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DaltonCarl
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I've been lost career and school wise on what to do with my life and going to the panel on "Snagging the Marketing or Writing Job of Your Dreams" just really helped open my eyes. I have family that have been REALLY pushing me to go and be in the nursing field which I know as a fact isn't for me. Especially because I hate hospitals. Writing has always clicked for me and why not combine it with something I already love, video games. I want to work at a game magazine or a game company in helping write the script. I really want to go back to school now and pursue those dreams. It's competitive, yes, but so are video games and if I can kick arse in Halo then I can kick ass in writing and selling myself to be the best gamer girl writer person out there!!
PAX EAST 2011 * 2012 * 2013 *2014 *2015 *2016 | PAX PRIME 2013| PAX UNPLUGGED 2017
This was my first pax experience. having only found out about the event 2-3 weeks before it happened, I wasn't really able to plan it the way I wanted to, but none the less, this was one of the best weekends I have had in some time. It definitely helped me rekindle that lost passion I had for video games that was lost a long time ago. I had such an amazing time, I can't even really put it in words... the only other thing really to say is, I CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!!!!!!
I don't have a particular story to share, but my favorite moments were probably just from standing in line. This was my first con, so I was a little nervous at first and I wasn't sure if people would get my costume, but man did I under estimate the nerds! I had to stop every five feet to take pictures with people. This has REALLY motivated me to start cosplaying more and do more elaborate costumes...dressing up is like opening the door for people. I think in some ways it makes you more approachable and gives a great conversation starter (also helps if you are a girl and have boobs..but hey, works for guys too)
Anyways, for all the people out there I spent time with on Friday and Saturday, thank you so much for the memories, and I hope to see you next year! I think I'm gonna make Pax East a yearly tradition!
Kupo
PSN: totobomb
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MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!
I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I found my first PAX to be downright inspirational.
Meeting Mike, Jerry, Scott, and Kris inspired me to spend more time on comics, instead of letting them fall to the wayside because of my career.
Meeting Day[9] inspired me to become a better SC2 player and better person in general (Probably the single nicest individual I've ever met)
Meeting Robert Khoo inspired me to work harder at everything I do. Especially within my career, I'm constantly searching for good role models for dedication and passion, and Robert is one of the best.
And possibly the most important thing I took away from my first PAX is the sense that I'm not currently in the right field. I suppose people are right when they say if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. PAX has shown me that no matter what you're paid, it's more important to do what you love. As a result, I think I'll most likely be taking a digital marketing strategy job I've been offered, and shifting out of financial advisory.
A thousand thanks to Penny Arcade for making this happen year in and year out. It may have been my first PAX, but it won't be my last. Not by a long, long shot.
i just want to third this... it felt weird to be at a gaming convention and also want to get home to play games, but i don't want to play where i can't import my origins save! or save my progress!
I had a Nintendo rep join me as I was eating by myself on Friday in the foodcourt. I just have to say that if everyone is as nice and helpful as he was I can see why they are doing so well. My family already loves their stuff, but he cemented everything I already thought about their company.
He asked what I had done so far and I admitted at that point I only had hit the keynote, Pokemon booth and Nintendo booth - which was the truth. The highlight of our conversation is that he's shipping a surprise from Nintendo to my 6 year old son in a few weeks after we move. Anyone with a kid can tell you that kids LOVE getting mail to them, mail from Nintendo will be mind-blowing for him.
HA! That's so awesome! So nice of him to do.
Sorry, couldn't stop myself, back to the story.
I arrived via the Sonic Line, and right off the bat I had people talking to me like I was a seasoned vet. This continued later that night, because some other Sonic Line people organized a late night dinner/party at the Atlantic Beer Garden. Seriously, the con hadn't even started yet and I felt so completely included and welcomed.
