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PAX Prime 2011 Suggestions Thread

Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModerator mod
edited April 2011 in PAX Archive
I know everybody has suggestions for next PAX now that PAX is over, so post them here. Remember to follow the forum rules and above all, don't be a dick.

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Moe Fwacky on
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Posts

  • DrBallsDrBalls Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    There really should be a Cosplay contest or something of the sort. I'm not a cosplayer but I do appreciate the time and effort people put into their costumes and I never get to see them all.

    DrBalls on
  • VivaldiVivaldi Registered User new member
    edited September 2010
    My only concern was with Benaroya Hall. Mostly that it was NOT a five minute walk at all, and the limit on seats really was a pain. I waited in line for at least an hour and was one of the very last ones let in. Almost everyone else behind me couldn't get in no matter what. I feel this was the major weak point of PAX :P

    Maybe next year have it in a standing room theater?

    Vivaldi on
  • bionic_eyesbionic_eyes Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    the use of Twitter to disseminate information was a good idea.

    the problem is that i don't have a smartphone. and a lot of people who did have them had connection issues due to the heavy load (PAX + Bumbershoot = infrastructure fail).

    i went to a professional conference this year that had monitors showing the official conference Twitter feed, and certain hashtags. it allowed everyone to get the info and also created community and discussion in the area around the monitors.

    it would be great to have some monitors in the convention center with the line info feed running. and say, the one for boardgame groups running in or near the boardgame library. (it also would have allowed those of us who couldn't participate in the line contests to at least enjoy other peoples' submissions.)

    the Enforcers were very good about informing people arriving to line up about misprints in the paper schedule. once again, no smartphone, so the paper schedule was an important tool. monitors with upcoming event times and locations would be useful.

    bionic_eyes on
  • HeleorHeleor SeattleRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    a) Please, is Benaroya necessary? It was great for the events and the instrumental bands, but vocal-heavy performers like JoCo and supposedly Protomen suffered greatly from the acoustics. I was in the VIP box for JoCo, but couldn't understand a word he was singing!

    Any theater you could get that's closer or has better acoustics would be amazing.

    b) Can we consider a Sunday morning concert? That way we can have a more varied selection of bands and lower the stress on each individual concert?

    c) Cosplay competition would be nice, but that just seems like someone should make a panel for it. PAX doesn't really have /that/ many cosplayers.

    Heleor on
  • bubblegumnexbubblegumnex Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Panel idea: The Business of Web comics

    The panel would cover the business side of webcomcis and some general do's and don'ts.

    Panelists: Scott, Mike and, this is a long-shot but Ryan Sohmer with maybe a guest appearance by the Khoo himself.

    bubblegumnex on
    <@zerzhul&gt; bubblegumnex: you were so very fucked up
    <@zerzhul&gt; you win at twdt
  • bionic_eyesbionic_eyes Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    info about public transportation. i saw someone on the forum explain how folks in wheelchairs could get to/from Benaroya (for free) using the bus tunnel. would have been great to have that come from official channels.

    just the bus tunnel in general - i suspect that a lot of nonlocals would enjoy an easy trip to Uwajimaya/Kinokinuya and the cheap eats of the ID.

    bionic_eyes on
  • AlazullAlazull Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Seconded on the idea of showing the Twitter feed on monitors throughout the expo, and clearly marking line cut-offs. Also, there should be more twitter feeds on things such as tournaments so that people can make their way to them.

    Besides that, I would say you guys need to figure out how to better utilize Benaroya hall, simply because it is awesome as a music and panel venue but making it so that empty seats weren't being filled sucks.

    Comment: You guys rule and even if you didn't change a thing would be my favorite event.

    Alazull on
    User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
  • GeeCeeGeeCee Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The twitter thing was very problematic for those coming from outside of the USA. The free wifi was the convention center was nearly nonexistent, but those stupid Exhibitor Internet hotspots were everywhere.. :(

    GeeCee on
  • FritoFrito Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    For the love of god please find a way to provide Wifi or a Cell signal repeater. I know it's the facilities job blah blah blah.. I've never seen so many nerds angry at their phones.

    Frito on
  • AverageToasterAverageToaster Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    This year seemed really packed, eather have the expo booths more separated or sell less tickets but it seemed way too packed this year and people who dont understand how to walk in halls, just randomly stopping and blocking 30 people.

    AverageToaster on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited September 2010
    This year actually seemed less packed than last year.

    Moe Fwacky on
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  • FritoFrito Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Just kind of depends on where you were standing. As long as the aisles were clear ( thanks enforcers!) You could get through things.

