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I got back from Vegas over a week ago and I’m still buzzing from the trip.
Watching Jarla lift the iconic Prime Championship trophy and win the $100,000 grand prize was a memorable moment for everyone in attendance and the entire Parallel family.
Unfortunately I had to bounce from HyperX Arena right after the Finals to catch a flight home, but despite being physically exhausted and losing my voice, I was mentally and emotionally wired.
Below is my recap of the event for Prime.Wiki, along with some of the many lore-related updates from the weekend.
The PPC was a fresh and truly uplifting community-driven experience. Tons of people were meeting face-to-face for the first time, with friendships ranging anywhere from a few months to four years.
This theme of “firsts” in Vegas, combined with more than 200 fans from all over the world coming together to celebrate Parallel, was just one of many reasons why the venue was full of immaculate vibes from start to finish.
Over the past week, the positive feedback from key influencers like Allie, Fitch, Swish, Feno, Thijs, and Lamby has brought even more hype to Season 2 of the league. Many of the top Parallel Ambassadors also spoke highly of their trip to Vegas, including Excelsor, one of the tournament casters.
Overall, the quality of the atmosphere and the production was a key part of the tournament’s overall success.
For the collectors, Parallel’s swag game in Vegas was elite. They had multiple t-shirts, PRIME jerseys, faction hats, pill hats, event posters, stickers, lanyards, mousepads, koozies, physical packs, and plenty more stuff to give away. They even had some of the new custom figurines on display, including Arak, Gaffar, and Catherine Lapointe.
Speaking of Cathy, one of the stars of the event was Melissa Morbid, who showed up in an elite Cathy cosplay. Lord Harf also made an appearance, which was a promising sign of things to come in the future. Parallel Costume Party, anyone?
After the tournament, Parallel took things one step further by rewarding all attendees in Vegas with an exclusive PL card back featuring the Prime Championship Trophy. The Top-32 players are also getting beautiful Prime Variants, while the rest are being raffled off during this Season’s play.
This is just a tiny peek into a very content-heavy event, so I recommend the latest episode of the Parallel Prime League Podcast. It features Allie, Mookah, and Swish as they recap Vegas and prepare for what’s coming in Season 2.
For the lore goblins, go to the 33:00 mark to learn more about Deception and future lore leaks.
Our first-ever “Lore Goblin Gathering” on Saturday afternoon was an absolute blast, as we had a chance to introduce the community to three key members of the Parallel team: Oscar Mar, Greg Lastra, and Mr. Gone.
At the start of the Meet & Greet, I took a moment to present Allie, Dave, and GL with commemorative glow in the dark Lore Goblin hats. These were given as a token of appreciation for their contributions to the growth of the Parallel community.
A little later, Mr. Gone wandered upstairs and decided to pop a squat next to Oscar and join in on the fun. Shortly thereafter, TheBrasilianKid strolled upstairs and showed off his ‘Shroud & Proud’ shirt (designed by Artcank), which is now signed by four Parallel legends. A true 1-of-1.
The hour flew by, but we couldn’t be happier with the overall turnout. It was awesome to see so many lore lovers in one spot, and we really appreciate Parallel giving us the chance to host this little side-event. Along with the special guests, a huge thanks to fellow Wardens and lore goblins MadProf, DragonSpit, and Dave for helping out with setup and logistics.
During tournament play, there were plenty of other lore-related insights to gain during the two-day event. This was highlighted by a couple of private “screenings” for Sanctuary, and a playable demo of Colony on mobile devices.
Thankfully I was able to attend one of the Sanctuary screenings on Saturday afternoon. We were politely asked to keep the phones down and not leak anything, so I’ll provide just some general observations from being in the room.
Let’s start with the new trailer for Sanctuary, which was revealed on the big screen in Vegas.
Since this third-person extraction shooter takes place in the Parallel universe, during the private screening, the team shared glimpses of environments, buildings and structures, characters and creatures, equipment, and weapons. We also got some spicy clues about the game’s backstory, along with a breakdown of the team’s key design goals.
By the end of the session, in terms of the lore-specific aspects of the game, I left the room feeling satisfied and pleasantly unsurprised.
Satisfied at what Sanctuary could mean for the future cohesiveness of all Parallel lore, art, and stories. And unsurprised at the continued level of quality, talent, attention to detail, and creativity the team is now showing across three separate titles (and two different studios).
As expected, most of the discussion in this session was focused on gameplay. Topics included how Sanctuary compares to and distinguishes itself from Tarkov, and how the team might handle things like proxy chat, inventory management, difficulty levels, and other extraction shooter related mechanics.