This all continued on the next morning, with all the line waiting we had to do. It seemed normal to just strike up a conversation with people in line, play a game, or just relax. However, on Friday morning, I had a slight doldrum attack, thinking I made the wrong choice in coming to PAX. I'm one of those people who tends to suffer silently, and can feel completely alone in an expo hall filled with people. But somehow, just by going back to my hotel room with one of my roommates and doing a re-edit of my con supplies, I went back and found that my experience wasn't bad because of everything else, it was my own decisions that made things turn south. Surrounded by people, I decided to try to overcome my crippling shyness and try stuff out. I mean, I was one of the first 10 people to try out Vindictus and Dragon Nest to get that SpiritHood, and I NEVER played MMOs before (probably still won't, but it was fun to try out). From that point on, the weekend just got better and better.
@Lindsey Lohan, that's really awesome of him to do that.
From G4TV, PAX East 2001 Breaks Attendance Records: Nearly 70,000 Attend.
"Pax East 2011 was an unqualified success. The show sold out totally; organizers say the final attendance number was as high as 69,500 people, making it the most well-attended Penny Arcade Expo ever held, bigger, even than PAX Prime 2011 in Seattle."
Read more: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/711033/pax-east-2011-breaks-attendance-records-nearly-70000-attend/
G4TV, http://www.g4tv.com/paxeast2011
See Everyone in 2012.
I am not what I'd call a "serious" gamer. You will beat me at Halo. You know more of the rules of 4 ed. Your deck is better than mine.
But I play. I play a little bit of everything. But I never really felt like I belonged to a community in that respect. Until now. I have just spent 3 days like Jack Skellington stumbled into Christmas Town for the first time. I felt like this last year, but I guess I needed the extra dose to really sink it home.
My big take-away this year was community. I want to be a part of it. I want to help make it better. I want to see you all next year
Also the guys over at the "Learn to paint a mini" Section were really nice, and taught me some simple tricks to painting mini's that makes it look like your a pro at it even if your awful (Like I was), and I'd love to see more of them doing more of that next PAX East.
GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
PAX Impact? That's a wall-o'text waiting to happen, so let's make it happen!
This was my first PAX, and it's completely blown away all the other conventions I've been to. It was an eye-opening experience as to the community, but I'll save that for last.
The panels for one were just a smash. From the "To Hell and Back" and Building Game Worlds as Main Characters", each one showed the geek through in the developers. Game developers are truly some of the most passionate people about what they do. Some of the panels were outright hilarious, like the Giant Bombcast, or the Penny Arcade Q&A 1 (Missed 2). Mike and Jerry had me laughing throughout the entire thing.
Speaking of, meeting Mike and Jerry was huge. I don't think it really sinks in for them, or at least they seem to know it objectively but cannot grasp it subjectively, but they are at celebrity status for me. The way people look at movie stars with a crazed awe, I look at those two, and I doubt I'm the only one here with that mindset. And yet, they are completely unfazed, it seems, as normal as can be. I got a picture with Jerry and gave him an elbow bump mid-PAX. How? I was just sitting on a goddamned bench outside the Westin, eating breakfast. Any other celebrity goes out in public like that, there's a trail of bodyguards, maybe a few waves. Those two are just around and in with the people. The proof I think was that in the gifts they got from the fans, the look on their faces was pure joy for some of the simplest. I thought Jerry was about to tear up at the Fan Art from PAX, and Mike was about to cry over whoopie pie
I also got to get Kiko's signature! And to shake Khoo's hand! Since PATV, I've wanted to meet the other members of the PA Team as I don't think it would be where it is without their skills, so getting to meet some of those folks who may not necessarily get the glory but are an intricate part.
The music was fan-fucking-tastic, not just the displays and use around the show, but I got to see Metroid Metal live in what I'd rate as one of the best Metal shows I ever saw. Afterward, they hung out at the signing area, even though it was 1:30+, and talked with fans like myself and signed our stuff. They seemed somewhat shocked and taken aback by our... I dunno, liking of their stuff? Bad way to put it, but it's three AM. Like Mike and Jerry, they seemed so down to Earth that our hero worship was almost foreign.
