Much better than last year, not really any major complaints. Tycho really hit the nail on the head with his news post today, the 6th floor relieved almost all the traffic problems. It was so much easier to find and line up for the panels I wanted to see.
My only petty complaints have to do with the in-line games: More variety, in both the games and the trailers. NO WE DON'T WANT TO SEE THE OLD REPUBLIC TRAILER AGAIN. And for the trailers shown in the main theater before events, I got so sick of that Dementium II ad, with it's obnoxious loudness and complete lack of gameplay.
Other thoughts: streaming panels to monitors in the hallways/lounges would be awesome, more PC tourneys.
This was my second year at PAX and I had a great time, just like last year. For some suggestions, I'd say mabye a seperate section for PC tournaments and PC freeplay. I turned away from PC freeplay multiple times as the line ran long. Also you could make the tournament section with better computers.
But one thing I loved is the cap of people they let in. I'm sorry for anyone that missed it because they sold out of badges, but with the restriction of people, it was a lot less crowded. The lines were still very long, but if you catch them at the right time (I didnt) they can be very short. I remember an exhibitor talking about how the line for ODST dissapeared during the PA panel.
As for swag, I loved the swag this year. Everything I got I wanted, unlike last year where I just threw most of my swag out. I also agree with ASimPerson, the programs should have been in the swag bags at the start.
Just my ideas ^.^
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AlazullYour body is not a temple, it's an amusement park.Enjoy the ride.Registered Userregular
As for swag, I loved the swag this year. Everything I got I wanted, unlike last year where I just threw most of my swag out. I also agree with ASimPerson, the programs should have been in the swag bags at the start.
Just my ideas ^.^
Something I thought I would point out as that at least on Friday, the schedules were in the bags. They had the PAX 09 icon on them and were called Instruction Booklets. As a matter of fact, most people who I met who came later in the day or on different days got the swag bag with the booklet inside.
Some suggestions:
-Exhibition hall organization: I think that booths should be better distributed. For example, Bethesda's booth just destroyed the ability to move past them during a presentation, and was spilling over into a neighboring booth, while Stardock always had plenty of room to have people seated and standing for their presentations and the Age of Conan booth had an entire section that only had some displays in it and nothing else. Personally, I'd seperate the places according to what they were doing, with places offering playable demos being seperated from places doing presentations. Also, as a part of this, have places doing playable demos announce if there are differences in certain stations.
-Exiting the Main Theater: I hated being funneled out to the top of the escalators just so I could walk outside and smoke a ciggarette or get some air. Next year, do what Sakura-Con does and have one of the doors at least usable as an exit only. That way, we get out where there is more room, and we don't have a massive river of bodies.
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Don't make me choose between seeing Gabe and Tycho or seeing Wil Wheaton.
And don't schedule Wil Wheaton in a smaller theater that fills up an hour before the show.
Everything else was awesome!
Agree! The line for Wil started the same time as the Q&A. I realize there was a Q&A on Friday, but I was unable to attend that day. Next year I will be at all 3 days. This was an amazing convention, and I will buy the DVDs to see Wil's panel anyway. Just give him some more room next time, so I can be there when it happens. Thanks!
So far, this year's PAX has been great! Just a lotta square footage of floor to cross! XD I agree with some others, why wasn't the program already in the swag bag from the start, beside the idea of late arrivals? Many people didn't have programs in the end and had to ask around.
* I'd like to see if it's possible to have a "classic arcade machine" section. It'd be kind of this homage to relive childhood playing old classic arcade machines... machines like the Pac-Man cocktail arcade machine, original Donkey Kong game, Space Invaders, Joust, Q-Bert, pinball machines, etc. The problems which such an idea is finding such systems rent-able, possibilities of such "artifacts" breaking down during much game play abuse, hiring repair services, etc. Hell, I'd be down for spending dollars worth of quarters reliving nostalgia (even if that money went to PAX itself or Child's Play!).
* Next Year's Keynote Host request: Is it possible getting David Hayter or Cam Clark? Ron Gilbert was an excellent choice for this year's PAX! *thumbs up*
* Creative idea: How much resources would it take (or cost) to make the "World Maps" to look more like a video/tabletop game (fantasy, futuristic, etc) world map?
* Panels: The panels were fun to visit. Is it possible to have one on the subject matter of VO (Voice Over) talents?
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Goose!That's me, honeyShow me the way home, honeyRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
TVs throughout with the panels being shown on them might not be a bad idea, just difficult to execute.
Addressing a couple issues-
The final Omegathon round did indeed start very late. Though possibly partially due to problems with the machine itself, PA was afraid that the whole thing would be over too quickly if they had started around 5 as scheduled, and the overall short play time proved them right. Having people streaming out of the final round and into the expo hall as they're trying to close would be a huge headache for everybody.
As for the PC Tournament computers, I'm really not sure what was happening with the frame rates, that's odd and unfortunate. Considering that the tourney computers were spec'd as Core i7s with 6GB ram and either GTX260s or 8800GTs, there should have been no issue.
Anyways, as for my suggestions
-Streaming videos of panels (PAXtv woo?)
-More Paul & Storm!
-Another theater where more (local?) bands can play sets throughout the day... not replacing, but in addition to the concerts. You always hear people clamoring for more/different bands, and that could be a great way to get ones in that you can't fit into the main concerts. Yes, I know Bumbershoot is the same weekend, but fuck that noise, we want more, possibly undiscovered geeky bands and such!
-Make more hours in the day so I can actually sleep
Artist Alley where artists can display/sell their work.
COMPLAINT:
Artists were mistreated during this PAX. A lot of us were told that we were being disruptive, while sitting quietly and drawing in designated sitting areas. A big group of us was told to move over 5 times (while being in pre-positioned beanbags), and a friend of mine was actually told to leave the area -- he was just sitting and drawing on his own.
This was my first PAX, but I have been to other large cons such as Dragoncon and Blizzcon, as well as smaller ones, too.
My first suggestion: PLEASE give Wil Wheaton a main stage! He was my main point of interest on Sunday and I was dismayed to find out by trying to get in line to see him an hour before his panel that it was closed and full! If I had known it'd be so freaking packed I'd have waited to play SC2 after his panel and waited - Yes, I would have waited a good 3 hours or so to see him!
Freeplay: These areas on the expo hall were awesome, however sometimes if you had 4 people in front of you for a game you'd end up waiting an hour or more to play a game. Maybe ask exhibitors to designate freeplay and optional timed-demo area where you can get people in and out quicker to view some games. The nature of some games also makes this hard but it would be nice if there was a way to view/try games faster. It wasn't crowded, per se, but waiting in line was getting tedius.
Queue Room entertainment: In the mornings there was paxchat texting which was cool, but I was waiting to see Bioware's star wars presentation saturday and the projector wasn't running. How about taking a cue from Dragoncon's adult swim bumps and have something west coasty - Machinima, volunteered videos, live broadcasts of gaming being piped into queues so people are entertained while in line. Heck, even just piping music through some speakers of some of the musical guests would have been cool.
Programs: +1 to being put into the goody bags and maybe include local info on where to go to visit for food, other area attractions etc. (Westlake mall, pacific place) I know its here on the forums but some people go to PAX for 1 or 2 reasons and aren't motivated for whatever reason to seek these things out. I told a few out of towners where they could go to get a meal that wasn't subway or taco del mar.
Hours: The expo hall is awesome and everyone working to demo their companies games and related stuff was just amazing. A big kudos! What about adding an extra hour ? Or maybe adding a special pass you could buy for an extra amount to let people in an hour early so they can see PAX without the crowds? I believe some media/special guests are allowed to do this but maybe it would help stagger the crowds abit allowing the general public in a tad early, even if it was just one day.
