Firaxicon activities

[sisko]

This weekend, almost two hundred fans will have the opportunity to participate at the first ever FiraxiCon - Firaxis Community Convetion.

You can find the scheduled activities in the bellow post by David Hinkle.

A 250 turn demo of Civilization: Beyond Earth will be available to play in 'one hour per attendee' sessions at the CivBE panel. Also, the game will be available for longer sessions at the end of the activities (and overnight, until 10AM on Sunday morning).

Firaxicon, the first official convention for Firaxis Games, is coming this weekend! On September 27th in Hunt Valley, Maryland – just minutes from Firaxis Games headquarters – we’ll be hosting almost two hundred fans for a day of just 'one more turn.'

As our first official Firaxis Games convention, we’re thrilled and overwhelmed at the reception! We’re focused on making Firaxicon the best event we can for a select audience and we hope to expand it in the years to come.
But, we haven’t forgotten about those of you unable to attend in person! We’re working to try and ensure even if you’re not there, you'll feel like you are via social media.

Playing Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth at Firaxicon
Yes, it’s true we’re setting up a room full of PCs at Firaxicon, so that you can take your turn at charting a new course for humanity! Because we have less PCs than attendees, we’ll need to limit the play sessions to approximately one hour per attendee to ensure everyone gets their chance to go Beyond Earth.
After our evening activities are over, the PCs will be available for late night (and overnight) play. If you’ve got the stamina to keep taking one more turn, we hope you’ll be able to get back onto a PC and play for longer sessions (dependent on demand and availability), right up until 10AM on Sunday morning, at which point Firaxicon will officially be over, and we’ll pack up the PCs and bid you all farewell.
Please note, the special preview version of Civilization: Beyond Earth available to play at Firaxicon will have a 250 turn limit per game, and will not feature multiplayer.

The XCOM Tournament… and Board Game!
If you’re coming to Firaxicon, you will have already received an email inviting you to sign up for our XCOM Tournament! 16 Commanders will compete, but only one will survive to be called champion and hoist aloft the GOLDEN MUTON!
If the tense multiplayer match-ups of XCOM don’t appeal, we’ve also got Fantasy Flight Games on-site, who will be demonstrating XCOM: The Board Game, which releases later this year.

Sid Meier and Firaxis Games answer your questions
Sid Meier is one of the most revered and respected developers in the videogame industry. Whether you’re able to join us at Firaxicon or not, you’ll still have a chance to engage one of gaming’s great luminaries, along with all of his talented colleagues at Firaxis Games.
We’re taking questions for Sid and his colleagues right now via this special page on the Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth Wikia. Those questions will be gathered and presented to Sid and the team, who will provide select answers in a special video interview on Wikia, and also in person at Firaxicon. This is your chance to ask a master of strategy gaming whatever you want, so get your question in early!

Panels
When you’re not playing Civilization: Beyond Earth, meeting Firaxis Games staff or taking one more turn some other way – we have plenty of panels to keep you busy at Firaxicon. Spanning a variety of Firaxis titles, we hope there’s something for everyone here. Timing has not yet been finalized for each panel, but this is a working list of what to expect during Firaxicon.

The Great Mistake: The Beginning of Beyond Earth
Speakers: Will Miller, David McDonough
In this panel, co-lead designers for Civilization: Beyond Earth, David McDonough and Will Miller walk you through the chain of events originally laid out at the onset of development for Beyond Earth that would come to be called ‘The Great Mistake’ and its aftermath. Come learn how it might have happened, and how these calamities led to the formation of the eight colony sponsors, the Seeding, and the future of mankind in space.

Past to Future : Music and Sound from Civilization V to Beyond Earth
Speakers: Geoff Knorr and Griffin Cohen
Learn about the differing musical approaches to Civilization V and Beyond Earth from those who composed and created the music. Hear music and sound examples from Beyond Earth and learn about the processes involved with bringing the sound of the game to life.

Choosing the Civs for Brave New World
Speaker: Ed Beach
Find out how Firaxis chose the 9 civilizations included in the Civilization V expansion pack Brave New World. How did Venice get in? Why the Shoshone? And how did the Civ community play a part in the final selections?

