Despite the event selling out virtually instantaneously, I managed to be one of the lucky few to snag a ticket to the Toronto stop of Warcraft‘s 30th anniversary tour. Being the MassivelyOP team’s one Canadian representative, I was determined to cover this important event… and eat free food and get free stuff.
The event took place at the Rec Room, a chain of arcades/restaurants. The Toronto location is located in an old railway roundhouse almost directly below the iconic CN Tower. There was also a comic con happening at the convention centre across the street, so on my walk to the Rec Room I heard blaring J-pop and passed girls armed with plastic wakizashis. As one does.
I knew I’d gotten to the right place because the guy in front of me in the line-up was wearing a shirt that read “DID SOMEONE SAY,” accompanied by a picture of Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.
After a long wait in line, we were ushered into a large private area at the back of the venue. I started out by signing a log book that the organizers said would be traveling between all the locations on the tour.
After signing the book and another lengthy wait in line, I got a poster signed by World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale, WoW associate art director Tina Wang, and Hearthstone lead game designer Brenden Sewell.
There wasn’t much time to talk, but I did get to chat with them briefly while they signed the poster, and I probably came across as horribly awkward. I may write well, but I talk like an absolute idiot.
Holly Longdale (who has a nice firm handshake) asked me how long I’d been playing, and I talked about joining in Wrath, which is half my life ago now. I forgot to add the context that I started on the Warcraft strategy games at the ripe old age of four. Tina Wang — who came across as a very bubbly and charming person — asked me what parts of the game I play, and I told her about my focus on story, expressing that I’d been enjoying Undermine a lot and that I really appreciate the renewed focus on story in the game.
After that, I took some pictures at the photo booth, and then mostly wandered aimlessly before eventually trying to scrounge some food. I was excited (and a bit concerned) that my ticket confirmation email had promised Warcraft-themed dishes. Memories of the “gooey spider cakes” I made on my first day in Teldrassil danced in mind.
For better or for worse, though, in practice the menu was pretty much just normal food with random proper nouns from the Warcraft universe tossed into the names.
The confirmation email had also promised vegan options, which was a great relief for me, but unfortunately the bruscetta that was the only vegan option had already been fully eaten up by the time I got to the buffet. First world problems. I eventually decided to settle for some merely vegetarian food, reasoning that since the food was free and already made, I wasn’t supporting the dairy industry by eating it.
On the plus side, the falafel sliders were delicious, and the “Murloc’s delight” mini-donuts were also very good. The buffalo cauliflower was just OK, however, and the “Alliance frost elixir” mocktail mostly just tasted like water with hints of lemon and disappointment.
As I was eating, the devs took a break from signing to get up on stage and say some words about the Warcraft franchise, their own histories with it, and its hopefully bright future. Holly Longdale got some big cheers when she mentioned being Canadian herself.
This was followed by a cosplay showcase. There weren’t a lot of cosplayers in attendance, but they sported some very impressive looks. Aside from the more elaborate cosplays of iconic characters like Alexstrasza and Chromie, I also quite enjoyed one fellow who had a simple Defias bandit outfit. I instinctively heard the human male aggro grunt in my mind when I saw his bandana.
My personal highlight of the night came when the Sylvanas cosplayer got chased off stage by a screaming, glaive-wielding Tyrande cosplayer. I’m unsure whether this was pre-planned or the Sylvanas was just a good sport, but it was fun to see either way.
After that, the developers went back to doing some signings, and otherwise the event mostly wound down.
On my way out, I was given a wristband with a fob pre-loaded with money to spend on the Rec Room’s arcade games (exact amount unclear). However, the gaming area was packed; it seemed as if I’d have to do a lot of waiting just to play anything, and I was already very tired at that point, so I decided to simply head home. They did say that the wristband will not expire, though, so I can go back and enjoy some free games there whenever I want, which is cool.
Attendees were also given a swag bag. My favourite item is a large pin commemorating the event; it will have an honoured place on my jean jacket alongside my Metric, Reboot, Alice Isn’t Dead, and Night Vale Secret Police pins. Other physical goodies include a manasaber plushie and a t-shirt.
I also got codes for some digital loot: 10 golden packs in Hearthstone, a “Kickstart P.A.C.K” for Warcraft Rumble (which inspired me to reinstall), and some exclusive transmog appearances for World of Warcraft. These are just gold recolours of the faction crest back items from the traveler’s log a few months ago; probably for the best they’re not anything too special, given the difficulty of attending one of these events. Finally, I also got a discount coupon for 10% off at Blizzard‘s merch store, which I definitely won’t be using as the shipping costs to Canada are ridiculous.
My biggest disappointment with the event was that there was no opportunity for any Q&A with the developers. I wasn’t expecting major announcements, but it would have been nice to have the opportunity to get to pick the devs’ brains on some smaller topics at least.
I also regret attending the event alone. I don’t have any friends who are big Warcraft fans, so I don’t know whom I would have invited, but almost everyone else there appeared to be attending with friends or loved ones, so I felt a bit awkward being there all by my lonesome. I made some small talk with a few people here or there, but mostly I was just alone in the crowd.
Still, the ticket was free, so I can’t complain too much. Here’s to hopefully another 30 years in Azeroth.
