In two weeks the gaming industry and its ravenous fans gather in Los Angeles for E3. Thousands of people get hands-on with some of gaming’s most anticipated titles before the entire world. While playing video games is the trade show’s staple, in recent years E3 has put together incredible talks featuring some of film and television’s biggest names. In 2018, the E3 Colosseum (taking place at The Novo in LA Live), produced by Geoff Keighley (The Game Awards), returns and its baker’s dozen line up of panels is shaping up to be the best of any convention this year.
NOTE: Some panel times are still TBA and all sessions are being listed as able to be viewed on Facebook Live
TUESDAY JUNE 12 (All times PST)
(TBA) Revenge of the NPC: Video Gaming’s Influence on Westworld,” a conversation with Tom Bissell.
Johnathan Nolan, Lisa Joy — Westworld
Showrunners of the hit HBO show Westworld talk about the influence of video game storytelling and on their own projects.
(TBA) Making of Fallout 76 with Todd Howard
Todd Howard — Bethesda Software
Premiere screening of the No Clip documentary and a live Q&A with Bethesda creative director Todd Howard
12:15PM Interactive Magic with Penn Jillette and Randy Pitchford
Penn Jillette, Magician – Penn & Teller
Randy Pitchford, President – Gearbox
Magic and gaming have more in common than you would think! Join magician Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller) and Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford as they discuss the unexpected intersection of illusion, magic, VR, and gaming.
1:45PM The Future of Narrative
Amy Hennig, Writer/Director
A conversation about telling stories in today’s video games – and where it’s going in the future.
3:00PM Hideo Kojima in Conversation with Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Hideo Kojima, President – Kojima Productions
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Director – Kong: Skull Island
Last year, Hideo Kojima discussed his deep encyclopedic knowledge of film and the deep influence cinema has had on his work. It was a one-on-one conversation led by Kong: Skull Island director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts. This year they return for a follow up that shifts the focus toward the creative process. We will focus with specificity on how Kojima-san has pushed boundaries in staging action, camera movement, creating mood, writing dialogue and directing performance.
5:00PM Transference with Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood, Actor
Prepare to lose yourself in Transference, a new game that bridges the gap between movies and games. Join Elijah Wood, SpectreVision and Ubisoft Montreal at E3 Coliseum for an in-depth look at this innovative psychological thriller.
6:00PM Grim Fandango
Alan Blumenfeld, Actor
Tony Plana, Actor
Jim Ward, Actor
Tim Schafer, President – Double Fine Productions
Maria Canals-Barrera, Actor
Patrick Dollaghan, Actor
20 years ago Tim Schafer’s Grim Fandango released and became an instant classic of the adventure genre. At E3, the cast reunites for a one-night-only live reading of select scenes, live music from composer Peter McConnell, and more surprises!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 13
1:45PM Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Jason Blundell, Co-Studio Head – TreyArch
Treyarch discusses the history of Zombies, its ravenous fan community, and what might be lurking around the corner next.
2:30PM Worlds Collide
Donald Mustard, Worldwide Creative Director – Epic Games
Joe Russo, Director – Avengers: Infinity War
Geoff Keighley, Executive Producer – The Game Awards
Today the stories that grab us the most are part of evolving narrative worlds — games, cinematic universes, and other adventures that play out over time, and sometimes across multiple forms of media. In this special E3 session, Fortnite creative director Donald Mustard and Avengers: Infinity War director Joe Russo sit down with Geoff Keighley (The Game Awards) for a discussion about storytelling and world building across games, film, TV, and comics.
3:30PM Tomb Raider
Camilla Luddington, Performance Artist for Lara Croft – Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Jill Murray, Lead Writer – Eidos Montreal
Darryl Purdy, Performance Director – Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Earl Baylon, Performance Artist for Jonah Maiava – Shadow of the Tomb Raider
The critically acclaimed and world-famous TOMB RAIDER® franchise has sold over 63 million copies globally. Join the creative team and cast behind Shadow of the Tomb Raider as they share new details about Lara Croft’s latest adventure.
THURSDAY JUNE 14
10:00AM Darren Aronofsky in Conversation
Darren Aronofsky, Filmmaker
Oscar-nominated director of Black Swan and the films Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and mother!, Darren Aronofsky brings his signature creative style to E3 Coliseum for a can’t miss discussion on world building in video games.
10:45AM Cuphead
James Baxter, Animator
Maya Modelhauer, Executive Producer, Lead Inking Artist – Studio MDHR
Hanna Abi-Hanna, Lead Animator – Studio MDHR
Come see legendary animator of Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King, James Baxter, and Studio MDHR host an interactive workshop on the animation approach of Cuphead.
UNSCHEDULED
GHOSTS OF TSUSHIMA
Join SUCKER PUNCH PRODUCTIONS at E3Coliseum for a closer look at their new playstation title Ghost of Tsushima
LEGO DC SUPER-VILLAINS: An Inside Look at the Villain Centric Adventure Game
Join the team behind the LEGO DC Super-Villains and Joshua Ovenshire for an inside look at the first LEGO game to put players at the center of a villain-centric adventure packed with favorite locations and characters from across the DC Universe! E32018
BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT’S FIGHTING GAME DOJO
Join Katsuhiro Harada and Motohiro Okubo for an intimate look at fighting games development at BANDAI NAMCO and get the latest updates on SOULCALIBIUR VI and the world of TEKKEN.
You can keep up with the updated schedule on the E3 Expo website.
Geoff Keighley and his team deserve major kudos for putting together a quality lineup these past few years and 2018 looks to be the best yet.
Even with the panels whose schedule has not been announced, the total number of sessions (as of writing this) is 15. Every convention in comic con culture would go into cardiac arrest if they saw their show’s schedule only has 15 sessions. Most conventions we cover always believe more is better when it comes to programming for an audience, truth is, that’s never been the case and I believe the lines of people which wrap around LA Live to get into the E3 Colosseum support that. Yes, any convention’s programming exists to alleviate the pressure from the bursting aisles of a convention floor but putting together sessions that have substance and entertain the fanbase bring more people in per session than hundreds of convention panels at various shows. I won’t deny putting something together such as the E3 Colosseum requires a hefty budget, hours of painstaking coordination, and days of pitch meetings. Most of the conventions across the country won’t make that commitment. That’s the ceiling most conventions will never breakthrough, going from something that justifies the cost of admission or simply being another in the line of traveling carnivals.
My weekend rant is over and we’re less than 10 days away from E3. If playing tons of video games and chanting “Kojima!” is your thing, Gamer Passes for E3 are still available at the show’s website. Next Saturday, we’ll put up all the links to view all the press conferences before E3 from Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC Gaming and more.
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