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PAX Prime 2014 Constructive Feedback

13

Posts

  • HingoHingo Minneapolis, MNRegistered User regular
    Hingo wrote: »
    Scipo9th wrote: »

    *League of Legends. This event needs to find another host. It is as simple as that. I don't think there should be this big regional event that requires you to have a badge for a whole different event in order to participate. It is upsetting that each year it is harder and harder to get badges but the problem is expounded when a good chunk of those badges are going to what could be considered a whole different event (where many who attend the LoL stuff will not even use their PAX badge to its full potential cause they are only there for LoL stuff and not the expo hall, freeplay areas, etc.). It was nice that they had their own area this year though.

    I wanted to agree with this too. Not that I hate LoL or WANT them to go away but it's not really a part of PAX so making them part of the same event just makes things harder for everybody. If it's true that a lot of people are buying PAX badges just for LoL, there would be more badges for everyone if the events were ticketed separately (I really doubt that LoL people love fighting for PAX tickets any more than pure PAXers do). They could still hold their tournament during PAX if they want but they can run admittance separately from PAX. People that want to go to both could get a badge for each. If we really must keep them a part of PAX, at least offer a LoL-only badge so everyone can go see what they want.

    While LOL was much less intrusive with the new location, I have to agree. If space is at such a premium, then maybe a event like this is better in it's own venue with it's own ticketing system.

    I could say the same thing about table top. To quote @DaPaladin‌ "Also, when I hear LoL has to go (I've never played LoL so I have no dog in the fight) I'm wondering if people heard what Mickey Neumann had to say during the Storytime - you're essentially telling those people who like LoL "You're having fun wrong." As if LoL is some how not a video game worthy of PAX because its a big, popular eSport. "

    I don't go to PAX just for LoL, or just for Table Top, or just for triple A title demos, or just for indie games, or just for panels, or just for 3DS gaming... However, there are plenty of people that go that spend a ton of their time only doing one thing. Picking one of the more popular events at PAX and saying "we think they should leave" isn't a solution.

    It's not so much wrong as much as the premium space is currently at. I have no issue with LOL with the new location but it's seems kind of odd to have a huge event like PAX with another huge event inside of it. The LOL tournament is a independent thing, it doesn't need PAX to be held. There is enough interest that it could be a stand alone event and let more of the LOL fans attend. Right now both PAX and LOL are limited due to PAX badges. People who want to see LOL and LOL only will have a better chance if it's a separate event. People who want to see PAX and not LOL will have a better chance. And if they want to see both, they can get a badge to each.

    Riot scheduled all of their events that way this year, and I can see them continuing that trend. The European events were at Gamescom in Germany. The US events are at PAX Prime. In my opinion, a method like @TOGSolid‌ pointed out is the best possible scenario - get LoL to Benaroya. TT could easily take over the Queue Room, since all people are really looking for is floor space for tables, and the Queue Room is that space. The schedule shows that the Paramount Theater was used for autographs. All that is needed for an autograph session is space for queuing, and a table or two at the end. The Paramount was sorely under-utilized in this regard.

    Pins for trade!
    2015 PAX Prime Omeganaut (I will forever hate Katamari)
  • adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    Hingo wrote: »
    Hingo wrote: »
    Scipo9th wrote: »

    *League of Legends. This event needs to find another host. It is as simple as that. I don't think there should be this big regional event that requires you to have a badge for a whole different event in order to participate. It is upsetting that each year it is harder and harder to get badges but the problem is expounded when a good chunk of those badges are going to what could be considered a whole different event (where many who attend the LoL stuff will not even use their PAX badge to its full potential cause they are only there for LoL stuff and not the expo hall, freeplay areas, etc.). It was nice that they had their own area this year though.

    I wanted to agree with this too. Not that I hate LoL or WANT them to go away but it's not really a part of PAX so making them part of the same event just makes things harder for everybody. If it's true that a lot of people are buying PAX badges just for LoL, there would be more badges for everyone if the events were ticketed separately (I really doubt that LoL people love fighting for PAX tickets any more than pure PAXers do). They could still hold their tournament during PAX if they want but they can run admittance separately from PAX. People that want to go to both could get a badge for each. If we really must keep them a part of PAX, at least offer a LoL-only badge so everyone can go see what they want.

    While LOL was much less intrusive with the new location, I have to agree. If space is at such a premium, then maybe a event like this is better in it's own venue with it's own ticketing system.

