As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

PAX EAST 2012 SUGGESTIONS THREAD

12357

Posts

  • avsfan590avsfan590 Registered User regular
    A way to solve the line problem is simple allow 50 people at a time to line up then when that line is done open it to the next 50 and continuing doing so. therefore, no ridiculous long wait, everyone gets a chance to play and it's a little more fairer and faster.

  • avsfan590avsfan590 Registered User regular

    Sunday has:
    No concerts
    Less panels
    No late night gaming
    Limited swag/giveaways as many booths run out of stuff
    Less events - seems most big things happen Fri/Sat

    I would ask that they either expand Sunday to the same hours as Fri/Sat, add a Sunday afternoon concert, or do something awesome to bring Sunday up to the same level as the rest of PAX.

    I don't think that would work since this is a weekend event I have never heard a expo going late into Sunday night and early Monday morning. Plus nobody to little amount of people would attend the panels if they went into Sunday night. But about the swag, it was gone by late Saturday I tried getting a shirt for max Payne at 3 pm Saturday but was told that ran out.

  • ScorpiusScorpius Registered User regular
    Could we swap the queue line and the tabletop areas? Their current position means the line for the expo hall cuts across tabletop. There are less tabletop gamers and it would be nice if we didn't have to wait in the Expo Hall line to get to tabletop in the morning.

    I was supposed to run a Learn to Play Session at 11 AM with Wizards of the Coast and if people were able to access that area, I may have been able to do so. It also might attract more interest to table top if it was a third choice at opening between Keynote and Expo.


    It would also be nice if there was shuttle running to South Station and/or North Station.

  • JerYnkFanJerYnkFan Registered User regular
    Scorpius wrote: »
    Could we swap the queue line and the tabletop areas? Their current position means the line for the expo hall cuts across tabletop. There are less tabletop gamers and it would be nice if we didn't have to wait in the Expo Hall line to get to tabletop in the morning.

    I was supposed to run a Learn to Play Session at 11 AM with Wizards of the Coast and if people were able to access that area, I may have been able to do so. It also might attract more interest to table top if it was a third choice at opening between Keynote and Expo.


    It would also be nice if there was shuttle running to South Station and/or North Station.

    I agree with you on the queue line/tabletop separation. Sunday I wanted to go to the L2P and it was either a choice to wait in the queue line or wait till stopped lining up which honestly wasn't an option due to the constant stream of people coming in even after the opened the Expo Hall.

    As far as the shuttle goes, the Silver lines run often enough that I don't think they would consider that.

  • CtrlAltDftCtrlAltDft Luis Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    darren66 wrote: »
    Lanyards that don't self destruct.

    One of my hotel roommates made stuff with chainmail including lanyards and I bought one off of him; each ring in the chainmail intersected with several other rings and then I connected my PAX East badge with a keychain split ring, intersecting that with three of the chainmail rings. I had abosolutely no worries about losing my badge and I highly suggest trying to pick up a chainmail lanyard from where ever you can.

    CtrlAltDft on
  • fullofgracefullofgrace Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    As an attendee with a disability, I would love if the medical badge could apply in some way on the expo floor. I'm happy to wait my turn to demo a game, but I physically cannot stand for 3-4 hours to do so. For instance, I waited like everyone else by queuing up two hours ahead of time for panels like the Khoo & A (after which he graciously signed my cane so it is no longer a boring black). I was able to 'check-in' with an enforcer and then sit on a nearby chair or bench. Unfortunately there is just no safe place for me to sit on the expo floor, which meant I had to forgo a lot of game demos.

    Perhaps organizers could make a suggestion/plea to developers that since media badge holders can make an appointment to demo a game (I'm honestly ok with that), it would be nice if that courtesy could be given to medical badge holders, as well.

    fullofgrace on
    I'm jessageek on Twitter and Tumblr
    PAX East Pics: 2010-2015 & Vids: 2012-2015
  • BeechsackBeechsack Registered User regular
    Scorpius wrote: »
    It would also be nice if there was shuttle running to South Station and/or North Station.

    Not to nitpick, but it's less than a mile from the BCEC to South Station, and there's already a bus line that runs up and down Summer Street. South Station is one of the busiest transportation hubs in the city, and there's not really a good place for a shuttle to constantly pick up and drop off their either.