    Next year could we have more room for Magic The Gathering? It was rather lame to have to keep switching tables because we didn't have enough room for 2 games at the same time.

    Frito on
  • GoldElfGoldElf Registered User new member
    edited September 2010
    I liked the PAX XP mini-game. We had an extra hour to kill before meeting some friends for dinner so we decided to do it, and it ended up taking us into areas of the convention center that we hadn't seen and didn't intend to go to, but ended up being really cool and fun, AND we were able to do most of it in the hour that we had. It was a great way to get exposed to the rest of PAX.

    GoldElf on
  • FritoFrito Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    That was actually really fun to do. I was upset I never got the theatre show one though. :( I hope they do another version next year. One of my friends is holding it over me that until he misses a PAX he'll always be one level higher than me. >:(

    Frito on
  • Jenny_SpaghettiJenny_Spaghetti I am 3 ginger midgets in a trench coat. Calgary, CanadalandRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I have a question/concern/suggestion if someone with some affiliation to the medical badge system could PM me?

    Jenny_Spaghetti on
  • trickycooljtrickycoolj Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I enjoyed the expanded expo space. It made the aisles between booths seem larger and people were more spread out than in the past. It also made it easier to meet up with people who were across the hall. I made it from the Portal2 booth to LucasArts in a completely opposite corner in less than 5 minutes as opposed to last year when it felt like you had to crowd surf the mosh pit to get anywhere quickly. I never thought I'd would have made it based on years past.

    I also second working with wireless carriers. Word finally started to spread on Saturday that AT&T users needed to force their phones to use EDGE instead of 3G but not all phones have this functionality making twitter useless at times. When I could get twitter or back to my computer in BYOC the information from all the official @PAX feeds was extremely helpful.

    I know these weren't official apps, but the offline convention apps that were developed for iPhone and Android were a tremendous help! I would highly recommend getting some of the better ones more officially involved.

    Edit:
    I mentioned this in the scalping thread, but design/color changes really need to be considered for future years since unfortunately scalping is probably here to stay. (Until the City of Seattle can add the Convention Center in their anti-scalping zone.) When I think back to my high school ASB cards they did opposite colors each year i.e. top purple, bottom white, picture left, name top and made everything opposite the next year top white, bottom purple, picture right, name bottom. PAX badges could be done similarly next year, bottom red, top black with logos/stripes. Definitely add back the hologram or some other type of authentication mark. It was very unnerving to hear scalpers were selling altered 2009 badges.

    Another thought I just had was create a specific "meeting point." They have these in the Frankfurt, Germany airport so that families can meet up instead of crowding in front of arrival doors. They're simply a sign on a pole that says "Meeting Point" in a few languages. Since the queue room doesn't get much use during the day that would be a great place to tell friends splitting up for the day to meet back up at a certain time, especially with the way cell service was behaving.

    trickycoolj on
  • ColdbrewColdbrew Down in Front Productions Lake Stevens, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The Benaroya situation turned out a lot better than I expected, but that's probably because I was always at or near the front of the line. And pizza from the enforcers was awesome. :D

    I'm not against using Benaroya again, but things should change. They really took a gamble by having partially out-door lines. Thankfully the weather was great, but that's rarely the case, if it was pouring rain, people wouldn't be happy, to say the least. The walk between there and the convention center was fairly short too so that wasn't so bad.

    I agree with whoever mentioned problems with vocals for JoCo and The Protomen, there were some issues there. I was in the front row for each of them and it wasn't so bad for JoCo, but I could barely hear a word during the Protomen's set, which sucked. It's hard to hear on our footage as well.

    As for actual suggestions, The Protomen need to be PAX regulars I think. And The OneUps need to come back. I'll think of more, but I'm actually quite impressed with how it all turned out this year.

    Coldbrew on
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  • marusaiamarusaia Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    For my own part, I had an awesome time. This seemed like a good year to me. I thought the migration to Benaroya was a good idea, but if indeed there are genuine acoustic problems, then that needs to be addressed. I wasn't at any of the concerts this year, but I can personally attest that in years past I could barely understand what MC Front-a-lot was singing at the old concert hall inside the convention center.

    My first PAX was in 2006, the last year at the Meydenbauer; and I have realized that the thing I miss most from that experience was being able to go over to the Red Lion Inn at three in the morning, sit down at the 24 hour tabletop lounge, and play board games until the sun was risen. I think it was a really cool thing to have a place where the insomniacs or the insane could go to keep the party going at all hours of the night and day, and particularly to have a place that was cozy and quiet and relatively far from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the convention. If that were possible, could we do it next year? Maybe put the 24 hour gaming lounge somewhere in the Sheraton, since it's barely a block from the convention center itself?

