Austin, TX

Saturday, September 22

Xury2, ace reporter and king of PWNZ, was on the scene of the
NCsoft, Meet and Greet in Austin, Texas.

(Xury2 is a guest writer, and not a member of City Scoop Staff)

The stage was set in the local
Dave and Busters. I arrived on scene at approximately 1524 hours
(3:24pm) to scope the place out. But the inside was nothing like I had
imagined. There were plastic guns, fake cars, music from all directions (with
step dancing),
terrorists who could not hit the broad side of a barn, space bowling,
booze, food, ticket dispensing games, but most of all, zombies... Lots and lots
of zombies.

Yes folks, this was indeed Pocket D minus the permanent cat smell.
After a thorough check of the area, and saving the world from zombies twice,
your friend and humble narrator ran into other heroes along the way.
Mad_Malkavian was one such a hero. He told me, "It's
dangerous to go alone. Take this," and handed me three kittens, one
pen, one notepad, and five grenades. Soon after we formed a
group outside the mission door, I met
Manoa and her sidekick Somber Traveler. Of course he insists that she's
the sidekick, but we all know that's NEVER true in any relationship.

At approximately 1825 hours (6:25pm), the mission doors opened. By
the time they had opened the doors, there was already a long line outside.
These people looked ready to go, and someone might have gotten hurt if they
were not let inside. After presenting our registration, we were
let in, one by one, and handed a raffle ticket. This could only mean
good things in the future.

The inside was large, and had enough room for everyone outside.
They had lots of
tables for eatin',
tables for autographs, the
stage for the evenings activities, and of course,
lots and lots of free swag. Our music for the day was from the boys at
WOR-Radio.

During this time, I talked with Ex Libris, and happened to say the
words "free" and "beer" in the same sentence. This combination of words had a
more profound and horrific effect then even I could have imagined...

The earth shook, and the heavens cried out. A chill swept across
the room, and the lights exploded. Suddenly a circle, etched in infernal runes
appeared next to me. In the center of the circle, a demonic began to rise from
it, carrying with it the souls of the damned, screaming their terrible song.

It was BillZBubba... And he spoke,
"Did someone say 'Free Beer'?" I stepped forward and said, "On
accident." He considered me a moment, as if looking into my very soul, then
declared, "Okay." And everything returned to normal.

Around 1900 hours (7:00pm), the tables were set, and the
autographs were being signed. There was a
big reception for this. Who could resist
free stuff now? The guests were Richard Garriott, Cuppa Jo, Ex
Libris... and a few surprise guests as well. From Guild Wars, there were Dilan
Servantes and Keith Quinn. For Lineage fans, Tim Tan, Sam Han and Kyle Steward
were present as well. But that's not all!

THE DEFUSER made his way out to Austin. What a guy! Lemme tell you,
ladies and gentlemen, this guy is definitely a super hero. On his way here, he
managed to save three groups of orphans from three different burning buildings,
stop two bank robberies, walk an old lady across the street, rescue a cat from
a tree, oil up the Swedish Bikini team in time for them to win their
competition, take first place in the Academic Decathlon, AND still have time to
sign autographs with his pal,
General British (aka Richard Garriott).

Then
Ghost Widow came after that. She had managed to kick a few puppies
before coming, the fiend! Ghost Widow soon after met up with
The Defuser, and the tension was high. But like Pocket D, heroes and
villains are not allowed to fight in Dave and Busters.

So there were free posters, shirts, software (demos and the
expansion to Guild Wars), and several books given out, each signed by the
developers. When there was nothing left, they began the
Q and A with General British, with questions read by
Cuppa Jo.

We came to find, for those who don't know, that Richard was also
the maker of Ultima Online. That was his first project of his own. Tabula Rasa
is his new baby, and he's learned a lot from his first MMO. His favorite races
in the game are the ugly ones. He personally play-tests his game every day he
can. If you play Tabula Rasa, add him to your friend list as Lord British.

With that kind of service, you can expect quality. Richard has
done a fine job, and we appreciate such hard work to his creation.

Finally, at about 2000 hours (8:00pm), Cuppa and Cricket
announce the Raffle. The prizes are: shirts, hats, beanies, signed COH
comics, Tabula Rasa dogtags, TR Challenge Coins,
TR
Gym bag full of goodies, game time cards, posters,
wireless keyboard and mouse, and even an Official
NCSoft IPod Nano (by that, I mean they stole it from someone in
NCSoft).

Many prizes were given, even I, your friend and humble narrator,
was able to win himself a
game time card. Of course, when they found who I was, it was
abruptly handed to me. Soon after, Cuppa began to toss some more free
things to the crowd. Once again, I was beaned in the head with a game time
card. Those box edges are deadly. Ouch.

Come 2100 hours (9:00pm), it was time to wind down and say our
goodbyes. Everyone got in their final pictures with the guests, scrounged for
more free stuff, and snagged more free food. Richard Garriott beamed up, The
Defuser ran through the wall to rescue a damsel in distress, and Ghost Widow
followed the gate to the Netherworld that BillZBubba made.

It was a fun day, a day we won't soon forget. And for some of us,
the day was not over yet... (insert youtube video of Ex Drinking)

Hardly anything compares to after parties. So, to everyone who
came, thank you for making this a success, and a word of advice: Keep things
social, and nothing about business. Asking Ex Libris to reveal future Issue
information will only result in
this

- Xury the II, King of PWNZ

(Special thanks to ArmlessDan and Balorn for additional reporting
and pictures.)

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