Back to the community though, the thing that got me the most was the community of PAX. To understand this, realize that the area I live in has a dearth of our kind. Gaming is near nonexistent, D&D a laughable topic, etc. There's my roommates, 2-3 local friends, and that's about it. So, every year when I went to the SOE Fan Faire, it was the time of the year I felt semi-comfortable. I'm happy with being a gamer and confident in my own "Contagious Vector of Awesome", but to be around people of a similar passion every now and again is a good thing. This led to two particulars:
I have never felt so comfortable as I have at PAX. At any given moment, I felt a kind of peace I rarely know in certain marathon MMO sessions or some of the old games of yore like "Uncharted Waters: New Horizons". It was amazing to be surrounded by that many people and to share, in a small way with some, a decent degree to others, and with a few a large extent, so much background and belief in what we do. That made the keynote all the better. I felt like we were at the formation of some sort of nation-state, rather than a convention about an "Entertainment" method.
This was something more: It was both a proof of, and a refreshing of, my own ideals about what gaming is and what it does for me. And it made me realize how many people share that. Because for all the people who couldn't go, I know the show could be much larger. All the people in the PAX IRC, at the Pokecrawl, and the convention itself took me in. No one I spoke to was really unhappy at any point, everyone was incredibly friendly.
I actually realize now in my time of, how did someone on twitter put it, PAX Ennui?, that I wasn't nearly as social as I could have been and missed great opportunities to make friends. I WILL do better at next PAX.
That brings me to the second topic, and in accordance with the rules of this forum let me state unequivicolly, in case there is any confusion, this is not a dating post. But I had to touch on the presence of so many dedicated female gamers as something awe-inspiring to this gent.
A young man, after the panel on "The Other Us" was speaking with one of the presenters, pretty much all of whom were great to hang out and discuss this issue with the crowd after, and he made a comment that rang true, at least to me, how many geek guys, when realizing a young woman is also a geek, immediately have two thoughts "Is she single?" and "Would she actually be interested in me?" More than that, we discussed the reasn behind the mentality: Because even though we may know that empirically they are not a small part of the gaming community, nay female gamers are indeed a significant section, it's another thing to see that before your eyes when most of your life it's seemed to the reverse. I've always believed it's because of the Troll-men who treat them like pictures in a magazine and the Troll-women who have ridiculous ideas about what gaming men are like, that many women don't want to admit their passion for all things gaming.
As such, there's a pervading belief amongst a lot of young male nerds that we're in a hopeless search for a soulmate who understands our desire to game, much like that RPG "quest" where you have to jump 3281 times, equip a certain set of items, and battle a certain monster 999 times with 2 parties members dead to find the ultimate weapon, only to find out it's an internet hoax. We may know it's not true in our minds, but it's another to realize that the truth is in front of your eyes.
And what's great is, though I did not in fact do so, I felt more comfortable with the concept of approaching a woman to see if she is interested than I have in many many years. In fact, I didn't even realize how much I dread that whole "game" until PAX, when I felt that weight lift. It's inspired me to rethink some things, and get my fat-ass back on the gym-routine before next year. It's given myself, and I would hope many others, a sort of hope again that there is a matching geek goddess out there to complement our love of RPG's with shooters, or our passion for tabletop pen and paper with some mini-wargaming. As such, I want to thank all those who did go for putting up with the leers of the minority, congratulate them on having the courage to pursue their gaming passion in the face of the state of the industry and the ostracizing that can occur from their own gender who don't "get" gaming. You have, I think, made a better person out of some geeks.
In the end, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I normally don't gush like this, but I'm less than 48 hours out of PAX and I'm already counting the days until next year. You were all grand.
I love you all, yes... in that way.
