On the Panels... Look up the people who are giving the panel. One of the best ones I went to was a game theory one and I only went because Luke Crane was going to be there. Now I always look up who these people are talking about the topic. Don't go to one about social networking and mmorpgs hosted by a media company but if that media company is hosting video games and the media GO!
You mean like: Saturday, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM, Pegasus Theatre
Wil Wheaton!
Details TBA
The details don't matter, this one will be packed.
I can't stress this enough for poster swag protection. I am SICK of seeing people walk around, collecting posters by hand, only to see it scratched and dented in a crowded atmosphere.
BUY A CARDBOARD TUBE AT YOUR LOCAL UPS STORE.
Will a 24" tube be big enough?
I think that's the median for most poster swag.
You'll want an extra foot length tube for smaller posters.
Looked and didn't see this in any of the posts, but bring either a coat/hoodie or umbrella. Washington weather is never really set in stone. Current forecast says cloudy but who knows what it is gonna be this weekend. Unless you're fine with walking in rain wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
mavrick88 on
I was driving some out-of-towner friends around, and I kept complaining about being blinded. They responded with "You see, where we come from, people tend to wear Sunglasses." I retorted with a simple "You people tend to have sun."
Looked and didn't see this in any of the posts, but bring either a coat/hoodie or umbrella. Washington weather is never really set in stone. Current forecast says cloudy but who knows what it is gonna be this weekend. Unless you're fine with walking in rain wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
rain== "Oregon Sunshine". Unless one of the girls has "borrowed" it, I always have an umbrella packed in the car.
savagehart on
Doofenshmirtz: Wow, if I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?
Looked and didn't see this in any of the posts, but bring either a coat/hoodie or umbrella. Washington weather is never really set in stone. Current forecast says cloudy but who knows what it is gonna be this weekend. Unless you're fine with walking in rain wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
Well, but you can go most places while encountering a minimum of rain. The entire block the convention center is on is covered, everywhere else if you stick by the buildings you're generally covered. So you only have to worry about crossing the streets, and really, in Seattle while it can rain a lot, it usually is just sprinkling - it rarely pours down rain.
Some GREAT advice here, I just have one small thing to add:
If you plan on hitting the concerts AND getting in line nice and early, don't be afraid to take advantage of nap-time! Last year, I found a great comfy corner - there were a ton of beanbags, where gamers were all snoozing in this awesome space. The con will still be there, buzzing away like a dream when you wake - and after all that walking, you'll appreciate it! (just set an alarm )
An umbrella is a device used by Proper English Nannies to get from place to place.
savagehart on
Doofenshmirtz: Wow, if I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?
The biggest lesson I learned at my first PAX last year...put fresh batteries in your camera and keep some spare batteries with you as backup (or if you have the rechargeable kind...make sure it's charged). I spotted Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb and tried to snag some photos of them from afar. Got one of Adam, but my camera batteries decided to die at the precise moment I tried to take a photo of Morgan. While I was on the hunt for new batteries, they did a couple video interviews...and my boyfriend and our buddies ended up in the background shot of one of the interviews that they aired on X-Play. I missed it all because of those rotten batteries.
I didn't see this posted. A big thing I have learned at PAX over the years is to make phone calls rather than text your friends when you want to meet somewhere. The reason behind this is that text messages stack up on the network and when 60K people on the same network are texting constantly, they get delayed. Last year, I missed several meetups because of delayed texts (like 2-3 hour delays).
Great thread. As a 3.5 yr Seattlite who's done PAX 3 years in a row, I hope I can add a few tips without being redundant.
* MEMORY CARD: Do you have an Xbox 360 at home? Would you like to nab a few achievements while trying out new/different games in the Freeplay Lounges? Used to be, to do this, you needed to bring an official Memory Unit... now, well, any USB stick will do. Thanks, MS. Just be sure not to leave your USB stick behind after playing a game!!
* TABLETOP: Holy moly, guys. Every board game you can imagine will be on hand to try for free in the Tabletop Annex. If you're skipping any of the concerts at night, then you're better off living here than plopping in the beanbag lounges, in terms of both discovering new games and making new friends. I highly recommend sitting in on strangers' games, as well; people will catch you up on the mechanics and be friendly every single time.
