and I now understand the appeal of these fringe sessions. It was full of amazing moments like finding some time to sit and enjoy this quirkly little adventure game, I stand up to let Elouise have a go and found the publisher telling me about the game with all these intricate nuances I’d have never known otherwise. Why yes I do write for a site! Here’s my card! Granted as I said on Twitter the day after, I struggle starting these interactions but there were so many opportunities to go, “oh cool” The day was full of them and it’s the best.
We did miss out on the industrial party because we’re old frail and I’d been up since 6am driving a car that feels like it’s a washing machine on its last spin cycle. That being said I was ready for more on the second day. I’d be flying solo as Elouise hunted for a london yarn store so the game was afoot! First thing on the list was to get there early and find time for some games that had big queues the previous day. There was plenty on offer and although the Friday had been quieter than Saturday it was still busy enough to lose out on a turn if you wandered off. The best thing about Rezzed had been how many games were there to just sit down and play. EGX had plenty of games but a lot more was footage, hardware or E-Sports. I almost lost track of how many games I actually got to sit and play at Rezzed and it was fantastic.
Largely for the second day I found myself using the schedule as a guide and ended up in a beanbag chair sitting down for an hour and half to watch the developers of Dreams show off how it all works. That experience was just something else. It was so enjoyable I didn’t even click I’d missed lunch until an hour later, Super Snailian will stay with me forever. The press room having a heater was a blessing and I found myself quickly typing up some thoughts on Dreams while it was still fresh in comfort and it seemed most of the people in there were seeking refuge for similar reasons. There were a few trader areas for merchandise and once again I found myself buying a box of random macguffins with a lower show price. The main takeaway I learnt from Rezzed is how enjoyable it was to see publishers and developers who love their games joyfully get a chance to show them off and I can see why it’s a very special event because of it.
This is a 2 part article – If you’re looking for what each game played was like check out that separate post here.
*Press Ticket provided by Eurogamer*
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