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PAX Impressions, Stories, Tales
Posts
The amount of awesomeness you have now shown by having a freaking NFG cover band has started to blind me.
Just saying. <3 (NFG was the first band I was ever into, more or less)
The Ferquinarium <-- (don't click; finding new host)
MarySue, next time just do one of the pre-PAX events as well. It was fun knowing even more people this year then I did the previous year.
Always looking for more people to know both in and outside of PAX
You're my new favorite.
+++BRONYS BEFORE BROS!+++
feyith - I think that was my group, and my first game of Forbidden Island - it was awesome! I bought the game yesterday because of your great demo!
I got an anti-newbie vibe in the freeplay rooms, too, which was really weird. But there's two halves to that equation. Some folks came up to our group as we were playing and asked if they watched for a bit, explaining they were really interested in the game. We were totally cool with it. But a lot of people cruised the rooms fearfully and then scampered out the door without so much as saying anything.
NOT in an attempt to dump on you, but as helpful advice: You generally are treated the same way you treat others. Next time, try just cheerfully asking if you watch some people play for a bit, and if they're a cool group, ask to join in their next game when the one you're watching finishes.
Second little bit of advice: BUY ZOMBIE DICE. CARRY WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES. GET IN A LINE. Seriously, even if it's a line for a show you're not interested in. Bust out the Zombie Dice, ask if anyone wants to play, and you'll get like a dozen yeses. By the time you're done a few rounds, you have a dozen new friends to chatter with during the panel and meet up with afterwards. Works every time.
Last bit of advice, directly counteracting what was said earlier: GO TO THE TRIWIZARD DRINKING PARTY. I went as a loner to Ravenclaw and that's where I found the crew that I hung out with for the rest of the weekend. You have to be prepared to be a *little* outgoing, and if you're like me, the alcohol helps a bit. Don't be afraid to just introduce yourself and ask questions (asking questions is crucial because people love talking about themselves and it helps them open up). Bring and bust out Zombie Dice! Start a Zombie Dice drinking game!
I went as a PAX Virgin, and all by myself. I had a few lonely moments, sure. And "lonely by yourself at home" has NOTHING on "lonely in the middle of a crowd of happy people". But there's a lot of ways to get into groups having fun at PAX. Hopefully you can find 'em next time.
You ARE coming again, yes? =3
Yeah - the sheer amount of 'wasted time' seemed not fun and really left a bad taste in my mouth this year. I've been coming to PAX since 2003/04 - when it was small and super-intimate - so maybe I'm biased...
But I just can't justify standing 2+ hours for a quick shot at any one game anymore. Sure - I want to see the games and see them played by individuals that are not the pre-canned demo guy; but I couldn't even bring myself to stand in the multi-hour Portal line (wouldn't have mattered anyway since they'd cut the line off after it got too long) for a 10 minute session. I know youtube videos of gameplay will be up shortly. But I don't want to waste 1/8 of the amazing PAX day for a 10 minute slot.
The panel lines were also crazy. They were well managed and the 'keep it fun' atmosphere was done as best as possible; but still. I went to see the D&D resurrection adventure and people were lining up 3 hours in advance and it got CRAZY HOT in the hotel waiting area. So, 3 hour wait + 2 hour show just took up the better part of the PAX day. Really? We just spent the majority of the PAX day for 1 thing? I don't know - left a bad taste in my mouth...
The show floor schwag contests were getting crazy. You had to be present to win or do a whole bunch of running around for punches/stickers/trivia that I lost all interest. You could literally spend the entire time at PAX doing marketing contests on the show floor. You had to be something of a planning nut to get them all to work out. I felt bad for the amount of time folks were putting into winning something you can pick up on ebay today for less than $10 and missing out on all the other great stuff/people they could meet.
A more macro trend that has me worried is that I've been coming to PAX for years, and ever since E3 went away - this has become *the* spot the game companies pour their marketing money/efforts. It worries me because E3 imploded under the weight of it's own budgeting/marketing gradosity. It seems as if PAX
might be headed down the same track if it continues like this...I sure hope not.
My suggestion - do what Siggraph does. They have a 'watching room(s)' that has feeds from a lot of the different events going on simultaneously. You plop down, get a headset tuned for the room(s) you want to see, and then watch on one of the 10+ projectors they have set up. This would kill the lines, let you quickly get in/out of the different sessions/etc and still see everything.
How about that guys?
lol. "....is my *blank* cover band." is something of a Wil Wheaton/Paul & Storm meme thing. At least that's who I see using it mainly.
Would be awesome if she had a NFG coverband though
Scene- Saturday Afternoon, Tabletop Freeplay Area. MARY SUE wanders in. You can tell it's Mary Sue because she's got a ukulele sticking out of her purse.
Mary Sue sees a couple groups playing Catan. Mary Sue wanders over. Mary Sue asks, "Hey, can I watch?"
Group uniformly looks up at her and glares. Mary Sue exits stage left.
This scene repeated several times.