* SATURN BOMBERMAN: 10-players on one screen. There's always a crowd around this game in the old-school freeplay lounge. Get up on it. (Same with Kickle Cubicle, for some reason.)
* PANELS: Don't be afraid to bail on a lame panel. There's too much to do at PAX to be polite and sit unhappily at an underwhelming presentation. The panelists will understand.
* PAX 10: Always one of the least-trafficked spots on the Expo Floor, which is just sad. These handpicked indie games are far more interesting than Aggro Killfest 7, I assure you. If you can, chat up the developers, who tend to hang around their booths... they typically have a lot to say about their craft. And don't be afraid to tell 'em how you feel about their game. Some of them are watching you play and recording data about it to make their game better (if it's unfinished, anyway... don't do this to my friend Erin at the Puzzlebots booth, heh).
* FOOD: All the food tips here are pretty good, and I recommend sauntering through Pike Place Market in particular, especially since Benaroya Hall's not very far from it, but the market can be daunting. My quick three tips for Pike Place: 1) Beecher's. They sell the best mac 'n cheese in downtown. Not too overpriced; worth the hype. 2) Mee Sum Pastry. They sell hombows - meats and veggies packed into a semi-sweet pastry - and red bean balls. Mmm. 3) Market Creamery. If you want fancy soda pops, or a bottle of farmer-fresh milk, this is THE place to go. Almost a dozen varieties of ginger beer, for starters. Glug glug glug.
Oh, and anybody selling cookies in support of Child's Play is an amazing person. I send my love to you.
* EXPO HALL: Sometimes, watching other people play a game is way better than waiting in line for hours, especially with so much to do. It's a great way to get your feet wet in the Expo Hall on Friday.
* OMEGATHON: Try to watch at least one round of this, aside from the must-see final game. It's not the best thing at PAX, sure, but it's part of the spirit of the show.
* TALK TO EVERYONE: Everyone. PAX is like a real-life BBS without the trolls. Soak it up.
* CONCERTS: I've never had trouble getting to the near-front of a PAX concert crowd after showing up hours late. The stage will be even bigger than last year for shows, so take advantage of this and enjoy your evenings.
* CAPITOL HILL: [If you have a lot of spare time, anyway.] It's the coolest neighborhood in town, and it's just up the hill from the Con Center. Maharaja for stiff drinks; Honey Hole for amazing sandwiches; Old School Frozen Custard for, uh, old school frozen custard. Map it out if you have easy access to a car or extra days in town.
* YOU BROUGHT YOUR DS/PSP, RIGHT?: Srsly. Lotsa lines. We're not fucking kidding. iPhone's cool, too... I guess...
* TALK TO EVERYONE: Everyone. PAX is like a real-life BBS without the trolls. Soak it up.
A tip so nice, I made it my buttoneer button.
(The rest of the advice in the post is great too. Consider it Limed Also, if you're reading this, feel free to talk to me and get a button.)
Cultural Geek Girl on
Buttoneer, Brigadeer, and Keeper of the Book of Wil Wheaton.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
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juju[E] Line Entertainment!Brookline, MARegistered Userregular
edited September 2010
The biggest reason I'm flying all the way out to Seattle is to hang out with the people I met at PAX East. Trufaxx.
Be social! Do silly things! Hang out and keep in touch with the people you meet! Who knows, maybe you'll do something silly and plan your next vacation around visting Boston for the next PAX East similar to crazy-ol'-me flying from Boston for Prime
juju on
PAX East '10-16 Pokecrawl || Team Green's Awesome PokeProf! PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House! Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
I didn't see this posted. A big thing I have learned at PAX over the years is to make phone calls rather than text your friends when you want to meet somewhere. The reason behind this is that text messages stack up on the network and when 60K people on the same network are texting constantly, they get delayed. Last year, I missed several meetups because of delayed texts (like 2-3 hour delays).
