PAX Prime 2014 – The prep
In but a few short hours the gathering horde will be released from the queue room and they shall flood into the expo hall like an unstoppable wave of raw excitement. Hopefully they all remembered to shower and put on deodorant. Over the next four days we enter gaming nerd Valhalla and feast upon all that is yet to be in our preferred medium. Many gather for the spectacle of the video games and their increasingly more realistic graphics while others seek new reasons to roll a D6 around a table with their close friends. Whatever the reason, this is a weekend that tens of thousands look forward to each year where they can play and enjoy their hobby surrounded by friends they just haven’t met.
Perhaps that was a bit much exposition, but I’m one of those people that looks forward to this event all year. PAX is my favorite excuse to tune out from all the crazy and depressing things in the world. To reboot and find some new and exciting thing for a few days and just have fun for a while. Last night, I and a mass of other people made our way out to the Microsoft campus for a Pre-PAX Open House. A host of independent game titles scheduled for release on Xbox One as part of the ID@Xbox campaign were available for public consumption as well as free snacks and beverages for players to enjoy. A lot of my favorite PC games are coming to Xbox One (seriously, play Volgarr) as well as some new gems that are really worth checking out. Megan and I had a lot of fun playing ninja capture the flag with Slash Dash which will also be playable (along with dozens of other indie titles) at the Seattle Indies Expo on Monday, September 1st.
As for today, I’m probably running straight to Telltale Games’ booth to get my hands on Tales From the Borderlands as well as possibly picking up a sweet shirt to go with it. Then it’s off to go play some Sunset Overdrive and participate in the various events that they’ve been cooking up for PAX (details here). Of course, that’s just to start and there are plenty of other major titles being shown off on site and plenty of big name publishers throwing everything they have at the game hungry masses. For those interested in acquiring mountains of swag, there’s even a handy Facebook group devoted to exactly that.
Some people just love to party! Who can blame them? PAX after parties are a long standing tradition even if many participants can’t quite remember what happened the next day. I can’t even begin to keep track of this stuff myself, so luckily there are awesome users over on the Penny Arcade forums that compile a list of parties as well as (you guessed it) a Facebook group dedicated to pursuing post convention cavorting. Current plans for the Dorkadia staff include hitting up the Trion Worlds party tonight over at the W Hotel, so say hi if you see us there.
The last thing I want to mention is the Indie Megabooth. It has become my new favorite place to go at PAX to discover all of the games that I didn’t know I wanted to play. Yes, I know that there are places where I can find out what’s going to be there, but I much prefer wandering through and letting a new game catch my attention. It kinda reminds me of those days when I used to walk through the game section of my local video store looking for a new rental. For those that can’t make it to PAX, be sure to click the link above and check out the games being offered up for our enjoyment this year.
I’m not much of a panel goer, but if I were I’d be using the Guidebook app to schedule the hell out of my weekend. (Hint: if you have a smartphone and like being organized, get that app.) It’s available for Android, iOS, and even on the web! However, I do want to plug Megan’s panel: Not Us, Not Here: Examining Bullying, Harassment & Misogyny. I’ll be spending most of my time roaming the expo hall, talking to devs, and picking up swag. I can only hope that there will be no photographic or video evidence of me checking out Fantasia: Music Evolved because it won’t be pretty. After this weekend, I’m pretty sure I’m going to spend most of Tuesday in a stimulus overload coma and smiling the whole time. Keep an eye on the site as we’ll be doing a post-PAX wrap up and maybe even a podcast from the show!
