Day 0+1: Departure and arrival in Germany
We left late in the day, so the plan was to try and sleep on the plane to avoid jetlag. This worked fairly well, and the flight was without any incident.
When we got to Frankfurt, we took the train to Cologne, where Gamescom (and our hotel) were located. Our room was fairly spacious, with a space with a table and a desk. The hotel was also well located, at walking distance to the tram lines and near a few bus routes as well.
For dinner we went to a Korean restaurant nearby, not very German but it was very good!
Dat 2: Gamescom Dev
Breakfast was included with the hotel so I ate there every day. It was fine, but compared to my other trips we only stayed at that hotel all week, so the buffet lost its novelty quickly.
It was a busy day for me; I was invited to Gamescom Dev to give a talk and I wanted to help setup our booth and test our game before Gamescom itself.
I listened to a few talks and I gave mine, I was very stressed but I think things went okay. I had questions from the public and good feedback.
Lastly, I went to Gamescom Opening Night Live since I had VIP tickets. It was cool but not really that much better than watching it online.
Day 3: Gamescom & Networking dinner
After an usual breakfast, I went to our booth to make sure that everything was okay. The event had started (a bit slowly because access was limited to press and other developers on Wednesday) but there still were a lot of people.
I then went to a dinner that I had been invited to. There were interesting conversations and the food was really good!
Day 4: Gamescom & Boat ride
Gamescom was open for the general public! A lot of visitors, people everywhere. There were a ton of people who came and try our game, talk to me and ask me questions.
For dinner we went to a beerhaus to try some local specialties like pork knuckles and the local beer, the Kolsch.
We then had a boat ride on the Rhein, it lasted two hours and we were able to admire the town from the river.
Day 5: Cathedral and Gamescom
After the usual hotel breakfast, we went to visit Cologne’s cathedral, an incredibly impressive church. We have visited it’s treasury as well.
The rest of my day was spent working at our Gamescom booth, answering questions, let people try the game and chat with fans.
Day 6: Gamescom
It was a whole day dedicated almost exclusively to work at our Gamescom booth.
For dinner we went to another tavern to try some other local specialties. My soup and my beer tiramisu where perticularly good.
Day 7: Chocolate museum & Gamescom
We started our day going to the Chocolate museum in Cologne. It was interesting! There was a part about the production of chocolate, but also it’s economic impacts, cultural impacts, how various types of chocolates are made - showcased in a small factory.
The rest of the day was at our Gamescom booth. It was the last day but there still were a lot of people.
Day 8: Coming back
Awoke at 4 am to take a bus at 5 to take the train to the Frankfurt airport.
A few hijinxs occurred on the way and after a bit of an interminable wait we arrived back home! I thought I would watch some movies during the flight, but I’ve played Hades 2 the whole way (for all seven hours that the flight lasted!)
