The Irrational Games crew traveled to New York City this past weekend for none other than the 2011 New York Comic Con, and thanks to all of our amazing fans who came out, it wound up being our best trip to the Big Apple yet!
We kicked things off on Saturday afternoon with a signing for BioShock Infinite, featuring Irrational Games Creative Director Ken Levine, and voice actors Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper. We brought hundreds of lithograph we had printed just for the show – perhaps you’ve seen it before?
Everyone in line got a poster for the Irrational crew to sign, free of charge, and not only that, your poster was your ticket in our signing raffle. That’s right – 10 lucky attendees won NECA toy packs, including an EVE Hypo replica and a deluxe Big Daddy figure, all by simply stopping by. Meeting so many of our wonderful fans and having the chance to speak with so many of you face to face was an amazing experience. We met fans who showed their love for Irrational Games with tattoos, others who brought copies of Freedom Force for Ken to sign, and even some dressed in costumes inspired by their favorite BioShock characters. Take a look.
Once all that was all said and done, we set up shop at McGarry’s Pub just a few blocks away for any and all Irrational Games fans to come by, relax, and have a drink with us after the show. The turnout was absolutely stellar, with so many of our fans and forum members stopping by to introduce themselves in person. After everyone had a chance to get some food and drink, we held a raffle for a handful of Irrational Games goodies, including posters, EVE Hypos, and of course, five of our limited Murder of Crows bottles. Here’s an image of our first winner of a Murder of Crows bottle – we think her expression says it all…
Image courtesy Erin Rudy Photograpy.
That wasn’t even the best part. That came when we announced to those who stopped by the NYCC meet and greet that they were getting an extra, unexpected gift, and the reaction to the announcement was what we were hoping for.
Image courtesy Erin Rudy Photograpy.
Everyone who came to the Irrational Games M&G is getting a copy of BioShock Infinite! There’s no catch – all folks had to do was show up, and we’ll be giving them a free copy of BioShock Infinite for the platform of their choice when the game launches. We wanted to do something special to thank our fans for all their support, so we figured a surprise was in order. Not too shabby, right?
Image courtesy Erin Rudy Photograpy.
Thanks to all who joined us in New York! We had an evening filled with so many great introductions and conversations, making it something that we’ll be remembering for a good, long while. We hope to see more of you soon at the next convention!
theswagmonster | October 19, 2011 2:47 pm
That sounds amazing, Swag Monster wishes that he could have gone to New York for this, NYCC had better swag than PAX it seems.
japester | October 19, 2011 2:47 pm
Ditto! It was amazing meeting everyone.
And since the photographer couldn’t capture her own expression of shock and joy at winning a Murder of Crows bottle, I offer this:
[img]http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z64/japester/BioShock/erinrudy.jpg[/img]
LOL!
tnscotsman | October 19, 2011 2:49 pm
Awww…man…lucky people.
Irrational Games really does know how to treat their fans. Thanks!
alexaraycorriea | October 19, 2011 3:18 pm
It was so wonderful to meet all of you. Thank you for a such a relaxing and cheerful way to end that hectic Saturday — and for the Murder of Crows bottle!
mackenziewatson | October 19, 2011 3:39 pm
I’m beyond jealous! I would have loved to go but it’s a little hard to get there when you live in Oregon 🙁 I’m hoping I can go to something like this soon. Congrats guys!
diannalora | October 19, 2011 3:47 pm
Hi guys! I’m the super stoked girl who thought the Murder of Crows plasmid was alcohol in Picture 5. Had an awesome time meeting you guys after an insane Saturday. Thanks for the plasmid!
I SWEAR I won’t drink it. 😀
japester | October 19, 2011 4:33 pm
Your reaction was priceless. So genuine and so funny. I’m glad you were one of the big winners. LOL
1019ice | October 19, 2011 4:17 pm
Irrational always throws a great party, I can’t wait for the next one.
juan29zapata | October 19, 2011 7:37 pm
Oh that M&G… Dammit, I’m gonna get a big bank account just for these kind of things for travelling.
Why do you do these awesome things Irrational?! Never change by the way!
amplifier | October 19, 2011 7:52 pm
I’ve been to many gaming industry related events and my enduring impression of the meetup was how sincere the Irrational folks were in person. Outside of whatever the reality is, the impression was that Irrational a “luminescent” culture. Of course, when you’re working on such amazing projects, one expects everyone must know how special it all is. Maybe that’s what was going on.
