As I attended my first year of PAX (Prime) last year, I learned a lot of things about PAX. Right after PAX, I was thrilled at everything I had done. I was definitely satisfied but at the same time, I came to the realization that there is a lot of things that I personally, could of done to make my PAX experience better.
I would like this to be a thread for people to share suggestions, ideas, and for people to ask questions. Being only 17 myself, going to PAX with one other friend was very scary as most people were older than us. However, the community was very friendly and it's a very safe place to be! Seattle was fantastic and I'd love to help anyone who is planning to attend for their first time.
So, feel free to ask questions, etc etc. We're all pretty friendly here and your first PAX experience should be the best it can be!
P.S: Oh, and be warned, PAX is addicting, you'll be back every year 8-)
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Don't be afraid to ask. Be sure to line-up early for things you really want to see, things fill up fast. You'll make friends in the line-up, that's how I spent a couple hours in the concert line-up. We (my friends and I) learned a lot about Seattle after we spent a couple hours talking to some people who were locals. Everyone is really friendly so don't be afraid to meet people. Try and bring something to entertain yourself too, a DS is a great idea because there's a Pokemon League and lots of people to play with.
Oh, and don't try to plan everything. You'll be dissappointed when you don't get to places on time, etc. Keep an eye on things you really want to attend like high-profile panels, they will fill up fast. Be sure to check out all the booths, some of the best games are the small indie booths.
I also recommend bringing some cash to the event. There's a lot of merch and it's so tempting! I couldn't help myself last time but I don't regret spending a single cent even today.
Oh, and the biggest tip of all: PLAN FOR ONE HEALTHY MEAL WHILE YOU ARE AT PAX. THIS DOES NOT MEAN A SALAD FROM MCDONALDS. Plan for a decent meal or two while at PAX, it'll make your experience much better. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe one night after eating fast food the rest of the time, and it was probaly the best $30 I spent at PAX. I highly recommend it, and last year, there was a discount at the cafe for PAX-goers.
Plus, they have an awesome gamer drink that's a mix of Mango, Red Bull, and crushed ice. So good.
2) With regards to number 1, try to visit Pike Place Market for food at least once. It's a less than 10 minute walk down the street from the convention center and is worth it.
3) Make sure to get at least 5 hours of sleep a night.
4) Make sure you have water on you at all times and stay hydrated.
5) Make sure you have some kind of food (granola bars) on you at all times. Due to panels or other events chances are you'll have to skip a meal, and thus having some food to tide you over is essential.
4, 5, and 6 are especially important. You don't want to be "that guy" who's irritable because they either didn't get sleep, are hungry, or are dehydrated. I was "that guy"* on Friday at PAX East this year because I didn't get sleep the night before. It wasn't fun for me or the friends I was with.
* Long story short, I had a programming assignment due on the Friday and ran into some hard to fix bugs and thus had to squash them over Thursday night at the hotel
Use Enforcers when you need help.
Sure, use the help of fellow attendees, but don't be afraid to ask Enforcers for help. We're not hardass security guards. We're all geeks and gamers like you, and volunteer our time specifically to make sure the show goes smoothly and all of you have a good time.
Also, HAVE FUN, LOVE EVERYONE!
1) If you're not used to standing on hard surfaces (i.e. concrete) for more than an hour, start practicing NOW. You will be doing a lot of standing in line.
1a) If you can't stand or it's not practical/easy to sit on the floor, a light weight collapsing camp chair is a life saver.
2) you will be doing a LOT of walking. A couple of miles a day (MINIMUM). If you're not used to that, start walking a little bit further every day (Starting TODAY). No later that month (and earlier if possible) before PAX walk in the shoes you're planning on wearing at PAX. PAX is not the time to break in new shoes.
3) Talk to everybody you can, you never know what you'll learn.or what someone may learn from you.
4) If someone is starting up a game ask if they have room for one more player, even if you have NEVER even heard of the game. You might find a game that you just love!
5) Take a camera and plenty of whatever media it uses. If you don't own a camera, borrow one or buy a few disposable cameras. There are TONS of things that you'll want photos of. People in costumes. Displays. Stuff.