    If that isn't possible, please put up more tables. Blank, nondescript, nothing on them tables where people can sit down and play games to their hearts' content. There weren't nearly enough of those. On Saturday night me and my friends were wandering around at nearly midnight trying to find a place to set up and play the Battlestar Galactica board game. We wound up not playing it at all because it was too complicated for that time of night and just hung out on the floor in the DS lounge. While that worked out fine, if we had had the will and stamina to play it, it would have been better to sit in actual chairs at an actual table, and to not have had to hunt around up and down the convention center looking for a place to park our bums and play.

    Keep Jamspace. That was the most awesome thing ever. There were some amazing people there, and I'd dig seeing it again next year.

    marusaia on
  • alegriaalegria Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    1) Please consider selling tickets for the concerts. I realize this opens up another avenue for Scalper Bastards to take advantage, but there might be ways to mitigate that similar to how the BYOC tickets go on sale. I would HAPPILY pay money to not have to (a) get up ass early and/or (b) spend 4+ hours of my Saturday waiting in line and still be able to see the concert. Even if you split the seats three ways to tickets / wristbands / open line space, that would be an improvement.

    2) The Pegasus Theater in the Sheraton was a nice space, but it presented serious line management challenges. If this theater is going to be used again, there needs to be either a way to run two lines simultaneously, or the panels need to be spaced out further, especially very-high-demand panels such as Acquisitions Inc and Wil Wheaton.

    3) I realize the Enforcers do the very best they can, but for crazy line situations they need to be consistent with their directions. If I am told by an Enforcer that no lineups for X panel begin until 1pm, and I show back up at 12:55pm to find 400 people in line already, that is a BAD thing, especially if I was perfectly willing to wait starting at noon. I realize that the lineups for Pegasus were a major issue, but it was very hurtful to the person I know who this happened to, especially when she asked for help upon her return to find the large line and was just told "tough luck, sorry."

    4) The line entertainment group was fantastic. Thank you and please bring that back!

    5) Please do NOT put something as high demand as the Wil Wheaton panel where it will conflict with one of the concerts. Even if I had a wristband for the Saturday concert, I would not have made it due to Wil's panel being scheduled until 7:30pm and running until almost 8:00pm due to previous schedule overruns. That was a whole theater of people who couldn't do both - which may have been on purpose to help reduce demand on the concert, but if that's the case it's kind of a crummy way to kludge the scheduling issues.

    6) Why not put Wil Wheaton in the main theater? The demand is there, obviously. Also, I understand the rumor is that the G4 crew paid to use the main theater, but that was a HUGE waste of the space in my opinion, judging by the number of people there who were coming in primarily for the PA Q&A panel that happened right after it.

    7) The BYOC area had an AWESOME twitter feed panel up that had one column for official PAX tweets, one column for popular PAX-related tweets, and one column for any PAX-related tweets. Having this display repeated throughout the con would have been a HUGE help for lots of us having issues with the AT&T network and/or twitter itself.

    8) MAJOR points for streaming the concerts to BYOC and other locations, that eased the sting of not making it into the concert by at least a little. Bonus points for next year if this is advertised a little bit more, and perhaps also set up in areas where the Sumo bags are located for comfy viewing.

    And finally, THANK YOU to the Enforcers who made this weekend great. You all worked your asses off, did the very best you could, and PAX would not be the same without you. <3

    alegria on
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    PAX Prime Attendee since 2006, BYOC Attendee 2008-2012, Buttoneer 2010-2014
    https://www.pinnypals.com/pals/alegria
  • Steel FireSteel Fire Gunboat Diplomat PAI MarketingRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I was overall pleased with everything and Benaroya (which those in my group dubbed the Bayonetta Arena and I heard various other wonderful nicknames) wasn't far away. I think the 5-7 minute wall time valid and it was pretty flat if you went up Pike to 3rd. My only suggestion is to do something a little different with line management. We were in the wrist band line Saturday night and past the bathrooms, into the small hallway was like standing in a Hell pit, we were roasting. Either a different line up area or some additional cooling needs to be made available.

    Steel Fire on
  • OmniscientlyMeOmniscientlyMe Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    1. I also agree that there should have been Twitter feed boards/screens.

    2. Stick the exhibitors that like to do swag tossing in a corner of their own where the swag whore mobs won't block the central paths.

