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PAX East 2014 Parties

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  • rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    Ya parties were by far the best part for me the sanshee party was great for me met a whole bunch of super cool people and for sure will be hitting that up next year.

  • ClannMorganClannMorgan Registered User regular
    Riverglow wrote: »
    Anyone heading over to the Destructoid/Harmonix @ Trade?

    I dropped in for an hour and really enjoyed it. Fun game to watch people play, good food and drinks, not too crowded, and I love the poster they gave away to everyone (although I wish I had won the signed version!).

    I prefer the parties where not only do they have good food and drinks, but you also get to try the games away from the crush of the convention floor...the atmosphere was all around fun. I also scored that XboxOne...so I have to say I'm super glad I went!

  • DolarrahDolarrah New JerseyRegistered User regular
    I would have to agree, if I had to do it all over again with 20/20 hind sight, I doubt I would have even bought tickets to PAX. The parties were worth the trip in most cases, but PAX...not so much

  • stardust462stardust462 Leominster, MARegistered User regular
    Riverglow wrote: »
    Anyone heading over to the Destructoid/Harmonix @ Trade?

    I dropped in for an hour and really enjoyed it. Fun game to watch people play, good food and drinks, not too crowded, and I love the poster they gave away to everyone (although I wish I had won the signed version!).

    I prefer the parties where not only do they have good food and drinks, but you also get to try the games away from the crush of the convention floor...the atmosphere was all around fun. I also scored that XboxOne...so I have to say I'm super glad I went!
    Congratulations! I'm super jealous.

    I'm so glad I went to that event. Although it took up about 2 hours of the day, it was totally worth going to. I hope companies do more of these in the future. It was really cool to sit and relax for awhile, chat with some of the developers for awhile, have some awesome (free) food, and watch people play a great game that I can't wait to buy.

  • Seanyd781Seanyd781 Registered User regular
    Well, I struck out on parties this year. RSVP'd to NVidia, ASUS, and Harmonix. Went to the Harmonix event which for me lasted only an hour, and heard about the Twitch party only to find out it was invite only[?]. Made the mistake of not attending NVidia that night. Saturday I only had a ticket for ASUS, which the line was INSANE. About an hour and a half in line and then left because we still had at least another 30-45 minute wait ahead of us. They really should've capped that when they reached the club capacity. Until next year though!

  • KastorsKornerKastorsKorner Gaming Editor Hard Hittin' New BritainRegistered User regular
    Seanyd781 wrote: »
    Well, I struck out on parties this year. RSVP'd to NVidia, ASUS, and Harmonix. Went to the Harmonix event which for me lasted only an hour, and heard about the Twitch party only to find out it was invite only[?]. Made the mistake of not attending NVidia that night. Saturday I only had a ticket for ASUS, which the line was INSANE. About an hour and a half in line and then left because we still had at least another 30-45 minute wait ahead of us. They really should've capped that when they reached the club capacity. Until next year though!

    I didn't even bother getting into the ASUS line. What's the point of doing RSVPs/tickets with barcodes if there is no limit to the amount of people that can sign up? There was no way the majority of the people in that line were getting into the club.

  • KumaKuma Registered User regular
    Seanyd781 wrote: »
    Well, I struck out on parties this year. RSVP'd to NVidia, ASUS, and Harmonix. Went to the Harmonix event which for me lasted only an hour, and heard about the Twitch party only to find out it was invite only[?]. Made the mistake of not attending NVidia that night. Saturday I only had a ticket for ASUS, which the line was INSANE. About an hour and a half in line and then left because we still had at least another 30-45 minute wait ahead of us. They really should've capped that when they reached the club capacity. Until next year though!

    I didn't even bother getting into the ASUS line. What's the point of doing RSVPs/tickets with barcodes if there is no limit to the amount of people that can sign up? There was no way the majority of the people in that line were getting into the club.

    Their intent was probably to get as much info out of people as possible. Im sure they will be sending out email to people.

    I stopped by that party after Infinite Crisis, laughed at the line then turned around. There was no way that many people were getting in.

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  • d.TFFoSd.TFFoS Registered User regular
    Kuma wrote: »
    I stopped by that party after Infinite Crisis, laughed at the line then turned around. There was no way that many people were getting in.