Things started out slow though. I got Khoo on the first day because that man has the uncanny ability to be in every part of the convention simultaneously. Maybe someday he'll teach us the secrets of colocation. I also got Josh then because he was with Khoo pretty much all weekend (nice backpack btw).
Mike, Jerry, Scott and Kris were pretty easy to get as well from standing in lines, but my first random encounter was Brian while waiting for the Kris and Scott (Scott and Kris) late night thing on saturday. He said he never got to experience PAX from the standing in line viewpoint because he got hired right before what was supposed to be his first PAX. Really friendly guy; easy to talk to. Signed muh badge.
But then I hit a dry spell.
It was looking like I wasn't going to "catch 'em all" after all. I went pretty much all of Sunday morning without seeing anyone (except Khoo of course). Erika, Levin and Jamie walked by while I was waiting in line for a panel so I scored their sigs there (yay random encounter!). Then even more luckily I ran into Kiko (super elusive s.o.b.) while waiting in line with some friends so they could get Mike and Jerry to sign stuff. So I snagged him and then he told me to check the merch booth for Fehlauer and then went back to snapping copious amounts of photos. Any way, thats where things turned around for me. It basically turned into a scavenger hunt where the person signing had the location of the next pokem...I mean staffer. Brian happened to be there talking to Fehlauer and helped me run through the entire staff and name the ones i was still missing. We watched the PA series dvd that was playing at the booth and he pointed out some of the staff who's names i couldn't remember.
He pointed me to Erik who was upstairs in the front lobby playing a game with Erika and Jamie. I felt super bad interrupting their game but he was nice and signed my badge any way. He then told me to look for Dave at the PC Freeplay area. I wondered over there but he was nowhere to be found. It was getting dangerously close to the Omegathon finals (luckily i had a friend saving me a spot in queue) so i trucked back over to Erik and crew playing their game and said "Hey! Interrupting ginger here again!" Apparently they thought that was funny so Erik hooked me up with the location of the entire PA staff at the Omegathon finals! I was instructed not to use said information for nefarious purposes, and since i'm not a horrible person, i kept my mouth shut all the way through the queue for the finals. I showed up at said location, where Erik took my badge and handed it to the remaining members of the staff that I needed.
Boom! Goal achieved!
I walked away from the con with a full set of PA signatures on my 3 day pass but more importantly I left that place with a ridiculously high level of respect for that entire staff. Each and every one of the PA people I met was kind and respectful and more than willing to help and answer any questions I had. It's no wonder PAX and everything else they touch is so successful.
I just wanted to thank all of them for everything they do to provide us with some pretty fantastic entertainment and I can't wait to go back and play PAkemon again next year!! ;-)
-Adam the Interrupting Ginger
It combined the glitz, glam, whiz-bang and amenities of a large con, but the community feels much more like a small convention. The lines, while long, never approached heinous or annoying, and they were generally well-organized. People were friendly and genuinely willing to talk and hang out. Most other large cons I've been to people separate into their own insular little groups; not here. Here, at one point I shouted EVERYBODY MARIO KART and suddenly we had a six person game of Kart DS going.
As I do more research it'll be interesting to see how my opinions change, but right now PAX is at the top of my list. It had everything I wanted and I'm sad it's over. Can't wait till next year.
For me, gaming has always been a very personal experience. I despise sharing my gaming life with others. If you were to look at my XBL Gamerscore or PS3 trophies, you would see a plethora of single player games, and even those games with a small multiplayer component have none of the achievements/trophies unlocked that involve multiplayer in any way. My community involvement is slim to none, and I never planned on changing that. In fact, in most social situations, even those with other gamers, I would feel some shame in my passion.
And I dream of working in the industry.
My weekend at PAX East did a lot to change my outlook on gaming. For the first time, I was part of something bigger. I saw thousands upon thousands of people with the same love in their hearts for games and their culture. I realized my dreams of working on games were meaningless if I didn't understand my own people. If I didn't care about what they want to see or why they play games, I'd continue scratching my head, unable to figure out how best to go about finding my own niche in the world.
