Got your tickets for SDCC in your pocket and your bags packed? Ready to brave the lines of unwashed nerds and nerdettes in order to catch that exclusive first glimpse of new game content or have a chat with some of your favorite creators? GameNGuide has the skinny on when and where you can find the coolest video game related stuff.
Here's just some of our top picks to attend. For the entire video game related schedule, visit SDCC's official website.
Thursday July 24
10:00am - 11:00am
The Witcher
Room 6A
A franchise spanning literature, comics, film & television, board games, and widely popular video games, The Witcher has touched millions with its engaging characters and exciting adventures. A diverse panel of experts discuss the many aspects of this renowned universe. Be the first to see new Dark Horse publications, see the first-ever live consumer demo of the upcoming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game, and get a chance to meet the team behind Wild Hunt. Panelists include actors Doug Cockle (Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher franchise), Dark Horse Comics author Paul Tobin (The Witcher House of Glass), Nick McWhorter, CD PROJEKT RED's game developers Damien Monnier and Lukasz Wnek (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt), and Rafal Jaki. Moderated by SpikeTV's Geoff Keighley.
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Evolving the League of Legends Experience
Room 6BCF
The game's always changing for League of Legends - it's a constantly evolving universe. Whether it is adding new content, updating champions and maps, reworking gameplay, or just giving older art a fresh face, League of Legends is constantly trying to level up the quality and player experience wherever it can. Sit down with members of the art, game design, sound, and production teams as they share insights and swap stories from their time spent working on League of Legends. The panel will kick off with a discussion about current and recent releases before opening it up for Q&A.
4:45pm - 5:45pm
The World of Capcom
Room 6BCF
Moderator Francis Mao (Capcom) and a panel of Capcom staff members share the latest updates on all the hot, new Capcom games, including Ultra Street Fighter IV, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Dead Rising 3, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, plus sneak peeks at all the latest cool Capcom merchandise and maybe a surprise or two.
6:30pm - 7:30pm
Firefly Online: Bringing Back The Verse
Room 24ABC
Firefly Online (FFO), the first and only officially licensed video game based on the cult-hit TV show Firefly, aims for nothing less than to bring Firefly back to life for millions of fans. Executive producer Andy Gore, technical director John O'Neill, voice-over and casting director Andrea Romano (Batman: The Animated Series plus many others), game director Adam Cogan, art director Ben Lichius, and composer David Joseph Wesley present the first official public demonstration of FFO. FFO is a multi-user strategic role-playing game set in the universe of Joss Whedon's beloved TV show Firefly. You'll see how to get a ship, hire a ragtag crew, and do whatever it takes to survive in The Black! The demonstration will be followed by Q&A. Also, expect a few surprises.
Friday July 25
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Bandai Namco Fighting Games Panel
Room 25ABC
Katsuhiro Harada (director of the Tekken series, Bandai Namco Games Inc.) and a special guest discuss all things Tekken as well as Harada-san's newest title. In addition, producers from Rise of Incarnates, a game developed from the same DNA as the Tekken and Soulcalibur series, will be showing off this exciting new franchise from Bandai Namco Games. Moderated by Mark "Markman" Julio (Mad Catz).
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Room 8
Explore the realm of the Ring like never before when Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment presents an in-depth look at the groundbreaking Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor video game. Focus on the time between The Hobbit and LOTR and learn the secret history of the Rings of Power and their relationship to the Wraith - and maybe get some tips on how to dominate the Dark Lord Sauron's army and other enemies. Panelists Michael de Plater (director of design, Monolith Productions, Tom Clancy's EndWar, Rome: Total War), lead writer Christian Cantamessa (Red Dead Redemption), Phil Straub (art director, Monolith Productions, Utherworlds, D'artiste Digital Painting), the voice of Talion Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Batman: Arkham Origins, BioShock Infinite, Batman: Arkham City), and moderator Professor Janet Croft reveal new gameplay and story details and discuss the innovative approach to storytelling through the Nemesis System. Surprises, revelations and giveaways await you! Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will be released on 7 October on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Heads Will Roll! Assassin's Creed Unity Demo and Q&A
Room 6BCF
Learn about how the blockbuster Assassin's Creed franchise has been re-imagined for the next generation of gaming. Meet mysterious Arno, the new hero in Assassin's Creed Unity, learn more details about the game, and be the first to hear about new announcements for the Assassin's Creed franchise! Rob Zombie and Tony Moore (The Walking Dead co-creator) will be debuting an animated short inspired by Assassin's Creed Unity. Meet and ask questions from the team behind Assassin's Creed Unity.
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Battlefield Hardline: A Visceral World of Crime and Revenge
Room 5AB
Taking lessons from their success on Dead Space, Steve Papoutsis (executive producer) and Ian Milham (creative director), discuss how they are moving the Battlefield series in a bold new direction with Battlefield Hardline. Learn how the team at Visceral Games is collaborating with Bill Johnson (Justified), Kelly Hu (Arrow), Eugene Byrd (Bones), and Benito Martinez (House of Cards) to fuse the interactive medium of video games with the creative presentation of TV crime dramas to deliver a wholly new and unique experience to gamers. New footage of the engaging single player campaign will be on display showcasing the game's story about the war on crime in the gritty and glamorous streets of LA and Miami.