    As far as getting to North Station, people in south Boston have been trying to figure that out for 100 years. :)

  • PsykusPsykus Registered User regular
    Minor suggestion for the console freeplay section: have the option of standard controllers or arcade sticks for the fighting game stations. Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 was set up with two very nice arcade sticks but i'm accustomed to playing the game on a gamepad. I asked if it was possible to check out a standard controller for that station and they said no. Even though the game is only two players, it will still recognize additional controllers and allow you to press start to activate them during the game setup.

    I wouldn't have minded finally getting some practice in with an arcade stick since I can't really afford a good one right now but it wasn't much fun getting bodied by people over and over while I reworked my muscle memory, and other people were waiting for a turn to play.

  • adastraadastra Registered User regular
    darren66 wrote: »
    Lanyards that don't self destruct.

    That lanyard style is definitely a liability, especially in Tabletop where the clip gets caught under the table when you bend over and pulls apart the jumpring as you get back up. I've gotten a nearly identical Behemoth lanyard at every PAX I've attended (2010-present), so this isn't a new issue at all - just one that has repeated itself. I've helped dozens of people fix their lanyards (there's a quick and simple fix that resolves the issue and prevents it in the future), so it's not the end of the world... but I'd love to see a different style of lanyards in the future that don't have this single-point failure, even if they're still from Behemoth.

  • PeasantDavePeasantDave Jersey ShoreRegistered User regular
    Elzemere wrote: »
    Most of my concerns have been addressed here.
    However being soemone who lives in the Boston area..and seeing the ammount of access PAX and the city itself is giving to cab drivers. It saddens and enrages me when I hear stories of people getting shafted for longer rides than what is fair.
    Iheard about happening in 2010. Again last year. And this year Brian Crecente tweets , 'Boston cabbie just doubled our fare with an unrequested tour of the city and then tried to drop us at the wrong hotel.'


    Luckily Boston makes it pretty easy to prevent being taken advantage of, or if such does happen to report the ocurrence.

    I'd suggest the first thing any cab passenger should do before stepping into one is making note of the cab company's phone number. Further still requesting the driver's badge number (which by law they have to relinquish, if requested) will further let them know you're not one to fuck with.
    Because if you have that badge number and they screw with you, you can report the incident at cityofboston.gov/police/taxi.asp


    PAX Officials, this where you come in. As you've now entered an agreement for the next 10 years, it'd serve you and our community well to nip this in the bud before it becomes more entrenched and systemic. Contact the Mayor of Boston and let him know you're displeased with these incidents and get the word out to those in the pax community to be aware of their rights while traveling in the city.

    I gave up on one of my cab rides when the driver missed a turn and didn't appear to know where he was going after I had given him the location, general area, and address of a bar.

    As I am not very familiar with the area, I cannot confirm any cabbies took the "long way", but it certainly felt like it at times. In the future I will make sure to note the cab information if there is an incident. Good advice!

  • wonderpugwonderpug Registered User regular
    I thought food distribution was much better handled this year. Last year there were mega lines in the main food court, nobody knew about the food truck area in the far back, and the small tables scattered around only had things like pretzels, if I remember correctly. This year, those extra hot dog & burger tables made a big big difference.

    Yes, yes, the food was overpriced, but that's its own issue. I was just happy I could always find something to make myself full without having to wait more than a minute or two to get it.

    I guess my only suggestion for next year would then be to keep it up. If it's at all possible to recruit some of the local food trucks in the city to set up in the back area, even better, because the Boston food truck offerings have really improved in the last couple years.

  • DestinyHeroDestinyHero Otaku PARegistered User regular
    Things that stuck out in my head this year:

    - Layout was way worse than last year. I don't know why they blocked off entrances to get to the Tabletop/Board Gaming area and the Intel PC area. It was really annoying and from speaking to a lot of people they didn't even know how to get to the Intel area. I believe this caused a lot of network congestion and made it so much worse than it needed to be. The Queue Line / Cafeteria area is literally like a third of the floor space but after the convention officially opens for the day it is just a waste of precious space. Move it back some more next year. Riot Games had arguably one of the most popular booths but the worst location. I don't know what that long booth area was directly behind them and I felt really bad for the smaller booths to the side as you couldn't watch or stop by without disrupting people and getting in their way. Totally unacceptable.

