Not sure what to attend at Comic-Con 2014? If you're a video game fan, then that question becomes even more difficult. But the number of video game panels has grown tremendously as Comic-Con begins to include every entertainment medium out there.
Capcom will be making a comeback as usual with multiple panels planned, but The Witcher 3, Halo, and the LEGO series will be headlining as well. Here's a fuller rundown of what it's in store, with descriptions that aren't as bloated as the official ones.
10:00-11:00am, Room 6A – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Moderated by Geoff Keighley, panelists including game developers Damien Monnier and Lukasz Wnek as well as actor Doug Cockle who voices Geralt of Rivia will discuss The Witcher's brand. You will see firsthand a new Dark Horse publication based on The Witcher and the first-ever live consumer demo of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
11:45-12:45pm, Room 6BCF – Halo: Nightfall: A First Look
Kiki Wolfkill (badass name by the way) from 343 Industries and Frank O'Connor will lead attendees through Halo: Nightfall, the announced digital series from 343 Industries and Scott Free Productions, revealing details of the story and production
1:00-2:00pm, Room 6BCF – Evolving the League of Legends Experience
Riot Games will discuss how to keep League of Legends fresh and developers will share their insights on recent changes made to the title. A Q&A session will follow.
3:15-4:15pm, Room 6DE – The Inspiration that Brought Far Cry 4's Kyrat to Life and the Quest for Everest
Ubisoft will share how it drew inspiration from Nepal in the making of Far Cry 4 as well as the Quest for Everest contest where the winner can become the first person to play a video on Mount Everest.
4:00-5:00pm, Room 5AB – ASIFA-Hollywood: Animation in Video Games
ASIFA-Hollywood, with panelists who have done CG key frame, motion capture, and sprite-based animation, will discuss how video game animation works and how it's different from animation in other media.
4:45-5:45pm, Room 6BCF – The World of Capcom
A panel of Capcom staff members, moderated by Francis Mao, will share updates on five of its games including Ultra Street Fighter IV and Dead Rising 3. They also promise "maybe a surprise or two."
5:00-6:00pm, Room 5AB – The Fusion of Art and Style in Sunset Overdrive
Four developers from Insomniac Games as well as Xbox Live's prolific Major Nelson will explain the inspiration behind the off-the-wall, fun-tastic aesthetic of Sunset Overdrive.
6:30-7:30pm, Room 24ABC – Firefly Online: Bringing Back the 'Verse
It's about time Firefly got its own video game! Six developers working on Firefly Online (FFO) will share the first official public demonstration of the role-playing title. The demo will show you how to get a ship, hire crew members, and survive The Black. The Q&A session might have some surprises.
6:30-7:30pm, Room 4 – What Video Games Can Teach
Genese Davis, Stephan Frost, Kate Edwards, and Justin Burnham discuss the benefits and drawbacks of video game playing, and how it could change education and how children learn.
7:00-8:00pm, Room 30CDE – Inside the Voice Actors Studio
Interested in the voice-acting business? This one-hour panel/workshop sponsored by Bang Zoom! Entertainment will cover dubbing, studio protocol, auditioning, and tips on how to break into the industry.
10:15-11:15am, Room 6BCF – Halo: The Master Chief Collection Panel
343 Industries and Certain Affinity provide extensive details on the Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
12:00-1:00pm, Room 25ABC – Bandai Namco Games Fighting Panel
Off the announcement of Tekken 7 at EVO, Katsuhiro Harada will discuss the Tekken series while Bandai Namco will reveal further details of the PC-exclusive Rise of Incarnates.
12:30-1:30pm, Room 8 – Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Taking place between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will give fans a look into the history between the Rings of Power and the Wraiths. Along with Troy Baker, the developers will explain the gameplay, story, the Nemesis System, and more as the game reaches its release date of October 7.
2:00-3:00pm, Room 6BCF – Heads Will Roll! Assassin's Creed Unity Demo and Q&A
Hopefully, Ubisoft will get more in-depth with Unity than they were at E3. Rob Zombie and Tony Moore will show off an animated short of the game and new announcements about the Assassin's Creed franchise will be revealed.
2:30-3:30pm, Room 5AB – Battlefield Hardline: A Visceral World of Crime and Revenge
Visceral Games seeks to blend Battlefield with the hard-action of TV crime dramas, which is why they're collaborating with several members from the production of Justified, Bones, House of Cards, and Arrow. New gameplay footage of the single-player story set in LA and Miami will be revealed.