I'd say the other reason is because text messages are like UDP and voice is like TCP. With a text message you're not getting any confirmation, you're just sending it out into the void and hoping it makes it there. With voice you have a handshake taking place initially so you know that they've received the message. Plus, while some people have become dangerously reliant on using text messages for everything it's usually faster if there is any anticipated conversation taking place to use voice. It takes far less time to speak a few lines back and forth than it does to send a half-dozen one-line texts.
I've seen a few mentions of a nearby mall with lots of choices of food to eat? Is this the Pike Place Market or is there some other place nearby? Info and directions would be appreciated if that is the case!
I've seen a few mentions of a nearby mall with lots of choices of food to eat? Is this the Pike Place Market or is there some other place nearby? Info and directions would be appreciated if that is the case!
Two different places, the mall people talk about is westlake center and its approx. 4 blocks NW of the convention center. Pike Place is not hard to miss, just go west straight down the street from the convention center and you will run into it. Westlake is a mall style place with quite a few decent food places inside whilst pike place is a huge tourist destination and a great place for some small independent food shops, some of my favorites being beechers and the french bakery that I can never spell the name of.
This will be my fourth PAX. I was at '07, '09, and the inaugural PAX East. Lots of great advice in this topic. I'll reiterate much of it, and maybe have a few extra gems of wisdom thrown in.
1) You won't see everything you want to see, you will see other stuff you didn't know you wanted to see until you saw it. By all means make a must-see list, but I know the last two PAXii I attended (the ones I made a plan for) I saw less than half of what I planned on seeing, but still had an absolute blast, and saw and did things I didn't even know about before I got there but were awesome. Most of the best things at PAX I've seen and done were not the big name items. Even if you want to play an unreleased game on the exhibitor hall, realistically it's not going to tell you all that much more than if you watched some game trailers, and you'll probably be able to buy the game soon enough anyway. If you've got specific questions about a game, walk up to a developer or PR dude and ask it while everyone else is waiting in line. These people are being paid to stand around and connect to the community, take advantage!
2) See Seattle. It's a great city. I'm a diehard east coaster, but if I was going to move to the west coast, I'd want to live in Seattle. Go and be a tourist. It's probably too late for you to change your plans and add an extra day to your stay, but for future PAXii, definitely plan on taking some extra time. You can also go wander around during the PAX weekend. There's a lot of cool stuff within walking distance, even if it's a bit far. Go see Pike Place Market, go see the Space Needle, go see the Experience Music Project Museum and the Sci Fi Museum. Then go back to PAX refreshed and ready for the crowds, noise, etc. for another round of gaming.
3) PAX is a festival, not an expo. It's not about the game companies or the press, it's about us, our people. PAX is a cultural experience, and we all share in that culture. It means you can strike up a conversation with absolutely anybody you run into, so do so! We have a collective body of inside jokes from the Penny Arcade comic, and all the gaming we've done in our lives. We all have opinions on just about everything geeks have opinions on. Don't be afraid to ask somebody where they got their cool t-shirt, challenge somebody to a Mario Kart DS race, debate whether or not used games are ethical, or ask what's the best thing they've seen so far. If there's rude, mean, angry people at PAX, I have yet to meet any of them. Universally the collective organism known as PAX is friendly and happy to be at the con. We're also not just in the Convention Center. Trust me, you'll be able to recognize PAX-goers around the city. Be friendly outside the expo hall too.
4) Get some down-time. Repeat this mantra: I won't see everything, no matter how much I use my time machine. Accept this fact, and embrace it. Don't try to do everything, you will kill yourself trying. Instead, take a few minutes to sit quietly on a bean bag chair, and do some people-watching. PAX is an awesome sight to behold, but you can miss it if you don't step back and look at it from a quiet place. Recharge your batteries (metaphorical and literal), and realize just how incredible PAX really is. I remember at PAX East just a few months ago, I sat down a few times and just watched the hordes of people, my people, walking past. It was really cool to see how many happy PAX-goers there are, and I saw more than a few really interesting costumes and interactions. Go out for a nice long lunch someplace removed from the convention hall, and have a nice relaxed meal. Go back to your hotel and drop off some swag you picked up so you're not lugging it around everywhere, and get some fresh air. All PAX all the time can easily result in over-stimulation.