    - Companies/booths that are going to be doing raffles need to have their own dedicated area. As much as I like winning free, expensive things this year it was really disruptive to attendees. Small, dinky booths would have entire hordes of people showing up in the afternoon and crowding around this tiny booth to win some free stuff and it would block off the paths around there and cause more congestion. Next year I think it would best if you grouped these companies together and put them in the corner or make a dedicated raffle area.

    - Swag bags totally had the ball dropped in terms of distribution. Not sure what happened but during the queue they started handing out bags to people in line and then halfway through they decided to stop and didn't tell us why, just to come back later. Throughout the rest of the day there was a line there and defeated the purpose of showing up early. If people getting more than one bag is a problem, next year do a stamp or a punch-hole on the badge to prevent people from getting multiple swag bags.

    - Media presence needs to die. Multiple times that I saw people from companies (mostly smaller, unknown ones) that would totally circumvent the line by flashing their media badge. I thought PAX was supposed to be for gamers by gamers, why do the media get special treatment here? They have E3 and GDC, fans have PAX. Don't know why each year it seems to get worse in terms of media special treatment. I also was speaking with some Gearbox representatives after playing the Borderlands 2 demo and kept getting harassed by some X-Play crew members which was not only rude but disrespectful. I didn't sign any contract or waiver to not be in sight of the camera while you're trying to record your shitty show.

    - Enforcers need to have more accountability. I missed out on the Magic Panel on Saturday because whoever made the whiteboard sign for where the line began wrote down the arrow in the wrong direction and wasted time waiting in a line that apparently didn't count and the Enforcer who told us and then changed the arrow didn't offer any kind of sympathy or tried to help us getting seats due to THEIR mistake.

    I still had a blast and PAX is my favorite convention but as always, there is room for improvement.

  • creid8creid8 Registered User regular
    Concerts:
    zerzhul wrote: »
    One more reason to strike media badges entirely. If it's all about scheduling appointments ahead of time, why does anyone need a media badge?
    Because that's not what it's all about - they also get in early on one of the days.

  • Knight_Knight_ Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    - I'd really like more hallway space around the Riot booth and other such popular areas. I got totally stuck next to the Riot booth for almost 10 minutes because I made a wrong turn on Friday and people were pouring in from both ends of the hallway. Thankfully I'm sort of a big guy so it's not too much of a problem, but I could see that getting scary right quick for smaller people.

    - If the layout stays the same, is there any way the airwall between PC and TT could be opened at the end? It really was odd having to go up and around through the food court to get between those two.

    - More prominent directional signs. I thought these were great this year compared to having a bunch of world maps, but the locations of them meant people really couldn't see them the vast majority of the time and didn't know they were there. Is there any way to hang them from the ceiling or something similar?

    - Aaaand finally, I really wish throwing crap into the hordes of people was banned. Two PAXes in a row I've damned near been mauled because I happened to walk past a booth as they decided to chuck T-shirts at people. I doubt there is any real way to police this, but it's really aggravating because it stops all traffic on the expo floor as well as makes people crazy.

    Knight_ on
    aeNqQM9.jpg
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    creid8 wrote: »
    Concerts:
    zerzhul wrote: »
    One more reason to strike media badges entirely. If it's all about scheduling appointments ahead of time, why does anyone need a media badge?
    Because that's not what it's all about - they also get in early on one of the days.

    Sounds like one /more/ reason to get rid of the media badges ;). Yes, I know they get in early on one day as well, I was being a little tongue in cheek with my response up there, but I stand by my statement earlier in this thread that they should be abolished.

  • elderbotelderbot Registered User regular
    Regarding swapping the queue and tabletop area locations:
    It solves the annoying problem of waiting in the Expo hall line to get into Tabletop Friday morning.
    However, it would also make Tabletop some sort of isolationalist country far, far from the buzz of the Expo hall. I, for one, enjoy when curious videogamers get sucked into tabletop demos and freeplay and would hate to see the separation of these two worlds grow even wider.
    I second the idea for a separate entrance into Tabletop queue for the morning.

  • stebuustebuu Crabs are fucking crazy, and I hate horses Registered User regular
    1) As often mentioned, the expo hall staying open later than 6pm would be super awesomesauce. Also, slightly wider aisles at the edges.