Contests: Maybe have an official website where exhibitors/groups can list their contests with all rules etc? not just a forum post
Between Dragon Con and Burning Man, it's hard for some people to attend, or they must chose something else.
Please find another weekend! (Preferably after Labor Day.)
I've found myself as an attendee wishing the expo hall was open later; after working a booth this time around, I understand why it isn't. It's rewarding and fun, definitely, but I'd fear for the state of everyone's voices and feet, just for starters, if the hall was open much later.
(Stupid human bodies with their stupid limitations. Where are those cyborg upgrades I was promised?)
Anyway -- I'd second the call for putting Wil Wheaton in the main theater. I'd have loved to see that panel, but given my schedule there was no way, especially considering the limited space. 'twas great seeing his bit at the Saturday night concert, though.
So far, this year's PAX has been great! Just a lotta square footage of floor to cross! XD I agree with some others, why wasn't the program already in the swag bag from the start, beside the idea of late arrivals? Many people didn't have programs in the end and had to ask around.
* I'd like to see if it's possible to have a "classic arcade machine" section. It'd be kind of this homage to relive childhood playing old classic arcade machines... machines like the Pac-Man cocktail arcade machine, original Donkey Kong game, Space Invaders, Joust, Q-Bert, pinball machines, etc. The problems which such an idea is finding such systems rent-able, possibilities of such "artifacts" breaking down during much game play abuse, hiring repair services, etc. Hell, I'd be down for spending dollars worth of quarters reliving nostalgia (even if that money went to PAX itself or Child's Play!).
Back in the olden days, when the show was in Bellevue, they rented arcade machines (mostly music games) from a place called Illusions, but it closed down in '07 and apparently they just threw out their machines. It would be great if they could find a new place to get them from, but there just aren't many arcades around here.
That was the most abominable omegathon final round that could ever be conceived. I'm sorry, it had to be said.
We waited in line for two fucking hours (two and a half for some people) while the stupid line entertainers repeated the same jokes from the Saturday night concert line. And this includes the time they made everyone wait in the main theatre. Yes, that's a fantastic idea, let's make everyone stand for a half an hour and play cruddy pop music while we're at it!
Then ZOMFG MYSTERY GAME is announced and it's skeeball. Seriously, an arcade game designed to eat quarters? One, that's not a video game and shouldn't be eligible. Secondly, what the hell made someone think that people would want to see two people suck at a Chuckie Cheese game? For the previous rounds, fine, but the final?
So after Tycho handed Gabe's ass to him Tycho said about one sentence and that was it. The whole thing was about a half hour. It seemed like fallout took a dive so they could save time. The cherry on top of the shit sundae was the ear-shattering ringing sound that emitted from the mic when everyone was filing out. By that time, you could see the dissapointment and frustration in everyone's faces. I should have just stayed in BYOC, I was having so much fun there. What a horrible way to end an otherwise perfect expo.
Also, there needs to be seats for the omegathon final. It's ludicrous to make everyone stand to see, there's no reason for it. The people in the front are so inconsiderate, some guy in front of me held his hands up with his camera for the whole thing.
The exhibition hall imo is the main reason my friends and I go to PAX. I would not complain about the exhibition hall being open for longer hours next year and the years following.
As for swag, I loved the swag this year. Everything I got I wanted, unlike last year where I just threw most of my swag out. I also agree with ASimPerson, the programs should have been in the swag bags at the start.
Just my ideas ^.^
Something I thought I would point out as that at least on Friday, the schedules were in the bags. They had the PAX 09 icon on them and were called Instruction Booklets. As a matter of fact, most people who I met who came later in the day or on different days got the swag bag with the booklet inside.
I got my bag on Friday, after waiting in the HUGE line that stretched outside the convention center (good thing the weather was good on Friday) and it definitely did not have a schedule in it - neither did either of my friends'.
We did not wait in the initial 10 AM queue, so perhaps folks got schedules there?
As for swag, I loved the swag this year. Everything I got I wanted, unlike last year where I just threw most of my swag out. I also agree with ASimPerson, the programs should have been in the swag bags at the start.
Just my ideas ^.^
Something I thought I would point out as that at least on Friday, the schedules were in the bags. They had the PAX 09 icon on them and were called Instruction Booklets. As a matter of fact, most people who I met who came later in the day or on different days got the swag bag with the booklet inside.
I got my bag on Friday, after waiting in the HUGE line that stretched outside the convention center (good thing the weather was good on Friday) and it definitely did not have a schedule in it - neither did either of my friends'.
We did not wait in the initial 10 AM queue, so perhaps folks got schedules there?
Yeah, I got there at 7:30 AM on friday and they just had a bunch of boxes with the programs in them, people were grabbing them as they went in. My guess would be that they got them late and didn't have time to stuff them in the bags.
EDIT: Also, I loved the Omegathon finale, and there were seats, in the back. You could still see the screen since they added those hanging ones halfway back this year, which was a great idea.
Not quite as intense as Combat back in '05, but then I doubt anything will ever top that.
1. Stick to your schedules. The concert went an hour and a half late on Saturday. Paul and Storm took forever, easily the longest set of the three, and Coulton had three encores. My dad had to park illegally and wait for me. And of course there was the aforementioned omegafinal crap.
2. Like I said before, seats during the omegafinal. Stop ignoring this request, lots of people suggested it last year.
3. It's too easy for someone to accidentally walk out on Friday morning and be forced to stand in the huge line on Friday. Thank god I had a BYOC pass.
4. Tf2 tourney; we were treated like crap. "I don't want to have to do this so get in and sit the fuck down. You lost? Exit's that way, get out of my face!"
5. BYOC needs to check ID when entering, or at the very least during checkout. Anyone with a pass could easily have walked in and stolen something.
6. Why was the cover of the info book so bland? Gabe hand-drew the cover last year, why not this year?
But all things considered, this year blew last year out of the water. Nearly every issue was dealt with; tshirts were in abundance, the only line that had a redonkulous wait time was L4D2 (but that should have been
Between Dragon Con and Burning Man, it's hard for some people to attend, or they must chose something else.
Please find another weekend! (Preferably after Labor Day.)
The decision to hold PAX on Labor Day weekend going forward is threefold:
1. Given 70% of attendees are coming in from out of town, it allows for 1 extra day of travel as opposed to rushing back on Friday night.
2. Seattle (despite Bumbershoot being that same weekend) is actually dead in terms of out-of-town travel on Labor Day Weekend. What this means is we're able to negotiate hotel room rates at much more aggressive rate than the week before - we're literally talking a difference of hundreds of dollars for the weekend for attendees.
3. Because most conferences/trade shows are business-to-business, we're actually able to get the space we need as opposed to being crammed in with another large show.
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CaptainTapoleAwesome in the Possum - Yee-Haw!Northern CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Between Dragon Con and Burning Man, it's hard for some people to attend, or they must chose something else.
Please find another weekend! (Preferably after Labor Day.)
The decision to hold PAX on Labor Day weekend going forward is threefold:
1. Given 70% of attendees are coming in from out of town, it allows for 1 extra day of travel as opposed to rushing back on Friday night.
2. Seattle (despite Bumbershoot being that same weekend) is actually dead in terms of out-of-town travel on Labor Day Weekend. What this means is we're able to negotiate hotel room rates at much more aggressive rate than the week before - we're literally talking a difference of hundreds of dollars for the weekend for attendees.