5) Experience the entire gaming ecosystem. Play games you've never heard of before (tabletop is great for that). Go see the demos from the PAX 10 (usually some really interesting stuff). Talk to developers about their work and companies (at PAX East I spent a huge block of time talking about code and development to some of the main guys who work on the Microsoft Surface). Go browse some of the classic games (there's usually a vendor and at East there was a whole room full of ancient arcade machines). Go play in the freeplay areas, and if you've got a handheld. Go listen to a panel about something completely off-the-wall that sounds kind of interesting. Go watch the Omegathon!
6) There are going to be crowds. Statistically, are you are probably interested in the most popular things. Chances are, some of those things you will not end up getting to see. Such is PAX. Don't get too frustrated, remember that PAX happens twice a year. There will be other PAXii, and even if something was a one-time thing, there's plenty of other one-time things you will get to experience, some of them probably because you DID miss something else. The main thing is that you got to say "I was there at PAX 2010!" which elevates you significantly over the sad shuffling masses who do not attend PAX. Trust me, it'll be awesome no matter what you see or don't see. You were there!
7) Tip well, be polite, be kind. Wheaton's Law applies to the entire city, not just the expo. We want Seattle to like us. From the locals I've talked to during past PAXii, they DO like us. We're a whole lot of people who have lots of disposable income occupying entire hotels and doing touristy things all over the city. PAX is our opportunity to show the gamer-haters of the world that we're not a bunch of psychopaths. Say please and thank you. Give your waiter, bartender, or hotel maid a big tip. Be friendly to the locals while wearing your PAX t-shirts and they'll be eagerly awaiting our return next year. Normally a city hearing that tens of thousands of gamer nerds were going to invade for a weekend would run for the hills. This is our opportunity, each year, to change expectations. I know that Boston was a bit nervous about PAX East, but as far as I have heard, we changed their minds. Make us all proud.
Don't forget to leave a (labelled) tip in your hotel room for the waitstaff *every day* - you shouldn't just leave a big tip on the last day, because the person cleaning your room that day may not be the same person as the one who cleaned it the previous days.
Posts
You mean like:
Saturday, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM, Pegasus Theatre
Wil Wheaton!
Details TBA
The details don't matter, this one will be packed.
I think that's the median for most poster swag.
You'll want an extra foot length tube for smaller posters.
Everything else is just opinion.
rain== "Oregon Sunshine". Unless one of the girls has "borrowed" it, I always have an umbrella packed in the car.
+++BRONYS BEFORE BROS!+++
If you plan on hitting the concerts AND getting in line nice and early, don't be afraid to take advantage of nap-time! Last year, I found a great comfy corner - there were a ton of beanbags, where gamers were all snoozing in this awesome space. The con will still be there, buzzing away like a dream when you wake - and after all that walking, you'll appreciate it! (just set an alarm
An umbrella is a device used by Proper English Nannies to get from place to place.
* MEMORY CARD: Do you have an Xbox 360 at home? Would you like to nab a few achievements while trying out new/different games in the Freeplay Lounges? Used to be, to do this, you needed to bring an official Memory Unit... now, well, any USB stick will do. Thanks, MS. Just be sure not to leave your USB stick behind after playing a game!!
* TABLETOP: Holy moly, guys. Every board game you can imagine will be on hand to try for free in the Tabletop Annex. If you're skipping any of the concerts at night, then you're better off living here than plopping in the beanbag lounges, in terms of both discovering new games and making new friends. I highly recommend sitting in on strangers' games, as well; people will catch you up on the mechanics and be friendly every single time.
* SATURN BOMBERMAN: 10-players on one screen. There's always a crowd around this game in the old-school freeplay lounge. Get up on it. (Same with Kickle Cubicle, for some reason.)
* PANELS: Don't be afraid to bail on a lame panel. There's too much to do at PAX to be polite and sit unhappily at an underwhelming presentation. The panelists will understand.