Speaking in Tongues
Speaker: Lena Brenk
Portraying very different cultures for an international audience has its challenges. In this panel, we walk through some examples of the challenges the Civilization team faces in the selection of civilizations, of unique units and buildings, as well as the choice of voice actors for the leaders.

Best in Class: Designing the Soldiers in XCOM
Speaker: Ananda Gupta
What’s your favorite squad setup? It’s one of the strongest ways players can express their personal tactical style in XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within. In this panel Ananda Gupta, lead designer of XCOM: Enemy Within, discusses the process for designing soldier classes and abilities. You’ll hear about some of the challenges, pitfalls, and compromises the team faced during development, and how the MEC Trooper grew from an early idea to a reality.

Character Art Design in XCOM
Speaker: Greg Foertsch
Join XCOM’s Art Director Greg Foertsch as he talks about the importance of character design and art in relation to creating a truly immersive experience for the player as well as maintaining the mood, tension and characteristics of the reimagined franchise.

They Came from QA
Speakers: Kevin Schultz, Lena Brenk, Barry Caudill
Meet the members of Firaxis Games who got their start in QA. Learn about their experiences in QA and how they moved into a variety of positions in the industry. Not sure how to enter the industry? Well, neither were they. Find out how Firaxis makes QA the entry point for the devs of the future!

An Evening with Sid Meier
Speakers: Jake Solomon, Sid Meier
Join XCOM: Enemy Unknown lead designer Jake Solomon as he talks with Firaxis Games’ Creative Director and game industry legend Sid Meier! What’s on Sid’s mind these days? How has Firaxis changed (or stayed the same) over the years? This evening’s entertainment promises to enlighten and entertain you on all things Firaxis!

Are you ready?
We know many of you are unable to attend Firaxicon, but don’t fret – we’ll be bringing much of what happens at Firaxicon to you, including video from as many panels as possible.
For those of you who are attending, we’re looking forward to meeting all of you at Firaxicon, and thank you from everyone at Firaxis Games and 2K for your continued support!

[BlaneckW]

I prefer to read, which is probably why I've lost track of the developments of this game.

[sisko]

Here are some pictures from the event:









Link to the album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152714414960359.1073741835.117631940358&type=3

[sisko]

Eurogamer's recap of the event here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-10-05-firaxis-opens-its-doors-at-the-first-firaxicon

[sisko]

An Evening with Sid Meier @ Firaxicon:

Firaxicon: An Evening with Sid Meier and Jake Solomon of Firaxis Games

[sisko]

The Great Mistake panel: http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=12816

[sisko]

Firaxicon Panel: Past To Future - Music and Sound from Civilization

Firaxicon Panel: Past To Future - Music and Sound from Civilization

[sisko]

Producer Lena Brenk explains how to make Civilization feel authentic to a global audience, in her ‪‎Firaxicon‬ panel, Speaking in Tongues:

Firaxicon Panel: Speaking in Tongues - Globalizing Civilization

[Green1]

These are a totally different set of nerds than other "corporate showcase" cons like Blizzcon.

Something tells me they do not have the cute elf half naked girls or insane room parties... or much of anything with boobs for that matter like the MMO or RPG crowd (particularly RPPvE).

But, I will take the intelligence, maturity, and more socially adjusted nature of 4x nerds over MMO nerds any day. Boobs or no...

[Geo]

Something tells me they do not have the cute elf half naked girls or insane room parties... or much of anything with boobs for that matter like the MMO or RPG crowd (particularly RPPvE).

Have you seen Pete Murray's early twitch episodes? Those 'nerds' were xeno-hunting in the background while Pete was telling his spiel.

[sisko]

I think i saw a special 'nerd' called Sid in one of those scenes.. 

Anyway, here's the next panel for you:

Programmer and Brave New World lead Ed Beach details why some civilizations were chosen for the Civilization V expansion - and why some were not:

Firaxicon Panel: Choosing the Civs for Brave New World

[Geo]

I think i saw a special 'nerd' called Sid in one of those scenes.. 

Didn't you know? Rumor is the place is about his most favorite hangout.

[sisko]

Yep, xeno-hunting would be one of my favourite activities if i were to work in there..