I didn’t go in expecting anything like that so perhaps the impression was especially strong to me. Whatever it is, it’s rare. And it’s awesome that you share it with your superfans. Tell the Big Bosses none of it is lost on fans.
Speaking for myself, my impossibly high esteem of IG just went higher.
THANKS AGAIN!
untgraad | October 19, 2011 8:04 pm
This was my first Irrational event and I’m definitely hooked. Can’t wait till PAX East to hang out with you again!
icegrove | October 20, 2011 9:18 am
Wish I could be there, looks like alot of fun!
felonious | October 20, 2011 10:32 am
Another Great Event held by I.G! It was a great experience to attend and one which will not be forgotten!
mrtiddlywinks | October 20, 2011 10:55 am
Too bad I can’t make the 21+ events. Soon…
altair | October 20, 2011 12:32 pm
Oh man, I was there! What makes me sad is that I’m not quite old enough to go to bars, so I couldn’t chat with Mr. Levine, Mr. Baker, or Ms. Draper afterwards. 🙁
But I’m already really happy that I had the chance to go to Comic Con, and meet them in person. ^_^
japester | October 20, 2011 11:35 pm
If it’s any consolation, all three of them had other obligations and were not present at the pub. So you did not miss out on talking with them after the autograph session.
😉
konst | October 20, 2011 6:09 pm
Oh man…front and center. That’s what I get for being right in front of the photographer!
opticnerve | October 22, 2011 4:00 pm
In case anyone’s interested, here’s a link to the entire set of photos that Erin took.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erinrudy/sets/72157627827419925/
bigdaddeh | October 22, 2011 11:22 pm
You guys did a stellar job with the event. It was a pleasure getting to talk to all of you!
quancro | October 24, 2011 1:55 am
i was unable to go
undeniably | October 24, 2011 1:10 pm
Quite jealous, though I was at the PAX east party and there were free drinks…
konst | October 24, 2011 8:06 pm
I was at the PAX East party also. This had free drinks + food also for the NYCC even, but alas no little sister statue was raffled off. Though 5 MOC bottles were quite nice.
undeniably | October 24, 2011 8:41 pm
In Boston what I really wanted was one of the lithographs they used for the cover of Game Informer… now those were beautiful. No one seems to give better swag than Irrational.
japester | October 25, 2011 12:00 am
I don’t remember lithographs being made of the Game Informer covers. The posters given away at PAX East were the two propaganda posters (“Columbia calls you to the ramparts, patriots all” and “Daddy what did you do during the Siege of Columbia”). Or are you saying you wished they made lithos of those covers?
So far, my favorite BSI litho (poster?) is the EGMi cover of Booker and Elizabeth.
😀
undeniably | October 25, 2011 6:45 am
During the PAX East party they raffled off a signed, framed lithograph (I think – it MIGHT have been the original art but I’m pretty sure it was just a really nice lithograph) of art used on the Game Informer cover of the songbird and Elizabeth. They also gave everyone a very nice one of the two lithographs you mentioned (I still have mine!).
japester | October 25, 2011 1:44 pm
(I hope this posts in the right order, I can’t reply to your most recent reply, undeniably. Heh.)
Gotcha. I remember the art from the raffle. It was pretty sweet. I was thrown when you said lithographS. I thought maybe they were handing out multiples of something. 🙂
Yup, everyone got one of the two propaganda prints in their gift bag. Plus, anyone who went to the autograph session got one, too! I was first in line for that, and I remember Ken grabbing one of each and trying to hand them to me. Someone else from IG ran up and said, “No! Only one!” He looked up, I think expecting me to fuss, and I just grinned and said, “Thanks! Just PLEASE make more posters like these. They’re awesome!” LOL. I brought my artbook to be signed. The fact that they were giving posters out at all was a total surprise. Very cool.
jonathonridgway | October 26, 2011 2:19 pm
Im really sad i missed this now, but i was at the Run for your lives zombie 5k so i cant complain too much, hate when theres more than one awesome thing happening that i want to do
magicmaker | December 28, 2011 5:07 am
I can’t wait to get one of those lithos!