* PAX 10: Always one of the least-trafficked spots on the Expo Floor, which is just sad. These handpicked indie games are far more interesting than Aggro Killfest 7, I assure you. If you can, chat up the developers, who tend to hang around their booths... they typically have a lot to say about their craft. And don't be afraid to tell 'em how you feel about their game. Some of them are watching you play and recording data about it to make their game better (if it's unfinished, anyway... don't do this to my friend Erin at the Puzzlebots booth, heh).
* FOOD: All the food tips here are pretty good, and I recommend sauntering through Pike Place Market in particular, especially since Benaroya Hall's not very far from it, but the market can be daunting. My quick three tips for Pike Place: 1) Beecher's. They sell the best mac 'n cheese in downtown. Not too overpriced; worth the hype. 2) Mee Sum Pastry. They sell hombows - meats and veggies packed into a semi-sweet pastry - and red bean balls. Mmm. 3) Market Creamery. If you want fancy soda pops, or a bottle of farmer-fresh milk, this is THE place to go. Almost a dozen varieties of ginger beer, for starters. Glug glug glug.
Oh, and anybody selling cookies in support of Child's Play is an amazing person. I send my love to you.
* EXPO HALL: Sometimes, watching other people play a game is way better than waiting in line for hours, especially with so much to do. It's a great way to get your feet wet in the Expo Hall on Friday.
* OMEGATHON: Try to watch at least one round of this, aside from the must-see final game. It's not the best thing at PAX, sure, but it's part of the spirit of the show.
* TALK TO EVERYONE: Everyone. PAX is like a real-life BBS without the trolls. Soak it up.
* CONCERTS: I've never had trouble getting to the near-front of a PAX concert crowd after showing up hours late. The stage will be even bigger than last year for shows, so take advantage of this and enjoy your evenings.
* CAPITOL HILL: [If you have a lot of spare time, anyway.] It's the coolest neighborhood in town, and it's just up the hill from the Con Center. Maharaja for stiff drinks; Honey Hole for amazing sandwiches; Old School Frozen Custard for, uh, old school frozen custard. Map it out if you have easy access to a car or extra days in town.
* YOU BROUGHT YOUR DS/PSP, RIGHT?: Srsly. Lotsa lines. We're not fucking kidding. iPhone's cool, too... I guess...
A tip so nice, I made it my buttoneer button.
(The rest of the advice in the post is great too. Consider it Limed Also, if you're reading this, feel free to talk to me and get a button.)
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Be social! Do silly things! Hang out and keep in touch with the people you meet! Who knows, maybe you'll do something silly and plan your next vacation around visting Boston for the next PAX East similar to crazy-ol'-me flying from Boston for Prime
PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House!
Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
I'd say the other reason is because text messages are like UDP and voice is like TCP. With a text message you're not getting any confirmation, you're just sending it out into the void and hoping it makes it there. With voice you have a handshake taking place initially so you know that they've received the message. Plus, while some people have become dangerously reliant on using text messages for everything it's usually faster if there is any anticipated conversation taking place to use voice. It takes far less time to speak a few lines back and forth than it does to send a half-dozen one-line texts.
Two different places, the mall people talk about is westlake center and its approx. 4 blocks NW of the convention center. Pike Place is not hard to miss, just go west straight down the street from the convention center and you will run into it. Westlake is a mall style place with quite a few decent food places inside whilst pike place is a huge tourist destination and a great place for some small independent food shops, some of my favorites being beechers and the french bakery that I can never spell the name of.
Le Panier. I love that place! The piroshky shop a few doors down is also great for a quick bite.
1) You won't see everything you want to see, you will see other stuff you didn't know you wanted to see until you saw it. By all means make a must-see list, but I know the last two PAXii I attended (the ones I made a plan for) I saw less than half of what I planned on seeing, but still had an absolute blast, and saw and did things I didn't even know about before I got there but were awesome. Most of the best things at PAX I've seen and done were not the big name items. Even if you want to play an unreleased game on the exhibitor hall, realistically it's not going to tell you all that much more than if you watched some game trailers, and you'll probably be able to buy the game soon enough anyway. If you've got specific questions about a game, walk up to a developer or PR dude and ask it while everyone else is waiting in line. These people are being paid to stand around and connect to the community, take advantage!