3. Because most conferences/trade shows are business-to-business, we're actually able to get the space we need as opposed to being crammed in with another large show.
To add on...
It was mentioned in the Q&A #1 Panel on Friday, that in all technicality; PA is at the mercy of The Convention Center itself to get the days/space.
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There has to be some way to make it so we don't have to spend as much time in line. I spent a good 6 hours in lines and with pax being so busy as it is, you are missing out on a lot by spending all that time sitting around. A number system? Signup sheet? It would be nice if you could go sign up for the panel and come back 15 mins before it starts. I could really capitalize on some extra time. Also, my hips are killing me from sitting on the concrete floor for so long.
This has probably been repeated year after year, but there must be some solution. Maybe the streaming thing is it... though it's only useful to those with a computer at hand.
Sumi is absolutely right. I can relate to the sitting on the concrete. Enormous amounts of time are wasted just trying to get from one part of the exhibit floor to the other. PAX was awesome. However, the experience was degraded by absurd delays to get to play a single game. The worst for me were the foodlines. I lost my cool when SUBWAY ran out of ice. I would like to add that I do not plan to attend PAX 2010. PAX is ideal for aggressive, selfish, fanboys. Normal people have a really difficult time doing what they want to do at PAX. I missed forums because of the outrageously long food lines. Large number of homeless gamers were lying on the floor on air mattresses blocking access for inexplicable reasons. Finally, the moronic TSA screeners at SEATAC nearly made travelers miss their plane with the moronic ZIP LOCK bag rule for liquids. I could not attend the concerts or compete in the Mario Kart DSI competition
due to the Monorail shutting down at 11pm. I have decided PAX is not worth it, and I will not return.
There has to be some way to make it so we don't have to spend as much time in line. I spent a good 6 hours in lines and with pax being so busy as it is, you are missing out on a lot by spending all that time sitting around. A number system? Signup sheet? It would be nice if you could go sign up for the panel and come back 15 mins before it starts. I could really capitalize on some extra time. Also, my hips are killing me from sitting on the concrete floor for so long.
This has probably been repeated year after year, but there must be some solution. Maybe the streaming thing is it... though it's only useful to those with a computer at hand.
Sumi is absolutely right. I can relate to the sitting on the concrete. Enormous amounts of time are wasted just trying to get from one part of the exhibit floor to the other. PAX was awesome. However, the experience was degraded by absurd delays to get to play a single game. The worst for me were the foodlines. I lost my cool when SUBWAY ran out of ice. I would like to add that I do not plan to attend PAX 2010. PAX is ideal for aggressive, selfish, fanboys. Normal people have a really difficult time doing what they want to do at PAX. I missed forums because of the outrageously long food lines. Large number of homeless gamers were lying on the floor on air mattresses blocking access for inexplicable reasons. Finally, the moronic TSA screeners at SEATAC nearly made travelers miss their plane with the moronic ZIP LOCK bag rule for liquids. I could not attend the concerts or compete in the Mario Kart DSI competition
due to the Monorail shutting down at 11pm. I have decided PAX is not worth it, and I will not return.
Some of those are because it was your first year and you didn't know your way around the convention center. And because you didn't plan ahead.... you really should have brought your own food.
And if you thought lines were bad this year, hoo boy, you should have been to 08...
This was my first time at PAX (or any convention for that matter) and I absolutely had a BLAST my friends and I are already planning next years trip and plan to kidnap any friends who didn't come this year and force them to join us for their own good. On that note here are my suggestions, they in no way out weighed the positives and even if they are not fixed I will gladly return time and time again.
Don't make me choose between seeing Gabe and Tycho or seeing Wil Wheaton.
And don't schedule Wil Wheaton in a smaller theater that fills up an hour before the show.
Everything else was awesome!
I will second, third, and fourth both of those points!
I feel a good rule of thumb is that if the line needs to be in the Queue Room then it should be in the Main Theater. I was 3rd in line for the Gabe and Tycho signing and still had to miss the Wil Wheaton event.
Also along with some previous posters I feel that PAX should suggest some time limits to the companies who decide to show there wares. SC 2 was great you got in line and each person got 15 minutes and then most had the decency to let the next person have a go. WoW: Cataclysm and Diablo 3 on the other hand each had lines of 3 or more people most of the time and no time limit.
I know waiting in lines is part of the experience but some times it got a little absurd.
On that note I loved Get in Line Games but agree that the jokes got old after seeing them more than once.
Lastly after waiting in line Saturday morning and seeing the SWTOR trailer I thought it was great, when the PA: Make a Strip panel was already running late and they walked in I laughed to hear the following excerpt.
Bioware Man:Have you seen the trailer on a 10 foot screen?
Majority of Crowd: YES!
Bioware Man: Do you want to see it again?
Majority of Crowd: NO!
Bioware Man: Well here it is anyway!
/roll trailer
Note to self if a LARGE mob of people say they don't want something, don't give it to them.
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CaptainTapoleAwesome in the Possum - Yee-Haw!Northern CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
DISCLAIMER!!! I am trying NOT to sound like a dick or ANYTHING to that sort; but I've been far too much of a Con-Goer in general to see much of anything wrong nowadays.
Alright. Taking nearly forty-five minutes to read the previous posts thoroughly, I have decided to compose my own suggestions/complaints/agreements/disagreements/man-up post.
So. Of course everyone knows that Wil should have the Main Theater when he does his panel--that's a serious given. HOWEVER, given that the Set-Up/Tear-Down crew need TIME to do work on the Final Omegathon--no matter what it is in the up-coming years. We are gonna have to deal with waiting in line for 2+ hours and missing some other one we RRRREEEEEAAAALLLLLYYY wanted to go to.
Speaking of lines! Yes. It's concrete. Yes, everyone's bums/hips/backs/legs/feet/other body parts hurt like a mo-fo when waiting that long--but this is why there is such a thing as the buddy system. If you are with someone while in line--take turns to walk around, stretch out, get something to drink/eat, check out the Expo Hall, etc. And if you aren't with someone, befriend the folks in front or behind you. Just simply ask if they could watch your spot so you can stretch out and/or do all that other stuff I previously mentioned. AND! If you KNOW it's gonna get filled, you better bet your gaming ass that there will be a 2+ hour wait and folks will be turned away.
TIME! Timing could be a good thing, especially if there is something else important to do (and "important", I mean catching plane/cab/bus/whatever NOT another panel) but there are things such as glitches ( i.e. the SkeeBall Machine) audio, the panel speakers/musicians themselves (hey, they need to empty out their bladders too) or making sure a HUGE panel has enough room (there were folks lining the walls at the AWESOME HOUR!!1) that could delay the scheduled time.
CONCERTS! Concerts are a combination of the "TIME!" memo and the "Set-Up/Tear-Down" memo. Place those two memos together and there ya go.
EXPO HALL! Honestly, I have no complaints about this...at least no complaints that have to do on PAX's/Center's planning. Some (actually all) of the Expo Hall complaints are directly towards the company that owned the booths. I really cannot do/say anything since I do not remember half of the companies. Oh! Take that back! DON'T HAVE THE PA BOOTH SO FAR OUT OF THE WAY! Okie! Onto the next one.
For the In-Line Screen/Games/Entertainment. MORE SCREENS! I know everyone is on a budget; but if you're at the FAR end of a line AND short, you can't see it worth shit through the blooming flesh that is of tall folks. Also, more variety on the adverts.