    3. Encourage silent raffles via texting like some booths did, rather than the alternatives that caused crowds to swarm.

    4. As someone that likes going to panels, I missed out on some of the games with insanely long lines. (I saw marks that said "at least 2 hours" in some cases.) I'd like to see a punch card system or something for panel goers where maybe you could go to 3 panels (and maybe other time consuming activities outside of the exhibition area), then you get to skip a line once. Mind you this suggestion is no doubt controversial and wholly self-serving, but I do think it would encourage more people to try other parts of PAX.
    Alternatively, maybe part of the XP game should be a coupon good for one free line skip.

    edit: 5. Posting where the concerts were being streamed to and informing the Enforcers at the concert venues would have been nice. Particularly at Beneroya itself, where I know of people that asked. I didn't find out until reading the forums today that this happened. Streaming it to the overflow line area or using that area as an equivalent to standing room would have also been nice.

    OmniscientlyMe on
  • liquidchaosliquidchaos Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    ENFORCERS

    Enforcers should have the power + balls of steel to drive scalpers away. I saw one 3 day badge sold to someone desperate, prolly paid 200+ for it.

    Enforcer Barracks, visible from the expo hall, with refreshments, chow, and rest spots would be good. Our Enforcers should have a lot of perks given the responsibilities they have. Consider 'Enforcer Sponsors'.


    LINES AND DEMO REQUIREMENTS

    Ridiculous this year. Its sad to see PAXers stuck for 20 minutes or more, waiting in line. Should require a fast and thorough demo experience, that does not involve gutting my PAX time in queue.


    SILLY GEESE MARKETROIDS, BOOTH BABES?

    I got nothing against boobs, booths or babes. But some marketroid giving me packets of dandruff shampoo? Srsly. Would love more cosplay booth babes, Gearbox section did this well. I'm not sure what else was advertised this year, did shaving cream come into the mix? I came here to play, not be reminded of my terrible hygeine.

    MUSIC

    Fsck the Benaroya for 'standing space' bands like the Protomen. Give us back our glorious expo hall! Some of us wanna mosh, wanna rock, and wanna move.


    COSPLAY
    Cosplay section, or maybe a cosplay 'free zone' should be allocated. Good for photos and rp'ing. Makes it easier to access, focuses cosplayers into one conglomerate.

    Keep PAX the way it is; Pure Awesomeness.

    liquidchaos on
  • akjakakjak Thera Spooky GymRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    alegria wrote: »
    1) Please consider selling tickets for the concerts. I realize this opens up another avenue for Scalper Bastards to take advantage, but there might be ways to mitigate that similar to how the BYOC tickets go on sale. I would HAPPILY pay money to not have to (a) get up ass early and/or (b) spend 4+ hours of my Saturday waiting in line and still be able to see the concert. Even if you split the seats three ways to tickets / wristbands / open line space, that would be an improvement.

    2) The Pegasus Theater in the Sheraton was a nice space, but it presented serious line management challenges. If this theater is going to be used again, there needs to be either a way to run two lines simultaneously, or the panels need to be spaced out further, especially very-high-demand panels such as Acquisitions Inc and Wil Wheaton.

    3) I realize the Enforcers do the very best they can, but for crazy line situations they need to be consistent with their directions. If I am told by an Enforcer that no lineups for X panel begin until 1pm, and I show back up at 12:55pm to find 400 people in line already, that is a BAD thing, especially if I was perfectly willing to wait starting at noon. I realize that the lineups for Pegasus were a major issue, but it was very hurtful to the person I know who this happened to, especially when she asked for help upon her return to find the large line and was just told "tough luck, sorry."

    4) The line entertainment group was fantastic. Thank you and please bring that back!

    5) Please do NOT put something as high demand as the Wil Wheaton panel where it will conflict with one of the concerts. Even if I had a wristband for the Saturday concert, I would not have made it due to Wil's panel being scheduled until 7:30pm and running until almost 8:00pm due to previous schedule overruns. That was a whole theater of people who couldn't do both - which may have been on purpose to help reduce demand on the concert, but if that's the case it's kind of a crummy way to kludge the scheduling issues.

    6) Why not put Wil Wheaton in the main theater? The demand is there, obviously. Also, I understand the rumor is that the G4 crew paid to use the main theater, but that was a HUGE waste of the space in my opinion, judging by the number of people there who were coming in primarily for the PA Q&A panel that happened right after it.