2) See Seattle. It's a great city. I'm a diehard east coaster, but if I was going to move to the west coast, I'd want to live in Seattle. Go and be a tourist. It's probably too late for you to change your plans and add an extra day to your stay, but for future PAXii, definitely plan on taking some extra time. You can also go wander around during the PAX weekend. There's a lot of cool stuff within walking distance, even if it's a bit far. Go see Pike Place Market, go see the Space Needle, go see the Experience Music Project Museum and the Sci Fi Museum. Then go back to PAX refreshed and ready for the crowds, noise, etc. for another round of gaming.
3) PAX is a festival, not an expo. It's not about the game companies or the press, it's about us, our people. PAX is a cultural experience, and we all share in that culture. It means you can strike up a conversation with absolutely anybody you run into, so do so! We have a collective body of inside jokes from the Penny Arcade comic, and all the gaming we've done in our lives. We all have opinions on just about everything geeks have opinions on. Don't be afraid to ask somebody where they got their cool t-shirt, challenge somebody to a Mario Kart DS race, debate whether or not used games are ethical, or ask what's the best thing they've seen so far. If there's rude, mean, angry people at PAX, I have yet to meet any of them. Universally the collective organism known as PAX is friendly and happy to be at the con. We're also not just in the Convention Center. Trust me, you'll be able to recognize PAX-goers around the city. Be friendly outside the expo hall too.
4) Get some down-time. Repeat this mantra: I won't see everything, no matter how much I use my time machine. Accept this fact, and embrace it. Don't try to do everything, you will kill yourself trying. Instead, take a few minutes to sit quietly on a bean bag chair, and do some people-watching. PAX is an awesome sight to behold, but you can miss it if you don't step back and look at it from a quiet place. Recharge your batteries (metaphorical and literal), and realize just how incredible PAX really is. I remember at PAX East just a few months ago, I sat down a few times and just watched the hordes of people, my people, walking past. It was really cool to see how many happy PAX-goers there are, and I saw more than a few really interesting costumes and interactions. Go out for a nice long lunch someplace removed from the convention hall, and have a nice relaxed meal. Go back to your hotel and drop off some swag you picked up so you're not lugging it around everywhere, and get some fresh air. All PAX all the time can easily result in over-stimulation.
5) Experience the entire gaming ecosystem. Play games you've never heard of before (tabletop is great for that). Go see the demos from the PAX 10 (usually some really interesting stuff). Talk to developers about their work and companies (at PAX East I spent a huge block of time talking about code and development to some of the main guys who work on the Microsoft Surface). Go browse some of the classic games (there's usually a vendor and at East there was a whole room full of ancient arcade machines). Go play in the freeplay areas, and if you've got a handheld. Go listen to a panel about something completely off-the-wall that sounds kind of interesting. Go watch the Omegathon!
6) There are going to be crowds. Statistically, are you are probably interested in the most popular things. Chances are, some of those things you will not end up getting to see. Such is PAX. Don't get too frustrated, remember that PAX happens twice a year. There will be other PAXii, and even if something was a one-time thing, there's plenty of other one-time things you will get to experience, some of them probably because you DID miss something else. The main thing is that you got to say "I was there at PAX 2010!" which elevates you significantly over the sad shuffling masses who do not attend PAX. Trust me, it'll be awesome no matter what you see or don't see. You were there!
7) Tip well, be polite, be kind. Wheaton's Law applies to the entire city, not just the expo. We want Seattle to like us. From the locals I've talked to during past PAXii, they DO like us. We're a whole lot of people who have lots of disposable income occupying entire hotels and doing touristy things all over the city. PAX is our opportunity to show the gamer-haters of the world that we're not a bunch of psychopaths. Say please and thank you. Give your waiter, bartender, or hotel maid a big tip. Be friendly to the locals while wearing your PAX t-shirts and they'll be eagerly awaiting our return next year. Normally a city hearing that tens of thousands of gamer nerds were going to invade for a weekend would run for the hills. This is our opportunity, each year, to change expectations. I know that Boston was a bit nervous about PAX East, but as far as I have heard, we changed their minds. Make us all proud.
(You just say the letters)