Ever wondered what would happen if you introduce video game elements and story arcs to real life events? Around one-hundred journalists from around the globe got their chance to find out firsthand on September 5th.

My day started off a bit more adventurous than most going to the event; my flight was to leave San Francisco at just before 11AM PST, which put me on mark to reach Austin after 4PM local time, an hour before the event was set to begin. I landed and frantically scurried down to the taxi station where I was able to get into a cab and make my way to my hotel destination. This put another kink in things, as I missed the bus to the meeting spot by just minutes - doh!

I checked into my room and then took the cab to the AmeriSuites where I was greeted by a very large crowd of journalists, as well as April "CuppaJo" Burba and several other NCSoft employees, at a table with only a handful of badges waiting to be claimed; luckily I got there in time to get registration out of the way and picked up my badge.

An unshaven, poorly dressed man came through the hotel entrance and began handing out flyers and small pamphlets with some sort of logo on it. The flyer had lots of scribbled, incoherent babbling on it as well as what appeared to be hand-drawn glyphs. He left after passing the pieces out to a handful of the journalists on hand without saying a word about their meaning, much to our dismay. We were left to try and figure it out ourselves and those that deciphered the message figured out that it was a "warning" of events that would happen during the night.

From AmeriSuites we boarded two buses and patiently waited for the trip to Richard Garriott's manor to begin. About halfway through the trip for the bus I was on, we were pulled over by someone who claimed to be an agent searching for this strange man seen earlier, passing out warning flyers to attendees. This delayed our arrival by about ten minutes, but he finally left - realizing none of us were the person he was looking for - and we continued our journey.

We arrived at Britannia Manor "Mark 2" as Garriott likes to call it, as it's the second house he's built, with another on the way soon. Garriott was kindly waiting near the front door of the house to greet us as we filtered in to his home, which closely resembles a museum with all of the artifacts he's procured over the years.

After working our way through the house to the back yard, we arrived at a very large set of tents; housed under them included a grand buffet of very tasty barbecue, provided by Salt Lick BBQ of Driftwood, Texas. There was also a stage, projection screen, and concession stand that offered a number of beverage choices for the attendees.

Once everyone had a chance to fill their plates with the offerings and sit down, Garriott welcomed everyone and spoke a bit about Tabula Rasa; he feels that not only is Tabula Rasa a game, but also serves as "a cautionary tale about what I feel might befall the Earth," as he put it.

He then introduced a friend, Dr. James Cooper - an author and UFO specialist - who talked about discoveries at the dig site of Garriott's new house, which they claim are alien in design, but closely resemble artifacts found within Tabula Rasa. Dr. Cooper introduced the crowd to other "friends" of Garriott whom he'd invited to the Academy; Alan Azzwami - a man born in New York but raised in India, whom has traveled the world and believes that religious points scattered across the globe are actually "ley lines," including one under Garriott's own home that is currently under construction. The two remaining introductions were Garriott's personal Wine Consultant, Eric Mead and Max Maven - a man who believed that the human mind has incredible cognitive powers.

After the introduction we broke up into four groups and were given tours of Garriott's mansion, which also included stops off at stations located in certain points of the house where Garriott's friends put on shows for everyone; Eric Mead displayed his ability to bend spoons with his mind; Alan Azzwami told us about how the power of the mind can allow you to ignore bodily injuries and pain, then provided us with an example by sticking a large needle through his forearm. Then there was Max Maven, the parapsychologist who believes that the brain can force functions in the body, allowing you to discover things you only know exist on a subconcious level.

The tour capped off with an overview of Tabula Rasa, given by the game's producer Starr Long. Afterward, we were given a chance to ask him questions about the game, and varieties were asked. One centered on an Auction House, and whether or not Tabula Rasa will include one. While it won't be available at launch, Long ensured everyone that it will be patched in as part of the content patches post-launch. NCSoft is also looking into using a business model similar to the Station Pass offered by Sony Online Entertainment, which would allow players of NCSoft MMO's to pay one monthly fee and gain access to multiple games offered by the company.

It was then time to board the buses and head over to "Mark 3" - Richard Garriott's new home, still under construction - to show us some recent discoveries that have been dug up during the excavation process. When we arrived, we were told to stick close and only go where told, as there were live explosives on the site that could harm not just ourselves, but everyone there. Luckily no one strayed away from the pack and the tour moved swiftly through the construction area and on to our final destination. From the blueprints on display at one of the stops, Mark 3 of Britannia Manor is going to be massive, with multiple buildings and structures on the complex, including a large bell tower and a 120-foot deep well.

We arrived at a small tent and were quickly cordoned off with caution tape, told to stay behind the tape or risk serious injury; the events that would transpire next felt ripped straight from the game and very much like experiencing an action movie firsthand. Dr. Cooper game on stage and admitted that his real name is in fact not Dr. Cooper, but rather Brad Henderson (who was ultimately the architect for the entire night's events). Mr. Henderson unveiled the object that the team discovered while digging out the foundation of the site and then requested that several of the attendees come up and try to activate it.

Once the four brave souls activated the object, eerie music played over the loud speakers and a Bane commander appeared on a screen nearby, talking of Earth's pending demise as the Bane invasion force was fast approaching. From there, explosions began to erupt on the distant side of the complex and it was apparent that the Bane were indeed launching an attack on this newly activated control point in Richard Garriott's construction site. Luckily, the AFS arrived in time to fight back the Bane incursion, along with the help of Robert Garriott - CEO of NCSoft America and brother of Richard - who flew in with a helicopter to lend a hand to the ground troops. Afterward we were given some exciting news; Tabula Rasa was due to launch October 19th, with a pre-order 3-day early access beginning on October 16th.

All-in-all, NCSoft did a great job with the event, even exceeding my expectations for what was going to occur. If Richard Garriott's team can show the dedication to Tabula Rasa that they did in creating and running the evening's events, then there's no doubt it will be a very successful and fun game to play.

You can check out all of the images from the event here: Tabula Rasa Logos Academy Images