    7) The BYOC area had an AWESOME twitter feed panel up that had one column for official PAX tweets, one column for popular PAX-related tweets, and one column for any PAX-related tweets. Having this display repeated throughout the con would have been a HUGE help for lots of us having issues with the AT&T network and/or twitter itself.

    8) MAJOR points for streaming the concerts to BYOC and other locations, that eased the sting of not making it into the concert by at least a little. Bonus points for next year if this is advertised a little bit more, and perhaps also set up in areas where the Sumo bags are located for comfy viewing.

    And finally, THANK YOU to the Enforcers who made this weekend great. You all worked your asses off, did the very best you could, and PAX would not be the same without you. <3

    THIS.

    I was all ready to voice my displeasure over these very points, but thankfully alegria has done it for me.

    Here's the thing, PAX: Any panel that involves "the guys," Scott Kurtz or Wil Wheaton (or God Forbid all of them!) SHOULD BE IN THE MAIN THEATRE, whatever it is.

    Ditto the actual, factual theatre play. Why was that placed in the smallest room at the con?!

    It was heartbreaking knowing there was no possible way, short of time travel, to actually attend Acquisitions Inc, Wil's panel, Scott & Kris After Hours AND the concert (wristband or no).

    That was the worst schedule fail of PAX.

    akjak on
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  • eye-shuheye-shuh Walla Walla, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I know the blue is likely here to stay, but I very much missed the black [E] shirts this year. The black with the white writing at least stood out from the crowd, the blue completely mixed in. I could never tell who was an enforcer and who was just someone milling around in the same color shirt in the expo hall. The red only worked at East because it was super bright, the blue did not work at all for Prime. Plus, they look way more intimidating in black.

    It would be awesome if there could be some kind of rules set for raffles. Even with the awesomely expanded expo hall the raffles still completely blocked huge sections of hallway.

    Understand that this is not said in an angry voice, just a curious one: What happened to the whole no booth babes thing? If anything, there was the same amount of them this year as there was last year. Are the rules for that just not enforced at all? Again, don't care too much, just curious about it.

    eye-shuh on
  • MaxNVMaxNV Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    My only suggestion is to maybe have the Saturday night concert start earlier. I don't know about everyone else, maybe we were spoiled with the Joco concert at PAX 09 but this year it just felt short. Maybe instead of starting at 8 you could push it up to 7.

    MaxNV on
  • NovaFlaresNovaFlares Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    my friends and i thought a bag claim service would be awesome.

    NovaFlares on
  • alegriaalegria Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Enforcer Barracks, visible from the expo hall, with refreshments, chow, and rest spots would be good. Our Enforcers should have a lot of perks given the responsibilities they have. Consider 'Enforcer Sponsors'.

    There is an Enforcerland that is private, not visible from anywhere, and is indeed stocked with pure awesome to support our beloved Enforcers. Take it from the wife of an Enforcer, while they do work their asses off, they are well taken care of by not only PA but also their companions - my husband has a dietary requirement and not only were his immediate shift companions constantly checking on him, but others would let him know if something appropriate was available in Enforcerland. <3

    alegria on
    Rw4xnu6.png
    PAX Prime Attendee since 2006, BYOC Attendee 2008-2012, Buttoneer 2010-2014
    https://www.pinnypals.com/pals/alegria
  • ProlixWagProlixWag Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    akjak wrote: »

    Ditto the actual, factual theatre play. Why was that placed in the smallest room at the con?!

    We were there because we were an unproven commodity. Totally understandable. Given that the Enforcers stopped counting after they turned away 250 people at the door on Friday night, I think we may have shifted a little towards the "proven" category.

    If you were one of those 250+, we'll have *some* video up of the show up at www.criticalthreattheatre.com as soon as we can. If you want to see more, let it be known here, or pester the Artistic Director of a regional theater in your area.

    It's my opinion that we should actually be in a slightly *smaller* space next time around (shorter folks in back had a real hard time seeing the stage), or -- even better -- in an actual theatre space like ACT's (on the first floor of the convention center). We should just do more shows... we could fit up to six into the three days of PAX.

    Either way, Critical Threat Theatre and Of Dice and Men would love to be back next time, and to do a full production at East, too.

    --

    Cameron McNary

    ProlixWag on
  • ZotlZotl Registered User new member
    edited September 2010
    The theme of overflow viewing combined with some of the information could be consolidated through an advertiser sponsored set of screens: half could be live feed from the main theatres, posted in key locations for those waiting in line for the next thing or unable to get into the first. Half devoted to updates like the twitter feed, etc. Have a rotating advertiser bar/border that pays for it all. By making it live feed you'd likely avoid any IP concerns associated with normal streaming. You could also have overflow areas, like say, the queue room, which, with a few partitions, could easily accomodate any overflow/late arrivals for the theatres, not to mention concerts.

