by Karen Hertzberg on Feb 01, 2006
Fanguard Impressions Part 1
By Lady Sirse
Walking into a room filled with a hundred or so Vanguard: Saga
of Heroes fans is bound to bring a smile to anyone's face. The look of barely
contained excitement and hopeful anticipation is too clear to miss. What can
always surprise me though, are the welcoming words and the friendly smiles
that go with it. From the moment I checked into the hotel Friday until the
time I left Sunday morning there was something in the air that spoke of community.
It was this feeling that turned the many hallways on the main
floor of the lobby of the Sheraton into a place filled groups of people standing
around talking or sitting on the floor sharing their hopes and fears about
the game all had come to get a glimpse of. The setting couldn't have been
more beautiful. The marina on one side and a waterway on the other gave breathtaking
views from every vantage point.
As Friday turned to evening registration opened and with a warm
welcome from GM-Keejay and Zack Karlsson, Director of Business Development
for Sigil Games Online, everyone donned their name badges and recognition
dawned in many eyes as names known from the fan sites and forums now had faces
and bodies to go with them. After a bit, we were all ushered out of the hall
and up to a large room for the meet and greet reception.
This is where Cindy Bowens, Senior Manager of Community and
Events for Sigil Games Online, introduced to us the wonderful staff that are
making Vanguard: Saga of Heroes more than just a dream. We also were treated
to a rousing game of meet your neighbor that I described for you in my earlier
report. After that we were left to mix and mingle with the
devs, our fellow players and the members of the Affiliates that had made it
to the event.
I think this is where many people began to learn something very
important, a lesson I had learned at the previous event. The folks at Sigil
are a wonderfully down to earth bunch of gamer geeks like the rest of us!
They can't resist the chance to talk shop or to just hang out with people
that share their interests. Gms joked with those they had previously met in
other games or people who had spoken to them via the forum. Developers talked
animatedly about their work
well, as much as they could that is. Even
we Affiliate folks took some time to talk shop too. It was a great time! All
too soon it was time to either head off to room parties or to a good night's
rest after a day of travel.
Day two began bright and early. As you can tell from Niborea
and my report Saturday morning from the lobby, maybe it was a bit too early.
All in all, even the most blurry eyed wanted to get a good seat for the demonstration
of the game. This was the reason we had all traveled miles and miles and here
at last it was. A glimpse at Vanguard: Saga of Heroes at last! Stunning landscapes,
incredible architecture, interesting character models and heart pounding combat
sounds and music filled the room all day.
There was a demonstration of the character creation system set
up to one side of the room while on the other was a set up for demonstrating
game play. While at this event the fans weren't given a chance to try their
hand at game play, they were allowed to try out character creation. As people
moved from group to group exclamations of surprise and excitement could be
heard all through the morning and afternoon.
I should point out here that not only were the developers working
to run the demonstration, the GMs and other members of the staff were available
to talk to as well. Everywhere you turned; there was someone ready and willing
to talk about what they could. It was yet another example of the concepts
of the folks at Sigil. This is a game being built around a community. They
want to not only create this world, but they want to be a part of it as well.
Knowing that the demonstration where about to wrap up, everyone
who was interested went down to the registration area again to participate
in Live Quest. Gathering into groups of 6-10, the participants waited to see
what grand adventure they would be sent on. They were all handed bags with
a list of items they had to find, create or somehow represent in the most
creative way they could. For the next few hours groups settled into the lobby,
hallways, and areas outside of the hotel to work on their list.
When I asked for a peek at the list, the items all seemed to
be things you would expect to find in a newbie's backpack. On the list were
things like bat wings, a gem, pixie dust and more. How where you to find these
things in the real world? Ah, there was the challenge!
As I was watching several groups prepare their bags of items, I was impressed
with the creativity of those playing. Some items were crafted to look very
similar, and others sometimes needed a bit of explanation.
The very creative team from Crimson Wind won the Live Quest.
Each member of their team will receive a signed copy of the game at launch.
What a wonderful prize! Congratulations to the folks from Crimson Wind.
Several panels were set up in the evening including one with
Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler. In that panel, we were treated to a glimpse
of the Vanguard trailer that was created by Nick Parkinson, known to all as
Glip the Gnome. It was set to the music of Bordinar's Cleft and was just stunning.
In my next report, I will fill you in on what we learned during
the panels and share with you some wonderful views from many of the people
that attended the event. Stay tuned and if you were at Fanguard, add your
impressions in our forums as well!