Swag Bag! Someone suggested that the Swag Bag should be passed out at Will-Call--good thinking. I wasn't there; but darn-tootin' good idea. The Schedule Hand-Book should technically be in the Bag as well, but seeing how it's possible you don't receive the complete shipment of the Hand-Books until maybe the WEEK OF PAX while the Swag Bag was being stuffed a weekend or two prior; I can understand. But for the DTS', it's not that difficult to stuff in there as well.
Suggestions!
~I know you had some Enforcers there stating it was the End of Line and turning away folks; but if someone could make like a serious official sign (maybe with the theater's crest on it and laminated/seriously professionally done) stating that it's the end of the line and have the Main Enforcer of the theater take a pic on their Cell Phone or Camera of the absolute last person with the sign (Pic can be erased later) and send it to the other Enforcers taking care of that particular theater so all of them would know that he/she is the absolute last person in line.
~Someone also suggested the Water Gallons to be more and scattered about. Yeah. That, too. Main Queue Hall specifically.
~Darker colours when using the Whiteboard. Luckily, the Enforcers were nice enough to inform where to go before I had to squint my eyes.
There are plenty of other suggestions/complaints out there, but I am too tired to remember.
CaptainTapole on
The Girl Who Gave Everyone the Shortest Jenga Game Ever.
Lastly after waiting in line Saturday morning and seeing the SWTOR trailer I thought it was great, when the PA: Make a Strip panel was already running late and they walked in I laughed to hear the following excerpt.
Bioware Man:Have you seen the trailer on a 10 foot screen?
Majority of Crowd: YES!
Bioware Man: Do you want to see it again?
Majority of Crowd: NO!
Bioware Man: Well here it is anyway!
/roll trailer
Note to self if a LARGE mob of people say they don't want something, don't give it to them.
Ahahahahahaha, the same thing happened on Friday. They showed it early on, and then again when the show was about to open.
One idea that I thought was absolutely brilliant was the group handling the gameplay demo for Avatar: they had signups for all the half-hour shows in a day, you sign up, you get a ticket. No line for the Avatar demo, I signed up for a show later in the day, went about my business, and popped back to check it out later. Compare and contrast to, say Rockstar, which had a large line for its demos but after reaching capacity in the demo room forced people still in line to wait there until another demo started. This could probably only work for smaller-scale things like expo demos, and not really feasible for anything in the main theatre or even serpent theatre or something; but if a lot of the 30-or-so-person demos used this system (there had to be a half-dozen or more this year... rockstar, dragon age, avatar, brink, etc) I bet it would make things a lot easier in the expo hall.
Lots of what I wanted to say has already been repeated several times: More screens for queue room, timing/lateness issues (which I realize are hard/impossible to correct, but for me it wasn't a huge deal), Wheton in the main hall, stuff like that.
videogame voice actors (like Charles Martinet or the lady who voices Samus)
Japanese gaming staff (not necessarily someone like Miyamoto but it'd be cool if someone from a Japanese gaming company visited)
a random secret guest (something crazy on the level of last year's Uwe Boll appearance)
Alright. Taking nearly forty-five minutes to read the previous posts thoroughly, I have decided to compose my own suggestions/complaints/agreements/disagreements/man-up post.
Very nice sum up post Cap'n :-) And Sumi, I totally agree, the debate about that should not re-ensue. Tapole, your sum up made me think of another suggestion . . . in line for the Guild Wars art book, myself and a few people before me (and everyone who was in line after us at that moment) were told that they were running out of books, and that it was iffy that we would get one based on a rough head count. We persevered though, and ended up getting the book . . . but no one was cutting off the line; 20 minutes later there were still tons of people joining far behind us and I don't think the GW guy told the Enforcer minding the line; she was still keeping the fire lane clear. The nice PMS clan girl held my place while I suggested it to the Enforcer.
Good on the Enforcer for keeping the fire lane clear, and very good on the GW guy for the heads up, but some coordination between the two might have helped a lot of people . . . maybe instruct the booth guys when they register to let the Enforcer know when he's one box away from being out? It would only really be necessary for the megaswag like that book, and it would save so many people from waiting in line only to be disappointed
The worst for me were the foodlines. I lost my cool when SUBWAY ran out of ice. I would like to add that I do not plan to attend PAX 2010. PAX is ideal for aggressive, selfish, fanboys. Normal people have a really difficult time doing what they want to do at PAX. I missed forums because of the outrageously long food lines. Large number of homeless gamers were lying on the floor on air mattresses blocking access for inexplicable reasons. Finally, the moronic TSA screeners at SEATAC nearly made travelers miss their plane with the moronic ZIP LOCK bag rule for liquids. I could not attend the concerts or compete in the Mario Kart DSI competition
due to the Monorail shutting down at 11pm. I have decided PAX is not worth it, and I will not return.
While I agree that the lines are frustrating I'm just not sure there is anyway around that unlike say, the food lines. There were places within a block radius of the convention center that were no where near the headache of the food lines in the center. Also give the TSA screeners a break. It isn't their rule about the zip lock bag, it's the FAA. These people are just doing their jobs.
Do you honestly think anything can be done about that by PAX organizers? There are only so many places to buy food without being willing to leave the convention centre. Even outside of the centre, lines are pretty bad at many of the nearby restaurants. It's something to be expected when there are so many people in one place.
Between Dragon Con and Burning Man, it's hard for some people to attend, or they must chose something else.
Please find another weekend! (Preferably after Labor Day.)
Yes, well after Labour Day it's hard for students to attend. As they said at the Q&A though, there are only certain weekends when the whole centre is available.
I missed forums because of the outrageously long food lines. Large number of homeless gamers were lying on the floor on air mattresses blocking access for inexplicable reasons. Finally, the moronic TSA screeners at SEATAC nearly made travelers miss their plane with the moronic ZIP LOCK bag rule for liquids. I could not attend the concerts or compete in the Mario Kart DSI competition
due to the Monorail shutting down at 11pm. I have decided PAX is not worth it, and I will not return.
Like someone said before, this was poor planning on your part. Of course there will be extremely long food lines at the restaurants IN the convention center. This is true anywhere thousands of people are gathering. There are a ton of restaurants out side of the convention center. You have to PLAN time to get food. This is obviously a personal problem with you and not with PAX... And why the hell were you dependent on the Monorail? It's novelty, not a legitimate form of transportation. Take the bus or walk. Lastly, TSA is not a problem with PAX! TSA is the same EVERYWHERE. It is federal law that all liquids in a carry on must fit in a quart size plastic bag. These are not problems with PAX. They are problems with large gatherings/travel. They are the same everywhere.
1. Stick to your schedules. The concert went an hour and a half late on Saturday. Paul and Storm took forever, easily the longest set of the three, and Coulton had three encores. My dad had to park illegally and wait for me. And of course there was the aforementioned omegafinal crap.
I'm sorry, this made me laugh. You sure it wasn't past your bedtime? You have obviously never been to a concert. They never are on time!
Also, who is the Wil Wheaton guy?
Ok, now for my concerns:
1. I didn't go to PAX last year, but according to my friends, the console free play was set up differently. They seemed to like last year's better. The current system was WAY to loud. Couldn't really stand to be in there too long. The PC free play was much more peaceful.
2. Signs in every restrooms reminding everyone to wash their hands. My friend said she saw, on numerous occasions, people leaving the restrooms without washing their hands. The biggest thing is that we all should be washing our hands regularly/using hand sanitizer to help minimize the spread of germs within such large groups. When using the restroom it provides the perfect opportunity to wash your hands to help prevent the spread of disease.
The rest I will chalk up to my own inexperience. Next time I'm making a plan. I felt like I spent every waking hour for three days there and didn't accomplish much....
