This was my first PAX. Every year I was either too broke, too busy or too unlucky to get tickets. But this year I managed to get everything lined up. I did a hotelshare and met some fantastic people, and one became my PAX Buddy. We hunted Pins, got her book signed (the Strippers did awesome faces on the inside back) and saw a load of panels.
Monday arrived far too soon, and after the Omegathon we headed back to the hotel and they packed up, we said goodbye and they left. Pretty much the second the door closed it hit me that this awesome experience was over and seemed far too quick. It was almost grief, I missed people I had only just met and they weren't even out of the hotel. I wanted to spend more time talking bollocks with my Buddy.
The evening was spent with chocolate cake and sci-fi. It's only now I feel back to normal, and even writing this brings on twinges. I've watched PATV to know it happens. But I wasn't expecting it to be so soon, so sudden and so visceral.
How do others deal with it? Does it always happen?
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Hell, I broke down crying like a baby after the first East was over, and all my internet friends that carpooled with me went home!
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However, you could always try to hit up some local conventions around you! I'm out in NY, so come October, New York Comic Con is coming, and it usually brings the same feels that PAX does. Any convention is always such an awesome time that its a little upsetting having to leave and return back to not always having fun and meeting awesome people that share your interests.
The good news, though? There's more PAX's for you to go to, and Prime will be back sooner then you think!
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The worst thing about PPD is when another Pax is going on and you're not there. It's pretty awful :O
I get you. Its not the exact same feeling as Pax, but it still is fun. I'm the type of person that just enjoys conventions of any variety, so yeah. :P
You're so right about the last bit, though. It sucks watching Prime and AUS go on and knowing how awesome it is, but not being able to get there.
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I was a crying mess at the airport, wrote this: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/182611/omg-i-m-hungover
Now I walk around my life like I just got slapped in the face really hard...but it feels good
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I commented in the thread about moving PAX out of Seattle that I suspect they will add two more PAXes eventually. One in the UK for Europe, and one in Japan/South Korea. Green and Purple.
I don't think they will add a third US PAX. For all the requests from people for a Middle, Southern or Central PAX, the feel is that they are trying to cover more markets. Bi-coastal works for Disney, after all.
With PAX accommodating League of Legends and the talk about the rise of eSports, it isn't a stretch to imagine PAX Asia hosting SC2, DOTA2 and LoL.
More PAX, more awesome.
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Really the key is to get in touch with everyone you met and talk with them, participate in the community more, and think about all the stuff you wished you could do this time that you will do next time!
I'm going to have to try this. I'm hoping that my move to Seattle will allow me to keep in touch with people more easily than being in the UK.
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This. The real appeal of PAX is the attendees. The good news is there are awesome people who'd love to hang out with you hidden everywhere, waiting to be found.
Going to 4 days for Prime also really, really helps: I felt like I accomplished a lot this year, and had more time to breathe between events.
I did this too. PAX Aus was my first PAX and best con/expo I've been to. Afterwards I felt like "How can I go back to work and my normal life after this?".
Seven weeks overseas helped
But once Prime rolled around I could feel the excitement through the forums. Then Pin Pals became a thing and now I'm checking that forum every day and feeling a little withdrawal when there's nothing new there. But in other ways it helps.
Can't wait for PAX Aus 2014
Oh, P.S. at PAX Aus someone suggested PAX Singapore. Jerry said he thought they have room in the year for one more PAX. He said something like that he had not considered Singapore but it intrigued him and he would think about it.
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PAX AUS was my first ever pax, I wasn't sure what I was going to see (apart from watching videos from prime/east) so I only bought one day tickets for my brothers and I. When we arrived, it didn't take too long to realize we should have got the 3 day passes. We will definitely be going all 3 (4 maybe?...) next year.
PPD is most definitely a thing. My best solution is to keep in touch with the people you met, and remember that home is where the heart, or in this case, the geeks, is.
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Your cosplay was awesome, I spoke to the Vantage Point guys and it's likely it will be on the East episode, however briefly. Any chance of it making it's way to Prime this year?
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You can definitely segment: if you prefer the keynote over the Omegathon finale, take the Friday and if you prefer the finale, take the Monday instead.
I found that it helped avoiding my usual bout of Post PAX Depression. I think it's because I did not feel yanked away from the event as usual.
Roll20 is a great way to keep in touch with other PAXers if you want to play all kinds of RPGs.
If you kept any business cards, now is a great time for you to do your homework and check them out. Remember to greenlight the stuff that looked great.
Last but not least, you may want to take down some notes on your trip to help you prepare for next year. This would have been better to do sooner after you came back, but better late than never. This also helped me cope a bit
Really though. I just keep in touch with local pax peeps and try to do things with them.
PAX attendees can also bring back more gaming to their home towns! Most cities have a decent to strong selection of board game stores (or hobby stores that carry board games), and video games are obviously everywhere at this point: it's definitely doable to round up some friends and/or organize local community gaming events.
The hashtag playlist feature coming to Titanfall may start a trend too, I can see #PAX becoming a trending playlist during each event as soon as Prime rolls around (if Respawn has the feature out by then).
It's weird making friends so intensely this way, only to have them return to another part of the world hours away. We were together almost 24 hours a day since Wednesday night.
I'm going to watch all the footage of PAX that I can, which will help with the regular post-PAX comedown. But it's weird to have people disappear like this.
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Pretty much. Get their Skype/email/whatever and keep playing games with em. All the people I hang out with at PAX I also game with online all year so the party never stops.
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