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Constructive Feedback Thread - Aus 2013

13

Posts

  • solomanisolomani Sydney, AURegistered User regular

    Blake T wrote: »

    Man I am not trying to be mean, but the scarves were bright yellow.

    Fashion wise they are hard to work into things.

    They were green and gold so could double for certain sporting events for AU fans. I think the issue is that most of Australia has a pretty mild climate (15 degree winters are not particularly cold compared to places where it snows) so scarves are of limited utility. I specifically didn't buy one because I never wear scarves. I don't wear scarves because there is no need.

  • QuestorQuestor PAX Aus Tabletop [E] Melbourne, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    My wife and I both bought one because, well, it's PAX MERCH!

    I would have bought an event tee if they had any in my size left (Men's Large) - I ended up having to get a regular PA tee. Not that that is a bad thing, it would have just been nice to have one with the event on :)

    steam_sig.png
  • DoomweaverDoomweaver Registered User new member
    zerzhul wrote: »
    The problem with any queue bypass suggestion is: "what if people don't show up?" Well the answer to that is either overbooking or a queue line for "underflow seating". So now you have people that are queuing or booking and might not get in. I could be wrong, but I think in the eyes of PAX that is worse than just general queuing. Time will tell.

    I saw this coming =p If it was all via a PAX app then no-shows could be tracked and penalised. Or they could cancel. Lets face it, its easy to get waylaid at a con.

    Imagine this: You have a PAX app with this functionality in it you could create an ideal schedule. I think you should still manually have to scan to get queued to prevent people joining just cos its convenient. If you queue you can also cancel which will update on the list. As the even approaches, and even as it commences, notifications can be sent out if seats are still available or if there are cancellations.

    Technology is a wonderful thing. Lets use to make our con experience as efficient as possible.

  • hmjesushmjesus Registered User new member
    Doomweaver wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    The problem with any queue bypass suggestion is: "what if people don't show up?" Well the answer to that is either overbooking or a queue line for "underflow seating". So now you have people that are queuing or booking and might not get in. I could be wrong, but I think in the eyes of PAX that is worse than just general queuing. Time will tell.

    I saw this coming =p If it was all via a PAX app then no-shows could be tracked and penalised. Or they could cancel. Lets face it, its easy to get waylaid at a con.

    Imagine this: You have a PAX app with this functionality in it you could create an ideal schedule. I think you should still manually have to scan to get queued to prevent people joining just cos its convenient. If you queue you can also cancel which will update on the list. As the even approaches, and even as it commences, notifications can be sent out if seats are still available or if there are cancellations.

    Technology is a wonderful thing. Lets use to make our con experience as efficient as possible.
    This sort of thing would be ideal. Say 15-30 minutes before the event a notification goes out "Do you still want to attend *blah*?", host the data somewhere on the local network so you don't hammer the external network. If you don't respond you lose your spot (just a simple Yes/No would do). I also really liked GenConOz's event registration system (for anyone who went / remembers).

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited July 2013
    Here's what will happen in that case. People will click "yes I'm still coming" and then still not show up. Also there will be people's devices that will lose connection to the central app and they will suddenly lose their spot (how good was the wifi there? yeah). There are now seats being unused in the panel. To get those seats, there will be an overflow queue of the people that are on the "standby list". People will be queuing for something they might not be able to enter. I personally don't think that will fly with PAX. The problem that queuing solves that all the other solutions don't are that if properly managed the queue will fill, and the only people that have to wait are people that are going to get in to the event.

    Here's one more thing that is being completely overlooked. What are the people who are now not queuing because of the magical technology doing instead? Other stuff at PAX! Oh wait, that's all limited supply as well, and now it's being flooded in higher numbers because those people that were supposed to be queuing are now out and about. Ok well I'll just get out my queue app for... wait a minute.... shit now I have to fucking sign into a stupid app to do everything at PAX? And where are you putting all those extra bodies that there's no additional space for?