    I could say the same thing about table top. To quote @DaPaladin‌ "Also, when I hear LoL has to go (I've never played LoL so I have no dog in the fight) I'm wondering if people heard what Mickey Neumann had to say during the Storytime - you're essentially telling those people who like LoL "You're having fun wrong." As if LoL is some how not a video game worthy of PAX because its a big, popular eSport. "

    I don't go to PAX just for LoL, or just for Table Top, or just for triple A title demos, or just for indie games, or just for panels, or just for 3DS gaming... However, there are plenty of people that go that spend a ton of their time only doing one thing. Picking one of the more popular events at PAX and saying "we think they should leave" isn't a solution.

    It's not so much wrong as much as the premium space is currently at. I have no issue with LOL with the new location but it's seems kind of odd to have a huge event like PAX with another huge event inside of it. The LOL tournament is a independent thing, it doesn't need PAX to be held. There is enough interest that it could be a stand alone event and let more of the LOL fans attend. Right now both PAX and LOL are limited due to PAX badges. People who want to see LOL and LOL only will have a better chance if it's a separate event. People who want to see PAX and not LOL will have a better chance. And if they want to see both, they can get a badge to each.

    In my opinion, a method like @TOGSolid‌ pointed out is the best possible scenario - get LoL to Benaroya. TT could easily take over the Queue Room, since all people are really looking for is floor space for tables, and the Queue Room is that space.

    I wouldn't have an issue with this as long as they closed the "doors" between the expo hall and the queue room so TT players would be able to talk to and hear each other. Is the WSCC open until midnight so that we can get to the queue room after expo closes?

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
  • PurpleSkyPurpleSky Registered User regular
    I feel LOL has every right to be a part of PAX like any other game. PAX attendees are Riot's target audience. So being at PAX is totally ok, however the comments being made about taking up badge space is true. I have a friend who is only interested in LOL and wouldn't really do much else at PAX. He wasn't able to go because he didn't even attempt to get a PAX badge. So yes making LOL a separate badge is a good idea. Moving it off site and a separate registration. I feel if you have a PAX badge and want to go you can get in, simply because of my reasons already mentioned. But then make an extra LOL only badge that can only be used at the off site location.

  • HingoHingo Minneapolis, MNRegistered User regular
    Hingo wrote: »
    Hingo wrote: »
    Scipo9th wrote: »

    *League of Legends. This event needs to find another host. It is as simple as that. I don't think there should be this big regional event that requires you to have a badge for a whole different event in order to participate. It is upsetting that each year it is harder and harder to get badges but the problem is expounded when a good chunk of those badges are going to what could be considered a whole different event (where many who attend the LoL stuff will not even use their PAX badge to its full potential cause they are only there for LoL stuff and not the expo hall, freeplay areas, etc.). It was nice that they had their own area this year though.

    I wanted to agree with this too. Not that I hate LoL or WANT them to go away but it's not really a part of PAX so making them part of the same event just makes things harder for everybody. If it's true that a lot of people are buying PAX badges just for LoL, there would be more badges for everyone if the events were ticketed separately (I really doubt that LoL people love fighting for PAX tickets any more than pure PAXers do). They could still hold their tournament during PAX if they want but they can run admittance separately from PAX. People that want to go to both could get a badge for each. If we really must keep them a part of PAX, at least offer a LoL-only badge so everyone can go see what they want.

    While LOL was much less intrusive with the new location, I have to agree. If space is at such a premium, then maybe a event like this is better in it's own venue with it's own ticketing system.

    I could say the same thing about table top. To quote @DaPaladin‌ "Also, when I hear LoL has to go (I've never played LoL so I have no dog in the fight) I'm wondering if people heard what Mickey Neumann had to say during the Storytime - you're essentially telling those people who like LoL "You're having fun wrong." As if LoL is some how not a video game worthy of PAX because its a big, popular eSport. "

    I don't go to PAX just for LoL, or just for Table Top, or just for triple A title demos, or just for indie games, or just for panels, or just for 3DS gaming... However, there are plenty of people that go that spend a ton of their time only doing one thing. Picking one of the more popular events at PAX and saying "we think they should leave" isn't a solution.