6) Eat. Sleep. Hydrate.
7) Just relax and have fun.
This sounds really basic, but it's actually a really good piece of advice. If you're having any sort of issue at all just head over to the nearest red shirt and you'll get a helpful response. These guys and girls were everywhere at East and were uniformly awesome. Give them a chance to shine!
The other big thing I took away from East was the importance of information. Get some sort of Twitter-capable device, follow @PAXLines and all the other useful channels that'll be set up for the weekend. This is even more important if you want to meet up with people be they friends, fellow forumers...
Finally, come to the realisation early on that you ARE going to miss stuff. Plan alternatives if you're really the super-locked down trype, but generally you'll be better off just making use of the time to just chill out for a bit, maybe get that decent piece of food that you need or even just queue extra early for the next thing on your list. There'll be enough stress in your system without letting inevitibilities overwhelm you.
Tweet me @Landerolin
For my first PAX ever, this was one of my first rules for myself. Just bought myself a 32GB SD card which can hold about 12,000 high resolution images. Should be just enough.
Quick note: Enforcer shirts may or may not be red. They were blue at PAX Prime last year, so unless that's changed, look for the blue Enforcer shirts.
Speaking of advice regarding Enforcers, please respect them, and do what they ask you to do. They are volunteers giving up their PAX time to help the rest of us have a better PAX, and are thus filled with awesome.
1) bring anti-bacterial gel... after the H1N1 scare i heard of a few years back, you never know what's out there on those controllers being shared by thousands. safest dollar you can spend
2) ear plugs.. having shared a room with snoring monsters... it helps for a good nights sleep
3) a power strip. chances are if you share a room with alot of people. they need to charge all that tech. so having a strip for an extra 5-7 devices can be a big life saver to your whole crew with dead cell phone batteries
4) if you can, pool resources with friends your bunking with for all that bathroom stuff... soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc
5) pack an extra big bag just in case you buy too much stuff
6) a good attitude, cause it is PAX after all...
oh, and to my fellow photographers out there, def pack more memory if you are shooting hardcore, but dont bother packing all that extra camera gear to switch around... you'll never have the space to do it in the crowds, especially in the expo room. i probably only changed lenses once on my DSLR when i had the space to do it
THIS times, like, 100.
Otherwise you'll be me and wind up in the bathroom late Saturday crying because everyone's meeeeean when really? You've just got ridiculously low blood sugar and have had no sleep.
(I had some pizza, I felt better, then I played D&D for the first time)
+++BRONYS BEFORE BROS!+++
2) The people around you at PAX are now your friends, but are still strangers. Don't push this new relationship too far.
3) Just play it cool, boy. Real cool.
Your new friends won't want to hang out with you if you stink to high heaven!
I can't tell you how many times at PAX in the past that I had to NOT talk to a seemingly interesting person because of the smell.
As stated above, water, food, sleep; in that order.
Last year was my best PAX so far. I picked a theme for the panels I wanted to go to and pretty much stuck to them. When there wasn't a panel in my theme, I hit the exhibition hall or ate food. Worked out great!
It amazes me how often this gets mentioned. The people that don't take their cleanliness/body odor seriously aren't going to suddenly change because this post keeps getting made. It's insulting to the intelligence of the people that *do* consider basic hygiene relevant to have constant reminders of such. Maybe it's useful to people just hitting puberty, but I hope they're getting that info somewhere else.
Well, this thread is titled "PAX Wisdom and First Timer Advice thread." I was honestly surprised it hadn't been mentioned before. This thread is NOT for those that have gone before, but new players. I feel mentioning it is a reminder for new people. I don't see how this is "insulting the intelligence of the people that *do* consider basic hygiene relevant". This has nothing to do with those people. In fact, they should feel proud to be helping everyone have a better time at PAX.
I'm sorry you're tired of hearing about this issue. I am tired of smelling people who need showers. I guess you could just ignore these posts. It's much more difficult to ignore smelly people in an enclosed area.
Keep subscribed to the various PAX twitter feeds. They are really useful when you are at the event.
