From the Graveyard: Worst Side Story (E For All Expo 2007)

[Mike Haley]

This blog has been a long time coming. I chose not to write about E For All Expo 2007 immediately following the event because, quite frankly, it was a bit of a disappointment. There was only one saving grace. A little company known as Telltale Games. You may have heard of them.

Before I begin, I should point out that I was one of the lucky few to receive a free pass from Telltale Games. They posted a blog shortly before the show, and offered twenty free passes to die-hard (not the movie) fans. No contest or anything, just the first twenty people to send them an e-mail with "E For All Pass" in the title.


Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!

On October 20th, 2007, I boarded a train bound for Los Angeles, and met a funny Scotsman. Allen Barrett had also claimed a free pass. We chatted for awhile, and before we even knew it, had arrived at Union Station. That is, from my perspective. Allen Barrett had already been on the train for two hours before I joined him. This would be my first trip on a real train, by the way. The one at Disneyland does not count.


This is going to be awesome!

After arriving at Union Station, Allen Barrett and I located the Subway Terminal. Yes, Los Angeles has a Subway Line. To be fair, I too did not know this beforehand. So, we joked around a bit about how Los Angeles has a Subway Line on the San Andreas Fault Line, and then disembarked at 7th Street. Following that, we became lost, and eventually asked a well dressed Asian man for directions. He was most helpful.


Hello! Is anyone there?

Finally, we arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Anxiety was kicking in as we entered the door. This was going to be awesome... right? The first thing that I noticed was how very empty the halls were. Surely, everyone was on the other side of the exhibition. Perhaps they were all at the Telltale Games booth? In any case, that would be our first stop.


Telltale Games!

Upon our arrival at the Telltale Games booth, Allen Barrett and I were greeted by Will Armstrong (Nick Herman was also there). Emily Morganti showed up a few moments later. I was a bit starstruck, but Allen Barrett was cool. He had previously met up with Telltale Games at Comic-Con 2007. I chatted with Emily Morganti for awhile, and even played a demo of Sam & Max 201: Ice Station Santa. It was still a few weeks from release at the time. I would go into detail about the experience, but that is old news now.


Emily Morganti plays Ice Station Santa.

Next, we ventured over to the Nintendo booth to play a round of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was also not yet released at the time. We soon realized where the crowds were. They were looped around the Nintendo booth. We stood in line for more than an hour to play a single two minute round of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It would have been a complete waste of time if not for the free T-Shirt, but then again, it too was rather lame. Also, one of the announcers was VERY annoying. I can still hear her screams when I close my eyes at night.


Will Armstrong (far right) plays Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Allen Barrett and I took a look around the rest of the exhibit hall, but found very little to do. As I said before, most of the exhibition was a virtual ghost town. On the bright side, we never had a problem finding a seat. Try finding one at Comic-Con, and get back to me with your results. Eventually, we decided to return to the Telltale Games booth. We hung around there for awhile longer, and I purchased a copy of CSI: Hard Evidence from Emily Morganti herself. Okay, I may have had a little crush on Emily Morganti Max Telltale Games.


Allen Barrett plays Ice Station Santa.

The day was drawing to a close, and we did not want to be caught in Downtown Los Angeles after dark, so Allen Barrett and I decided to begin our journey home. On our way back to the Subway Terminal, several homeless people asked for change (something that Barack Obama still promises to deliver), and Allen Barrett had one of the funniest conversations with a passer-by. Allen Barrett: Is it safe to ride the Subway after dark? Passer-By: Of course it is! Why wouldn't it be?


Los Angeles is always under construction.

On the train, Allen Barrett and I made a pact to grossly exaggerate our tale of E For All Expo 2007. I had no plans to write an honest blog. I would just bullshit about how awesome E For All Expo 2007 was. You should have been there. We met Shigeru Miyamoto! Oh, and I talked to Morgan Webb from G4 about Space Ruckus. Unfortunately, they lost the tape, and therefore never aired the episode. I think that Adam Sessler may have eaten it.

In closing, buy more Telltale Games merchandise because they are awesome.

More photos provided by Flickr.

[Secret Fawful]

I'd like to ride the subway after dark just to test that out.

[Alf Fly]

Originally Posted by Mike Haley

From the Graveyard: Worst Side Story

[rubbish gaming humour]

Surely you mean From The Graveyard: Worst Gaiden?

[/rubbish gaming humour]

[Mike Haley]

Actually, I was trying to spoof West Side Story. I briefly thought about using Ice Station Los Angeles, though.

From the Graveyard is the overarching title of my new blog series, by the way. I was going to use Tales from the Graveyard, but thought that it sounded a bit too much like Tales from the Crypt. Also, it gives me an excuse to write about something that happened nearly two years ago... or even something that happened ten years ago, but have denied ever since: http://thegrigpost.blogspot.com/2009...es-of-kat.html (may contain hairballs)

PS. Here is another E For All Expo 2007 tidbit: As we were leaving, someone (more than likely a kid) ran out, fell to his knees, and yelled "THAT WAS AWESOME!" Allen Barrett and I glanced at each other, and thought the same thing, "Which convention did he come out from?"

[Emily]

Oh, that show. The best part of that trip was when I saw Wicked. Which of course had nothing to do with E for All.