3:30-4:30pm, Room 5AB – Digging E.T.: Behind the Scenes of the Xbox Originals Documentary, Atari: Game Over
Fans will get a first look at documentary Atari: Game Over with Nolan Bushnell and the movie's production team. Watch how Atari uncovers the infamous video game burial of thousands of copies of E.T. in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
4:00-5:00pm, Room 7AB – The Art of Video Games
With marked success with Mass Effect: Redemption #1 and Hyrule Historia: The Legend of Zelda, Dark Horse will reveal some news and upcoming plans with Tomb Raider, Plants vs. Zombies, The Witcher, Dragon Age, Halo, and Naughty Dog.
5:00-6:00pm, Room 25ABC – Street Fighter!
Capcom reveals the lastest updates for Ultra Street Fighter IV, the Capcom Pro Tour, and the Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist web series. Blanka-lover Yoshinoro Ono will return for hijinks!
6:00-7:00pm, Room 25ABC – Three Flavors of Zombie: Expanding the Universe of Dead Island
Moderated by Aubrey Norris from Deep Silver, the publisher will elaborate on both Dead Island 2 and Escape Dead Island. Exclusive swag is a given.
6:45-7:45pm, Room 6DE – How to Get a Job in Video Games
The panelists aren't finalized yet, apart from Francis Mao from Capcom as moderator, but they will explain to the audience that working in video games is more than just programming and digital art.
7:00-8:00pm, Room 25ABC – Evolution of the Action RPG
David Brevik of Diablo fame will discuss the current state of the action-RPG genre and where it's headed.
7:30-8:30pm, Room 24ABC – Nerdist Gaming
Nerdist Gaming editor Malike Forté will discuss all things video games including next-gen systems and gamin culture.
8:00-9:00pm, Room 6DE – Mega64: Episode Part Seven Panel-May the Fourth Be with You
Not sure what it will be about, but Mega64 wants you to come to this panel and no one else's (at the same time).
3:30-4:30pm, Room 24ABC – Monster Hunter
Capcom continues the combo of Comic-Con panels by sharing insights on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate arriving early 2015 for 3DS.
4:30-5:30pm, Room 26AB – E-Sports: How to Become a Pro Gamer
Genese Davis, Ryan "Fwiz" Wyatt, Sam "Samzorz" Hall, and John "ZeRo" Hill reveal the strain and difficulty of being a pro gamer.
6:30-7:30pm, Room 24ABC – Video Games and Our Future: We're All Gamers
A broad panel on video game themes and culture with Genese Davis, Ryan "Morello" Scott from League of Legends, Kate Edwards from the IGDA, and Jennifer Zhang from Twin Galaxies.
7:00-8:00pm, Room 5AB – Gaia Online
Meet the Gaia staff, including Chris Castagnetto and Princess Angelishia, who will answer questions and share what they've got in store for 2014. Expect prizes.
10:00-11:00am, Room 29A – StreetPass San Diego
The community events based around Nintendo 3DS have been extremely popular, and five paneslists will discuss competitive advice and tools for video games.
1:00-2:00pm, Room 32AB – Archie Action Hour: Sonic, the Hedgehog and Mega Man
Archie Comics goes behind-the-scenes with Sonic and Mega Man comics. Get a free gift bag ticket for attending.
1:00-2:00pm, Room 6BCF – LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Adam West? Sign me up! Warner Bros. and TT Games detail LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham as it includes more than 150 characters in DC Comics. Expect to see gameplay demonstrations, giveaways, and various voice actors like Troy Baker, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Dee Bradley Baker, and Josh Keaton.
2:30-3:30pm, Room 23ABC – Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and The Battle That Defined a Generation
Industry luminaries from the first console war between Nintendo and Sega get retrospective. Blake J. Harris, Tom Kalinske, Al Nilsen, Bill White, Perrin Kapaln, and Julian Rosenberg discuss just what happened back then.
3:00-4:30pm, Room 25ABC – Business of Cartoon Voices
In the second panel about voice-acting, this 90-minute panel with Bill Farmer, Sandie Schnarr, and Mark Evanier will provide free advice on how to break into voice-acting for animation and video games.
3:45-4:45pm, Room 5AB – LEGO/Warner Bros.: The LEGO Movie
Brian Bowler of LEGO, along with Matthew Ashton, Michael FUller, and Jadon Sands, explain how the toy figurines were brought to life in lastest The LEGO Movie.