    I got into the ASUS party surprisingly quickly. Had a blast what with getting hammered at the Infinite Crisis party beforehand.

  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    I hit the Harmonix party on Friday, stayed through to the end. Someone else mentioned it, but the last group (The Ward Eights) was killer. Otherwise it was just some other live music, and that was it. I wasn't expecting much more, so that's fine. We got in early, tipped the bartender well on the first set of free drinks, and were treated with quick service and heavy pours for the rest of the hour (and a few freebies after the free drinks ended). I had wanted to go see Bit Brigade after, but it turns out they were the first concert that night, so I missed them (I was SUPER bummed about that). The "free" guitar was nice (it was a Warranty replacement Hofner bass for the Xbox 360 - not sure what the other systems got). It actually completes my Beatles Rock Band set, so yay.

    Saturday night we did 2k at Empire. I wasn't sure how it was going to be, considering the place was an upscale asian fushion restaurant, but it turned out to be just what my group was looking for. Food was amazing (and there was a TON), the booze was free and flowing all night, and the giveaways were a nice bonus (stuff from ThinkGeek mostly). Swag consisted of a shirt (either Borderlands or Civ themed that I saw) and a coffee mug (either Civ themed or a Butt Stallion mug). One side note: most of the staff (and most of the patrons) were amazing to look at (both men and women). We were talking to one of the managers who was checking up on us, and when we were thanking them for their service and how nice everyone was, she commented "Yeah, and the bartenders are nice to look at, right?" .. so yeah. That manager also said that we (both our table, and the entire group of people there) were the nicest bunch of people she had come into contact with in a long while. So hooray to courteous gamers. I will say I'm glad I packed a collared shirt - while it wasn't required (there were plenty of t-shirt wearers in the group), I felt like I fit in a little better. I can safely say that I was probably the first person to play a round of Magic: The Gathering in their lounge :)

    So that's that. All-in-all, it sounds like Wolfenstein might have been one to hit too, but I'm happy with what I ended up doing. Glad there are still parties for everyone, be they larger scale dance parties or more chill hangout parties.

  • JayDfromMAJayDfromMA MARegistered User regular
    Seconded on the 2K party, super awesome venue and very nice people. The devs were great to chat with as well!

  • KastorsKornerKastorsKorner Gaming Editor Hard Hittin' New BritainRegistered User regular
    2K's thing sounds like it was awesome -- too bad it was running at the same time as Bethesda's Wolfenstein party. I was originally planning to try and hit both but ended up having waaaay to much fun dancing.

  • SKEETERSKEETER Registered User regular
    We went to the Destructoid/Harmonix party and had a great time with everyone. While we waited to get in, we met a guy standing on line next to us who gave us a card for Harmonix credit. Afterwards, we had to rush out to the Omegathon before we could repay the kindness. If that person is reading this please message me!

  • upstateny-danupstateny-dan Registered User regular
    Missed out on Bethesda, dinner plans with my wife and a friend who were not doing PAX stuff. Did end up at asus which was awesome to hear crystal method, waited for a long time but it wasnt too bad since I got there an hour early. Still pissed that I paid the vip/block hopper for sanshee and the girl checking people in snuffed me on the block hopper since she didnt know what it was, even though I said it cost me $30.....

  • Lady AmaltheaLady Amalthea Registered User regular
    edited April 2014
    The 2K party was awesome. It was just the right amount chill and gaming & with an open bar it was a great lead up for Asus - definitely my favorite party. Sad I had to miss Bethesda. What was some of the swag?

    Lady Amalthea on
    Who is going to PAX South?
  • KastorsKornerKastorsKorner Gaming Editor Hard Hittin' New BritainRegistered User regular
    The 2K party was awesome. It was just the right amount chill and gaming & with an open bar it was a great lead up for Asus - definitely my favorite party. Sad I had to miss Bethesda. What was some of the swag?

    Swag at Bethesda was a Wolfenstein Satchel (the same one from the expo floor) with a 45 vinyl (one of three different ones) as well as a red 45 adapter with the Wolfenstein logo. Each vinyl had german pop songs/covers per the theme of the party. The group I went with showed up over two hours before doors and Bethesda staff gave us super awesome Wolfenstein beer steins. I proceeded to get mine filled several times and drink out of it right at the party. Good times.