    Like so many other things at PAX, it's not a single dimensional simple issue. Like it or not, queues are fair, and simple. I totally get the desire for a better system, but it's not that easy. The downsides are usually things that PAX does not want. Then again, I may be proved wrong, it's not like it's up to me.

    zerzhul on
  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    hmjesus wrote: »
    This sort of thing would be ideal. Say 15-30 minutes before the event a notification goes out "Do you still want to attend *blah*?", host the data somewhere on the local network so you don't hammer the external network. If you don't respond you lose your spot (just a simple Yes/No would do). I also really liked GenConOz's event registration system (for anyone who went / remembers).

    Sounds like hell for mobile networks. As every Paxian everywhere reaches for their phones every half hour to ping "YES" back at the server. I suppose a single bit (+ overhead) shouldn't be so bad, but considering the problems that have been stated above with overcrowding on the network already...

  • exisexis Registered User regular
    edited July 2013
    I thought the guidebook app was pretty great for scheduling, but it would be a really bad idea to make any sort of app a requirement. A lot of people don't have smartphones, mobile data plans are pricey in Aussie, etc etc. Too many impediments to using an app, and that's before you even take into account how it would actually work.

    edit: While I was disappointed by not being able to get into many panels, I think the core format works. In my view most of the problems were due to the size of the venue, not the way in which the queuing was handled (I think most issues with confusing queues were unavoidable given the showgrounds layout).

    exis on
  • grgemonkeygrgemonkey Registered User regular
    I'm not sure if any one mentioned this but any digital queue solution that relies on WiFi or mobile networks is not a good idea.

    The infrastructure for those things never holds, you'd just have chaos and complaints over missed notifications and what not. Ideas are great in theory but you need to keep in mind the scale. Also need to keep in mind potential abuse, I know people like to think we're all wonderful but people will exploit things, just ask the Wizards free booster promotion...

    Basically there's a multitude of factors that effect queues past just the waiting aspect, so you may tick that box but leave 10 other boxes unticked. There is a lot of issues avoided by having a physical person stand in a physical line, it just works and other than being boring, poses few other problems, you will miss out all the same with any system that is first come first serve. People cite other places like Disneyland, well I went there last year and I spent hours upon hours in queues, perhaps peoples experiences are not so fresh or they went off-peak.

    I'm not a queue lover, I don't think any one can be but I feel like the staff who have organised PAX for 4yrs(?) probably have looked at it a thousand times. I'm not suggesting people refrain from given feedback on it, just appreciate the situation passed the "it sucks, fix it" stage.

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  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited July 2013
    grgemonkey wrote: »
    II feel like the staff who have organised PAX for 4yrs(?) probably have looked at it a thousand times.
    PAX Aus was the 14th PAX. PAX started in 2004 in Seattle, then 2010 they added Boston.

    zerzhul on
  • JFedJFed PAX AUS PC Competitions 2IC MelbourneRegistered User regular
    Apps are a fantastic idea, So when you couple that, and how heavily loaded 3G/4G/WiFi was, I honestly don't think an app would work unless PAX engaged a networking team to have its own distributed wireless system which would then make the app work, therefore the cost would exceed the gain and wouldn't be worthwhile.

    Do not get me wrong, I love the idea, but from a technical stand point and from a user friendliness standpoint, I just don't think it would work as suggested by zerzhul. (Ie: Yes I'm coming but then not show, or the pinging would flood the network with traffic that it didnt need slowing the wireless down, people not having a smartphone capable of the app (ie: because it was written for iOS not Android or WP)).

    Cheers

    Jeffy

  • VerminVermin MelbourneRegistered User regular
    Blake T wrote: »
    Man I am not trying to be mean, but the scarves were bright yellow.

    Fashion wise they are hard to work into things.

    Honestly I'm with you. As a local of course I got the significance of the colour scheme (green and gold=aus, yeah) but the scarves ended up looking gaudier than average AFL merch (which generally sells cheaper). To sell better here, I'd reccomend a less sport-event style scarf. Scarves are actually a really common item even locals wear in winter, seeing as they fit very well into our "dress in layers to modify thickness quickly with Melbourne weather" philosophy, but no one is going to want to wear the PAX scarves if they clash horrifically with everything you wear. Keeping one of the colours, even, and only putting a hint of the other (for instance, gold with white, and one embroidered logo in green) would look a whole lot less offensive. I get that it's a souvenir more than a fashion statement but still, it's an item of clothing and to up sales you'd want it to look decent if you did plan on wearing it.

