My wife and I attended PAX East back in 2013. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. We saw and spoke briefly with Mike and Jerry, met people in the video game industry, table-top board game and RPG developers, many youtube famous people, cos-players and many more. The only thing missing from the experience was having our 4 year old son along with us. Due to many different circumstances, we just couldn't bring him. He is now 6 and loves Minecraft, Lego games, Zombie Dice, and of course Super Mario. He is amazing in many more ways than I can count, and "mommy's big helper".
This past year my wife, Tabitha, was diagnosed with ALS. We caught it rather early so we do have some time before she isn't able to get around. Our son has noticed that mommy doesn't get around like she used too... from nothing wrong with her, to walking with a cane, to two canes... and now she walks with a walker. He knows something is wrong, but he does not know the grim outcome that we are facing as a family.... nor should he.
Because I'm the sole provider of income now, money has been very tight. But we had scrimped and saved and had enough for one big trip that we could take as a family so our son could have some great memories with his mommy. We gave him a choice, Disney World or PAX East..... He chose PAX because he knows he wants to play a lot of games like mommy and daddy did a few years ago. (I told you he was amazing.)
I want this trip to be the most EPIC, the most memorable experience my wife and son can have.... Was our first trip to PAX just a fluke or seeing and meeting many gaming people I mentioned happen to everybody? Am i setting up too much of an expectation for a repeat? Any feedback and helpful advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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One of my favorite areas over the past years has really been the Indie Megabooth, last year's Minibooth and the general area around those. Tons of games, many kid friendly too, in a nice and central location. It's amazing to see so many passionate developers handing out iPads and controllers and excitedly chatting with anyone willing to play their games. I've seen a lot of amazing games here that I would have never heard off. It's usually my first stop on Friday and where I'll spend most of that day since lines get longer later in the weekend as the gaming press starts to talk about how awesome many of the games are.
Another great place to play some classic arcade games is a little off the Expo floor at the American Classic Arcade Museum room. 80s music, free arcade machines, it's pretty awesome. Haven't seen anything here or online yet, but hopefully they're returning again this year.
Pay attention to the forums over the next few weeks to see what people are excited about, wether its companies, games, or even events around Boston. Hope my post helps you in your quest for a great weekend!
Design Wizard, Pizza Enthusiast, Craft Beer Extraordinare from MA
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but after participating in PAX-East since its inception, ACAM will not be returning this year. PAX-East is an extremely expensive event for us, and we have always run the event at a substantial loss. As a non-profit, we cannot continue to do the show without, at least, breaking even. Sadly, the money is just not there this year.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that things will change in the future.
Dan19721121, my thoughts are with you and your wife. PAX-East is an incredible experience, and I have no doubt you will have a wonderful time.
Mike Stulir
Vice President, The American Classic Arcade Museum
Noooooooo
Good luck.
Reg is the new place to get medical badges, although Info can certainly point you in the correct direction if you go there.