    Tickets handed out at the door guaranteed each attendee the swag, two free drinks, and a plate of food (bratwurst, potatoes, sauerkraut, and cucumber slices)

  • KumaKuma Registered User regular
    Sounds like the 2K party was a blast. Kinda wish I had gone

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  • PugglesPuggles Registered User regular
    Riverglow wrote: »
    Anyone heading over to the Destructoid/Harmonix @ Trade?

    I dropped in for an hour and really enjoyed it. Fun game to watch people play, good food and drinks, not too crowded, and I love the poster they gave away to everyone (although I wish I had won the signed version!).

    I prefer the parties where not only do they have good food and drinks, but you also get to try the games away from the crush of the convention floor...the atmosphere was all around fun. I also scored that XboxOne...so I have to say I'm super glad I went!

    I was the guy sitting next to you! I really enjoyed the Harmonix event. It was nice to get away from the crowds and have some free drinks for a couple hours.

  • xenardxenard Registered User regular
    The 2K party was awesome. It was just the right amount chill and gaming & with an open bar it was a great lead up for Asus - definitely my favorite party. Sad I had to miss Bethesda. What was some of the swag?

    Swag at Bethesda was a Wolfenstein Satchel (the same one from the expo floor) with a 45 vinyl (one of three different ones) as well as a red 45 adapter with the Wolfenstein logo. Each vinyl had german pop songs/covers per the theme of the party. The group I went with showed up over two hours before doors and Bethesda staff gave us super awesome Wolfenstein beer steins. I proceeded to get mine filled several times and drink out of it right at the party. Good times.

    Tickets handed out at the door guaranteed each attendee the swag, two free drinks, and a plate of food (bratwurst, potatoes, sauerkraut, and cucumber slices)

    Yes!! Out of the parties I went to Wolfenstein was the best. Good food, cool music, and getting my face on one of the album covers, I had a lot of fun.

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  • DaNickaDaNicka Studly Nurd Peoples Republic Of Massachusetts, DunstableRegistered User regular
    I had a blast dancing at both the Bethesda and ASUS PC Gamer party as 8-Bit Fire Mario.

  • miker525miker525 New YorkRegistered User regular
    Went by the Bethesda party and had an amazing time! Theme was great, band was awesome and it was actually pretty lively. Only sad thing was how early it ended but overall it was a blast! To everyone I was lucky enough to meet there it was wonderful meeting you!

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  • Sudds27Sudds27 Registered User regular
    Yeah, I heard that the 2K party was extremely different (walking distance) and really fun... I hit the Nvidia party and Bethesda. Wow, Nvidia was cool, nothing to complain about, I had fun playing the shield and meeting new people. Bethesda... wow... UNREAL! Yes, it did end early but what a great time. Plenty of space to sit and lounge or if you wanted to, get up and groove with the 20 or so paid actors. I was invited to the Turbine party as well, but skipped it.

  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    Paid actors? Loud night clubs? That's the sort of thing you'd think PAX goers would want to avoid.

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  • macross33macross33 MARegistered User regular
    Did anyone attend the Square party, really curious what it was like.

  • KumaKuma Registered User regular
    macross33 wrote: »
    Did anyone attend the Square party, really curious what it was like.

    Me too, I didnt find out about it until the day after

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  • stardust462stardust462 Leominster, MARegistered User regular
    What exactly happened with the IGN party? The email update the day before said they would let in 300 people and some people would get wristbands for free beer. I got there at like 6:40 (wanted to get there earlier, but was running late), and there were around 200 people already in line. After waiting till about 7:45pm, with the line very slowly moving inside, the people at Harpoon said they already gave out all the wristbands and they wouldn't let anyone in. We could either checkout the brewery outside of the party on its own, or head back to the con.

    From what I heard, they only let in 80 people at that time. Did they eventually let in more as people left? I understand that the invite said an RSVP wouldn't guarantee entry, but 80 is a lot less than 300. It didn't matter too much to me about the free beer, I was disappointed that I wasted my time expecting to get in if only about ~200 people were ahead of me.