This was perfect timing as I'll be returning to college in a few months, and I'm reconsidering my resolution to completely drop Computer Science as my major. I think I'll be a lot better off if I keep my original plans but modify the courses I take to encompass some of my other passions (namely writing and graphic design).
So, in summation, PAX reignited my interest in humanity. It showed me there are people to care about, that there are reasons people want social aspects to their games. I don't have to live in a world where everyone is either a completely predictable (and somewhat exploitable) NPC or a complete fucking douchebag who uses the mic on their console as a pass to annoy the shit out of me. Point is, there's some gray area there.
PAX East 2010 changed my life. Honestly. My friend ditched me at the last minute. I hate doing things alone, haven't been outgoing since I was a child, and I almost didn't go. I had to force myself to go and within an hour, I had one of the best weekends of my life. It honestly felt like I didn't need to go there with someone because I was there with everyone. People I didn't know were talking to me, wanting to strike up a game, etc.
And even more amazing... it made ME more outgoing. I NEVER strike up conversations with random people... but I was that weekend. I've never felt less judged, more accepted, and more among friends/family. It sounds so sappy, but Wil Wheaton saying "welcome home" was exactly the way it ended up feeling. It felt comfortable like a home. Actually, scratch that. More comfortable and accepting than the home I grew up in. :-\
I built 2010 up so much in my head that I was wondering if this year could compete. And the answer is most definitely yes. I had even more courage to try things I wouldn't normally do. I was even more outgoing to people I met. I played games with so many different people, I can't even remember half their names.
Sunday night I joked with my boyfriend that I'll be more outgoing of a person for the next couple weeks, but then it'll wear off until PAX East 2012. (Unless of course I can convince him to go to PAX Prime.
I know everyone keeps saying it but everyone there is just so freaking nice and genuine; it's like there's not just 70,000 people who want to be there but they all want you to be there too.
My girlfriend doesn't even want to go to other cons anymore. I don't really think I do either. This was just too good.
I got to meet Chris Kohler, whose writing I've respected for years; I brushed past Jerry when he signed my friend's badge; I got to meet and talk with the Mega64 guys; I got to hear from a bunch of people who do things in the industry that I myself want to do and I'm now starting to figure out how I'm going to make it there. And it's all because of this wonderful weekend.
This was my first major convention, and I think it was more successful than I could have imagined, in ways I could not have previously imagined. And I only know that next year I will have an even better time. I'm addicted...
I got to be one of the people asking a question at the first Q&A, I met a good chunk of the PA crew, I came back with a badge full of signatures and a drumstick from the protomen (catching it was the sheerest, dumbest luck any one can ever imagine).
But most of what struck me was how amazing everybody there was. SEVENTY THOUSAND people, all of whom felt like friends I'd never met before. Singing Bohemian Rhapsody before the Saturday Night concert with five hundred other people... it's like a blur. At once the whole event has felt like it lasted a month, and yet only a minute. Though I never got more than four hours of sleep a night I still had the energy to go all day, energy I think I drew from the awesome of the crowd around me.
And to see how supportive everybody was of each other - you only had to sit in a Q&A session to see just how amazing this group of people is. Anyone who had confessed to this being their first PAX, or even the latest in a long line, had an amazing support from thousands of people. Believe me, to be one of the people at the microphone and under the spotlight and to receive that support... it's the kind of thing that changes your life. No wonder megachurches are popular. This was like the megachurch of gaming, with Mike and Jerry as our everyday leaders.
I'm still not entirely sure how PAX has impacted me, I only know that it has, in some drastic way. It was like glimpsing the closest humanity will ever get to a Utopian society. People were adhering to Wheaton's Rule way more than a population sample would reveal. And the enforcers... I cannot laud them enough. They did a damn good job of being polite, and organized, and entertaining, and sacrificing the side of the experience that I received so that I could have it.
