Albert Art

Touring Blizzard Entertainment Holiday 2010

DA BLIZZ!!!

Over the Holiday, I had a chance to visit the campus of Blizzard Entertainment. Erin, an ol' pal of mine was our host, and tour guide at the studio. She was able to show us some cool stuff around the campus which included the Blizzard Library, and Museum. Thanks for fitting us in Erin, despite your busy schedule!

Some background: Erin is a friend from the 1UP.com Community. We go back several years, when she was still studying videogame design at UAT. She blogged her experiences, and gaming opinions on the site. She and I were pretty active users on 1UP for a few years, until careers in the game biz took over the blogging time.

Flash forward to present day. It was great catching up with her again however brief. Good to know she is doing well, and kickin' butt in the videogame industry. See kids, you too can achieve your dreams!

The stormy weather in southern California couldn't stop us from taking a trip to Irvine, just south of L.A. Making our way in dangerous freeway traffic conditions to the videogame studio beloved by many gamers worldwide, the tour -- arranged on pretty short notice -- was highly anticipated by everyone in the group. Wayne (Gaian), another good 1UP friend, and a resident of Irvine, met with us for the tour as well. I'm sure he had no trouble getting to the studio.

We on the other hand, got lost several times once off the freeway, and navigating the area was a bit of a pain. Located in a highly secure, and gated business park, the studio campus appears just like your average office space. Once inside the building though, you could feel the creative forces at work.

Below are just a few pictures taken during the tour.

View more pictures on my facebook album.

Overall, it was an awesome trip! Looking forward to the next time.