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I'll be driving/taking the ferry daily from Bremerton during the expo and will bribe a ride to anybody that shows up to play heroclix at Comics Keep on Sundays.
Yeah, I made sure to get plane tickets that allowed for two check-in bags. One will be empty on the way there. Haha.
And I'm from West Omaha, but I live in Lincoln for school right now.
I'm sure that I am in the minority with this, but after going to six years of E3, and now three years of PAX shows (PAXii?), how to transport swag is the lowest thing on my agenda. I recently moved and literally had 25 pounds of "swag" that got dumped in the bin. Countless black promotional teeshirts from games that sounded great at the time, but didn't do so well in reality, posters, stickers, keychains, flashlights, little dolls, booklets and even the a stack of demo/beta CDs.
Having said that, I do still have a VERY small selection of swag that I kept. Things like the promotional coke can from Lineage, the original Guild Wars beta client (on a 256k USB drive), a t-shirt from Half Life 2, the figurine from the Aion release party, etc.
If it isn't something that I'm going to use or enjoy on a daily basis, I don't want it taking up space.
I with you on this. I've had my share of move dumps which included old con swag. Nowadays I tend to clean out the con swag bag at the hotel and am a picker as to what I pick up at booths.
This year I expect to be a bit less picky as I wouldn't mind bringing home some swag for friends who can't go to PAX. I guess I should have my messenger bag with me since holding even one t-shirt by hand all day would be annoying. I'll probably also still pack a compact, foldable duffle bag I use for things like Christmas trips when I expect to have more stuff to bring back.
PS: Oh, and I'm a PAX forum noob as well...so be gentle:winky:
The schedule should be posted here in the next two weeks or so (hopefully). Last year was my first PAX and my friend and I looked over the schedule and prioritized certain panels/shows/sessions so that we could see as much as possible.
I don't know if there will be another this year, but last year there was an unofficial PAX application for the iPhone that had the floor plan as well as the schedule built in. It was very handy when we got to a certain event and found out it was full or the line was too long.
I just don't know anybody in hundreds of miles around there! Well, not personally. I'm a regular at the PA Ventrilo (mostly for LoL), and i'm definetly a twitter shitter.
I guess I want to do pretty much everything. Have geekgasms with the games. Go to the concerts. Meet famous gamers. Oh, and party, definetly. Party hard! ^__^
That's about it, for now.
Please don't go. The drones need you. They look up to you.
Me too! I've been to PAX East with friends, but my friend bailed on me for PAX Prime. So... I'm setting off by myself! Good to know there are others in the same boat... I just hope I can connect with some of you!
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XBLA: shattered aura
I will be there alone as well.
Well, as alone as you can be around all those people!
It worked out really nicely and I'll be doing it again. There are so many things to do to keep busy that having it organized helps.
edit: I also had a list of places I researched to eat, I think only one of which we actually had time to go to.
OK, my first year going too. But I'm trying to get involved in as many events as I think I can handle since this is the first big event I'm going to without hubby. (Who will expect MANY tweets and updates from me as he's stuck working in Ethiopia.
I would say the best place to meet drinking buddies would be at the Triwizard Drinking Tournament the night before PAX. Unless you mean the the fourth is your twenty-first birthday. Because that may present a problem getting to go on the pub crawl.
My birthday is on the day of the triwizard crawl (turning 22), so that's always a good option. It was pretty fantastic last year, and there will probably be about 300 friends for you to make there. This would of course be a problem if the 4th is your 21st.
Map with some locations marked.
I can't remember which thread it was from. D:
Since Seattle streets weren't laid out along the paths of drunken cows, it will be much easier to find your way around than Boston was.
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Long time PA follower, first time forum poster and PAX attendee!
I actually just moved to Seattle from Milwaukee in March, and absolutely love this city. Being here not only has encouraged me to embrace the nerd/gaming community, but is also allowing me to attend PAX as well!
I have a friend or two that may be going one day, but I'll most likely be cruising the convention on my own most of the time. I look forward to meeting "the family" and hopefully meet some fellow Seattlites!
Cheers!
-Nick
That map is incorrect - the convention center is on Pike, not Union, as is the extra conference hall. Here it is on Google Maps - you know you're there because the street is covered by a glass "umbrella":
Washington State Convention Center
And here's Benaroya Hall, where the Main Theater is (keynote speech, concerts are there among other things)
The pins are definitely misleading as they aren't on the side of the block they should be, but definitely good to point out to those who don't know. I hadn't noticed until now.
The only marking I was paying attention to was the Red Lion Hotel since we decided to go with that instead of the Sheraton this year.