When someone asked about Avatars and how they would be used in the game, the team’s faces lit up. A surprising number of people in the room owned at least one Avatar, so there was an eagerness to hear more. Sure enough, the team had plenty to share about the Avatars, their identities, abilities, and potential crossover with Colony and the TCG.
To me, interoperability is still one of the biggest keys to brining the lore together within the Parallel universe.
In fact, when people saw how the Avatars looked in a fully rendered state, there were oohs, ahhs, and even some clapping. Seeing an Avatar fully integrated into a brand new Parallel environment was a sight to behold, and it definitely captured everyone’s attention.
Overall, I thought the private screening session was an awesome perk for attendees. Watching the team’s presentation and then offering them instant feedback was a cool privilege. It was also clear from hearing Astro, Tommy, and GL speak about the game that they’re proud of the progress so far and confident in what it will become.
To wrap up my reflection on the Sanctuary reveal, I think the team made one thing quite clear. As all three games continue to develop, the Lead Art Director (Oscar), Lead Narrative Writer (GL), and the Lead TCG Designer (Veen) will be working closer together to enhance and deepen all aspects of the lore across all three titles.
In essence, the interoperability of player-owned assets like cards, Avatars, and Companions, both in terms of ownership and the lore, should continue to strengthen as the three titles evolve.
This was further confirmed when GL shared that his role with Parallel is expanding beyond just writing the comics and helping with TCG lore. From new cinematics alongside Oscar, to everything the team is cooking related to the backstory in Sanctuary, GL is getting way more involved.
Overall, it sounds like Parallel recognizes the opportunity and the responsibility in front of them with Sanctuary, so I expect the lore to continue emerging in some cool and unique ways. In talking briefly with Oscar, it also sounds like we’re still only scratching the surface of what’s in store for cinematics, as his work on the Sanctuary reveal trailer spoke for itself.
And don’t forget we still have Issue 6 of the comic series, which is going to knock your parasocks off.
Last but not least, it sounds like the monthly BattlePass could reveal more lore between Aftermath and Deception. In fact, it sounds like it is being considered as a key vehicle for driving the story forward. Although this is by no means confirmed, don’t be surprised if future BP cards reveal some characters that bring new and enticing storylines to the overall plot.
As Swish said quite succinctly in the recent podcast episode with Allie and Mookah, lore goblins better buckle up.
Along with the Sanctuary reveal, another key lore faucet in Vegas was the playable demo of Colony.
This brought an even brighter spotlight to the Avatars, as their impact on the wider Parallel universe was more tangible and “real” than ever before. From creating an Avatar’s background to directing it to craft items, guests were able get a little taste of what this new gaming experience feels like.
Everyone I spoke to who had a chance to playtest Colony really liked it, including DMoney. Definitely watch his video and stay tuned for more updates about Parallel’s second title!
Now that I’ve shared some tidbits from the Sanctuary reveal and the Colony playtest, let’s circle back to the main lore vehicle, the TCG.
While the team confirmed that the art for Deception is now complete, don’t expect the expansion set to drop until the end of summer.
For now, make sure you’re following Veen on X, as he already dropped some leaks he originally shared on a recent BunnyHopper stream.
Deception might be months away from dropping, but this is still a really exciting time for the TCG. The game is going to receive an influx of new players due to the upcoming launch of mobile, and with new players comes an opportunity for Parallel to grab their attention and hold it.
As always, I’ll do my best to capture as much intel as possible as we look forward to Issue 6 and some Deception art.
Or, you know, just follow Kalos.
Before more time passes, I wanted to go back and share some of my favorite characters and lore tidbits from Aftermath. Enjoy the refresher and I’ll see you on the battlefield as we grind all month for a chance to win a Prime Variant!
NOTE: This does not include every card in the set but will still give you a good overview of the lore and accompanying cinematics. Feel free to tag us on X if you find additional Easter eggs or other lore related tidbits in Aftermath!
The following 15 cards have special Prime Variant art versions:
Along with the PV cards, there were 10 Card Backs including five Prime Containment editions and five Legacy Tag editions. There were also eight art cards, including Supply Crawler Aerial View, Supply Crawler Front View, Shield of Nehemiah Concept, Shield of Nehemiah, Insidious Smuggler, Vandalizer, Retired Officer, and C-24 Supply Ship Art Cards.
If you have any questions, please tag me on Twitter at @Goldy_TGG. Don’t forget to follow @Primewiki and @ParallelLore so you don’t miss future posts. If you’d like to play Parallel, use our referral link!