  • RandomfoolRandomfool loofmodnar Rochester, NYRegistered User regular
    What exactly happened with the IGN party? The email update the day before said they would let in 300 people and some people would get wristbands for free beer. I got there at like 6:40 (wanted to get there earlier, but was running late), and there were around 200 people already in line. After waiting till about 7:45pm, with the line very slowly moving inside, the people at Harpoon said they already gave out all the wristbands and they wouldn't let anyone in. We could either checkout the brewery outside of the party on its own, or head back to the con.

    From what I heard, they only let in 80 people at that time. Did they eventually let in more as people left? I understand that the invite said an RSVP wouldn't guarantee entry, but 80 is a lot less than 300. It didn't matter too much to me about the free beer, I was disappointed that I wasted my time expecting to get in if only about ~200 people were ahead of me.

    A friend of mine went, she said the capacity of the entire place was 300 and the rented area was 80. It sounds like there was some confusion on how much room they actually had.

    I do Pokecrawl things. Professor Team Instinct, Hufflepuff supporter.@loofmodnar

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  • stardust462stardust462 Leominster, MARegistered User regular
    Randomfool wrote: »
    A friend of mine went, she said the capacity of the entire place was 300 and the rented area was 80. It sounds like there was some confusion on how much room they actually had.

    Okay, that makes sense and it's what I was assuming happened. It just would have been nice to know - I would have left right away if I saw the line already that long when I got there (and I would have tried to arrive sooner).

  • ClannMorganClannMorgan Registered User regular
    I didn't even bother getting into the ASUS line. What's the point of doing RSVPs/tickets with barcodes if there is no limit to the amount of people that can sign up? There was no way the majority of the people in that line were getting into the club. [/quote]

    We went by the ASUS party, looked at the loooooooooooooooooooong line, and decided to skip it because I hate waiting in line...yes I know it is PAX and lines are to be expected but I mean it was unreal. So we went back to the hotel, picked up a late dinner and called it a night. I have to say, even with the increase in PAX ticket prices you get to experience so much, its totally worth it.

  • ClannMorganClannMorgan Registered User regular
    Thanks, Stardust! I'm super excited to have one, with saving for pax and moving I was tapped out and it didn't seem like it was in the cards. Can't wait to play the game either.

    Puggles aka Al or Eric? It was a good time, I hope they host more parties next year.

  • PugglesPuggles Registered User regular
    Thanks, Stardust! I'm super excited to have one, with saving for pax and moving I was tapped out and it didn't seem like it was in the cards. Can't wait to play the game either.

    Puggles aka Al or Eric? It was a good time, I hope they host more parties next year.

    Eric. I saw some pictures of the Xbox One and it looks amazing. I'm so jealous.

  • LukeDangerouslyLukeDangerously Registered User regular
    I was able to go to Riot's post-pax party on Sunday night. It was the highlight of my weekend. Fantastic time for me.

  • LevelUpLadyLevelUpLady Registered User regular
    Sanshee was a bust for me, went and the girl checking people in had no idea what my block hopper pass was. Had one drink and left for asus, which was awesome
    Yea wish we changed parties now. We showed up with VIP passes and still had to wait to get in because they overshot and packed the place past fire safety. Was almost going to ask for a refund since that was the whole reason we paid the extra money. Once we got inside it was a bust sadly. The only reason we stayed was the bartenders didn't take our free drink tickets from us so we just drank. Didn't see anything but fighting games.

  • upstateny-danupstateny-dan Registered User regular
    @leveluplady I hear ya, I bought the hopper pass for $30, was there around 8/830 when it wasnt that crowded. Still waited forever to be served my non free drink while the bartender served about 10 other ppl. Wandered back with my beer and watched some rounds of killer instinct and left. I only saw street fighter and killer instinct, I dared not play anything bc I suck horribly at fighting games compared to the ppl who regularly play. Wish they had some other genres as they did have ample consoles set up.

    At least leaving early got me in the first half of the asus line haha, only waited 1.5 hrs or so with some decent ppl around me that were fun to meet and hang with telling passersby we were in line for various things like the iphone 7, college admissions to emerson, etc

  • snotrocketsnotrocket Registered User new member
    I have to say the ASUS party was weak. Long line and once you get in, you were stacked in there like sardines and it was house/electronic music which my group wasn't into. We wanted to check out the crystal method but couldn't bare being in the place for to long. I thought ASUS party was going to be "THE" party to be at but it was far from that.

