June Gloom in the morning, ninety-degree temperatures in the afternoon, and no matter what the weather, people are huddled around their computer watching live streaming from the Los Angeles Convention Center. It’s that time of year again: the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, a cacophony of videogame excitement and publicity that comes to town each June.

Being a Los Angeles resident, I’ve been able to attend every E3 since 1995, except for a couple of years when the event was held in Atlanta (although I did attend one E3 in the Peach State). When I’m not attending in an official capacity to demonstrate a game I’ve produced or attend business meetings, I go to network and meet old friends (which means mostly hanging out at the bar at the event’s official hotel, The JW Marriott, or one of the many parties held each evening.

I do explore the trade floor despite the sound, noise, crush of people, and too-long lines to see the best games coming out. I expect to be looking at the games on the floor on Tuesday, and here are some of the things I’m most interested in:

• Fallout 4: Role-playing games are among my favorite genres, and so I’m always interested in seeking a new RPG. But what makes this one particularly interesting is that I once worked with some of the team members who made the original Fallout, and I’ll be curious to see what Bethesda has done with the next installment in this series.
• Star Wars Battlefront: Because it’s Star Wars! I was just looking at a gameplay video today with my game design students, and I was really enjoying the interplay between infantry, vehicle and aircraft combat. Plus seeing familiar faces like Luke Skywalker and Dark Vader! This one definitely awakens the Force in me!
• Mobile Gaming: I’ve never been that passionate about mobile games, having developed PC games for so many years. But I know that it’s a platform that many of my students are interested in developing for, and with over 70 mobile game exhibitors at the show this year, maybe I’ll find something that excites me as much as AAA strategy or RPG games do. (Although, I have to admit, I did take a liking to Monument Valley last year).
• Virtual Reality: There’s going to be twenty-two virtual reality exhibitors at this show! If any of them can make it possible for me to teach my game production classes without having to deal with LA morning traffic, I’m sold!

In addition to being at the Convention Center and JW Marriott on Tuesday, I’ll be at the International Game Developers Association networking event at the Figueroa on Wednesday evening (as well as any other parties I an get invites to at this late date). If you happen to see me, be sure to say, “hi!” (if I can hear you above the noise from the speakers).