Monday, September 27, 2010

Games Day 2010

And lo, we have returned from Games Day 2010, which we know to have been the greatest Games Day ever. Ever.

Very, very cool to see everyone (Big Steve must now be re-named Buff Steve - who knew?!), and special congratulations go out to Xhalax’s (yes, let’s call it Xhalax’s) costume posse for its outstanding Titan crew group impersonation. Also, thanks to Xhalax for the fudge, Bambi for the cookies, and who-ever it was for the Mechanicum cake (I wasn't there when that was delivered). Liam and Rachel? I’m sorry, I know who both of you are, but I was suffering from Games Day Daze when each of you came to see me. Thank you to everyone who attended and said hello, in fact. I hope no one went away disappointed. And, dude, was the Ultramarines trailer pant-wettingly exciting or what?

I’d like to say a very particular thank you to all the staff, crew and volunteers who did things like police the queues and man the tills and look after everyone. You know, the people who actually made it happen. Thank you from all of us who were just there larking about and having fun.

Now, a serious note for a moment. As is our wont, us author-types were locked in a very earnest little chat beforehand, and we decided that what we really wanted to do was to enter the arena on the day as a dramatic convoy, each one of us riding or driving an electric vehicle. It would be really, really dignified, and befit our status as, you know, 40K gods. Jim wanted a floor polisher or an airport baggage cart. I wanted to rise aloft aboard a cherry picker. Graham wanted a fork lift, and Aaron rather fancied an zamboni. We decided we’d all have special costumes and stage names, like wrestlers. Jim named me “Doctor Danhattan”, which supposes I want to be both blue and naked, and have CGI work applied to the ‘eye draw’ area. Eye draw. Yes, that’s what we’re going to call it.

Anyway, we’d all have theme music too. "Iron" Jim wanted Rock You Like A Hurricane by Scorpions. I wanted Don’t Fear The Reaper by BOC (which, while we’re on the subject, is my idea of a perfect Sinister Dexter theme). Graham wanted the title music from Roobard and Custard, which would, we felt, require him to lope into the hall. These aren’t big demands, let’s face it. They’re very do-able. We’re not prima donnas, after all. I really don’t understand why GW doesn’t let us organise Games Day one year. It would be full of win. And end after five minutes in a public safety debacle of truly Biblical proportions.

Anyway, let’s examine my photographic record.


PART ONE: THE JOURNEY THERE


Road trip! I call (automatic combat) shotgun!



Matt Farrer finally locates the hard-to-find venue.



Flash photography versus high-viz vests fail.



Inside the forbidding lair. Nik seems perfectly confident in her hand-sewn Titan crew outfit, but Aaron is beginning to get jumpy. "It's too quiet, Abnett! You said this would be fun! Damn you! It's too freaking quiet!"



The atmosphere builds. Deep in the bowels of the NEC, something stirs. Is that...the faint strains of the Roobard music I hear on the sepulchral wind?



They're he-ere!



Actual people doing actual proper work.



Katie excitedly shows off her augmetic nipple.


PART TWO: THE AUTHORS AT WORK AND PLAY


Nik begins to regret selecting the invisible clone for Games Day duties this year.



At the pre-signing, Aaron busies himself with copies of the Sabbat Worlds Anthology while nobody is watching, crossing out the words edited by in the phrase "edited by Dan Abnett" and replacing them with HI.



Matt chooses the wrong moment to critique Aaron's painstaking and carefully researched Sharpie puppet interpretation of the Horus/Emperor/Sanguinius showdown.



The view from where I was.



Aaron, mate, you do realise your mum can see the gesture you're making at me, don't you?



Then it was Graham's turn to be offered an augmetic nipple.



Jim WILL rock you like a hurricane.



The Next Big Thing.
(Alternative caption: Due to a slight warp mistranslation, Jim Swallow arrives twenty five years too early.)


PART THREE: LUNCH


Om to the nom.


PART FOUR: THE ULTRAMARINES TRAILER SCREENING



Everyone in this room is about to have "a moment".


PART FIVE: DRESSED TO KILL


Winner of the funniest T-shirt of the day competition.



After much shouting and threats of violence, the moderati finally agree which Titan they belong to.



Mrs A and the soon-to-be Mrs ADB wear this season's House Of Mechanicus couture.



Tona and Caff 4 ever.



The Emperor Protects, but it doesn't hurt to have a giant cog-axe as back up.



Clothes by Mars, eyes by Shoggy Domor.