  • BUBBApaxBUBBApax iLLusionist Boston MARegistered User regular
    edited April 2014
    I was able to go to Riot's post-pax party on Sunday night. It was the highlight of my weekend. Fantastic time for me.

    Riot had a post PAX party on sunday? T________T fml LOL

    What was it like and where was it at?

    BUBBApax on
  • LukeDangerouslyLukeDangerously Registered User regular
    edited April 2014
    @BUBBApax‌ It was at The Estate. They gave tickets to people who cosplayed or managed to get in well with the rioters themselves.

    It was fantastic. They had LoL themed drinks, a raffle, a band, then EDM djs Static & Bass, then The Crystal Method played. The dance floor was packed with fans and rioters and everyone was really really cool. It was just a good night in general. I met other players, rioters, and a couple of pro players.

    I should add that while I wouldn't have expected a dancefloor at a gaming convention to be packed, since the main attendees were cosplayers, they are already prone to a little bit of exhibition, so there wasn't much trouble with people being too shy to dance. I don't know if it was intentional, but it worked very well.

    LukeDangerously on
  • pelicanflippelicanflip Registered User regular
    Recap on the parties that I attended:

    Friday:

    Harmonix Party: Despite having the tickets on our phones, a lot of us were told to wait on a second line to have the staff members scan our QR codes, and reprint them. The open bar was just for an hour, and extremely crowded. Anyone who sat at the bar never left, so people had a really tough time getting their drink orders placed. My friend and I each ordered a cocktail, and that was after 20 minutes of trying to get an order in. Finished our drinks, grabbed our free Rock Band guitar, and bailed.

    NVIDIA Party - Swag swag swag. Had a VIP invite, and boy, was it awesome. Received beanies, fingerless gloves, Titanfall pins (three variants Stryder, Atlas, and Ogre), bottle openers, USB wristbands, stainless steel water bottle, and a T-shirt. Oh, and there was top-shelf open bar from 7 to 10.

    Saturday:

    2K Community Party - Nice opportunity to rub elbows with developers and community managers. Open bar was nice, and walked away with a little swag bag (t shirt and mug). Very nice staff members, and good time all around.

    Couldn't make it to any other parties because I was exhausted and leaving Sunday at noon.

  • ConstrictorConstrictor The Dork Knight SuburbialandRegistered User regular
    I hit up the Bethesda party and went downstairs to the Infinity Crisis party. Bethesda party was very well polished. The experience of it was crazy fun and interesting. They had a band, a guy dressed up as a German official, paid dancers, swag, food, drinks.

    The Infinity Crisis party was simply free drinks and food in a club but we didn't need to wait in line since we were already in the club. We were one of the first ones there and it never seemed to get super crowded, so that was nice.

    I also met Dan Tack at the Bethesda party and was talking to him about what he enjoyed at the show and Diablo 3 for a bit so that was fun. He's an editor over at Game Informer.

  • upstateny-danupstateny-dan Registered User regular
    @BUBBApax‌ It was at The Estate. They gave tickets to people who cosplayed or managed to get in well with the rioters themselves.

    It was fantastic. They had LoL themed drinks, a raffle, a band, then EDM djs Static & Bass, then The Crystal Method played. The dance floor was packed with fans and rioters and everyone was really really cool. It was just a good night in general. I met other players, rioters, and a couple of pro players.

    I should add that while I wouldn't have expected a dancefloor at a gaming convention to be packed, since the main attendees were cosplayers, they are already prone to a little bit of exhibition, so there wasn't much trouble with people being too shy to dance. I don't know if it was intentional, but it worked very well.

    Oh man, two parties of Crystal Method would've been sweet. They rocked it at the ASUS party.

  • CatalepticalCataleptical New JerseyRegistered User regular
    macross33 wrote: »
    Did anyone attend the Square party, really curious what it was like.

    Square Enix didn't really have a "party." It was called a "community event." It was in a small room over at the Westin. Once inside, there were free drinks and 3 stations where you could try out "Murdered: Soul Suspect" for as long as you wanted, which was a better experience than down on the show floor. Other than the drinks and a T-shirt, it was pretty low key and uneventful. Definitely nothing like the "Hitman" event 2 years ago. That was a blast.

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