Bren:Alumni

I’ve been looking forward to this event for weeks.  It finally happened last Thursday night and it certainly did not disappoint, I had a blast!  For those of you who missed out on the massive geek-gathering, there’s a few things you can do to make sure you don’t miss the next.  First, join the ICS group on Facebook.  Second, write an email to alumni@ics.uci.edu to make sure you get on the alumni mailing list.  Don’t let the next event slip by!

Here’s a quick run-down on how the event went down:

Blizzard Entertainment graciously hosted ICS alums for a networking and informational event.  The event went from 7-9:30pm and it featured a talk by the founder and CEO of Blizzard, Mike Morhaim.   In addition, there were ICS updates from Dean Richardson and faculty. The turnout for the event was phenomenal!  This was such a popular event that they had to turn many folks down.  Aside from alums, many of the school’s faculty were present as well.  I think I spotted professor Dan Frost in the crowd.   Blizzard employees and game developers stuck around after the presentations and just mingled with the crowd over some great food and drinks.  There were some raffle prizes as well.  Sure brings back memories of attending info sessions back in the undergrad days.

Networking

For me it was a great night not only because of the free-flowing food, wine and beer, but I just had a great time catching up and meeting new faces.  I’m pretty certain I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as the event technically ended around 9:30pm but the crowd did not disperse until well past 10pm!  The crowd inside the venue had to be ushered out.

Blizzard Museum

I had found out about the Blizzard Museum during the networking hour so before I called it a night , I along with few other alums decided to stop by.  The museum featured what you would have expected:  a lot of game memorabilia, original sketches, models, and other artworks of much of Blizzard’s most successful games.  One of the most memorable displays which I have pictured below is a set of sword and shield:

However what’s more interesting is the note which I have a close up here:

So 5 years of working there you get the sword, 10 years you get the shield.  How cool is that!?

As we ready to exit the museum, we flipped through the big binder of fan mail that was on display in the museum lobby.  We read many heartfelt thank you letters, mostly handwritten, as well as fan drawings from all over the world.  The fans appreciation and thanks were felt even as a visitor.  I could only imagine the gratification felt from the team who worked on these games.

And that’s a wrap.  The event was a giant success for everyone involved.  Blizzard is a great company to work for creating great products in a great environment with a culture which encourages you to “embrace your inner geek.”  The alums got together and I enjoyed every minute of it and only wished there was another event I could look forward to already.

Update:  Check out the gallery for photos of the event.