    Zotl on
  • ManoaManoa Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I would say my biggest disappointment was how the Q&A lines were handled in Pegasus theater. I arrived at the Sheraton around 4:30pm for Wil Wheaton's panel, line-up wasn't allowed until around 5:00pm...so I hovered around the windows until they allowed people to start lining up. Scored a place towards the front of the line and got a seat in row 6 along the aisle and near the podium. It was my first time attending Wil's panel and I was super excited to have what I *thought* was a decent spot. Had a excellent view for the first 10-15 of the panel, then Q&A started and I found I happen to have picked the wrong side of the aisle. Even though Wil asked at the start of Q&A that those heading to the Q&A lines to please squat/kneel ("Don't Be a Dick"), nobody in the Q&A line listened and the Enforcers didn't enforce Wil's request at all. Those of us suck on the wrong side of the aisle waited in line so increadibly long only to have our view blocked by the Q&A line for 3/4 of Wil's panel. I was so increadibly crushed. :(

    I'd suggest if Pegasus is to be used in the future, the positioning of the Q&A line be given some serious thought as to ensure the view of those seated is not blocked (especially considering that those seats blocked were at the front of the hall...meaning people waited a loooonng time to get those seats). I personally feel that a good solution would be locating the Q&A lines along the walls instead of in the aisles. But if the fire code doesn't allow for this, perhaps you guys could either have the Enforcers ensure that those in the Q&A line squat/kneel...or maybe you can block off 5 or 6 seats along each aisle so those waiting in the Q&A line can sit instead of stand.

    Manoa on
  • WingedillidanWingedillidan Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    This is a comment regarding the keynote, I mean it wasn't that bad; but it could've been better. I haven't been much into Epic Mickey, but I'm sure people have. It was too much of a Disney panel, and the little bits of games he has played made it only slightly better. However, the conclusion was not a true keynote feeling; it possessed a unique topic a keynote has (letting the younger generation in), but didn't deliver it to it's full extent.

    I know people may be against it, and Spector is a really nice guy. But perhaps make the screening of the second half of a major game title a panel in itself?

    Wingedillidan on
    (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
  • SovietMudkipzSovietMudkipz Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The jamspace area was cramped, dingy and hot. Perhaps a better location for it maybe next time please?

    SovietMudkipz on
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  • OutletOutlet Registered User new member
    edited September 2010
    1) More times for Mike/Jerry to autograph stuff. Got in line by 3pm (ran from Q/A which ended at almost the start time for signing) and got kicked out before we got to the front because they were already a half hour over time. 1 hour all weekend is not enough time.

    2) Better line-up for Pegasus. I was a guest at the Sheraton and the line was blocking access to most of the lobby/elevators.

    Outlet on
  • emarecksaykayemarecksaykay Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    A lot of really good suggestions in this thread already. I would just add that the exhibitors should be encouraged to behave more like Lucas Arts and others who distributed their lines more to individual stations, rather than huge monolithic two hour lines. Some of the companies definitely need to be reminded that this is PAX, not E3, and the players come first. This isn't a media expo, and rather than carefully crafted PR spiels, they should just make their games and developers available to us, the consumers. Obviously the game companies have figured out that Penny Arcade and PAX-goers are a very powerful force in the market. We need to throw our weight around and get these guys to suck up a bit more to PAX attendees.

    Definitely get the raffles under control. Don't let any exhibitors take over the spaces between booths with huge crowds, and for fucks sake don't let them shout into blow horns next to an area where people are trying to play tabletop games. Throwing t-shirts into the aisles isn't a great idea either, exhibitors should just pass them out at the booth. Yeah, maybe it's more exciting to throw them, but I saw more than a few people almost get hurt in the jumping and pushing people did to get the swag.

    @PAX_lines was a great idea, but it needs to be updated more often, expanded to *all* theaters, and twitter feeds should be on screens all over the place.

    Definitely get some better wifi/cell coverage in the expo hall. It wasn't nearly as bad a few years ago, but now the airwaves are just jammed up all over. Even last year I was able to make phone calls inside the exhibitor hall, but definitely not this year. It might help cut down on interference if exhibitors weren't allowed to set up their own wifi unless they need it for their product demos.