    It's not so much wrong as much as the premium space is currently at. I have no issue with LOL with the new location but it's seems kind of odd to have a huge event like PAX with another huge event inside of it. The LOL tournament is a independent thing, it doesn't need PAX to be held. There is enough interest that it could be a stand alone event and let more of the LOL fans attend. Right now both PAX and LOL are limited due to PAX badges. People who want to see LOL and LOL only will have a better chance if it's a separate event. People who want to see PAX and not LOL will have a better chance. And if they want to see both, they can get a badge to each.

    In my opinion, a method like @TOGSolid‌ pointed out is the best possible scenario - get LoL to Benaroya. TT could easily take over the Queue Room, since all people are really looking for is floor space for tables, and the Queue Room is that space.

    I wouldn't have an issue with this as long as they closed the "doors" between the expo hall and the queue room so TT players would be able to talk to and hear each other. Is the WSCC open until midnight so that we can get to the queue room after expo closes?

    Great question. Any WSCC experts in here that know if if the queue room was used for TT for example, then could it stay open until midnight? Hell, even setting up TT in the Paramount would've been a better situation than what happened this year. I didn't even attempt TT with my friends this year due to the disjointed horror stories we heard.

    Pins for trade!
    2015 PAX Prime Omeganaut (I will forever hate Katamari)
  • whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    That Queue Room area has been used for late night stuff in the past (I seem to recall late night games of JSJ taking place in there 2 years ago).

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
  • shdwcastershdwcaster South DakotaRegistered User regular
    I missed last year's Prime, after attending the previous 5 years, so some of my feedback may be things that were true last year as well, I just didn't realize it.

    BYOC
    * Loved the new BYOC Cup, and 3rd Floor Annex continues to be a great location for this.
    * Missed some of the more random games/contests (crappy keyboard and paper airplanes, specifically) that used to be part of
    BYOC but seemed to have been pushed to the wayside in the interest of more Cup events.
    * Having access to the Expo Hall from the Annex not open up until 10:45am was really annoying. I understand that no one wants the Annex line to become a secondary Expo Hall queue, but I feel like anyone with a BYOC badge ought to be able to use that entrance once the Expo Hall opens at 10am. This was the case two years ago, at least on Friday morning when most BYOC people come in early to have our gear set up by 10am, but going from there to the back of the Expo Hall queue is totally impractical.
    * The Annex queue on Monday morning was a mess. No one got let in until 10:15, and every day you had BYOC people milling around outside waiting for someone to let us in so we can get to our machines.

    General
    * I feel like LoL in the queue room was a good choice. It definitely worked better than having them take over a big chunk of the 6th floor, and felt like a good use of the space to me. I agree it would be nice to see the queue room utilized after LoL is done for the day for some kind of late night activity though.

    And finally, on the LoL discussion, I feel like saying that people coming to PAX for LoL are doing it wrong, or shouldn't be part of PAX is an extremely goosey thing to say. I spend 90% of my time in BYOC. I went to one panel (Gearbox) this year, and only spent a couple of hours blitzing through the Expo Hall. Am I doing PAX wrong? What about the people who spend most of their time in tabletop, or playing D&D? I feel like the original point of PAX was to just get a bunch of gamers together and game however you like to, for three or four days. Sure we've got a giant Expo hall now, great concerts and a bunch of other activities, but for a lot of people, it's still about gaming. If LoL is your thing, and that's why you're at PAX, you ought to feel just as welcome as someone who's there for tabletop, BYOC, or handheld games.

  • PurpleSkyPurpleSky Registered User regular
    shdwcaster wrote: »
    And finally, on the LoL discussion, I feel like saying that people coming to PAX for LoL are doing it wrong, or shouldn't be part of PAX is an extremely goosey thing to say. I spend 90% of my time in BYOC. I went to one panel (Gearbox) this year, and only spent a couple of hours blitzing through the Expo Hall. Am I doing PAX wrong? What about the people who spend most of their time in tabletop, or playing D&D? I feel like the original point of PAX was to just get a bunch of gamers together and game however you like to, for three or four days. Sure we've got a giant Expo hall now, great concerts and a bunch of other activities, but for a lot of people, it's still about gaming. If LoL is your thing, and that's why you're at PAX, you ought to feel just as welcome as someone who's there for tabletop, BYOC, or handheld games.