I don't think it's really possible to sum up my feelings in words that can adequately express them, so I will do my best. The pure blaze of awesome and positivity that is PAX took me by storm and overwhelmed me. I am still exhausted at this very moment by PAX, simply because of how much of myself went into the convention and how much I got out of it... You only need to look at the way the people who lost at the various rounds of the Omegathon were treated to see why PAX is so incredible. I don't think any other competition on the planet is so supportive of the people who have failed to advance to the next round... maybe it's because we're all gamers, and we've all lost, and we all know losing should be fun too.
Edit: I also want to say that I'm probably not the only one who has the feeling of a phantom lanyard around their neck... it's a heart-wrenching and heartwarming emotion to know that even something as simple as the badge lanyard has come to mean so much to me... and that I won't be able to get this feeling back until next year.
Second edit: I forgot to put this in, too - it's rather telling of how I felt that yesterday, my first day back home, it snowed, but was too warm for the snow to stick.
This is a great little write up and I agree with you 100%. Also, I felt the same...I got a little emotional reading some of these stories.
I left Boston Sunday morning (which really sucked because I missed the last day, which is a mistake I will never make again) and we got on the megabus at 7AM. I was so tired and upset..I really REALLY did not want it to be over. And as soon as we got on the bus everyone was dead asleep and I was just sitting there thinking about how I wish pax was everyday. I'm from Pittsburgh and there isnt really a big gaming community here. Its sad being back...I wish I was always surrounded by people who would get my gaming jokes and would get super excited over the most random, nerdiest things. But now I'm just more excited to make a new costume and get ready for next year!
PSN: totobomb
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Thank you so much ^_^ I was worried I was just blabbering on without making much sense >.>
I'm from an area that has a decent gaming community but because it's fairly rural, nothing can really happen in the way of LANing very often, and RPG groups tend to have a lot of difficulty staying alive because of the distances people need to travel. I think maybe we need to have a little online community to stay in touch?
Edit: By we I mean PAXxers/people in this thread
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I also got to ask a question during the Q&A of the 'Snagging your dream Marketing or Writing Job' panel and they were great, I got very good advice I hope to be putting into practice soon!
My only regret was not getting to meet any of the Penny Arcade crew - I guess we just never crossed paths - but I will certainly be back next year!! Thanks so much for the amazing weekend!
Just as last year's PAX made me feel at home within a community very far from my physical home, this year's PAX made me feel even more comfortable in my own skin. Last year, I was too nervous to really break out of my shell and explore PAX without my husband or friends. I was too nervous to cosplay even though I kind of wanted to. This year, I did both of those things, and reaped the benefits of my extra confidence tenfold. I even let myself be interview'd by Blair for G4 even though I neeever eeever would've done ANYTHING like that in the past. I almost passed out when they actually played it on TV because of my insecurity, but that's another story. Anyway, my expectations of cosplaying and what people's reaction would be was just blown out of the water by all the positive feedback I received. I am now considering cosplaying at some more conventions, doing things on my own more often, and just generally being more social. I "fake" social pretty well but inside I'm generally going over and over in my head, wondering if I'm saying the right thing or if I'm being interesting enough. Well, PAX is helping me realize that I am a pretty decent person and there are other people out there like me. I love you guys T____T
That is so AWESOME! You were on G4?!! Nice!
I totally am with you on your other points. I really felt like I was able to be myself at PAX and I felt more accepted then ever. The day after I got back I was walking around a local neighborhood, wearing my swag feeling so proud and self confident. I even got up the courage to go into our local Exchange (which is kind of like gamestop but with DVDs, records, etc.) and ask for an application! I've always been too nervous to do this in the past because its mostly an all male staff, and I thought they wouldn't accept a gamer girl. They were actually totally nice about it, complimented my swag, and gave me an application!
I think what we gain from PAX can apply to more then just video game related life situations, and it can really boost self confidence
Oh, and I also think you should keep cosplaying! This was my first con too, and I'm really hoping to attend more over this year, and I'm already planning my next costume
Kupo!