    2) More "WTF am I?" signage would be good. I was mildly lost at times.

    3) Some tweaks to the tabletop area to find games would be nice. Thoughts at http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/158763/ttlfg-tabletop-looking-for-group-improvements

  • CreamsteakCreamsteak Thrall Registered User regular
    The BCEC in general could use something to break up the "same-ness" of it all... but obviously that's a big change. There's just something about walking around in that building that after a while, even if I know where I'm going and I'm still going in the right direction, I feel like I've lost my bearings simply because this place looks just like that place on the opposite side of the building.

  • XX55XXXX55XX Registered User regular
    Is it possible to open up the convention one day earlier just for the media types to troll through? I'm tired of seeing them cut lines and get in the way. I remember trying to talk to one exhibitioner on the show floor - only problem was that he was being swarmed by media types and I wasn't able to speak to him as a result.

  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    I've said it all three years of East now - get rid of media badges except for websites with more than xxxx of hits. There are too many people abusing them. I understand that companies are there for exposure and media is part of that, but they also don't need to be having their lines cut/time wasted by people that managed to jump through the hoops for media badges.

  • smorggiesmorggie Boston, MARegistered User regular
    The only real problem my friends and I had (having never been to the BCEC or PAX before) was that we had trouble finding where to get our lanyards and swag-bags Friday morning. We went to the main lobby where registration is and they sent us to the queue room which was the entirely opposite end of the convention center... so on our way there we had to stop and ask several more people which way to go... and more than one enforcer tried to direct us back to Registration... so it was partly a lack of knowledge on the enforcers' part but also it seemed silly to have the first thing you want/need to do at the convention to be so complicated to get to. Also, some of my friends that came for Saturday only arrived early in the morning and they were already out of swag bags. They were very sad pandas about it.

  • SarpedonSarpedon NOC Manager SeattleRegistered User new member
    Hope it hasn't been mentioned before but is there anything we could do about the running of old busses inside the convention center? The exhaust from the Lollipop Chainsaw bus driving out of the center right in the middle of tear down gave me a horrible headache and I felt pretty sick, I would've happily volunteered to push the thing out of the center if they would've stuck it in neutral.
    Not a big deal I guess, I might just be overly sensitive to exhaust. Too many years in construction.

  • Pure DinPure Din Boston-areaRegistered User regular
    I liked having all the beanbags together in the handheld lounge, since it made it easier to find other people who are interested in playing DS games. I noticed that there were a lot of people just meeting and talking to strangers near the pax pokemon league leaders, and it would be awesome if there were a twitter tag or a way to meet up for other handheld games. I did okay just asking random people if they wanted to play Mario Kart or Four Swords or something but it's sometimes a little awkward.

    I also wouldn't want to see the beanbags spread all over the convention center because I like the quietness of the handheld lounge, especially compared to the overwhelming noise of the rest of the convention. I'm a bit hard of hearing and it was the only place where I could really start conversations and talk to people.

  • LuptoniumLuptonium Registered User regular
    More signs.... seriously, I got lost a lot even on Sunday.

  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    Pure Din wrote: »
    I liked having all the beanbags together in the handheld lounge, since it made it easier to find other people who are interested in playing DS games. I noticed that there were a lot of people just meeting and talking to strangers near the pax pokemon league leaders, and it would be awesome if there were a twitter tag or a way to meet up for other handheld games. I did okay just asking random people if they wanted to play Mario Kart or Four Swords or something but it's sometimes a little awkward.

    I also wouldn't want to see the beanbags spread all over the convention center because I like the quietness of the handheld lounge, especially compared to the overwhelming noise of the rest of the convention. I'm a bit hard of hearing and it was the only place where I could really start conversations and talk to people.
    I love that idea. Maybe they could just put a few small moveable white boards/signs around so if you're playing Mario Kart you just grab a marker, write down what you're playing and people can gather as needed.

    I was wondering the area while my son battled Pokemon hoping to find an open Kart room but never managed to find one - makeshift signs would have been great.

  • antheremantherem Registered User regular
    Any chance we can get a playlist for the pre-panel music? I Shazamed what I could but didn't catch everything.

  • jar37jar37 Registered User regular
    pureval wrote: »
    My wife suggested that more time be given to the acts at the concerts. The VGO felt over before it even began (they did not even bring out the whole orchestra) and Paul and Storm only did 5 songs (partially because they chose to that overlong joke in the middle). I know they shorted them to squeeze an extra band on each night, but I am not sure it was worth it.