    As a note, I noticed that at the main stall, pretty much all the non-standard shirts appeared to sell (the spider design etc, which I thought was a really good one). Perhaps that's a sign that our market here isn't so much targeted at "i have a shirt with this logo on" but "I found this design quite interesting/funny/pretty" etc.

    Minor gripes of course, but that's my take on the merch from what I could see.

    as predictable as melbourne weather
  • DrassanDrassan Registered User regular
    Blake T wrote: »

    Man I am not trying to be mean, but the scarves were bright yellow.

    Fashion wise they are hard to work into things.

    Since when was fashion important?!? I love the scarf, though a wool blend would have been nicer :)

  • mazarinmazarin Registered User new member
    Ok, First up, thanks for a great weekend and it was stunning just looking up and seeing everyone playing something! AND I Won a Tournament! Wheee!

    Pins: The PAX Australia pins were great! I loved the logo, the designs were funny, they rocked! So it really sucked that I couldn't buy them, as they were already sold out.
    Sucked even more to have the merch people tell me that people had been buying multiple sets the day before
    REALLY sucked to see them selling now on ebay for AUD 170+

    Brainstorming suggestion: Make more. Flood the market so that profiteering capitalists have there business plans cut from under them, and the rest of us can quietly trade pins, (if that is what we want to do) (errrm Ok, the US is the home of capitalists, no offence meant, it is Aussies who are doing this)
    Or make some of the pins available for pre-order with registration?

    The PAX Australia pin was the best, all the non-trading people I knew wanted one... I know this is counter to your previous experience, but I think it is cultural- we are all so thrilled to have PAX here, we wanted the Pax Australia 2013 pin (and couldn't get it :( )

    Finally: How about a pin for tournament winners? Your blingy medal is wonderfully cheesy, but a bit hard to wear IRL, or at other conventions.

    Food Trucks: Also great. But we had to leave around 6:30 on Saturday, because the Big Top was filling with smoke from them. Keep them outside with a rain/shade shelter top please. You can still have the tables inside.

    Other merch comments: Totally agree, the yellow scarves were *not* Melbourne Geek Chic. They looked like something I should be wearing as I sat in Fed Square at midnight watching the cricket streamed from England. Black scarves, gold Pax Aus logo in the corner.. that would work. Or a Pax Aus Bandanna, or Silk or cotton Scarf?

    Tabletop The area was great, totally full, wonderful- more space next year please. Sounds from the comments like some of the games went missing? That is not good, but I agree I was suprised that the board games were out in the open... You had to give ID for the console games, you should do this for boardgames, with consequences if not all the bits are given back.

    Paint and Take Brilliant! We suprised ourselves with spending most of our non gaming time here. Kudos to the guy running the area, he was wonderful and helpful. Needs more figurines though, and bigger. (for all us first timers struggling with a brush, a tiny figurine is hard) They ran out of figurines pretty early on the Sat.

    Plants versus Zombies 2 Sponsored the food area, good on them, they got lots of positive points from me and the game was fun too-lovely to be able to try it (though wireless fail meant we couldn't download till we got home)

    Panels I don't really need to add to the chorus here. I would have loved to go to some, but it wasn't worth the line time. A few big screens in the queue room, showing what is happening on the panels for overflow audience would be great.

    Maybe the Convention Centre?
    I've been to a few cons at the Melbourne Convention centre, both business and pleasure. Just a heads up on some of the downsides of using it:
    The trams are just as overfull and crowded going past the MCC- be prepared to walk in the rain up to Southern Cross station (yes, that is a longer walk than to the station at the showgrounds)
    The food is ordinary, and the only choice for close late night food is expensive restaurants or the Casino food court- one of which not as affordable, the other not as good the food trucks we had.

    Another time of year? Actually, a wet cold melbourne day is perfect for being inside gaming

    More theatre/ comedy?
    I would love to see an Antipodean version of Acquisitions inc. But failing that, Mobourne has a thriving comedy scene, and a lot of them are geeks. I'd like to see some of them (I know you are from the other side of the world- I can point you towards contacts if you need)

    Thanks!

