Developers Conference (GDC), and E3, all of which were well received. A week after the CES show in January, game journalists were allowed to play the game's multiplayer component for the first time. The game's showing at E3 garnered it the Game Critics Award for "Best Action Game". A single-player demo was released to the public in August. The following week, Vivendi allowed journalists to play through the first four levels of the game, unabridged, which generated even more positive reaction than their previous hands-on experiences. A multiplayer demo was released in September. A week before release, Vivendi had film director John Carpenter attend a number of media events, giving his thoughts on the game, of which he said, it was "as close as I've ever come to playing a movie." P.A.N.I.C.S. In the lead up to the game's release in October 2005, episodes were released online of a comedy miniseries created by Rooster Teeth and distributed by BeSeen Communications. P.A.N.I.C.S. (People Acting Normal In Crazy-Ass Situations) is a parody of F.E.A.R., produced primarily by way of the machinima technique of synchronizing footage created by a game engine (in this case, the LithTech Jupiter EX) to pre-recorded dialogue and audio effects. Vivendi commissioned Rooster Teeth and BeSeen to make the series as a viral marketing campaign, with Lori Inman, Vivendi's Senior Brand Manager, stating, "with F.E.A.R. we knew we had a very special title combining a cutting edge FPS engine with a spine-tingling storyline. We liked the idea of creating a humorous viral machinima series that would entertain fans and showcase the spectacular visuals and character animations offered in the game." The mini-series consists of five episodes, each running between three and four minutes. Four episodes were released in the weeks prior to the game's launch ("Enter Frank" on September 30, "Who Wants the Wing?" on October 1, "The Writing on the Walls" on October 10, and "All Things Must Come to an End......" on October 19). A fifth episode – Episode #0, set moments before "Enter Frank" – was included with F.E.A.R. Director's Edition. The story centers on Frank, a new recruit into Bravo Team, a special military group formed to battle supernatural enemies. As the series begins, Bravo Team has been sent into a military facility to investigate reports of paranormal activity. As team members start dying in horrific fashion, Frank is incredulous to learn his teammates don't