    This will not be a popular comment but I strongly disagree. VGO is interesting and talented and I enjoyed them to an extent the first year but after that it lost any charm. There are some hardcore Video Game soundtrack fans out there who I am sure really enjoy listening to what felt like 10 different yet wholey the same Final Fantasy songs, but I am not one of them. I definitely see the appeal and welcome them to play at PAX but I certainly don't need to extend there time...

    Paul and Storm did feel a little shortened but I enjoyed the joke in the middle and all in all didn't feel cheated. Really I was just waiting for JOCO to hit the stage. Now his performance felt short. I would have loved to have heard a lot more from the new album.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    jar37 wrote: »
    pureval wrote: »
    My wife suggested that more time be given to the acts at the concerts. The VGO felt over before it even began (they did not even bring out the whole orchestra) and Paul and Storm only did 5 songs (partially because they chose to that overlong joke in the middle). I know they shorted them to squeeze an extra band on each night, but I am not sure it was worth it.

    This will not be a popular comment but I strongly disagree. VGO is interesting and talented and I enjoyed them to an extent the first year but after that it lost any charm. There are some hardcore Video Game soundtrack fans out there who I am sure really enjoy listening to what felt like 10 different yet wholey the same Final Fantasy songs, but I am not one of them. I definitely see the appeal and welcome them to play at PAX but I certainly don't need to extend there time...

    Paul and Storm did feel a little shortened but I enjoyed the joke in the middle and all in all didn't feel cheated. Really I was just waiting for JOCO to hit the stage. Now his performance felt short. I would have loved to have heard a lot more from the new album.

    I thought that VGO has improved vastly with every PAX. At least they change up their stuff each time. The Mario Flute Beatboxing? SO GOOD. This year had a very different setlist than any other time I've seen them. I stopped watching P&S and JoCo since they're basically exactly the same each time. They're fun, but they have a schtick and stick to it. Anyhow, I totally get that not everyone likes the same acts, but that's why there's a diverse set of acts that play. They don't change much from PAX to PAX, but they're all very different from one another.

  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    jar37 wrote: »
    pureval wrote: »
    My wife suggested that more time be given to the acts at the concerts. The VGO felt over before it even began (they did not even bring out the whole orchestra) and Paul and Storm only did 5 songs (partially because they chose to that overlong joke in the middle). I know they shorted them to squeeze an extra band on each night, but I am not sure it was worth it.

    This will not be a popular comment but I strongly disagree. VGO is interesting and talented and I enjoyed them to an extent the first year but after that it lost any charm. There are some hardcore Video Game soundtrack fans out there who I am sure really enjoy listening to what felt like 10 different yet wholey the same Final Fantasy songs, but I am not one of them. I definitely see the appeal and welcome them to play at PAX but I certainly don't need to extend there time...

    Paul and Storm did feel a little shortened but I enjoyed the joke in the middle and all in all didn't feel cheated. Really I was just waiting for JOCO to hit the stage. Now his performance felt short. I would have loved to have heard a lot more from the new album.

    I know that PAX is a fairly hardcore gaming crowd, but I agree that VGO is losing it's charm with me. I love it when they do classic NES games like Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, etc but when they go into long Square marathons they lose me. Additionally, as an opening act to lively acts like P&S and Joco when they go into these sweeping RPG songs it just doesn't feel like a "warm up" to the main act for me. Unless things have changed, their setup/take down has always been pretty painfully long too.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    jar37 wrote: »
    pureval wrote: »
    My wife suggested that more time be given to the acts at the concerts. The VGO felt over before it even began (they did not even bring out the whole orchestra) and Paul and Storm only did 5 songs (partially because they chose to that overlong joke in the middle). I know they shorted them to squeeze an extra band on each night, but I am not sure it was worth it.

    This will not be a popular comment but I strongly disagree. VGO is interesting and talented and I enjoyed them to an extent the first year but after that it lost any charm. There are some hardcore Video Game soundtrack fans out there who I am sure really enjoy listening to what felt like 10 different yet wholey the same Final Fantasy songs, but I am not one of them. I definitely see the appeal and welcome them to play at PAX but I certainly don't need to extend there time...