The new set location for Bandland totally kicked butt. Loved it! Also, the screens in the main theatre were brilliant. This year I could sit in the back and just watch the screens during the concerts instead of stand in the middle of a crowd that I can't see over (Only 5' tall, here). (Just wanted to mention some things I liked before mentioning things that need work.)
I'm going to chime in and say that, yeah, Wil needs to be in a bigger theatre next year. A LOT of people got turned away. Also, can y'all put the schedules and lanyards in the swag bags next year and have them in a few different locations? I went to the info booth for a schedule and lanyard after asking around for a while but then it took some time to figure out where the bags were. Just a suggestion.
But, seriously, bigger theatre for Wil next year, please. Some of us did wait two hours in line to be in the front and we did so willingly but it really sucked to see people who showed up even an hour early get turned away. At least they were told the line was capped so they didn't waste their time.
Cheers!
angiek47 on
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whypick1PAX [E] Info Booth Manager~2' from an LCDRegistered Userregular
1. I didn't go to PAX last year, but according to my friends, the console free play was set up differently. They seemed to like last year's better. The current system was WAY to loud. Couldn't really stand to be in there too long. The PC free play was much more peaceful.
Last year PAX was without the 6th floor, but had the Annex. All of the tabletop stuff was in the Annex while console freeplay was spread out amongst this years tabletop rooms, with the checkout desk where the RB stage was (I think). Noise was certainly less of an issue with there being maybe a half dozen or so consoles in each room compared to all of them in one place. PC Freeplay/BYOC was basically setup like it was this year, except in the smaller exhibition hall where the TMNT van was.
This was my first PAX and honestly it was just awesome! There were a few things that weren't perfect but on a whole it was amazing.
As related to the post above though, noise was a problem with some of these things.
Putting two rockband games right next to each other in the console freeplay? What? I couldn't hear anything from the game I was playing if I was standing anywhere near the other side.
Also to whoever the Enforcer(s) was(were) doing the announcing in BYOC, I know you guys were trying to get stuff going but it was impossible actually play or talk half the time in there because the voice was just SO LOUD.
To the guy who said that BYOC enforcers should check for BYOC passes. I went in and out of that room more than any other the whole weekend and my pass was checked every time.
I know there's nothing to really be done, but the actual convention centre staff (not enforcers) were dicks in pretty much every situation we came across them in. They wouldn't believe our passes were real and demanded to see them more closely, they would tell us incorrect information about where to go, they would sometimes just tell people to go away with no explanation.
The streaming/recording is something I'll second (or whatever). Waiting in lines for several hours is just
Oh and just as a general whiny complaint. If you're going to push your way up to <10 feet from the stage during the concerts, don't sit down and play DS. You take up at least 3 times as room and you are being a tool. If you can't handle standing the whole time then go move to the back for a while and let the people who actually want to be up close be up close!
I know there's nothing to really be done, but the actual convention centre staff (not enforcers) were dicks in pretty much every situation we came across them in. They wouldn't believe our passes were real and demanded to see them more closely, they would tell us incorrect information about where to go, they would sometimes just tell people to go away with no explanation.
I was in many situations with these people, and that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Especially where they wouldnt let a very large group of us into the expo hall saturday morning. NOT COOL.
Passive agressive nerds will only remain that way for so long...
Panels: It would be nice to not be locked into a line for 45+ minutes before a panel. One possibility would be to start giving out 'tickets' 1-2 hours before the panel and giving precedence to those with tickets... and opening any remaining space (if ticketed people don't show up) to first-come-first-served ~5-10 minutes prior to the panel. In essence, the goal is to allow you to wait in line without necessarily being present. The tickets wouldn't necessarily need to guarantee a specific seat (to simplify logistics), just admission to the panel.
The flipside of this is that the lines pull people out of general circulation, so this would increase convention center crowding in general.
If a ticketing system doesn't happen (and admittably, it does have its own set of problems), a few simple "Line goes this direction" signs might help lines stay manageable and out of the way even before an enforcer comes and cleans it up. Alternatively, it can be tried as an experiment for one or two theaters of PAX East or PAX 2010 and expanded if it works out well.
Reader boards showing the current time and current/next panel for the given room might be neat. This might also help in conveying changes (The TBD panel has been determined, something's moved/rescheduled, etc). Whether this is actually useful with the current banners outside the rooms is debatable.
And I seco^H^H^H^Hn+1 the suggestion of Wil Wheaton's panel being in the main theater and not conflicting with other massively popular panels
Badges: I second the suggestions to modify the badges to have room for a name/handle/etc like the Enforcer badges do. Also, it might be nice if you could tell what kind of badge it was on the backside (Mine liked to flip itself around) -- since they're color coded, perhaps an e.g. red stripe on the bottom for the 3-days, etc, or a red '10' watermark (for PAX 2010) on the entire backside.
My biggest complaint this year was the that the event basically went with ~2 hours of nothing interesting I wanted to do, followed by 3-4 different interesting events all at the same time. Booths that do raffles could help with this somewhat by not requiring raffle winners to be present. (One of the raffles conflicted with the final round of the Omegathon, another conflicted with Wil Wheaton's panel). Oddly enough, my biggest complaint is also the hardest to fix -- if it is even fixable. The fact that there can be so many multiple conflicting things someone would want to participate in should probably be taken as a sign of overall awesomeness and is a good problem to have.
Friday Morning Line: I am not entirely sure why it was neccessary to have a ginormous line to get into PAX, especially considering I already had my badge and merely needed to get a lanyard and goodie bag. If that was the only reason for a line, it might help to offer programs and lanyards in advance for those who live in the area and can pick them up prior to PAX -- perhaps punching a hole in the badges to prevent abuse (i.e. the same person picking up multiple goodie bags)
...
Also, there needs to be seats for the omegathon final. It's ludicrous to make everyone stand to see, there's no reason for it. The people in the front are so inconsiderate, some guy in front of me held his hands up with his camera for the whole thing.
The reason people stand for the Omegathon final round is because so many people show up for it, and standing takes less space than chairs. There are people who may want to sit, and there are chairs in the back.
Also along with some previous posters I feel that PAX should suggest some time limits to the companies who decide to show there wares. SC 2 was great you got in line and each person got 15 minutes and then most had the decency to let the next person have a go. WoW: Cataclysm and Diablo 3 on the other hand each had lines of 3 or more people most of the time and no time limit.
I stood in line for D3 and there was a time limit, it was like 15-20 minutes. I got unlucky and the guy in front of me quit like 2/3 of the way through his demo >.> But yea I had to wait like 45 mins so i was kinda pissed after that lol
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My only petty complaints have to do with the in-line games: More variety, in both the games and the trailers. NO WE DON'T WANT TO SEE THE OLD REPUBLIC TRAILER AGAIN. And for the trailers shown in the main theater before events, I got so sick of that Dementium II ad, with it's obnoxious loudness and complete lack of gameplay.
Other thoughts: streaming panels to monitors in the hallways/lounges would be awesome, more PC tourneys.
But one thing I loved is the cap of people they let in. I'm sorry for anyone that missed it because they sold out of badges, but with the restriction of people, it was a lot less crowded. The lines were still very long, but if you catch them at the right time (I didnt) they can be very short. I remember an exhibitor talking about how the line for ODST dissapeared during the PA panel.
As for swag, I loved the swag this year. Everything I got I wanted, unlike last year where I just threw most of my swag out. I also agree with ASimPerson, the programs should have been in the swag bags at the start.