If you go east of the convention center, you will find yourself walking uphill. In fact, any time you are walking east on pike street you will be walking up hill.
Don't wait to book hotels or buy tickets. Do it NOW.
Check the forums out for community events (Bigred's thead: PAX Forumer Seattle Get Togethers- Spring/Summer Edition) Its a good way to get to know some of the PAX community and kill time before Prime
And in general, follow Weaton's First Law at all times:
-Don't be afraid to leave the convention center. Yes it may be hard to drag your self away but just laying down in you hotel room for an hour at lunch can really help your day.
-The Westlake Center food court exists, use it. Yes it can be busy but nowhere near as bad as the places next door to the convention center.
-When it comes to scheduling, I find the best way to do it is to mark a few panels/demos you really want to see but leave everything else open. You have no idea what you might discover and want to do.
-Lineups. They will be long. Accept it, prepare for it, deal with it. As well, even if the rules say that lines for a panel don't begin until X o'clock, show up 30 minutes before that and scope out the situation. Frankly, this rule has been pretty lax over the last few years and I always see someone bring it up in the suggestions thread.
-This is also with regards to line ups. But if there's a time to cash in on short lines I find it to be near the end of the day on Sunday.
-This one is kinda specific but as a train nut I feel obligated to advertise it. If you live in the pacific northwest Amtrak is a great choice for getting to and from Seattle. Why drive when you can sit back and game with your fellow attendees. Last year we played Mario Kart DS for about an hour. And Vancouver (BC) to Seattle is $80 return.
Well that's all for now. For all you first-timers I'm sure you'll have a blast.
* Keep your food budget aside from your "stuff" budget.
*I usually allow myself 25 dollars a day for food, but I'm a little high maintenance. Just be realistic about your food needs. Please don't skimp on food, no one wants you to get ill.
( A story: last PAX, I drove up from Portland, with no breakfast and some coffee. I was waiting at the hotel room for our roommates from the airport, and all the sudden I started having the most awful stomach cramps. It was probably a combination of coffee, which isn't a normal beverage for me, no food, and stress, but those cramps followed me all weekend long. Moral of the story: Don't skip meals, and relax!)
*bring snacks. Last year we brought jerky and those little cheese wheels and they were great.
*do set aside money for stuff. You might think you won't want to buy anything, but wouldn't you hate to skip food because you did find something you wanted, or miss out on that thing you wanted because you need food?
* You won't be able to see everything. Someone on these forums once suggested looking at PAX as a multi year experience. One year you might go to a lot of panels. The next year you might spend a huge amount of time in console freeplay, ect. Point is you will miss things. Don't beat yourself up about it.
*That being said, don't fall into the trap of spending all your time in the expo hall. There's so much more!
*And, finally, once again, don't be afraid to ask enforcers for help. Our job is to make sure you have an awesome time. So, please, ask us anything!
This one is so true. Last year I spent more time in panels then years past since there wasn't as much in the expo hall that interested me.
I am Evan, and I went to PAX East 2011, my first gaming convention, and I have to say it was one of the greatest things I have ever done. Here are suggestions for my fellow gamers 17 and below.
1. Bring some form of line entertainment. No matter what, you will wait in a line for 45 minutes or more at pax at least once. it is VITAL that you bring some form of line entertainment. Possibly bring a DS, or a 3DS. Just search 3DS/DS Download Play for other people playing games, there are bound to be more than a few.
2. DO NOT go on a testing spree for four hours straight. you must take breaks to avoid wearing yourself out. go to one of the console freeplay rooms for half an hour, or attend a panel every two to three hours or so.
3. Bring a friend. Having your father chaperone you around is both awkward, and not fun. Having he has never gone to a gaming convention as well, he was puzzled at what was wrong with cosplayers.
4. Having a twitter is a necessity. Follow a lot of companies so you know who is doing what, when. Check who I follow for a good list.
Thanks for reading! Here is my homepage, and please follow me on twitter! See you all at PAX East 2012!
I went to East 11, Prime 12, East 13, and will be attending East 15.