  • Captain_WeatherCaptain_Weather Registered User new member
    Just on the Booth Babes front, Robert Khoo pointed out that they can't impose rules along the lines of "You can't have attractive people working in your Booth". Essentially what PAX has in place is a case by case system where exhibitor outfits have to meet a certain set of guidelines (i.e. pants or skirts being four inches above the knee, no gratuitous cleavage or midriff and so on). It must be noted this does come with what is known as the 'Night-Elf' exception, where if it's representing an in game character and doesn't unnecessarily violate PA guidelines then deviations are accepted. In regards to Sennheiser and the World of Tanks girls, what they wore initially wasn't what PA had approved, hence the presence of stockings/leggings (etc) on subsequent days once PA Staff were notified.

  • troubleshootertroubleshooter Registered User regular
    mazarin wrote: »
    Tabletop The area was great, totally full, wonderful- more space next year please. Sounds from the comments like some of the games went missing? That is not good, but I agree I was suprised that the board games were out in the open... You had to give ID for the console games, you should do this for boardgames, with consequences if not all the bits are given back.

    This is the first I've heard of game theft, if true, very disappointing.
    The game library did require a license plus a tag put on your pass to scan in. So I would assume that thefts would have to have been by those passing by the library tables, which was very open and visible. Which I think was a big strength of the tabletop area, the mass visibility really encourages gaming. So to lose this would be a real shame.

    I'm hoping the game theft is exaggerated.

  • ShutdownShutdown Registered User regular
    Is there a reason none of the smaller panels have made it onto youtube? I can imagine someone arguing that if they're online people won't bother attending PAX at all (not that I believe that for a second) - but c'mon; that'd soothe the burn that is missing out on them.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Shutdown wrote: »
    Is there a reason none of the smaller panels have made it onto youtube? I can imagine someone arguing that if they're online people won't bother attending PAX at all (not that I believe that for a second) - but c'mon; that'd soothe the burn that is missing out on them.
    Probably because nobody recorded them. As far as I know, PAX did not do their own recording for PAX Aus. Also for PAXes East and Prime, it's a combination of twitch, exhibitors, and an awesome "unofficial" crew that get it done.

  • BekerBeker Child's Play Program Director SeattleRegistered User, Penny Arcade Staff regular
    zerzhul wrote: »
    Shutdown wrote: »
    Is there a reason none of the smaller panels have made it onto youtube? I can imagine someone arguing that if they're online people won't bother attending PAX at all (not that I believe that for a second) - but c'mon; that'd soothe the burn that is missing out on them.
    Probably because nobody recorded them. As far as I know, PAX did not do their own recording for PAX Aus. Also for PAXes East and Prime, it's a combination of twitch, exhibitors, and an awesome "unofficial" crew that get it done.
    The camera crew was there, but It seems like more for a PAX Aus PA TV episode then trying to publish the full content. And since they were small theatres, and the community is newer, probably no one thought to record them as Zerzhul said. Even at Prime and East I don't believe they record every Panel, just certain rooms that they stream. As PAX Aus grows, I assume streaming and more recordings will come.

    -Beker/Erick
    zx6ak2M.png
  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    Beker wrote: »
    The camera crew was there, but It seems like more for a PAX Aus PA TV episode then trying to publish the full content. And since they were small theatres, and the community is newer, probably no one thought to record them as Zerzhul said. Even at Prime and East I don't believe they record every Panel, just certain rooms that they stream. As PAX Aus grows, I assume streaming and more recordings will come.
    Not sure how practical or expensive streaming would be in Melbourne.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Yeah, not every panel at prime or east is recorded, there's just more coverage due to twitch and more volunteers.

  • JFedJFed PAX AUS PC Competitions 2IC MelbourneRegistered User regular
    mazarin wrote: »
    Maybe the Convention Centre?[/b] I've been to a few cons at the Melbourne Convention centre, both business and pleasure. Just a heads up on some of the downsides of using it:
    The trams are just as overfull and crowded going past the MCC- be prepared to walk in the rain up to Southern Cross station (yes, that is a longer walk than to the station at the showgrounds)
    The food is ordinary, and the only choice for close late night food is expensive restaurants or the Casino food court- one of which not as affordable, the other not as good the food trucks we had.

