E3 reminds me of my brother.

My brother, the enthusiastic and concerned convention-goer.

Another highly anticipated E3 has come, and is soon to be gone, (depending on when you read this of course). And while everyone's hard at work discussing the latest happenings and expo surprises, I'm left wondering simply what my brother would think about all this news. Unfortunately my brother isn't around anymore to make any witty comments about the downsized expo on his blogs idorkas.blogspot, and ryohazuki.1up -- someone whose opinions I respected, and enjoyed hearing, is gone.

What would he say about FFXIII on 360, Gears of War 2, and the overhauled XBL dashboard with avatars? I'm sure he'd be thrilled about it all, especially the 'Mii wannabes' for the 360. It just feels so weird to be unable to discuss with him the everyday blurbs from the game industry, or the newest movies coming out like, The Dark Knight, or to just share a joke or have a conversation with him. I feel like a part of me is missing, and indeed, it is.

My brother Christian, better known around these parts as Ryo, had been attending the expo since 1999, his last one being 2006, after it was announced E3 would be changing it's format. He loved the show, (he has the collection of badges to prove it), and he loved sharing his event coverage with his readers. He would really get into the fun of going to a Con. We would always push each other to see who could turn out the better blog, rushing to do a writeup that included loads of pictures, and details about our experiences. In my mind, my brother made me a better blogger because of our brotherly competitiveness that extended beyond blogging and games, but with everyday life as well.

Unlike most videogame enthusiasts out there, my brother never wanted to write officially for any game publications. He never wanted to be a 'game journalist', or anything associated with being a game journalist. He wanted to operate independently to be able to deliver content, the way he wanted to, without any organization filtering his interests or directing his posts. He wrote from the heart, and wanted to keep it that way, posting about things that mainstream press didn't bother to cover, obscure niche games, and more.

He loved being a convention-goer, so naturally E3 wasn't the only show that he would regularly attend. He had been to CES for several years because he's a total gadget freak, and every time we would see each other over the Holiday's he'd ask me if I wanted to go to CES in Vegas which happened a few days after New Year's. I always had an excuse not to go, thinking about it now, I definitely regret never taking up his offer.

He always wanted to make sure his friends and strangers, had opportunities to experience things that he enjoyed. Like I remember one year a 1UP member expressed their desire to attend E3 but they were running low on funds or something like that, so they put the word out on 1UP. When my brother ran into that person who actually made it to the expo, he remembered what they had said online, so he offered to take them out to eat. And he did, I was there. Tired and hungry after a long day at E3, the three of us walked over to a Firehouse restaurant in downtown LA not too far from the convention center. We all looked like touristy teenagers, and you could tell that this Firehouse restaurant (Engine Co. No. 28) wasn't the type of place for us, but rather an older crowd of business people, and office workers. And yet my brother didn't care. He walked up in there, and asked for a table. I could tell they were a little put off by servicing the three of us with all our convention swag bags, but my brother didn't give a damn, he was hungry, and he didn't care what they thought. We ordered whatever we wanted from the menu, and he paid for it without hesitation. Always so generous.

After the restaurant, I remember there was a homeless guy who approached us asking for money as we walked back to the convention center. My brother literally opened his wallet, and gave him a few dollars. Me and the other 1UP member were pretty surprised. I told him afterward that what he did was pretty dangerous, the guy could have snatched the wallet from his hands, or worse. Again, he didn't care, he felt like being generous.

So, thinking of E3, will always call to mind some really good memories of my brother. E3 2005 in particular was very memorable. My brother did some great blog coverage too. As time goes on, I'm constantly reminded of him, which is good, because I would rather remember him, then to go on with life without thinking of my brother. Read his past E3 blogs Here.

E3 what? Scheduling my daily Comic-Con agenda.

Oh the frustration!

I've never been to San Diego Comic-Con before, (although I did go to Wonder Con for a few hours after GDC this year back in February, but that really doesn't count). From what I've heard about Comic-Con though, the show is an exhausting mess of uber Geekery unmatched by the shear popularity of the event. The 4-day multi-genre convention is on a completely different level from anything else out there, that is quite different from PAX, and not even comparable to the typical "industry specific" conferences that I've attended in the past. With several years of GDC, E3, and even PAX, under my belt, I'd say it's about time for me to head on over to the geekiest place on earth, to experience what those have called "Heaven on Earth for the Geek", where fans can be fans, and up and coming talent can get close to their idols, and inspirations, while dropping a load of cash on a wide array of merchandise; toys, comics, autographs, photographs, books, art, animation, clothing, movies, and more.

With only a little over a week away before one of the most exciting conventions gets underway, it's time to start finalizing the plan of attack. Because if it's one thing that I've learned from being an avid convention goer, it's that it's impossible to get to everything on the schedule, so you have to plan accordingly, and Comic-Con is no exception.

Unlike other conventions though, I've noticed that the Comic-Con 2008 lineup is looking very tight, and planning the agenda is kind of frustrating the hell out of me. There's so much I would like to attend, but the timing of each of these events are either happening at the same time, or overlapping significantly.

For example on Saturday, Glen Murakami one of my favorite animation producers, and character designers of the Warner Bros. animated Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Teen Titans series, is giving a talk at 10:15-11:15, while the entire cast of Heroes will be giving a Q&A first look at "Villains" at 10:45-11:45. To make things even worse, the great Mike Mignola MIKE "HELLBOY" MIGNOLA, mastermind behind Hellboy, is on stage 11:00-12:00 talking about his latest works.

On Friday, 1:00-2:00 there's a Q&A with Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, and director Makoto Kamiya, who introduce Resident Evil: Degeneration, the full-length CG film. Then Joss Whedon gives a talk at 1:30-2:30 showing never-before-seen clips from his new short film, discusses Buffy Season Eight, and the upcoming Serenity comic. And at 1:45-2:45, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, talk about the upcoming Ghostbusters videogame.

And, that's not even an entire days worth of events. Now if this isn't a tough situation for someone who wants to go to all three of these events, I don't know what is. Almost everything on the daily Comic-Con program seems to have this same schedule overlapping issue, making it really hard to pick and choose which ones to go to. Or is it, that I'm interested in too many genres... This program is impossible!

Not only is planning panels, lectures, screenings, and Q&A's a tough job, but taking into account the time spent at the booths for signings, and buyings is also a big big part of Comic-Con. Ragnar, Ashley Wood, Paul Pope, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Bob Dob, Jeff Soto, to name a few of my favorites, are scheduled to be at different booths at certain times, which no doubt conflicts with the daily program of events in my agenda.

It's times like this a wish I had clones.

I've put off attending Comic-Con for the last two years each time my brother invited me to come, and when I finally do get a chance to go, he's no longer here. It hurts, but I made a promise to go.

Originally I had planned on attending the Con with my brother and sister, without any obligations to provide coverage for any media outlets aside from my blog, but since he (as you all know) passed away recently I've decided to take on some work at this year's Con. He would probably be disappointed to hear that rather then having fun at the convention, I'm running around like a headless chicken with a press pass but oh well, he understands my freelance duties. I'm going to be helping to cover Comic-Con for Gamasutra, Game Career Guide, and Tomopop, as well as both my blogs rez2cool.blogspot.com, and rez2cool.1up.com. I've always enjoyed the energy of covering an event, it's exciting, and rewarding, and it's great to have a purpose beyond just being a convention goer. I think I'll be needed some Red Bull.

View the entire Comic-Con Program HERE.