Just my ideas ^.^
Something I thought I would point out as that at least on Friday, the schedules were in the bags. They had the PAX 09 icon on them and were called Instruction Booklets. As a matter of fact, most people who I met who came later in the day or on different days got the swag bag with the booklet inside.
Some suggestions:
-Exhibition hall organization: I think that booths should be better distributed. For example, Bethesda's booth just destroyed the ability to move past them during a presentation, and was spilling over into a neighboring booth, while Stardock always had plenty of room to have people seated and standing for their presentations and the Age of Conan booth had an entire section that only had some displays in it and nothing else. Personally, I'd seperate the places according to what they were doing, with places offering playable demos being seperated from places doing presentations. Also, as a part of this, have places doing playable demos announce if there are differences in certain stations.
-Exiting the Main Theater: I hated being funneled out to the top of the escalators just so I could walk outside and smoke a ciggarette or get some air. Next year, do what Sakura-Con does and have one of the doors at least usable as an exit only. That way, we get out where there is more room, and we don't have a massive river of bodies.
Some other way to watch the panels and having the exhibit hall open later each day.
Agree! The line for Wil started the same time as the Q&A. I realize there was a Q&A on Friday, but I was unable to attend that day. Next year I will be at all 3 days. This was an amazing convention, and I will buy the DVDs to see Wil's panel anyway. Just give him some more room next time, so I can be there when it happens. Thanks!
* I'd like to see if it's possible to have a "classic arcade machine" section. It'd be kind of this homage to relive childhood playing old classic arcade machines... machines like the Pac-Man cocktail arcade machine, original Donkey Kong game, Space Invaders, Joust, Q-Bert, pinball machines, etc. The problems which such an idea is finding such systems rent-able, possibilities of such "artifacts" breaking down during much game play abuse, hiring repair services, etc. Hell, I'd be down for spending dollars worth of quarters reliving nostalgia (even if that money went to PAX itself or Child's Play!).
* Next Year's Keynote Host request: Is it possible getting David Hayter or Cam Clark? Ron Gilbert was an excellent choice for this year's PAX! *thumbs up*
* Creative idea: How much resources would it take (or cost) to make the "World Maps" to look more like a video/tabletop game (fantasy, futuristic, etc) world map?
* Panels: The panels were fun to visit. Is it possible to have one on the subject matter of VO (Voice Over) talents?
The final Omegathon round did indeed start very late. Though possibly partially due to problems with the machine itself, PA was afraid that the whole thing would be over too quickly if they had started around 5 as scheduled, and the overall short play time proved them right. Having people streaming out of the final round and into the expo hall as they're trying to close would be a huge headache for everybody.
As for the PC Tournament computers, I'm really not sure what was happening with the frame rates, that's odd and unfortunate. Considering that the tourney computers were spec'd as Core i7s with 6GB ram and either GTX260s or 8800GTs, there should have been no issue.
Anyways, as for my suggestions
-Streaming videos of panels (PAXtv woo?)
-More Paul & Storm!
-Another theater where more (local?) bands can play sets throughout the day... not replacing, but in addition to the concerts. You always hear people clamoring for more/different bands, and that could be a great way to get ones in that you can't fit into the main concerts. Yes, I know Bumbershoot is the same weekend, but fuck that noise, we want more, possibly undiscovered geeky bands and such!
-Make more hours in the day so I can actually sleep
Artist Alley where artists can display/sell their work.
COMPLAINT:
Artists were mistreated during this PAX. A lot of us were told that we were being disruptive, while sitting quietly and drawing in designated sitting areas. A big group of us was told to move over 5 times (while being in pre-positioned beanbags), and a friend of mine was actually told to leave the area -- he was just sitting and drawing on his own.
My first suggestion: PLEASE give Wil Wheaton a main stage! He was my main point of interest on Sunday and I was dismayed to find out by trying to get in line to see him an hour before his panel that it was closed and full! If I had known it'd be so freaking packed I'd have waited to play SC2 after his panel and waited - Yes, I would have waited a good 3 hours or so to see him!
Freeplay: These areas on the expo hall were awesome, however sometimes if you had 4 people in front of you for a game you'd end up waiting an hour or more to play a game. Maybe ask exhibitors to designate freeplay and optional timed-demo area where you can get people in and out quicker to view some games. The nature of some games also makes this hard but it would be nice if there was a way to view/try games faster. It wasn't crowded, per se, but waiting in line was getting tedius.
Queue Room entertainment: In the mornings there was paxchat texting which was cool, but I was waiting to see Bioware's star wars presentation saturday and the projector wasn't running. How about taking a cue from Dragoncon's adult swim bumps and have something west coasty - Machinima, volunteered videos, live broadcasts of gaming being piped into queues so people are entertained while in line. Heck, even just piping music through some speakers of some of the musical guests would have been cool.
Programs: +1 to being put into the goody bags and maybe include local info on where to go to visit for food, other area attractions etc. (Westlake mall, pacific place) I know its here on the forums but some people go to PAX for 1 or 2 reasons and aren't motivated for whatever reason to seek these things out. I told a few out of towners where they could go to get a meal that wasn't subway or taco del mar.
Hours: The expo hall is awesome and everyone working to demo their companies games and related stuff was just amazing. A big kudos! What about adding an extra hour ? Or maybe adding a special pass you could buy for an extra amount to let people in an hour early so they can see PAX without the crowds? I believe some media/special guests are allowed to do this but maybe it would help stagger the crowds abit allowing the general public in a tad early, even if it was just one day.
Contests: Maybe have an official website where exhibitors/groups can list their contests with all rules etc? not just a forum post
Please find another weekend! (Preferably after Labor Day.)
(Stupid human bodies with their stupid limitations. Where are those cyborg upgrades I was promised?)
Anyway -- I'd second the call for putting Wil Wheaton in the main theater. I'd have loved to see that panel, but given my schedule there was no way, especially considering the limited space. 'twas great seeing his bit at the Saturday night concert, though.
Back in the olden days, when the show was in Bellevue, they rented arcade machines (mostly music games) from a place called Illusions, but it closed down in '07 and apparently they just threw out their machines. It would be great if they could find a new place to get them from, but there just aren't many arcades around here.
We waited in line for two fucking hours (two and a half for some people) while the stupid line entertainers repeated the same jokes from the Saturday night concert line. And this includes the time they made everyone wait in the main theatre. Yes, that's a fantastic idea, let's make everyone stand for a half an hour and play cruddy pop music while we're at it!
Then ZOMFG MYSTERY GAME is announced and it's skeeball. Seriously, an arcade game designed to eat quarters? One, that's not a video game and shouldn't be eligible. Secondly, what the hell made someone think that people would want to see two people suck at a Chuckie Cheese game? For the previous rounds, fine, but the final?
So after Tycho handed Gabe's ass to him Tycho said about one sentence and that was it. The whole thing was about a half hour. It seemed like fallout took a dive so they could save time. The cherry on top of the shit sundae was the ear-shattering ringing sound that emitted from the mic when everyone was filing out. By that time, you could see the dissapointment and frustration in everyone's faces. I should have just stayed in BYOC, I was having so much fun there. What a horrible way to end an otherwise perfect expo.
Also, there needs to be seats for the omegathon final. It's ludicrous to make everyone stand to see, there's no reason for it. The people in the front are so inconsiderate, some guy in front of me held his hands up with his camera for the whole thing.
I got my bag on Friday, after waiting in the HUGE line that stretched outside the convention center (good thing the weather was good on Friday) and it definitely did not have a schedule in it - neither did either of my friends'.