    I wasn't thrilled with where the main theater was, because it seriously cuts down on spontaneity, and it eliminates a place you can go to sit down when your feet get tired. It would be better if there were screens up all over the place with theater schedules/line updates, though.

    A 24-hour tabletop area would be awesome. Kind of had unofficial things going on at the various hotels, but if we could have lots of tables and chairs set up somewhere accessible 24/3, that'd be pretty sweet. Even if it's not 24-hours, more places for tabletop gaming would be very useful. Think of it as a handheld lounge for board/card/dice games.


    I do have a suggestion, not for PAX itself, but for PAX-goers asking questions at the PA Panels... Ask questions! It's great that people go up and tell their life stories to Gabe and Tycho and all, but people go to the panels to hear from Jerry and Mike, not some guy who just wanted to thank them for the hundredth time. Ask a question. If you just want to give them something, at least make it awesome like a collection of buttoneer buttons (not just some food you picked up), and keep your explanations short before you bring the goodies to the black altar and get out of the way for somebody else to ask a question. I don't get that irritated when some 13 year old kid gets up and talks about how important Penny Arcade has been growing up, but when seven people in a row don't even ask a question, and basically say the exact same thing, it gets old. Basically, if somebody ahead of you *does* do the "thank you for making my life meaningful" thing, and that's what *you* were going to say, just clap along with the rest of us and quietly excuse yourself from the line so you're not just reiterating the people ahead of you.

    emarecksaykay on
    -mrxak, OMEGANAUT '09
    (You just say the letters)
  • alienfirstalienfirst Washington StateRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I don't know if this would strictly be considered a suggestion, but here we go anyway.

    While I am a little upset over the decrease in seats at the Benaroya versus the convention center, I must defend the decision to use Benaroya Hall. Less seats yes, but the convention center itself was relieved of high traffic and bottleneck situations. The Twitter account for the lines was an IMMENSE help, although the main events (PA panels, keynote, concerts, final round) I skipped out on as I preferred to actually DO something than wait in line for 2+ hours.

    *As an addendum to the Benaroya Hall situation... buses running within Seattle are FREE. Posting bus numbers and running times for those that go between the vicinities of Benaroya and the convention center might be useful for people. I walked between the two quite a bit and was fine with it, but I know a lot of others weren't.

    LET US KNOW WHERE EVENTS IN THE MAIN THEATRE WILL BE STREAMING FOR US TO WATCH. I know it was happening, but I went the whole weekend with no idea where to view the live stream. I'm not a person who needs to be right up close and personal for things (I'm not a line person so avoid them unless I am hellbent on seeing something), a streaming video is PERFECT, I just never knew where to see them.

    I didn't go to either concert, but it sounds like the bands/musicians should have been allowed to test out Benaroya Hall before hand. The place is built for excellent acoustics, but it seems like sound didn't jive too well.

    *Addendum to concerts... Sadly, I think I won't be seeing any concerts again. While I said I DO defend Benaroya, it doesn't allow the freedom of movement during a concert that the convention center did. I'm not one to sit through an entire show, and quite frequently left to move around, take a break, grab food or drink during the last few years at the concerts. So... I don't know. There isn't a suggestion there, just a conundrum.

    Why was Wil Wheaton in Pegasus? Shoo him in to the main hall for goodness sakes.

    I guess on a final note... CLEAN UP SPILLS PROMPTLY. ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO ALERT SOMEONE IF THEY SPILL SOMETHING. I slipped (in a fairly high traffic area) on some clear, smelly, sticky liquid on Saturday and torqued my foot for the rest of the weekend. Funny thing, there was an enforcer right next to where I slipped. I got the impression that this enforcer KNEW there was a spill and hadn't made an effort to skirt people around the area. They were very prompt to shoo people away AFTER I slipped, but I was a little peeved (or they were completely innocent, I was in a little pain so thus a foul mood, so I could be totally off base).

    alienfirst on
  • Lynx_Lynx_ Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Get the Paramount. AT ALL COSTS. Although it sounds like they're a pain to negotiate with for an event like this, it would eliminate nearly all of the criticisms being levelled towards Benaroya. It really would be silly if they wouldn't bend their ticket sales/revenue policies at all in order to work with PAX.

    If PAX sticks with Benaroya, I won't really be complaining. However, I think it'd be cool to turn the main lobby area into a satellite Handheld Lounge, or set up some tables for Tabletop Freeplay, if that sort of thing would be possible. That way, if you're only at a concert to see JoCo, you can get in and still have some place fun to chill until you actually want to go into the theater. I don't know how the lines were being run, but it might be possible to pre-admit people to chill in the Main Theater Lounge rather than stand in line, which would be more comfortable and probably more fun.