<@zerzhul>; you win at twdt
no it's not my 21st so i will be just fine lol. thanks
I just got word that I will be attending PAX Seattle with the folks from WB Games, I really hope to see you all there! Once I get my schedule setup I'll be able to plot some free time to get together with fans of WB's "War in the North".
More news soon, cheers!
Here's another view. Sheraton and WSCC. I stayed at the Sheraton the past three years I went. To get from the Sheraton to PAX, I exit the door that's right in front of the street view camera linked there. Click and drag your mouse to the right, panning your view to the left. That sidewalk goes in front of the Daily Grill, then you cross the street, and right there is the WSCC.
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I have a vehicle if it's not far, but I'd prefer to walk TBH. Exercise is good, and I'm sure traffic is horrible in Seattle, especially around PAX time.
Mine for text messages is set to the "!" sound.
And my ringtone is Keyboard Cat, which I imagine will get some laughs.
Option 2, walking! Get on 6th avenue (runs right by your hotel) and head away from the Seattle Center. Keep going until you hit Pike, hang a left and go one block and you're there (Option 2 is about a mile overall).
I do have a question for the veterans out there. I'm driving up to Seattle from down near Portland, and only going to be attending on Friday. I saw that convention center parking is available, but to use said parking to you need to present your PAX pass, or leave anything on the dashboard of the car outside of what ticket you may get from the parking garage people? It would also be helpful to know if there will be any hourly fee for parking there so I can plan accordingly.
The convention center parking garage has nothing to do with PAX (anyone can park there, no need for a PAX pass or etc.) If memory serves it's about $30 for the day and while it closes at midnight, there are payment kiosks and access from inside the convention center (so there shouldn't be any problem if you stay to watch the concerts.)
Street parking is probably cheaper, but good luck finding it.
This is my first year for Pax as well, but I have attended plenty of events in the Seattle area and have forked over plenty of money to park in garages.
Since you are only attending Friday I would recommend taking the light rail up.
Here is the map: http://www.soundtransit.org/Riding-Sound-Transit/Schedules-and-Facilities/Central-Link-Light-Rail.xml#map
Just park at the Tukwila station (Free parking, but limited to 24 hours) and pay $2.50 (one way). Get off at the Westlake stop and you will only have to walk about 4 blocks.
Its about a half hour ride, which is longer than driving (if there is no traffic) but you will be saving a little money, saving a little hassle (not having to drive in downtown seattle), helping out mother earth a little bit, and you will probably meet other people on their way to Pax as well.
I am only going on Saturday and I will be doing this exact same thing.
Highly recommend this. Even if driving is marginally faster than the light rail, honestly you'll eat up half your savings in finding parking. That, or you'll pay more for parking than you paid for the damn PAX badge (exaggerating, but not by much).
Yup, definitely a consideration. If you're not planning on crashing somewhere overnight, this severely limits you. I run into the same issue when taking the ferry over...we damn near missed the last one last year.
My ring tone is the Dragon Zord summon tune. It's nice, loud and always gets my attention.
<@zerzhul>; you win at twdt
My text alert (just got it) is the Sega Rally Game Over clip Makes me enjoy getting text messages much more. :lol:
Being able use gaming as a smalltalk/ice breaker subject and not have people look at you like you're an idiot.
Also: Random encounters with people from the industry while out and about. I ran into the MtG team from Wizards of the Coast at a coffee shop last year, as well as the guy from APE Games (who made the Order of the Stick game) while getting dinner.
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PAX Prime 2013 Buttoneering!
Absolutely! I only have video game talks with two friends, who I go to PAX with. Our first year (08) I was completely overwhelmed with how awesome an atmosphere it is. Without getting too emotional, it was one of the closest things to nirvana I've experienced.
It had such an impact that it is a yearly pilgrimage for us now. :mrgreen:
To those people worrying about going Solo, don't! I flew in to Boston alone (from England) and had an absolute blast there, despite being involved in a major accident within a day of arriving which left me with broken ribs and busted both shoulders.. which should have ended the trip, but everyone I met at PAX east was amazingly helpful and supportive for the whole 3 days, from enforcers helping me through crowds to random people helping me dig through my bag for random things..
There is honestly nothing to worry about doing this alone.. cos as has been said before, you're never alone here.. you are with friends you just haven't been formally introduced to yet!:lol:
And in regards to the question concerning prescription drugs, I was walking around PAX East with prescription painkillers and never had a problem from anyone about them..(granted these where in a prescription bottle, so I'd advise keeping them in that to be safe)
In regards to the bag/backpack question.. I was rocking the Bag of Holding V2 messenger bag from ThinkGeek, and that got insanely crammed through swag/merchandise (gotta love the behemoth's castle crasher figs) on the satiurday.. So unless you bring a hiking bag be prepared to be using a carrier bag at some point during the con if you're acting like a kleptomanic magpie!