Also related to #3, if you are under 17 and you are in a group of friends, don't be afraid to ask people (Enforcers, other attendees, etc.) for directions, etc. There's no reason why a fellow PAX attendee wouldn't be happy to answer your questions or why you'd want to get lost/misinformed.
From the stories I heard from my friend last year (his first PAX Prime), it didn't turn out so well for him. He was from out of town (Ohio) and was around Westlake Mall before he figured out that this wasn't the correct restaurant location.
2-Hydration and snacks. If you can't bring water with you, bring a bottle and either emergen-c or gatorade (travel pack sized) to help keep you going (there are a few water fountains around).
3-Juices help. Pick up Odwallas, Bolthouse, go to Emerald city, etc. Between that and Purell, we avoided the con-crud.
4- bring some cash for purchases. Sometimes the card readers would be down or take forever, cash is always king.
5- Find dinner before you enter. We usually hang around north Seattle, so we were a little stumped last year and ended up taking bus trips back to familiar parts since we didn't know what was around. DOH!
Between the Sheraton and the Red Lion is a Jimmy Johns sandwich shop. I bought five or six sandwiches the first day and kept them in the fridge in my hotel room. I always had food available when I wanted it.
Thanks!
Wait.... PAX does stuff in the Sheraton hotel itself? So is the Expo Hall for PAX (dare I say PAX Nexus, the PAXus?) is what, right outside the Sheraton?
Sorry I know these are newb questions, but I thought that PAX was a block away? Or is it all more inter-connected than I'm thinking?
Thanks!
Basically, PAX, like the universe, is ever expanding (though PAX at a slightly slower rate).
PAX 2010 has Main Theater in Benaroya Hall, a few blocks away
Pegasus satellite theater was next door to the Convention Center in the Sheraton
The Expo Hall spanned most of floor 4 of the Convention Center, the skybridge, and floor 4 and part of floor 3 of the Conference Center across the street. The rest of PAX was contained in the rest of the Convention Center, with 1 tabletop room being on floor 3 of the Conference Center
Thanks for all the info, can't wait to be there in person it will make way more sense then!
to get a brief idea before you are there, you can check out the WSCTC website for their floor plan
If you had a fridge, why not go up the hill to QFC and buy things to make your own sandwiches and thereby saving money and having fresh made sandwiches instead of 3 day old sandwiches?
Thanks zerzhul!
-You won't get to do everything, don't stress it. Enjoy the awesome stuff you do get to do.
-You are still human, grooming and feeding still apply. (Trust me, while you can subsist on the sheer con-win for awhile, it leaves you strung out eventually)
-Don't be a dick. Someone will inform you if this law is being broken.
Great idea, the savings alone should be excellent loot and dinner boosters (especially within a group of 4-5).
There's actually a concierge station in the 1st floor of the WSCTC, near the coffee shop. They are terribly happy to direct you to nearby restaurants, and even gave my group coupons for some.
This seems like a good idea. Be sure to bring your PAX Badge to whatever restaurant you go to, some offer discounts for PAX-Attendees.
Be sure to bring a backpack or something with you. You'll want a way to carry free stuff and it's great to keep some water with you. Drink lots of water so you aren't getting thirsty while doing lots of walking.
So my question is, how much spending money should I set aside for PAX itself? I'm sure I'd want to get a shirt and maybe some other stuff, maybe some collectibles. Is $100 enough?
Also, I'll be checking out of the Sheraton at I guess noon and will hopefully be flying out later that night. So between then, will I be able to walk around PAX with my luggage? What are the guidelines on bags?
Electronic composer for hire.
Previous PAXs: PAX Prime 2011, PAX AUS 2013
$100 may be fine if you just wanna grab a few of the PAX shirts and stuff... once you start adding games, collectable goodies, and hardware, figure at least $250... made this mistake once, and missed out on a quality joystick, and the scarves at PAX east
oh, and i'm also flying out late sunday, and staying at the sheraton. they did tell me it's ok to leave bags at the bellhop all day while still parading around the convention. if anything, offer shuttle service back to the airport for $15 bucks too
Is that 250 for the 3 days or for each day?
Previous PAXs: PAX Prime 2011, PAX AUS 2013