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Street Fighter!
Room 25ABC
Moderator Francis Mao (Capcom) and a panel of Capcom's Street Fighter experts share the latest news on the greatest fighting game franchise in the world! Find out about the latest updates for Ultra Street Fighter IV and how you can earn big money and everlasting fame by competing in the Capcom Pro Tour culminating in the Capcup Finals in December. Panelist Joey Ansah (writer/director/actor of the smash hit Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist web series on Machinima.com) makes an exclusive appearance to share behind-the-scenes details of making the film as well as answer questions. Ultra-special guest Yoshinori Ono (Street Fighter franchise producer), returns to SDCC for his trademark special appearance and who knows what kind of hijinks are in store? Hadoken!
6:00pm - 7:00pm
Three Flavors of Zombie: Expanding the Universe of Dead Island
Room 25ABC
The multi-million blockbuster zombie franchise is expanding its universe! With three Dead Island games spanning three different genres concurrently in development, sit in on discussions with producers and developers from all games, moderated by Aubrey Norris (director of marketing & PR, Deep Silver). The panel will detail both newly announced games, Dead Island 2 and Escape Dead Island, as well as detail how all three games tell their own unique perspective on the larger Dead Island universe. Attendees can look forward to receiving exclusive swag, only given away during this panel presentation.
6:45pm - 7:45pm
How To Get A Job In Video Games
Room 6DE
Moderator Francis Mao (Capcom) returns with another edition of this popular panel shedding insight on the wide variety of professions available in the video game industry. You'll find out that it's not all programming and digital art, as a panel of industry insiders from various companies share the unique ways that they got into the video game business, tell what they do each day, and most importantly share suggestions on how you can get into the industry, too. Q&A session as well as networking opportunity with panelists after the panel.
Saturday, July 26
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Meet Some of Magic
Room 25ABC
The Gathering's top creators answer your questions and share a sneak peek at upcoming releases, including September 2014's Khans of Tarkir. The panel, moderated by Mark Rosewater (head Magic designer), includes Doug Beyer (senior creative designer), Mark Purvis (brand director), and Gavin Verhey (R&D game and experience designer).
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Marvel Video Games
Room 6A
The Marvel Games team and some of the most talented developers in the industry cover nearly 15(!) awesome Marvel gaming experiences spanning all platforms - many of which feature the Guardians of the Galaxy! Whether it's exclusive announcements regarding one of the year's biggest console titles (Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes), updates to current favorites (Marvel Avengers Alliance, Marvel Avengers Alliance Tactics, Marvel Heroes, Marvel Puzzle Quest, Marvel: War of Heroes, X-Men: Battle of the Atom, Marvel Pinball), or entirely new game announcements, there's something here for every True Believer of the digital age. Also, a surprise special guest appearance - and the coolest giveaway this panel has ever handed out!
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Charting A Course: Developing The Next Mass Effect
Room 25ABC
Mass Effect developers from the Edmonton and Montreal studios discuss what it's like to expand on a well-established and beloved video game franchise. Panelists Carl Boulay (lead animator), Fabrice Condominas (producer), Mike Gamble (producer), Noel Lukasewich (senior artist), and Jessica Merizan (community manager), share their experiences in shaping the next Mass Effect game with new possibilities while staying true to the critically acclaimed series. Moderated by Nerdist.com.
4:30pm - 5:30pm
E-Sports: How To Become A Pro-Gamer
Room 26AB
We're seeing a groundbreaking evolution happening in e-Sports as pro players become recognized as professional athletes who are awarded visas and salaries. However, their journey has not been easy. Esteemed panelists Genese Davis (The Holder's Dominion, MMORPG.com, The Gamer in You), Ryan "Fwiz" Wyatt (VP of programming and eSports commentator, Major League Gaming), Sam "Samzorz" Hall (pro gamer, Mortality eSports, Twitch, founder of CODpedia), and John "ZeRo4" Hill (pro gamer, world champion: Quake) as they discuss the obstacles players face when seeking viable careers as e-Sports competitors. This high-powered panel will divulge exactly what it takes to become a pro gamer and how the e-Sports evolution is impacting the video game industry at large.
Sunday, July 27
10:00am - 11:00am
StreetPass San Diego
Room 29A
Learn more about one of the largest Nintendo 3DS meet-up groups in the country. Administrators Adam Bitting, David Denni, and Yuleni Denni are joined by Michelle Hernandez and Adolfo Coronel as they discuss the group and share competitive advice and tools for video games developed by themselves and the community.
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo And The Battle That Defined A Generation
Room 23ABC
Remember when Sonic took on Mario and tried to prove that Sega does what Nintendon't? Revisit the first generation of console wars with author Blake J. Harris (Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation) and some of the video game personalities who were in the trenches-Tom Kalinske (Sega of America), Al Nilsen (Sega of America), Bill White (former Nintendo of America employee), and Perrin Kaplan (former Nintendo of America employee), as well as Julian Rosenberg, producer of the upcoming Console Wars documentary.