Had it. Played it a lot in lines. Also had Cthulhu Dice, spent some time in the TTFP demoing both games for a steady stream of people on Sunday just because they are both awesome. Wanted to play something a little more in-depth Saturday afternoon. I also taught Hecho to some people on Friday because after a quick demo by the designers, my wallet jumped right out of my pocket and spit money at them.
I figured that going to PAX alone wasn't going to be a problem, as I'm nothing even vaugely resembling the shy, retiring type (did you read what, exactly, a Mary Sue is? Do you understand I was graced with that name by my parents? Do you know I've been carded by folks like Lucy Lawless and Wil Wheaton when I asked for things to be autographed to Mary Sue [getting carded by those folks is some of my favoritest memories ever]?)
I really wish people would quit assuming I'm some kind of invisible wallflower (hard to be when you're 300 lbs of awesome with a double side order of win). I put myself out there, and most of the time it was rewarded with awesome. Saturday afternoon? Not so awesome.
And from this thread, and more so in the stickied suggestions thread, it looks like plans are being made both at the official and unofficial level to ensure there are ways for people in the TTFP to find groups. Which is what I'd love to see come out of my fairly icky experience.
Didn't I say that? I thought I did make mention of plans are in the works. And now apparently I'll have to learn to play Newfound Glory on my ukulele. Poor thing. It usually only plays Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond songs, I hope it's not warped beyond recognition.
+++BRONYS BEFORE BROS!+++
Scene - Thursday Afternoon, Penny Arcade Forums. IMPERFECT walks in. You can tell it's Imperfect because he's busy being, you know. Not exactly perfect.
Imperfect sees Mary Sue making a post about having a rough time at PAX. Imperfect assumes the wrong stuff and writes the wrong post in reply.
Mary Sue looks up at him and glares.
Imperfect is cool with it though, because he has long ago gotten used to his own particular fuckups. He asks forgiveness in the form of a short play.
PAX Prime 2011 DM Challenge Champion
Okay, that sucks. Mass Silent death glare is juvenile high school bullshit. Or Pod People or Midwich Cuckoos bullshit.
All the groups I was playing with seemed very inclusive. I also audited a group playing Twilight Imperium for half an hour or so (first game on my list when I find an awesome group). The worst thing I was guilty of was refocusing on the game too fast when people came up to watch (Arhkam Horror with full expansions tends to draw observers), and I still kinda feel bad about that.
All I can say is that you must have been unlucky.
Note regarding ukeleles: not intrinsically awesome, but context is everything. I am imagining a spontaneous rendition of 'Mr FancyPants' or "The Captain's Wife's Lament" with some awe.
The other possibility is that those playing Catan may simply have been afraid of you. Catan is a game that raises passion in the players, eg "your bastard road laying has blocked me for the last time, prepare to die!!!!!!" or "sheep? SHEEP?!?!?! I'll give you sodding Sheep!" the thought of a woman with a ukelele and a towering rage may have simple cowed them into preemptive action.
Unfortunately, I have to wait for my fingernail to grow back in before I can start work on it (I split the darn thing all to pieces at PAX). So to tide all y'all over, here's a video of a cute British girl playing Truth of My Youth on the ukulele. .
Speaking of ukes (heyyy, segue!) anyone else see Molly Lewis at the GeekNights PAX Late Show podcast thingamajimmie? She was the best part of the whole thing.
+++BRONYS BEFORE BROS!+++
Well, at least you're more polite than me - if I had a group doing the massive glare at me, I'll probably pipe up and say "No? Well, fuck you too".
XBL Gametag: mailarde
Screen Digest LOL3RZZ
("5-hole Ocarina" is the name of my Enya cover band)
3DS Friend Code: 3737-9749-7483
I'm pretty sure that it's one of Paul & Storm's running gags that Wil picked up doing w00tstock with them. That's one of my favorite parts of their show; coming up with good ones on the fly requires both quick wit and a near-encyclopedic knowledge of band names. They may hit a lot of the same notes in their shows, but the banter is always different, which means they're always coming up with new ones. The Saturday night concert was probably a new high for them all in that regard, because they killed.
This was also my first time seeing JoCo although I'm surprised he was highly admired by a lot of PAXers I met since his stuffs on Saturday was just middling.
XBL Gametag: mailarde
Screen Digest LOL3RZZ
It's an acquired taste, and from what I hear, Benaroya's acoustics wreaked havoc with vocals, which is key to a lot of nerd music.
PAX Prime 2011 DM Challenge Champion
The audio setup on Saturday night actually did his songs a huge disservice. I'm a big fan and yet his performance was disappointing and not very understandable.
(Just Middling is my Jimmy Eat World cover band?)
XBL Gametag: mailarde
Screen Digest LOL3RZZ
http://dreamsofrandomness.blogspot.com/2010/09/geeking-it-out-at-pax-2010-part-1.html
I lost but I still fucking rocked the joint.
The drums were drowning out the rest of the music.