    Even if it was at MCEC (opposite Crown Casino), there is covered tram stops at both the Southern Cross & MCEC end. So the only time you'd get wet would be walking to/from the stops.

    The Casino food court has changed dramatically and has like McD's/KFC etc.

  • dyaballikldyaballikl PAX Main Theatre House & Security Manager • PAX Community Cartographer Gold Coast QLD AustraliaRegistered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »
    grgemonkey wrote: »
    II feel like the staff who have organised PAX for 4yrs(?) probably have looked at it a thousand times.
    PAX Aus was the 15th PAX. PAX started in 2004 in Seattle, then 2010 they added Boston.
    14th :P
    04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10E, 10P, 11E, 11P, 12E, 12P, 13E, 13A
    Totally agree with you on the line issues, though. New ideas are very much appreciated, but the fact is that queuing is a well established psychological and sociological science, and Penny Arcade and the Enforcers of Line Management are very experienced at it. Lines can suck, sure, but they're either dealt with in about the best way available, or we quickly learn and do it better next time.

    a.k.a. dya
    "Riding a mongoose reminds me of having sex with a man, which is something I do frequently because I am gay!" -Gabe
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Ah, yeah, I must have been thinking about prime this year ;) Off by one isn't too bad!

  • melissainaumelissainau PAX Aus Tabletop Manager Melbourne, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    mazarin wrote: »
    Tabletop The area was great, totally full, wonderful- more space next year please. Sounds from the comments like some of the games went missing? That is not good, but I agree I was suprised that the board games were out in the open... You had to give ID for the console games, you should do this for boardgames, with consequences if not all the bits are given back.

    This is the first I've heard of game theft, if true, very disappointing.
    The game library did require a license plus a tag put on your pass to scan in. So I would assume that thefts would have to have been by those passing by the library tables, which was very open and visible. Which I think was a big strength of the tabletop area, the mass visibility really encourages gaming. So to lose this would be a real shame.

    I'm hoping the game theft is exaggerated.

    One game went missing from the TableTop area, out of 400+. So it's disappointing and annoying, but not the start of a broader trend towards thievery. We positioned the tables so that you had to go into the library area to reach a game.

  • cassulcassul Registered User new member
    DaCraw wrote: »
    I agree that the Sennheiser example was pretty egregious, especially with the photo setup. That was insulting to both genders. That said, there were some examples of how it can be done well. Stirfire Studios (I think it was them, they were opposite the overflow section of the line for Rome 2) had three Boothe Babes, but the first time I saw them I honestly thought they were just regular (albeit good) cosplayers. Their outfits were not particularly skimpy, and they were dressed as characters from the game they were promoting.

    [edit]: Just to clarify, I think that Stirfire did a brilliant job with their exhibit. Their representatives were dressed as per the game (I honestly initially thought they were just regular cosplayers, it wasn't until I'd been past the booth a few times and noticed that they hadn't moved that I figured it out), their costumes were not offensive in any way, and they were both pleasant and knowledgeable. Everything that Sennheiser did wrong, Stirfire got right, and I wanted to give them credit for that. [/edit]



    If you talked to any member of the team at the Stirfire booth, you would have been told that one of the three cosplayers at the booth is actually the Creative Director / Creative Lead for Freedom Fall. She concepted, level designed and scripted the game that you saw in the booth. The other two cosplayers were also part of the Stirfire team and not hired "booth babes" and are part of their support team.

  • mazarinmazarin Registered User new member

    One game went missing from the TableTop area, out of 400+. So it's disappointing and annoying, but not the start of a broader trend towards thievery. We positioned the tables so that you had to go into the library area to reach a game.

    I'd just picked up on someone talking about game theft in an earlier comment,so good to hear that it was not a serious problem. Thank-you for clarifying.
    JFed wrote: »

    Even if it was at MCEC (opposite Crown Casino), there is covered tram stops at both the Southern Cross & MCEC end. So the only time you'd get wet would be walking to/from the stops.

    The Casino food court has changed dramatically and has like McD's/KFC etc.

    Yeah, and the covered tramstops get full, and the trams are not big enough to take all the people.... so you end up walking to the train :) Done it lots.

