The Black Ops multiplayer reveal event is in the books. I was there as promised and, despite some major technical issues, I liveblogged it, which you can still read if you like. It’s a miracle I was able to do it, actually — traffic from eager COD fans crashed my site four times before the event even started!
But while everybody else is (rightfully) discussing all the new gameplay elements and features that Call of Duty: Black Ops will provide this November, I got a different perspective. I was able to go visit the event site during setup and see how it all came together — the setup, the rehearsals, and ultimately the event itself. My podcast cohort Katrin Auch came along and took all the photos — enjoy the insider look.
There are more than 50 consoles on the floor, plus backups. And they travel in padded luxury.
What good are consoles without TVs? Crews worked most of Monday to set up all the high-def monitors in the venue.
Late Monday at the California Science Center. The gear is installed, but there's still two days of set-dressing to do.
The MP area is actually an indoor botanical garden; the roof is exposed at the back end of the venue. The roof of the game's side is covered in tarp.
One more nice shot from Monday night. Get used to this angle, because...
...this is where one of the official video cameras is stationed. It's recording time-lapse footage of the entire three-day setup process, which you'll see later.
Over in the IMAX theater, the crew built a small stage for the presentation while the tech team calibrated the projectors.
By Tuesday afternoon, lights have been added, both by the crew and by Mother Nature.
The stage to the left will house a DJ. The glowing blue rectangle will be a bar.
Astro A40 headsets are at every gameplay station so gamers don't have to struggle to hear the game audio during the party.
How do you keep more than 50 Xbox 360 test kits organized? Name them after the states of the union. This one's Virginia, but DC got its own, too.
For security reasons, all the 360 hard drives were removed overnight, and the tech team spent some time Tuesday making sure everything was still in proper working order.
An SR-71 Blackbird sits between the IMAX theater and the gameplay lab, a permanent fixture of the California Science Center. When Black Ops comes out, you'll get to fly one yourself.
Some of the set dressing -- like this vintage radar console -- was in place by Tuesday. Kids, the Vectrex looked exactly like this.
Meanwhile, in the IMAX theater, Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia does his best impression of the COD Black Ops artwork.
Executive producer Daniel Suarez runs through his part of the presentation Tuesday night. He's the guy who will welcome everybody to the event.
Mark Lamia tests his mic and runs through his talking points Tuesday.
David Vonderhaar, Treyarch's game design director, sticks the landing.
Online Director Dan Bunting will be playing the game live on a giant IMAX screen during the presentation, so a little practice is always a good idea.
Once Dan and Vahn explain the new MP features of Black Ops, the audience gets to check them out for themselves.
By Friday, a COD banner had been added to each monitor. My guess: It's not so much to remind them what they're playing, but for ID when people start taking photos of folks playing.
Yeah, it was that kind of party.
Appropriately, the glowing bars got their own logo treatment, too.
More colored lights joined in on Friday, and the plastic had been taken off of the furniture. We must be getting closer.
Josh "JD_2020" Olin led a squad of Treyarch testers in confirming that all the hardware worked properly. Scoff if you will at the difficulty of this task, but you know this is the most important step.
I suggest you tip your valet.
You know that pool of water in the middle of everything? Ionizers helped make it generate mist and smoke.
Meet the "pit bosses" -- the crew that watches over all the gameplay, addresses any technical concerns, and basically makes sure everything runs right. From what I saw, little to nothing went wrong -- or if it did, they fixed it fast.
Community VIPs got a private session with Black Ops. And when Mark Lamia's watching you play, you better win.
Lovely ladies were brought in to help serve the refreshments at the event. Nobody complained.
By 6pm, most of the press had arrived -- and it seemed like all of them had drinks in one hand and cameras in the other.
It's not a party without a DJ. The fatigues were a nice touch.
"Where's the theater for the presentation?" "Just follow the signs."
Inside the IMAX theater, dozens of journalists set up with laptops and smartphones, ready to liveblog. No video during the presentation, though -- Activision was covering that, and you'll see it online soon.
And we're underway. Mark Lamia thanked everyone for coming and explained how making Black Ops meant re-making Treyarch as a studio.
Over at the Operative Training Facility -- the multiplayer room -- security was...imposing.
The final room, in all its moody glory.
And as you can see, the lights changed throughout the evening.
Go, ionizers, go!
A handful of stations were set up for press outlets to get direct-feed footage of their own games in 720p. I'm eager to see what they shot.
Hey, man, make yourself at home.
How good was the DJ? Spontaneous breakdancing occurred. No joke -- Kat happened to be on a catwalk above when it happened. Word.
Nothing else to say, really.
Call of Duty: Black Ops ships November 9. For detailed gameplay information, check your favorite media or community outlet — or all of them.
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