This year the Electronic Entertainment Exposition rolled into Los Angeles with a record 68,400 attendees. For the first time, event organizers elected to open the doors to the general public with tickets available to non-industry insiders. Many Chapman alumni were in attendance for the largest E3 ever. We reached out to a few to find out if the convention was a 1-Up or a Game Over.

What was your favorite game, tech, or experience at E3 2017?

Tough choice! Spider-Man from Insomniac Games. It was absolutely gorgeous. The combat animations were so fluid and really captured the spirit of Spider-Man.  I also enjoyed attending the PlayStation E3 2017 Media Showcase at the Shrine Auditorium. The Naughty Dog team worked really hard on what was presented. It was great to watch with them and hear the awesome reception from the crowd. – Jennifer Jessee ’07, Production Supervisor, Naughty Dog

I played the VR Fallout 4 version and it was amazing. To see the huge Deathclaw looking down at me was incredible. – Kc Wayland ’08, CEO and Founder, Wayland Productions

Favorite game that I was actually able to play has to be Crackdown 3. I’ve loved that series from the start and have been waiting a long time for this one. The most interesting tech/experience I saw was a booth showing off an attachment that turns the Vive into a wireless headset. Still seems early, but that will be a huge next step for VR. – Nate Skeen ’14, Game Enthusiast

Seeing all the demos for the upcoming games and the fans’ reactions to those demos. Thousands of people pour themselves into making these games come to life, and the response from the fans is amazing. Whether it’s the photorealistic action of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, or the calm beauty of Monument Valley 2, every game has a following that’s ready to explore the world they’ve built. – Grayson Stone ’14, Dialogue Coordinator, Naughty Dog

The Nintendo booth was a sight to behold. They had one of the largest booths at the event and it was decked out to look like New Donk City, one of the main settings for their upcoming game: Super Mario Odyssey. I am a lifelong Nintendo fan, so I had a blast taking pictures with all the props and sets. After demoing Splatoon 2, my team even got invited on stage to play a round in front of the whole audience. It was a blast. – Samuel Prince ’13, Post-Production Systems Specialist, Dodge College

And because VR/AR is such a hot topic these days, we couldn’t resist to ask their thoughts on the emerging technology:

It’s going to a very fun medium to watch and grow as they navigate through uncharted (pun intended) territory. Motion Pictures have been around for 90 years and video games for almost 50 years. VR developers are coming from both the film and gaming industry, bringing years of storytelling experience to the table. It will be interesting to see what applications and titles are created to attract the audience to dive into the platform. – Jessee

While it is amazing technology, it’s not there yet. I think the limitations of the computers, and even the hardware makes it fun for short-term, but not long term gaming. Also, there have been few studies of long-term effects of that sort of retina immersion. – Wayland

Currently, mixed. I’m still unconvinced of its longevity in conventional film and other non-interactive forms of media. Still, there’s plenty of experimenting to be done that could change that opinion. I am, however, very excited about VR as a gaming medium, especially since it’s starting to get more support from AAA game developers. It’s still too early for me to get my own headset, mostly because of the space required, but I’m confident I’ll get onboard eventually. – Skeen

It is absolutely amazing and has so much potential in and out of the realm of gaming. – Stone

I am cautiously optimistic. Although I certainly believe it is more suitable for the video game medium than it is for movies—it still has a long way to go. I have a pretty strong stomach, but even I can’t handle more than a few minutes of continuous play before starting to feel a little dizzy. – Prince

Didn’t have the chance to attend E3? Not to worry, our alums list the games they’re most looking forward to playing:
Anthem
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Splatoon 2
Super Mario Odyssey
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Samuel Prince and Grayson Stone at E3 Conference