    Yep, Casino food court has McDonald's, KFC. I rest my case. Not as good as the Food Trucks we had :) ( I agree, this is just an opinion)

  • DaCrawDaCraw Registered User regular
    edited July 2013
    cassul wrote: »
    DaCraw wrote: »
    I agree that the Sennheiser example was pretty egregious, especially with the photo setup. That was insulting to both genders. That said, there were some examples of how it can be done well. Stirfire Studios (I think it was them, they were opposite the overflow section of the line for Rome 2) had three Boothe Babes, but the first time I saw them I honestly thought they were just regular (albeit good) cosplayers. Their outfits were not particularly skimpy, and they were dressed as characters from the game they were promoting.

    [edit]: Just to clarify, I think that Stirfire did a brilliant job with their exhibit. Their representatives were dressed as per the game (I honestly initially thought they were just regular cosplayers, it wasn't until I'd been past the booth a few times and noticed that they hadn't moved that I figured it out), their costumes were not offensive in any way, and they were both pleasant and knowledgeable. Everything that Sennheiser did wrong, Stirfire got right, and I wanted to give them credit for that. [/edit]



    If you talked to any member of the team at the Stirfire booth, you would have been told that one of the three cosplayers at the booth is actually the Creative Director / Creative Lead for Freedom Fall. She concepted, level designed and scripted the game that you saw in the booth. The other two cosplayers were also part of the Stirfire team and not hired "booth babes" and are part of their support team.

    Perhaps I was misusing the term. I was using 'Booth Babe' as a shorthand to denote any costumed representative, whether part of the team or hired models. I didn't mean to use it in its derogatory way.

    While there is certainly a distinction between a hired model and a costumed member of the team (the former being somewhat questionable, the latter a great idea that should be encouraged), I'm not convinced that this distinction is relevant to discussions about what conduct is appropriate. I don't think that the Sennheiser photo booth would have been more acceptable if the girls in police outfits had also been engineers. That said, I'm not accusing Stirfire of anything remotely inappropriate - quite the opposite. Their booth was brilliant, an example of how having costumed representatives should be done.

    I'm sorry if anyone thought I was referring to Stirfire in the negative sense of Booth Babe. I hope I've cleared that up.

    Don't get me wrong, I think that having exhibitors cosplay is a great idea, and I applaud Stirfire for doing it so well. I hope we see more of it next year, and that PAX encourages other developers to cosplay. The trick is getting more Stirfire and less Sennheiser.

    DaCraw on
    ---
    Avatar is from www.xkcd.com
  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    I'd just like to say that I thought the Omegathon was run extremely well this year, especially with regards to level and mode choice.
    Coming into PAX, I had some major concerns about the choice of Geometry Wars and Portal, with the former being too visually noisy IMO (due to death explosions) to allow decent skill-based play and the latter being hard to manage in a speed run due to the various physics glitches you can exploit in most puzzles for a faster time. But both issues were completely solved by the organisers, with the survival mode in Geometry Wars completely clearing up the explosion noise as the player's couldn't fire and when they killed any enemies, all enemies in the surrounding area were exploded so none were disguised by the 'smoke', and with the level choice in Portal, with its naturally short optimal solution completely annulling the need to exploit for a faster time. So, very well done.

  • VerminVermin MelbourneRegistered User regular
    DaCraw wrote: »
    cassul wrote: »
    DaCraw wrote: »
    I agree that the Sennheiser example was pretty egregious, especially with the photo setup. That was insulting to both genders. That said, there were some examples of how it can be done well. Stirfire Studios (I think it was them, they were opposite the overflow section of the line for Rome 2) had three Boothe Babes, but the first time I saw them I honestly thought they were just regular (albeit good) cosplayers. Their outfits were not particularly skimpy, and they were dressed as characters from the game they were promoting.

    [edit]: Just to clarify, I think that Stirfire did a brilliant job with their exhibit. Their representatives were dressed as per the game (I honestly initially thought they were just regular cosplayers, it wasn't until I'd been past the booth a few times and noticed that they hadn't moved that I figured it out), their costumes were not offensive in any way, and they were both pleasant and knowledgeable. Everything that Sennheiser did wrong, Stirfire got right, and I wanted to give them credit for that. [/edit]



    If you talked to any member of the team at the Stirfire booth, you would have been told that one of the three cosplayers at the booth is actually the Creative Director / Creative Lead for Freedom Fall. She concepted, level designed and scripted the game that you saw in the booth. The other two cosplayers were also part of the Stirfire team and not hired "booth babes" and are part of their support team.