PSN: totobomb
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So I was resigned to just not going after all. Friday the 11th, though, as I was moping about it (I had scrawled "PAX East Day 0, 1, etc." on my work calendar, which only burned more) a friend from College said "Just go. It'll be an adventure!". A friend from my Bible Study said "Take the train". After some inner turmoil I said "Fuck it, I've never been spontaneous before, now is the time to do it!"
I missed everything on Friday but the Protomen concert, but holy shit was this a great weekend. I've been to Otakon, Anime Boston, GameX and VGXPO and this...was incredible. There really is nothing like it, and part of it really is the people.
I'm so glad I went...even though last minute train tickets are expensive.
I had a similar sort of revelation. I've always been uncertain what to do with my life, and if I want to get into games should I be a critic, a writer or a designer. After this weekend I think I lean more towards the critic or writer side of things, and it was the panels that lead me to such a conclusion. I think I'll still mess around with game development (if I can find the time), but I'd much rather be known for my writing.
I think you exaggerate how some celebrities walk around and do stuff, but even so, I do think there's a definite difference in mentality. It seems like gaming "celebrities" are more down to Earth for a few reasons, but it is a pure advantage on their part. They love speaking with fans for various reasons, and in the end it's more like forming a bond of sorts. Meeting one of these guys is so much better than meeting a "real" celebrity any day.
I got to meet MovieBob and Shamus Young, but only briefly. Even so, hearing MovieBob tell me "I like your Godzilla shirt" and Shamus Young actually know me from the comments of his blog, it's like...I was geeking out. Totally geeking out.
I tried to keep my cool when meeting Tim Schaeffer, but it didn't really work at all.
Philadelphia tried to have GameX and VGXPO, but it never really worked. I hear VGXPO had trouble getting support since its first year the guy who ran it went to PAX and made an ass of himself, and thus most members of the industry didn't want to go. GameX had its own issues going on. I got to see both in 2009, and while it was fun it was definitely missing a lot of elements of PAX, one of them being that, well, people weren't as friendly.
I'd love to see something akin to PAX in the Philly area, but I don't think it can happen (partly because Philly is making some dumb moves in terms of tech companies. Forcing bloggers to pay an annual $200 license as long as they get revenue from it? AUGH!). I wouldn't be surprised if PAX East attendance is so large each year because there's just nothing on the East Coast like it. Meanwhile the West Coast regularly sees Comic-Con, PAX Prime, E3, CES, GDC and I'm sure multiple smaller events I can't even think of. When you can choose between multiple events it suddenly becomes a bit less special.
PAX East 2014 Checklist:
[X] - Pre-registered | [ ] - Train tickets | [ ] - Time Off
I loved every second of it, I was actually sad when I got home and it hit me that it was all over. I don't usually think like that with regards to these things, but PAX felt right and being in a place of 70000 other people who have the same interests and hobbies as me makes me realize that I'm missing something but also that there are other out there just like me. I dunno if I am describing that in the right way, but it just felt like a normal place over there.
Anyway, it was brilliant and can't wait to go to the next one. I would be over there for PAX Prime in the summer, but none of my mates can afford to go to these places on a whim like I can so I would have to come over myself...and I dunno if I could do that.
Going to Pax gives me the feeling of going to a big casino. Every one at the casino has a passion for winning. And everyone at Pax has a passion for games.
Can't wait until next year.
It sounds like we have a lot of the same stuff going on! Ahh, it feels so good to have that PAX boost. We can make it last all year long! I hope, hehe!!! *sigh* I wish I could make it out to PAX Prime!
And at PAX, we are all winning!
PAX boost, indeed.
Were you the guy that brought Mike and Jerry some Irn Bru?
P.S. I absolutely love Irn Bru and wish I knew where to find it in the states >.>
It's going to be a long year.