We did not wait in the initial 10 AM queue, so perhaps folks got schedules there?
Yeah, I got there at 7:30 AM on friday and they just had a bunch of boxes with the programs in them, people were grabbing them as they went in. My guess would be that they got them late and didn't have time to stuff them in the bags.
EDIT: Also, I loved the Omegathon finale, and there were seats, in the back. You could still see the screen since they added those hanging ones halfway back this year, which was a great idea.
Not quite as intense as Combat back in '05, but then I doubt anything will ever top that.
2. Like I said before, seats during the omegafinal. Stop ignoring this request, lots of people suggested it last year.
3. It's too easy for someone to accidentally walk out on Friday morning and be forced to stand in the huge line on Friday. Thank god I had a BYOC pass.
4. Tf2 tourney; we were treated like crap. "I don't want to have to do this so get in and sit the fuck down. You lost? Exit's that way, get out of my face!"
5. BYOC needs to check ID when entering, or at the very least during checkout. Anyone with a pass could easily have walked in and stolen something.
6. Why was the cover of the info book so bland? Gabe hand-drew the cover last year, why not this year?
But all things considered, this year blew last year out of the water. Nearly every issue was dealt with; tshirts were in abundance, the only line that had a redonkulous wait time was L4D2 (but that should have been
To add on...
It was mentioned in the Q&A #1 Panel on Friday, that in all technicality; PA is at the mercy of The Convention Center itself to get the days/space.
due to the Monorail shutting down at 11pm. I have decided PAX is not worth it, and I will not return.
And if you thought lines were bad this year, hoo boy, you should have been to 08...
I will second, third, and fourth both of those points!
I feel a good rule of thumb is that if the line needs to be in the Queue Room then it should be in the Main Theater. I was 3rd in line for the Gabe and Tycho signing and still had to miss the Wil Wheaton event.
Also along with some previous posters I feel that PAX should suggest some time limits to the companies who decide to show there wares. SC 2 was great you got in line and each person got 15 minutes and then most had the decency to let the next person have a go. WoW: Cataclysm and Diablo 3 on the other hand each had lines of 3 or more people most of the time and no time limit.
I know waiting in lines is part of the experience but some times it got a little absurd.
On that note I loved Get in Line Games but agree that the jokes got old after seeing them more than once.
Lastly after waiting in line Saturday morning and seeing the SWTOR trailer I thought it was great, when the PA: Make a Strip panel was already running late and they walked in I laughed to hear the following excerpt.
Bioware Man:Have you seen the trailer on a 10 foot screen?
Majority of Crowd: YES!
Bioware Man: Do you want to see it again?
Majority of Crowd: NO!
Bioware Man: Well here it is anyway!
/roll trailer
Note to self if a LARGE mob of people say they don't want something, don't give it to them.
Alright. Taking nearly forty-five minutes to read the previous posts thoroughly, I have decided to compose my own suggestions/complaints/agreements/disagreements/man-up post.
So. Of course everyone knows that Wil should have the Main Theater when he does his panel--that's a serious given. HOWEVER, given that the Set-Up/Tear-Down crew need TIME to do work on the Final Omegathon--no matter what it is in the up-coming years. We are gonna have to deal with waiting in line for 2+ hours and missing some other one we RRRREEEEEAAAALLLLLYYY wanted to go to.
Speaking of lines! Yes. It's concrete. Yes, everyone's bums/hips/backs/legs/feet/other body parts hurt like a mo-fo when waiting that long--but this is why there is such a thing as the buddy system. If you are with someone while in line--take turns to walk around, stretch out, get something to drink/eat, check out the Expo Hall, etc. And if you aren't with someone, befriend the folks in front or behind you. Just simply ask if they could watch your spot so you can stretch out and/or do all that other stuff I previously mentioned. AND! If you KNOW it's gonna get filled, you better bet your gaming ass that there will be a 2+ hour wait and folks will be turned away.
TIME! Timing could be a good thing, especially if there is something else important to do (and "important", I mean catching plane/cab/bus/whatever NOT another panel) but there are things such as glitches ( i.e. the SkeeBall Machine) audio, the panel speakers/musicians themselves (hey, they need to empty out their bladders too) or making sure a HUGE panel has enough room (there were folks lining the walls at the AWESOME HOUR!!1) that could delay the scheduled time.
CONCERTS! Concerts are a combination of the "TIME!" memo and the "Set-Up/Tear-Down" memo. Place those two memos together and there ya go.
EXPO HALL! Honestly, I have no complaints about this...at least no complaints that have to do on PAX's/Center's planning. Some (actually all) of the Expo Hall complaints are directly towards the company that owned the booths. I really cannot do/say anything since I do not remember half of the companies. Oh! Take that back! DON'T HAVE THE PA BOOTH SO FAR OUT OF THE WAY! Okie! Onto the next one.
For the In-Line Screen/Games/Entertainment. MORE SCREENS! I know everyone is on a budget; but if you're at the FAR end of a line AND short, you can't see it worth shit through the blooming flesh that is of tall folks. Also, more variety on the adverts.
Swag Bag! Someone suggested that the Swag Bag should be passed out at Will-Call--good thinking. I wasn't there; but darn-tootin' good idea. The Schedule Hand-Book should technically be in the Bag as well, but seeing how it's possible you don't receive the complete shipment of the Hand-Books until maybe the WEEK OF PAX while the Swag Bag was being stuffed a weekend or two prior; I can understand. But for the DTS', it's not that difficult to stuff in there as well.
Suggestions!
~I know you had some Enforcers there stating it was the End of Line and turning away folks; but if someone could make like a serious official sign (maybe with the theater's crest on it and laminated/seriously professionally done) stating that it's the end of the line and have the Main Enforcer of the theater take a pic on their Cell Phone or Camera of the absolute last person with the sign (Pic can be erased later) and send it to the other Enforcers taking care of that particular theater so all of them would know that he/she is the absolute last person in line.
~Someone also suggested the Water Gallons to be more and scattered about. Yeah. That, too. Main Queue Hall specifically.
~Darker colours when using the Whiteboard. Luckily, the Enforcers were nice enough to inform where to go before I had to squint my eyes.
There are plenty of other suggestions/complaints out there, but I am too tired to remember.
Ahahahahahaha, the same thing happened on Friday. They showed it early on, and then again when the show was about to open.
Lots of what I wanted to say has already been repeated several times: More screens for queue room, timing/lateness issues (which I realize are hard/impossible to correct, but for me it wasn't a huge deal), Wheton in the main hall, stuff like that.
1-Up Yours / Retronauts
Bill Amend
Metroid Metal
Other people I want to return:
Minibosses
NESkimoes
The One-Ups
Some suggestions for guests:
videogame voice actors (like Charles Martinet or the lady who voices Samus)
Japanese gaming staff (not necessarily someone like Miyamoto but it'd be cool if someone from a Japanese gaming company visited)
a random secret guest (something crazy on the level of last year's Uwe Boll appearance)
Very nice sum up post Cap'n :-) And Sumi, I totally agree, the debate about that should not re-ensue. Tapole, your sum up made me think of another suggestion . . . in line for the Guild Wars art book, myself and a few people before me (and everyone who was in line after us at that moment) were told that they were running out of books, and that it was iffy that we would get one based on a rough head count. We persevered though, and ended up getting the book . . . but no one was cutting off the line; 20 minutes later there were still tons of people joining far behind us and I don't think the GW guy told the Enforcer minding the line; she was still keeping the fire lane clear. The nice PMS clan girl held my place while I suggested it to the Enforcer.