    Perhaps I was misusing the term. I was using 'Booth Babe' as a shorthand to denote any costumed representative, whether part of the team or hired models. I didn't mean to use it in its derogatory way.

    While there is certainly a distinction between a hired model and a costumed member of the team (the former being somewhat questionable, the latter a great idea that should be encouraged), I'm not convinced that this distinction is relevant to discussions about what conduct is appropriate. I don't think that the Sennheiser photo booth would have been more acceptable if the girls in police outfits had also been engineers. That said, I'm not accusing Stirfire of anything remotely inappropriate - quite the opposite. Their booth was brilliant, an example of how having costumed representatives should be done.

    I'm sorry if anyone thought I was referring to Stirfire in the negative sense of Booth Babe. I hope I've cleared that up.

    Don't get me wrong, I think that having exhibitors cosplay is a great idea, and I applaud Stirfire for doing it so well. I hope we see more of it next year, and that PAX encourages other developers to cosplay. The trick is getting more Stirfire and less Sennheiser.

    Be cautious about terms like Booth Babe that are usually intended as a reductive term for females to an object of no worth beyone sexual merit. In terms of Sennheiser, it was clearly the correct term as they were hired representatives, clearly utilising the "attractive female" element as a "draw" (the "babes" themselves may have been lovely people and that is part of what is so sickening to start with really, not that there's any argument here on that). But if I were Lisa Rye reading this, having literally spent three years working on a game to apparently be described in the same sentence as a "hired hottie", I would be extremely offended, if not outraged. Same goes for the other two cosplayers.

    I wouldn't call cosplay promotion anything similar to a booth babe. It would be like saying a Mario mascot is a booth babe if he's at a Nintendo stall. Clearly not the case. I understand you didn't intend it, but you do have to think before speaking, otherwise clarify yourself a little better, that's all. I'm pretty sure you're not going to do it again of course, but that doesn't mean others won't.

    as predictable as melbourne weather
  • zerochosenzerochosen WollongongRegistered User regular
    A few nit picks for an otherwise awesome PAX AUS:

    Bring more merch! Especially the PAX AUS pins - By the time I realised pins were a thing they were sold out. Maybe limit how many packs people can buy too... one guy I saw had 8 packs of the AUS ones! Good for his trading, bad for people who just want to be able to have something to show they were here.

    Same goes for cold weather merch, there were a lot of cold looking people who would have gladly parted with cash to buy a hoodie.

    A webcomic by me: Enemy Agency
    http://www.enemy-agency.com
  • hodlumhodlum Registered User new member
    I read somewhere further up that the queue entertainment segment of the enforcers did not eventuate at PAX Aus due to a shortage of staff.

    Perhaps this can be remedied by further recruitment of enforcers? I know its a volunteer job but now that we're aiming for 2014, I'm sure more people would be willing to do it.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Yeah, they will definitely recruit more for next year. Every PAX has recruitment open usually, they just don't always get enough.

  • CraorachCraorach Registered User new member
    I'd be super interested in doing enforcer duty next year, as would the wife, where can we find out more details about the process?

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    This thread in the "general" pax section is sort of an enforcers question area and a place you can read about various experiences and such regarding enforcing. As far as applying goes, http://aus.paxsite.com will update sometime in the future (I am going to guess March-ish, but I could be totally wrong) to indicate that applications are open again and you can apply there.

  • pobblebonkpobblebonk Registered User regular
    My wife and I had a great PAX. It was actually my 2nd, having gone to the first PAXeast in 2010. Most of the issues we had were to do with the venue and location, something which may or may not change next year.

    Queues. I expected to have to line up for panels, that was fine. They were boring though, perhaps next time get some actual targets and a scoreboard in the queue room, call it Queue Quidditch or something. I wasn't aware the Enforcer recruitment was so low, perhaps next year once we do have people to spare for line entertainment there will be much less reliance on the 3DS streetpass games. Coloured pipecleaners work amazingly well. Also, one of the queues for the main hall had Enforcers telling us that we probably wouldn't get in because the XBOX event wasn't going to be ejected prior. This turned out to be incorrect and I saw many, many people that were warded away from the panel (which had plenty of space). It was probably just an information glitch, the majority of Enforcers were brilliant, friendly and unfortunately run ragged by the end of the weekend.