And good night cadets, where ever you are. We salute you.

Next year, they tell me, the costume posse is going for an Inquisitor theme, which is so appealing I might have to join in. While I leave you pondering that shocking development, here are two podcasts - for The Overlords and Seanhammer - that I've done in the last week or so. Thanks again, UK Games Day-ers. See you in 2011 (which, for Jim, will be 1986).

39 comments:

Greg said...

OMG! My Pic appears in a Dan Abnett blog post. SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

In all seriousness, thanks from the bottom of my heart for just being so generally awesome, and for chatting so happily to me and answering my inane questions. Look forward to seeing you again in March :)

Xhalax said...

Games Day this year was FECKIN' AWESOME!

Definitely the best that I've ever been to so far. Everything was right, and it's always brilliant to see and speak to you Mr. Abnett. Though next time I shall ignore all and sundry and speak to you first next year.

And you are all definitely Fly Lords of Terra!! And I would have loved to have seen you come in on a variety of electric equipment, with top marks for Aaron picking a Zamboni!

Lastly, the Costume Posse for 2011 WILL be The Inquisition.

Matthew Churchill said...

OH YEAH! Inquisition theme - I'm in.
M
P.S. The electric guitar on Roobarb and Custard is FILTHAAAY.

Xhalax said...

And it was Phil Thorogood that brought the Mechanicake.

Big said...

Oh Oh Oh bugsy me....Im comin as Harlon Nayl... no stealzees

Xhalax said...

Big - Someone already took the Bounty Hunter character. Though there's still an empty gunslinger slot.

Nik Vincent said...

Phil - Thanks for the groovy cake!

Nik Vincent said...

Xhalax & Big - But I shall always think of Big as Harlon Nayl! Did you see how BUFF he is?! So Buff... that's what we'll call him.

Xhalax said...

Very true Nik. Very true!

Matthew Churchill said...

I agree with Nik. The first time I saw a pre-meeting photo of Big I said 'F*ck me! It's Harlon Nayl!'
M

Craig said...

Awesome day Dan!! And the pictures are absolutely brilliant!! And so to next year, the Inquisition, and the-multiple-small-electric-vehicle-entrance challenge!

Big said...

Harlon Taken NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
At this point Bigs head sags to floor and his chest deflats!

Then with maximum effort Big lifts his already oversized head reads on..

"MEEE Buff!" shouts Big

Bigs chest inflates bout 8 inchs and his head swells with ego. He waddles into the dining room , walking around like he has a roll of carpet under each arm and a turtles head hanging out of his arse. His younglings laugh at him as he stumbles over the draft excluders lodged under the door.
But for the briefest of moments he feels on top of the world and his ego wounds are completly healed as only friends can do !

So thanks guys means the world!
And im glad Dan noticed... in a Mantastic sort of way of course!

Big said...

Harlon Taken NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
At this point Bigs head sags to floor and his chest deflats!

Then with maximum effort Big lifts his already oversized head reads on..

"MEEE Buff!" shouts Big

Bigs chest inflates bout 8 inchs and his head swells with ego. He waddles into the dining room , walking around like he has a roll of carpet under each arm and a turtles head hanging out of his arse. His younglings laugh at him as he stumbles over the draft excluders lodged under the door.
But for the briefest of moments he feels on top of the world and his ego wounds are completly healed as only friends can do !

So thanks guys means the world!
And im glad Dan noticed... in a Mantastic sort of way of course!

sredni vashtar said...

Great to see you both again, and cheers for signing my stack of decomposing books. As always, the BL people were by far the best part of Games Day (or maybe I'm just getting old, and being whacked in the junk with tape-measures by rabidly hyperactive 12 year-olds is losing its appeal).

Although it was a kinda last-minute flying visit for me, I think I managed to find most of you blog-deviants (briefly), which was also splendid. Your wit and enthusiasm are always an inspiration, and-- oh, fuck it. Y'all know I really only showed up for the free cake.

Xhalax: as yet I've no idea if I'll be in attendance next year (mainly because I've no idea if I'll be in this country next year), but if so I will endeavour to get my haberdashery on with a little more élan. I think I could do a pretty fine arco-flagellant...

Big said...

Sredni good to see you buddy , i was shouting at you from the seating above the signings so you could come and have lunch bro but you didnt hear me oh well next time fella

Matthew Churchill said...

Sign-up thread on FB to baggsy a character/archetype:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=268921&id=223608355&saved#!/topic.php?uid=155876921099890&topic=269
M

sredni vashtar said...