    Paul and Storm did feel a little shortened but I enjoyed the joke in the middle and all in all didn't feel cheated. Really I was just waiting for JOCO to hit the stage. Now his performance felt short. I would have loved to have heard a lot more from the new album.

    I know that PAX is a fairly hardcore gaming crowd, but I agree that VGO is losing it's charm with me. I love it when they do classic NES games like Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, etc but when they go into long Square marathons they lose me. Additionally, as an opening act to lively acts like P&S and Joco when they go into these sweeping RPG songs it just doesn't feel like a "warm up" to the main act for me. Unless things have changed, their setup/take down has always been pretty painfully long too.

    Their setup happened pre-omegathon round 3 I think, so I didn't notice any issues with that, and I left right after they were over so I can speak to their take down. They did about half and half vocal songs vs. non-vocals this time. I guess the only reason I'm posting a couple times here is that I felt VGO was very different this time than in previous iterations, and they actually had JoCo on stage with them at the end, doing still alive (which sounds way better with more instrumentation than joco doing it himself). Anyhow, if you didn't see them this year, maybe give them another try :) But hey, I'd love it if they axed all of the acts and actually switched it up significantly from year to year, maybe making each act take at least one pax off between performances, so that we can get different music in there over time.

  • tvethiopiatvethiopia Salem MARegistered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »
    But hey, I'd love it if they axed all of the acts and actually switched it up significantly from year to year, maybe making each act take at least one pax off between performances, so that we can get different music in there over time.

    for real. it makes me sad that they don't do this. there are certainly plenty of other performers out there that would appeal to a gaming crowd, and pax would be a great way to showcase and promote new acts. it just feels like such a missed opportunity to have the same acts over and over.

    <3 Daintier. Smarter. Better dressed. <3
    7YIpfE5.png
  • ChorazinChorazin Lancaster, PARegistered User regular
    I agree with the repetition problem with bands, I hope next year it's flipped a bit. It was a shame great acts like Mega Ran only get into the Jamspace (although it is awesome to see them so close up.)

    Twitter//@chorazin
    Google+//http://gplus.to/chorazin
    FitBit//Profile
    3DS Friend Code: 3823 8527 9997
    Wii U NNID Chorazin
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    So, as one of 14 people stuck in an elevator for 40 minutes, I have a suggestion. Make the MCCA staff an elevator technician ON SITE. 30 of the 40 minutes we waiting in the hot, un-airconditioned elevator was just waiting on the tech to get to the BCEC. Another five minutes were him getting from outside to the elevator we were stuck in, and it took him all of five minutes to actually get us out of the elevator.

    As great a time I had in that elevator, I also drained half my phone battery just sitting on the phone with the safety division (the elevator phone would disconnect after a couple minutes or so), I and all the others would have much preferred to not have to wait 30 minutes for the tech to just get to the building. PAX is a big show, I think we deserve an onsite elevator tech for the weekend.

    Also, for the record, the guy on the phone said the tech would be there in 10 minutes. That son of a bitch LIED to us. I honestly believe if we had been stuck much longer, people would have started passing out.

    E6LkoFK.png

  • OmegaPlatinumOmegaPlatinum Registered User regular
    My suggestion is so simple that I don't understand why it's never been thought of before.

    PAX Dice.
    Preferably as swag, but would be good merchandise to sell.

    d20s EVERYWHERE.

  • repeterepete Registered User regular
    This is a simple one

    Easier way to get to the pcfreeplay it was blocked off and there was only one stairway to get to it in a way it kinda made it difficult to go from the expo hall to the food court because of the massive walls in the way

  • ZombiewskiZombiewski New JerseyRegistered User regular
    My suggestion is so simple that I don't understand why it's never been thought of before.

    PAX Dice.
    Preferably as swag, but would be good merchandise to sell.

    d20s EVERYWHERE.

    I mean...Chessex. And Foam Brain Games. Lots of d20s for, like, 20 cents. But I wouldn't mind free dice in the swag bag.

    Soul Silver FC: 0045 5822 7430, White FC: 0175 2366 9720, White 2 FC: 1636 2031 2006
    My NES blog and my Pokemon Snap tumblr.
  • SpectacledBearSpectacledBear Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    This was my second PAX East and would say that overall I thought it was better. Much the same as last year, but Tabletop was better overall, the expo hall was bigger, Enforcers rocked and PAX East was overall very excellent.