    Man you couldn't have said this better. I totally agree with this. I feel like this discussion is fueled by that fact that some who aren't interested in LOL are saying it needs to go. But then again in terms of space LOL does demand a bit more, so which is why I say that if Riot wants more space then they do need to find a new venue. But if they're ok with what they currently have then I see no reason for them to go. Most people are saying that their location was less intrusive this year. Because of that I feel that LOL is not a problem unless they want more space for next year.

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    shdwcaster wrote: »
    I missed last year's Prime, after attending the previous 5 years, so some of my feedback may be things that were true last year as well, I just didn't realize it.

    BYOC
    * Loved the new BYOC Cup, and 3rd Floor Annex continues to be a great location for this.
    * Missed some of the more random games/contests (crappy keyboard and paper airplanes, specifically) that used to be part of
    BYOC but seemed to have been pushed to the wayside in the interest of more Cup events.
    * Having access to the Expo Hall from the Annex not open up until 10:45am was really annoying. I understand that no one wants the Annex line to become a secondary Expo Hall queue, but I feel like anyone with a BYOC badge ought to be able to use that entrance once the Expo Hall opens at 10am. This was the case two years ago, at least on Friday morning when most BYOC people come in early to have our gear set up by 10am, but going from there to the back of the Expo Hall queue is totally impractical.
    * The Annex queue on Monday morning was a mess. No one got let in until 10:15, and every day you had BYOC people milling around outside waiting for someone to let us in so we can get to our machines.

    General
    * I feel like LoL in the queue room was a good choice. It definitely worked better than having them take over a big chunk of the 6th floor, and felt like a good use of the space to me. I agree it would be nice to see the queue room utilized after LoL is done for the day for some kind of late night activity though.

    And finally, on the LoL discussion, I feel like saying that people coming to PAX for LoL are doing it wrong, or shouldn't be part of PAX is an extremely goosey thing to say. I spend 90% of my time in BYOC. I went to one panel (Gearbox) this year, and only spent a couple of hours blitzing through the Expo Hall. Am I doing PAX wrong? What about the people who spend most of their time in tabletop, or playing D&D? I feel like the original point of PAX was to just get a bunch of gamers together and game however you like to, for three or four days. Sure we've got a giant Expo hall now, great concerts and a bunch of other activities, but for a lot of people, it's still about gaming. If LoL is your thing, and that's why you're at PAX, you ought to feel just as welcome as someone who's there for tabletop, BYOC, or handheld games.

    Seconded. I've never been to a professional gaming tourney, so the 45 minutes I spent watching was fantastic. I feel for the TT crowd (I too was boned by the poor location, and lack of information), but the noise generated wasn't intrusive on the expo hall I feel and it just seemed to be a good, solid location for this type of venue. If PAX decided to axe it I hope they utilize the space in the way you guys are hoping, but I hope they don't axe it for the benefit of one community over the other. Those eSport fanatics need a place too.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • hobbseltoffhobbseltoff Issaquah, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    shdwcaster wrote: »
    Having access to the Expo Hall from the Annex not open up until 10:45am was really annoying. I understand that no one wants the Annex line to become a secondary Expo Hall queue, but I feel like anyone with a BYOC badge ought to be able to use that entrance once the Expo Hall opens at 10am. This was the case two years ago, at least on Friday morning when most BYOC people come in early to have our gear set up by 10am, but going from there to the back of the Expo Hall queue is totally impractical.

    I disagree with this. Just because we spend an extra $35 on a badge doesn't mean we should be able to cut in front of all of the people who have been waiting for hours. I'm very happy with the current system. That being said, I think that people with BYOC badges should not have to wait in the general line to get into the Annex in the morning.

    hobbseltoff on
    row1.pngrow2.png
  • MadpoetMadpoet Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    I wish they'd kick out all the indie games. PAX should be about the big games people actually play, not the small artsy games you get on the steam sale for 50c. The indie crowd could have their own convention, and there'd be room for more big games. I didn't even see a Destiny booth, and that was the game I was most excited about! Did it get kicked out so that we could showcase yet another dumb pixel art dungeon crawler?

    Not really, but that's what it sounds like to me when people talk about nixing LOL. It's a hugely popular game, it had a hugely popular space, and a ton of us were excited to see it.
    Now Firefall the last couple years... that was a big waste of space. :p

    Madpoet on
  • HingoHingo Minneapolis, MNRegistered User regular
    Madpoet wrote: »
    Did it get kicked out so that we could showcase yet another dumb pixel art dungeon crawler?
    I know you're joking with that reference (and I totally understand the sentiment), but damned if Crypt of the Necrodancer wasn't the most fun I had at Prime 2013.

