gamer myself, I did own an Xbox and had spent a fair amount of time with my little pink Nintendo DS on long car rides down to visit Dad in LA. I recognized some of the games as old favs, and, I'll admit, amid the fanfare my inner geek started to get a little excited.
I did a quick scan near the entrance to the main hall for Chase but didn't see his tall frame lurking anywhere. I sent him a text, telling him we were going in. Then Sam and I took to the exhibit hall, walking up and down the stalls.
I pulled out my phone, taking pictures of some of the more elaborate costumes, checking out the different items on display, and mentally wording my article.
After two hours of the deafening hum of voices echoing off the domed roof and the constant visual stimulation of bright colors and costumes, my senses were starting to hit overload. Thankfully, Sam and I came to the end of the first row of stalls, finding ourselves at the back of the convention center. Here some of the major game distributors like Electronic Arts, Sony, and Nintendo had large, enclosed booths set up for play, their latest games and systems on display. While they all had a crowd around them, I noticed an enormously long line in front of one booth, VizaSoft Industries.
"What do you think is going on over there?" I asked Sam.
She shrugged. "Let's go check it out."
We followed the line that wound around the front of the large, fully enclosed booth, down a zig-zag of black ropes, and along the back wall of the hall, all the way past the next three rows of stalls. I was starting to get dizzy and wondered if it ever ended when I heard someone call out my name.
"Hartley!"
I turned to find a giant Pikachu waving me down from halfway through the line.
I squinted past the pudgy yellow limbs and pink cheeks, trying to figure how Pikachu knew my name.
"It's me. Ellen!" she called.
Sam and I walked closer, and I recognized her as a girl from my 4th period Spanish class. "Hey, Ellen."
"Wow, I didn't know you were a Gamer Girl!" she said, her eyes big and round behind a pair of glasses.
"I'm covering the event for the school paper," I explained. Even though I mentally tucked her phrase away for later use. "Gamer Girl" had a nice ring to it and would describe the scantily clad cosplayers I'd seen that day to a tee.
"It's something, right? I'm in, like, heaven right now," Ellen said.
Ellen was tall, had brown hair cut into a pixie style and big brown eyes with the kind of long, natural lashes that a fair-skinned blonde like me seriously coveted. We'd gone to different junior highs, so I didn't know her much more than to say hi to. She'd always struck me as the quiet type, but I could tell that something about being in costume was drawing out her inner extrovert.
"What's the line for?" Sam asked, craning to see the beginning of it.
"They're letting people get a sneak peek at Athena's Quest."
I gave her a blank look.
"You know, the new Simon game?"
More blankness on my part.
Ellen rolled her eyes. "Ohmigosh, you don't know Connor Simon?"
I shrugged and looked to Sam, who, by the way, was also bathed in blankness, so I didn't feel too bad at my ignorance. "Sorry. I'm guessing I should?"
"Uh, yeah! He's only like the biggest name in gaming. He's like??ike?? She paused, sputtering as she grasped for the right words. "??ike the Steve Jobs of games. He's a total rock star."
I glanced down the line. I hadn't noticed before, but almost the entire line of costumed followers were female. And they were all bouncing on their toes the way that Ellen was.
"He's done Hera's Pride, Triumph of Nyx, and the whole Muses of the Gods series," Ellen said, ticking the game titles off on her fingers. "But Athena's Quest?" She paused for emphasis. "This is supposed to be the big breakout epic. I cannot wait!" She giggled, and bounced on her yellow, foam-clad toes again. "You can read all about it on the VizaSoft website," Ellen said, gesturing to the banner hanging above us that advertised the company.
I grabbed my phone and scanned the QR code on the banner. Sam looked over my shoulder as we scrolled through the official press release for the game.
Apparently Connor Simon was being credited with revolutionizing the gaming industry by