    Pins. My wife loved them. As we missed Story Time on the first day I suggested going directly to the Merch desk to grab stuff before it invariably sold out. We each got a Merch pin for spending over $100 (each) and that ignited her collecting buzz and she had to have them all after that. I heard from various sources that they ran out of Merch pins in a couple of hours, then switched to enforcer pins (which we hardly saw all PAX), then they started using the pins traded from Mike, Jerry and the Enforcers until they just plain ran out. Is supply an issue or was it just a case of people getting in on the ground floor of a new thing buying up all the sets?

    The scarves. I bought one because my neck was cold and I missed my chance for a scarf back in Boston. I'm from Perth, we get a couple of months every year where you can wear a scarf and not look like a sports fan. Unfortunately, the colours are not winter colours, they wouldn't look out of place at a rugby game. They DO look out of place pretty much everywhere else. Saying that though, I spotted no less than 4 other scarves in the Departure Lounge at the airport the next day. Maybe a burnt orange/red colour instead?


    Someone earlier in the thread was asking about filmed panels. I know the Patient Zero: IRL Shooter panel filmed their own for possible future use in a behind the scenes mini-doc or something. Really interesting subject matter and disappointing that it was jammed into the miniscule Skippy Theatre.

  • pobblebonkpobblebonk Registered User regular
    One other thing I wanted to mention was the concerts. I'd never seen any of the acts prior to PAX. I was particularly blown away by the ambition of 7-bit Hero. Enabling people to play the minigames on the bigscreen via their mobile devices, what a concept! Made me sad to see the little avatars disappearing due to network issues throughout the concert but hopefully that will get addressed for next time.
    I personally thought the shows were lacking a little humour, considering that Melbourne hosts one of the biggest comedy festivals in the world. I had hoped to see JoCo and/or Paul & Storm turn up but I realise it often comes down to the artist's own schedules. Aussie nerd comedy music trio Tripod were involved in a Melbourne play (The Dragon, very cool) throughout PAX but I did see Yon in the Big Top on Friday so clearly there's some interest. Hopefully we'll get to see them play next year?

    I missed the Friday concert but after lining up for the Saturday concert for about an hour, we actually found that we needn't have bothered as the room never even reached capacity. I hope the bands that played then didn't take it as a slight against them.

  • JFedJFed PAX AUS PC Competitions 2IC MelbourneRegistered User regular
    zerochosen wrote: »
    one guy I saw had 8 packs of the AUS ones! Good for his trading, bad for people who just want to be able to have something to show they were here.

    Or as someone mentioned they end up on eBay for a profit which is really disappointing but people think that they can make a quick buck out of people. Which is pretty disappointing but that is how the cookie crumbles.

    I went to the Penny Arcade store, and when it wanted $18 to ship them to me in Australia (barely 200g of weight), I decided I'll just simply wait until 2014 and buy them then. I cannot justify $18 for 200g of shipping.

  • B4ttleCatB4ttleCat Registered User new member
    If I can add something I forgot to mention in my previous post, but would massively add value to the convention:

    • Stream the panels/talks online for attendees ASAP. This would have made me far less annoyed that I missed so many talks as I could have watched them at night when I got back to the hotel—I would feel much more "looked after". They could be released to the public too after X weeks, I don't mind, just don't punish me as an attendee because I couldn't get to the queue 3 hours before a panel starts.

  • JazzyJazzy Melbourne, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    Craorach wrote: »
    I'd be super interested in doing enforcer duty next year, as would the wife, where can we find out more details about the process?

    This year about a month after initial ticket release there was an announcement for enforcers to apply. Just keep an eye out for that.

    Moon Wizard.
  • zerochosenzerochosen WollongongRegistered User regular
    I can recommend Enforcing, but also recommend rugging up under your Enforcer shirt - it was freezing out there! :)

    A webcomic by me: Enemy Agency
    http://www.enemy-agency.com
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