    These were my observations from this PAX East:

    Hard to find information. I have examples: A) Trying to find information for events outside of the satellite theatres (BioWare room, Kickstarter room) was hard. I missed many events because I simply did not know about them prior to leaving for PAX East. B) Trying to find the queue room on Friday morning was easy for me as I knew it from last year, but did not see signage along the way. We had to direct many people to the Main Theatre line as they were being directed to the queue room by staff. C) Tabletop Theatre was new this year, as far as I can tell. Trying to find the information about what it was and be able to adjust my schedule was difficult. Overall, better tools for making searches more effective and better signage across the convention would be helpful.

    Tighter review of panels. Whatever the reason, I went to one panel that was comprised of some light discussion and a lengthy attendee-driven Q&A session. My expectation is that when I wait in line to hear experts that they offer valuable content related to the topic.

    More support for Enforcers. I saw Enforcers looking tired (can't think of a way to say it) as early as Friday, and noticed they were more likely to talk with themselves than engage the crowd during line management, when compared to last year. It also seemed like this year they were more purpose driven and had less time to enjoy the event and interact. There is likely a reason that is unknown to me, but I wanted to offer that observation. It's my opinion that Enforcers make the show work, are invaluable and that we should support them even more. I offered them (packaged) snacks when I thought it helped, but was told they were taken care of, which is great.

    Currently playing Stardew Valley and I Am Setsuna.

    LPr3CtQ.png
  • XirycXiryc Middleburg Hts, OHRegistered User regular
    Cons:

    The Riot booth was a disaster. I couldn't even get inside all weekend. Also, I felt sorry for the poor indie devs on the bad side of the booth. Loadout was my favorite game on the floor this year, and most people didn't even get a chance to see it.

    Why is the tabletop section BETWEEN the queue room and expo hall?

    Where was the entrance to the PC Freeplay? I never found it. The map said I could get there through the expo hall. The map lied.

    The panel schedule was pretty lousy this year. I kept having to choose between multiple panels (X-Com and Magic, for example). But then there were 5+ hour stretches full of panels I wasn't even remotely interested in.

    Someone stole CCFP's server. WTF?!?!!

    If a company wants to sponsor swag bags, they need to provide more than enough for each day.

    The live raffles need to stop. None of the booths were big enough to justify the crowds they caused. Also, stop throwing t-shirts! Some people were throwing them into other booths on Sunday.

    Media badges. It seems the increased requirements just made the people who got them bigger dicks. I saw people laughing and bragging about how developers let them cut lines just because they had a media badge. Also, some people just used their early media time to get in line at the Riot spin-to-win thing.

    The BCEC staff were actively making fun of PAX goers all weekend.

    Panels running too long (Bioware), forcing other panels to run short.

    Boston cabbies are still the worst. Other Boston drivers almost as bad.

    Why put screens in the queue room if you aren't going to do anything with them?

    Pros:

    The indie devs make the expo hall awesome every year.

    The match game panel was hilarious. I need a .gif of Russ Pitts removing his sunglasses.

    Even though I wasn't really into the game, the World of Tanks booth was full of friendly, helpful people. Tera, too.

    The Enforcers were obviously understaffed, yet they still kicked all kinds of ass.

    Adding a dinner trolley was fantastic!

  • 19southmainco19southmainco Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    PAX should get Caine's Arcade involved somehow. Kid's a boss. The video is amazing. I want to play cardboard arcade games at next year's PAX East. I'm sure the kid is going to be all over the place now, but I feel like having a panel or a booth at PAX would be awesome. What do you think?

    19southmainco on
    onward, stalwart steed
  • OmegaPlatinumOmegaPlatinum Registered User regular
    Zombiewski wrote: »
    My suggestion is so simple that I don't understand why it's never been thought of before.

    PAX Dice.
    Preferably as swag, but would be good merchandise to sell.

    d20s EVERYWHERE.

    I mean...Chessex. And Foam Brain Games. Lots of d20s for, like, 20 cents. But I wouldn't mind free dice in the swag bag.
    No, I mean PAX Dice as in special dice with PAX-ness. Like a PA logo where the 20 goes.

This discussion has been closed.