Big: aww, damn. I even went up there at one point to look for y'all, but we must've failed to coincide.

And yeah, I am deaf as an adder (right ear already gone, left ear rapidly deteriorating). Shouting is therefore not an efficient way to get my attention. Next time, just throw something.

Tom Spurrell said...

Gamesday was legendary. Was amazing to meet some of the folks behind the names, the stories they conjure and the hobby. =)
Also thanks for hearing me out when i asked to be a ghost =D

Cheers!

Xhalax said...

Tom - Good luck, I hope you make it through RIP!

Anonymous said...

Lucky for me, I stole a DeLorean from some short kid in the Eighties and managed to make it back to the now.

Matthew Churchill said...

GREAT SCOTT MARTY!
Damn. I wish it was still 1986.
M

sredni vashtar said...

So I have a whole slew (no mere oodle, but a full-blown slew) of Facebook requests from folks I met at Games Day. I'm happy to approve those - provided y'all are advised that, being a journalist, my Facebook is essentially just a continual avalance of profanity, diatribe and dick jokes.

sredni vashtar said...

(Yeah, an inability to speel wyrds onn kebored is another prime prerequisite for this job)

Vampiric Chicken said...

Awwww, feck! With every passing hour I'm seeing more and more pictures,blogs etc and I really wish I had been there!

Looks like everyone had a great time though, brilliant costumes and the Titan Crew looked particularly excellent. And Mr Cawkwell's gun...

You should all get commission for the sterling advertising work you're doing.

New Munitorum tourist board, perhaps?

Xhalax said...

sredni - I enjoyed watching the Networking in action after Games Day.

And the best thing about Games Day this year was definitely all the hugs! So many hugs from so many people....was just awesome. And author hugs FTW!

Matthew Churchill said...

This film trailer is the very definition of awesome sauce:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNXHveyzUvY

Will Wright said...

Holy cow Jim,look under the seat.
There should be one "Gray's Sports Almanac" underneath.
Someone is going to be able to afford a ghost writer soon. :p

Will Wright said...

I just remembered the Almanac only goes to 2000,sorry buddy more cramped fingers for you I'm afraid. :)

TheSGC said...

Do you know when Codex will be putting up their new trailer? I wanna see it. I wanna have that moment. I WANNA SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yeah it was a great day! Master Abnett is exactly the same as i was thinking!
And Mister Abnett forget about this ultramarines fanatics - write Salvation Reach please =)

Nik Vincent said...

Anon - The movie is already written, so we're just sitting back enjoying the fruits of other peoples' labours in the film-making process. Go take a look at the website; you might even like what you see: http://ultramarinesthemovie.com/

In the meantime, "Salvation's Reach" is on the schedule, so, fear not, there will be more Gaunt just as soon as Dan can get it out there. While you're waiting "Blood Pact" hasn't been out for very long, and is now available in paperback, and "The Sabbat Worlds Anthology" is fully of love stuff that should tide you over, at least for a while.

Xhalax said...

*does her happy Salvation's Reach dance*

Tom Spurrell said...

Woo bring out the Trumpets! Can't wait for the next Gaunt book =D

Anonymous said...

In the meantime, "Salvation's Reach" is on the schedule, so, fear not, there will be more Gaunt just as soon as Dan can get it out there

-Thats exactly the major problem! How soon is Dan can get it out! 2-3 years - or for our salvation next September?

Anonymous said...

To Mister Abnett - to date i and my friends read everything about Gaunt Ghosts, including Sabbat Worlds Anthology (and it really was superb)....
But, i relly was dissapointed that i havent seen space battles! It was so long ago just in times of 7 book - Sabbat Martyr! So excuse me but i want to wish something for you to do - make epic space battle for your next Gaunt Ghosts book! Ant not some 2 pages from observer like in the end of Titanicus! Full, glory, rampaging void warfare like times of Execution hour by Gordon Rennie or yours Sabbat Martyr!
And for yours story in anthology - it was fantastic - but right now your fans need a new story about the future and not about the past!
So like another anonymous said - we waiting for Salvation Reach! Oh gak how to live next year?

Big said...

bring on the wolves RUSS,RUSS, RUSS

joel said...

Games day good
Dan abnett good
Eldrad uthran dead bad
So Dan bring eldrad back equals triple good

Anonymous said...

I want Salvation Reach - plain and simple =)

Unknown said...

Did you say Rocket Raccoon ?!?

I just love Rocket Raccoon