    Lynx_ on
  • BuraisuBuraisu Psychomancer Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The things I didn't like about PAX were Benaroya Hall and the extreme lines for some booths.

    My suggestions are to move the main theater back the main building and to increase the Expo hall space into the Hidden Levels of the Annex that weren't being used. Keep the Freeplay area where it is and move tablet top to where the theaters were on 6th floor and just move all theaters besides the main one to the Sheraton.

    This means that all panels besides the main ones will be less then a block walk next door and it will allow people to go straight from Expo Hall to the main panels to the freeplay area and only leave the building for side-panels.

    Also, give extra space to companies in the expo hall that have hot games and demos that you know will have long lines so they can increase the number of demo stations and line space. A hot game could have a large space in the annex.

    You could also have PAX Enforcer ran demo area for overflow so a company that can't handle it's lines can increase it's space by gaining the support of the PAX ran demo area temporary. Just tell companies to bring extra copies of their demos and trusted Enforcers can donate their time to increasing demo stations or just put the demos in the free play area.

    Buraisu on
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  • WingedillidanWingedillidan Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Buraisu wrote: »
    The things I didn't like about PAX were Benaroya Hall and the extreme lines for some booths.

    My suggestions are to move the main theater back the main building and to increase the Expo hall space into the Hidden Levels of the Annex that weren't being used. Keep the Freeplay area where it is and move tablet top to where the theaters were on 6th floor and just move all theaters besides the main one to the Sheraton.

    This means that all panels besides the main ones will be less then a block walk next door and it will allow people to go straight from Expo Hall to the main panels to the freeplay area and only leave the building for side-panels.

    Lining people up for that would be hell (and like East :P). Also, they only have what, 3-4 ballrooms?
    Buraisu wrote: »
    Also, give extra space to companies in the expo hall that have hot games and demos that you know will have long lines so they can increase the number of demo stations and line space. A hot game could have a large space in the annex.

    Expo hall space is not given away, companies have to pay to show. But Portal 2 could have used some more space (perhaps two demo rooms :3). It's not like they don't have the money :P.

    Wingedillidan on
    (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
  • marusaiamarusaia Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    A lot of people have been talking about the exhibitors and what they did to attract us, what was good and what wasn't. While apparently there was a policy that hasn't been well enforced on not having booth babes, I want to compliment the Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit booth on what seemed to me an awesome way to attract customers without being dicks. There were about four or five prettied up women there, taking pictures with whoever wanted one, with props for the customers (aviator shades, handcuffs, badges, police batons, etc.). The upshot was that you got your picture taken with gorgeous women while looking like a badass racer. They printed the picture out right there, with the product website and release date on the bottom. It was awesome, and one of the best free things I got during the entire convention. I have never played racing games before, but this definitely caught my attention. Even if I do not buy Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, I will be more disposed to think well of their company and products in the future.

    The Bioware booth did something similar where people could take photos of themselves and their friends holding a model of Dragon Age II's main character's spear-like sword weapon. It wasn't quite as fancy and thorough a set-up as the Need For Speed crowd had, but it was also very cool. Another set up like that was down in the table top lounge in the Annex, where the Wizards' guys had rigged up a gigantic model of the dragon from the Red Box and provided helmets, shields, and swords for people to pose with. About the only things that were missing were the loin cloths and the furs, which alas had to be omitted for obvious reasons.

    This seems, to me, a good example of how advertising at conventions should be done. It's not intrusive to people just walking past, it doesn't jam up the aisles with massive crowds and long lines, and it's a fun, free or nearly free memento.

    marusaia on
  • parabolaparabola Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Benaroya sucked. Was not a 5 min walk not at all accessible and overall a pain in the ass. So much so that I stopped going there after the first day. Things like the shuttle service should have been brought to medical badge people before pax started not Saturday by a forum poster who isn't an enforcer.

    Also get a good designated area for med badge people. Pegasus seemed kind of unorganized in that area. If not for some awesome gearbox dev that okayed me to go to a completely empty spot I would have been screwed. There was another wheelchair user that got pretty terrible seats because of that.

    Also if possible, remind exhibitors that there are people with wheelchairs that want to play their game and keyboards 4 feet high doesn't work. Bioware actually remembered me from last year playing swtor and decided to bring a laptop for that reason. No reason other devs can't do the same. They should.

    Other than that it was awesome

    parabola on
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