    Pins for trade!
    2015 PAX Prime Omeganaut (I will forever hate Katamari)
  • StarYoshiStarYoshi Game Designer / Data Scientist USARegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    I would really like to see the LoL events moved offsite. It would be nice to move that horde away from the Expo hall for logistical reasons (And I just don't care for LoL)

    The swag bag only served use for me as a bag this year. The swag was a depressing affair. I missed grabbing a paper schedule until the afternoon - Not that bad as I use the app, but it's nice to thumb through when bored. I would like to see the schedules included in the swag bag and handed out upon entrance for the queue line before 10AM, then perhaps moved offsite later. (Because then you get the schedule, and more importantly, a bag in which to put your goodies from the expo)

    I disagree with the claims that the scalpers were not that numerous this year - they were EVERYWHERE - around the convention center and within a good 4-6 block radius. They were pushy, loud, and very annoying.

    I spent most of my time in the indie zones, as waiting 3+ hours for a small snippet of gameplay does not appeal to me in the slightest. (It's a great way to meet interesting people and try fresh games, too)

    I'd like to see more of a push for offsite events like Epic did with Fortnite (Which was AWESOME, btw) - It's a great way to spend quality time with a game/developers in an intimate setting.

    One of my biggest issues this year was crowd management. You wouldn't think that it takes too much brain power to 1) scooch in close to a booth if you're going to stand and watch 2) if you're going to rubberneck and otherwise walk slowly, move to the RIGHT of the hallways and 3) don't stand/congregate in the middle of the hallways - but no, that appears to be a skill that the majority of con-goers lack - it would be nice to see a more forceful approach from enforcers at times, clearing up these issues in Pacman-like deployment.

    I had most of my fun this year off-site and in the less-frequented areas as the convention itself is just too haphazard - a product of the massive demand and limitations of the venue, mainly.

    My off the cuff thoughts, anyway.

    StarYoshi on
    Attendance
    PAX Prime / PAX Dev 2014
    PAX Prime 2013
    PAX Prime 2009
  • hobbseltoffhobbseltoff Issaquah, WARegistered User regular
    StarYoshi wrote: »
    I disagree with the claims that the scalpers were not that numerous this year - they were EVERYWHERE - around the convention center and within a good 4-6 block radius. They were pushy, loud, and very annoying.

    The general consensus seems to be that while there were a lot of them out there, their badge supply was extremely limited and most of the badges they acquired were sold to them on the street by other PAX-goers.

    row1.pngrow2.png
  • StarYoshiStarYoshi Game Designer / Data Scientist USARegistered User regular
    StarYoshi wrote: »
    I disagree with the claims that the scalpers were not that numerous this year - they were EVERYWHERE - around the convention center and within a good 4-6 block radius. They were pushy, loud, and very annoying.

    The general consensus seems to be that while there were a lot of them out there, their badge supply was extremely limited and most of the badges they acquired were sold to them on the street by other PAX-goers.

    I'm not concerned about their badge supply (Although I do support tying names to badges) - I was annoyed by the physical nuisance they present.

    Attendance
    PAX Prime / PAX Dev 2014
    PAX Prime 2013
    PAX Prime 2009
  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    Madpoet wrote: »
    I wish they'd kick out all the indie games. PAX should be about the big games people actually play, not the small artsy games you get on the steam sale for 50c. The indie crowd could have their own convention, and there'd be room for more big games. I didn't even see a Destiny booth, and that was the game I was most excited about! Did it get kicked out so that we could showcase yet another dumb pixel art dungeon crawler?

    Not really, but that's what it sounds like to me when people talk about nixing LOL. It's a hugely popular game, it had a hugely popular space, and a ton of us were excited to see it.
    Now Firefall the last couple years... that was a big waste of space. :p
    I dunno man, that carpet kinda justified their existence.


    Here's a question for the PAX vets. If I remember right, the queue room with the divider between it and the expo hall totally shut isn't terribly noisy, right?