Good on the Enforcer for keeping the fire lane clear, and very good on the GW guy for the heads up, but some coordination between the two might have helped a lot of people . . . maybe instruct the booth guys when they register to let the Enforcer know when he's one box away from being out? It would only really be necessary for the megaswag like that book, and it would save so many people from waiting in line only to be disappointed
While I agree that the lines are frustrating I'm just not sure there is anyway around that unlike say, the food lines. There were places within a block radius of the convention center that were no where near the headache of the food lines in the center. Also give the TSA screeners a break. It isn't their rule about the zip lock bag, it's the FAA. These people are just doing their jobs.
Do you honestly think anything can be done about that by PAX organizers? There are only so many places to buy food without being willing to leave the convention centre. Even outside of the centre, lines are pretty bad at many of the nearby restaurants. It's something to be expected when there are so many people in one place.
Yes, well after Labour Day it's hard for students to attend. As they said at the Q&A though, there are only certain weekends when the whole centre is available.
Like someone said before, this was poor planning on your part. Of course there will be extremely long food lines at the restaurants IN the convention center. This is true anywhere thousands of people are gathering. There are a ton of restaurants out side of the convention center. You have to PLAN time to get food. This is obviously a personal problem with you and not with PAX... And why the hell were you dependent on the Monorail? It's novelty, not a legitimate form of transportation. Take the bus or walk. Lastly, TSA is not a problem with PAX! TSA is the same EVERYWHERE. It is federal law that all liquids in a carry on must fit in a quart size plastic bag. These are not problems with PAX. They are problems with large gatherings/travel. They are the same everywhere.
I'm sorry, this made me laugh. You sure it wasn't past your bedtime? You have obviously never been to a concert. They never are on time!
Also, who is the Wil Wheaton guy?
Ok, now for my concerns:
1. I didn't go to PAX last year, but according to my friends, the console free play was set up differently. They seemed to like last year's better. The current system was WAY to loud. Couldn't really stand to be in there too long. The PC free play was much more peaceful.
2. Signs in every restrooms reminding everyone to wash their hands. My friend said she saw, on numerous occasions, people leaving the restrooms without washing their hands. The biggest thing is that we all should be washing our hands regularly/using hand sanitizer to help minimize the spread of germs within such large groups. When using the restroom it provides the perfect opportunity to wash your hands to help prevent the spread of disease.
The rest I will chalk up to my own inexperience. Next time I'm making a plan. I felt like I spent every waking hour for three days there and didn't accomplish much....
I'm going to chime in and say that, yeah, Wil needs to be in a bigger theatre next year. A LOT of people got turned away. Also, can y'all put the schedules and lanyards in the swag bags next year and have them in a few different locations? I went to the info booth for a schedule and lanyard after asking around for a while but then it took some time to figure out where the bags were. Just a suggestion.
But, seriously, bigger theatre for Wil next year, please. Some of us did wait two hours in line to be in the front and we did so willingly but it really sucked to see people who showed up even an hour early get turned away. At least they were told the line was capped so they didn't waste their time.
Cheers!
Last year PAX was without the 6th floor, but had the Annex. All of the tabletop stuff was in the Annex while console freeplay was spread out amongst this years tabletop rooms, with the checkout desk where the RB stage was (I think). Noise was certainly less of an issue with there being maybe a half dozen or so consoles in each room compared to all of them in one place. PC Freeplay/BYOC was basically setup like it was this year, except in the smaller exhibition hall where the TMNT van was.
As related to the post above though, noise was a problem with some of these things.
Putting two rockband games right next to each other in the console freeplay? What? I couldn't hear anything from the game I was playing if I was standing anywhere near the other side.
Also to whoever the Enforcer(s) was(were) doing the announcing in BYOC, I know you guys were trying to get stuff going but it was impossible actually play or talk half the time in there because the voice was just SO LOUD.
To the guy who said that BYOC enforcers should check for BYOC passes. I went in and out of that room more than any other the whole weekend and my pass was checked every time.
I know there's nothing to really be done, but the actual convention centre staff (not enforcers) were dicks in pretty much every situation we came across them in. They wouldn't believe our passes were real and demanded to see them more closely, they would tell us incorrect information about where to go, they would sometimes just tell people to go away with no explanation.
The streaming/recording is something I'll second (or whatever). Waiting in lines for several hours is just
Oh and just as a general whiny complaint. If you're going to push your way up to <10 feet from the stage during the concerts, don't sit down and play DS. You take up at least 3 times as room and you are being a tool. If you can't handle standing the whole time then go move to the back for a while and let the people who actually want to be up close be up close!
I was in many situations with these people, and that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Especially where they wouldnt let a very large group of us into the expo hall saturday morning. NOT COOL.
Passive agressive nerds will only remain that way for so long...
Panels: It would be nice to not be locked into a line for 45+ minutes before a panel. One possibility would be to start giving out 'tickets' 1-2 hours before the panel and giving precedence to those with tickets... and opening any remaining space (if ticketed people don't show up) to first-come-first-served ~5-10 minutes prior to the panel. In essence, the goal is to allow you to wait in line without necessarily being present. The tickets wouldn't necessarily need to guarantee a specific seat (to simplify logistics), just admission to the panel.
The flipside of this is that the lines pull people out of general circulation, so this would increase convention center crowding in general.
If a ticketing system doesn't happen (and admittably, it does have its own set of problems), a few simple "Line goes this direction" signs might help lines stay manageable and out of the way even before an enforcer comes and cleans it up. Alternatively, it can be tried as an experiment for one or two theaters of PAX East or PAX 2010 and expanded if it works out well.
Reader boards showing the current time and current/next panel for the given room might be neat. This might also help in conveying changes (The TBD panel has been determined, something's moved/rescheduled, etc). Whether this is actually useful with the current banners outside the rooms is debatable.
And I seco^H^H^H^Hn+1 the suggestion of Wil Wheaton's panel being in the main theater and not conflicting with other massively popular panels
Badges: I second the suggestions to modify the badges to have room for a name/handle/etc like the Enforcer badges do. Also, it might be nice if you could tell what kind of badge it was on the backside (Mine liked to flip itself around) -- since they're color coded, perhaps an e.g. red stripe on the bottom for the 3-days, etc, or a red '10' watermark (for PAX 2010) on the entire backside.
My biggest complaint this year was the that the event basically went with ~2 hours of nothing interesting I wanted to do, followed by 3-4 different interesting events all at the same time. Booths that do raffles could help with this somewhat by not requiring raffle winners to be present. (One of the raffles conflicted with the final round of the Omegathon, another conflicted with Wil Wheaton's panel). Oddly enough, my biggest complaint is also the hardest to fix -- if it is even fixable. The fact that there can be so many multiple conflicting things someone would want to participate in should probably be taken as a sign of overall awesomeness and is a good problem to have.
Friday Morning Line: I am not entirely sure why it was neccessary to have a ginormous line to get into PAX, especially considering I already had my badge and merely needed to get a lanyard and goodie bag. If that was the only reason for a line, it might help to offer programs and lanyards in advance for those who live in the area and can pick them up prior to PAX -- perhaps punching a hole in the badges to prevent abuse (i.e. the same person picking up multiple goodie bags)
The reason people stand for the Omegathon final round is because so many people show up for it, and standing takes less space than chairs. There are people who may want to sit, and there are chairs in the back.
I stood in line for D3 and there was a time limit, it was like 15-20 minutes. I got unlucky and the guy in front of me quit like 2/3 of the way through his demo >.> But yea I had to wait like 45 mins so i was kinda pissed after that lol