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Newbie wanting to going to PAX 2017
JCbell
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
Hello all 
Just wondering of anyone can give me a heads up of what really happens at PAX and if it is worth $1000 all up for me to go for three days, any pointers would help, thanks :?
Just wondering of anyone can give me a heads up of what really happens at PAX and if it is worth $1000 all up for me to go for three days, any pointers would help, thanks :?
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I found that it was very different from comic cons and the like because there was actually so much to do.
The panels I went to were very engaging and interesting
I played indi games and chatted to their developers
I played VR games
I played tabletop games with my friends and other random ppl I met there
I played pinball and console games
I had a great time and will be back again this year
So, you have the showroom floor, which is much like you would expect.
There's the main exhibitors and their stall quality is largely based on what they're announcing.
Then merchandise and so forth.
But then there's the indie stalls, and they're great for both seeing different things and also talking to the indie developers themselves and why they built the games they did.
You've got the panels as well.
These tend to be in larger rooms than there are crowds for now that we've got free reign of the convention center, so it's very much worthwhile attending whatever looks interesting and just rocking up to the panel five minutes before it starts.
The more popular panels (PA, the opening panel, Good Game, RoosterTeeth [I think]) will get packed though, so if you're planning to go to those then turn up early to get in line.
Then there's the freeplay hall, where you can play pretty much anything.
There's the board-game library, freeplay PCs, freeplay consoles (Xbox and Playstation mainly though), freeplay older gaming equipment (old consoles/old pcs), and bean bags to sit on and play handheld games (with charging stations I think).
And if you don't have a posse of friends to play with, people tend to be pretty accommodating at letting random people join if they have an empty board-game slot.
Most of these have tournaments scheduled throughout PAX as well.
I'd rather recommend only playing PC when participating in a tournament, as I would not want to waste PAX time doing something that could be done outside PAX.
But I guess there are like PAX Minecraft servers and the like which would still be collaborative enough that it should be different playing with people who are right next to you.
And then there's a few I guess pop-up amusements for want of a better word.
Things like Joust and Just Dance and The Jack Party-Box, where anyone can jump in and play whilst they're waiting for a panel queue line or something.
I maybe spent quite a few hours playing the Party-Box on my phone in front of that wandering audience of hundreds.
It was pretty great.
Talking about playing in front of crowds, there is also the Omeganaut competition.
If you buy a three-day pass, and opt in, you can be randomly selected to be one of 24 Omeganauts, and battle throughout PAX with the other Omeganauts in a variety of knockout rounds.
Eventually, PAX will close after the two last Omeganauts compete in some unannounced game, to finally determine a victor.
These are pretty fun panels to watch, and I presume to play in.
There's also concerts of gaming culture music during the night, but I've never been to that.
Anyway, PAX is pretty great.
I'd suggest that the best bits are when you interact with the other attendees.
But regardless, you shouldn't want for stuff to do.
or can I get them on the day ie the 3 day pass ??
From personal experience, one day isn't enough, you'll have to pick-and-choose what you really want to do and see and you'll still miss things. Two days is probably enough to see most of whatever interests you, if you don't mind rushing around like crazy. Three days is enough to see everything and take it at a nice relaxed pace, so that's what I personally recommend.
The schedule isn't out yet, but once it is you can start planning your weekend. I'd recommend getting the guidebook app for your phone; it'll have the complete schedule, and more importantly it'll let you set notifications to go off to remind you when things you want to see are about to start. For things you really want to see, I'd recommend getting in line a 1/2 hour early. You won't necessarily need to, but some panels will hit capacity, and you might not get into the popular ones if you aren't lined up early. Then what I generally do is wander around the show floor looking at the shiny things in-between panels, and joining a queue for something cool if I have time, but I'd add that if something cool catches your eye on the show floor and there's a queue, I'd try to get in on Friday or failing that Sunday; Saturday is by far the busiest day with the biggest queues.
With no schedule out yet I can't tell you what's likely to be good, and that's going to be down to personal preference anyway, but I strongly recommend going to at least one of the Penny Arcade Q&A's with Jerry and Mike, they know how to put on a good show and there's one on all three days.
Hopefully the passes get sent out soon, bought it as soon as word got out.
Previous PAXs: PAX Prime 2011, PAX AUS 2013