    TOGSolid on
    wWuzwvJ.png
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    That is correct

  • adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    Madpoet wrote: »
    I wish they'd kick out all the indie games. PAX should be about the big games people actually play, not the small artsy games you get on the steam sale for 50c. The indie crowd could have their own convention, and there'd be room for more big games. I didn't even see a Destiny booth, and that was the game I was most excited about! Did it get kicked out so that we could showcase yet another dumb pixel art dungeon crawler?

    Not really, but that's what it sounds like to me when people talk about nixing LOL. It's a hugely popular game, it had a hugely popular space, and a ton of us were excited to see it.
    Now Firefall the last couple years... that was a big waste of space. :p

    That's not exactly what people are saying but you still made me laugh. :)

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
  • PurpleSkyPurpleSky Registered User regular
    Madpoet wrote: »
    I wish they'd kick out all the indie games. PAX should be about the big games people actually play, not the small artsy games you get on the steam sale for 50c. The indie crowd could have their own convention, and there'd be room for more big games. I didn't even see a Destiny booth, and that was the game I was most excited about! Did it get kicked out so that we could showcase yet another dumb pixel art dungeon crawler?

    Not really, but that's what it sounds like to me when people talk about nixing LOL. It's a hugely popular game, it had a hugely popular space, and a ton of us were excited to see it.
    Now Firefall the last couple years... that was a big waste of space. :p

    That's not exactly what people are saying but you still made me laugh. :)

    This statement "I would really like to see the LoL events moved offsite. It would be nice to move that horde away from the Expo hall for logistical reasons (And I just don't care for LoL)" kinda proves that is the underlying motivation. Everyone is saying that LOL's location was good this year and less intrusive but then also saying to move it off site. Moving it off site is a valid reason if Riot starts demanding more space but at the moment it seems like they're happy with what they have.

  • StarYoshiStarYoshi Game Designer / Data Scientist USARegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    Congestion in the convention center has passed critical mass. It's more that any event that attracts hordes of people warrants investigation. I am much less concerned with where Riot wants to be than I am with considering options for further optimizing show space and alleviating this congestion.

    StarYoshi on
    Attendance
    PAX Prime / PAX Dev 2014
    PAX Prime 2013
    PAX Prime 2009
  • adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    PurpleSky wrote: »
    Madpoet wrote: »
    I wish they'd kick out all the indie games. PAX should be about the big games people actually play, not the small artsy games you get on the steam sale for 50c. The indie crowd could have their own convention, and there'd be room for more big games. I didn't even see a Destiny booth, and that was the game I was most excited about! Did it get kicked out so that we could showcase yet another dumb pixel art dungeon crawler?

    Not really, but that's what it sounds like to me when people talk about nixing LOL. It's a hugely popular game, it had a hugely popular space, and a ton of us were excited to see it.
    Now Firefall the last couple years... that was a big waste of space. :p

    That's not exactly what people are saying but you still made me laugh. :)

    This statement "I would really like to see the LoL events moved offsite. It would be nice to move that horde away from the Expo hall for logistical reasons (And I just don't care for LoL)" kinda proves that is the underlying motivation. Everyone is saying that LOL's location was good this year and less intrusive but then also saying to move it off site. Moving it off site is a valid reason if Riot starts demanding more space but at the moment it seems like they're happy with what they have.

    Actually the bigger question here isn't riot's space needs, it's really how to you prioritize space since it's at a premium. What your seeing people simply saying here is hey I prefer [insert item]. By seeing preference and wants, space can be better dedicated to server the largest number of people. I think it's a valid discussion to have. Just because things are ok now doesn't mean there isn't a better way that could help make everyone happy. Instead of pointing fingers, we should all be trying to come together on a way to help everyone.

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    I don't care what people like, I just think that the whole "huge event inside a huge event" takes away from other things that could be showcased by pax that aren't able to stand on their own. The new location for LoL was a huge improvement though.

  • HingoHingo Minneapolis, MNRegistered User regular
    In terms of people per square feet, LoL is amazing on paper though compared to anything else at PAX. Everyone should agree that the Queue Room usage was much, much better this year than last year, especially for LoL. If you were on the 6th floor, you could actually hear the audio from indie games this time! I still think Paramount or Benaroya would be better suited for LoL just due to viewing angles and the general comfort of viewers. Standing on tile floors for 6 hours isn't that much fun. At least on 6th floor last year they had bleacher seating set up in the back, and chairs up front.

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  • lokar82lokar82 Registered User regular
    StarYoshi wrote: »
    The swag bag only served use for me as a bag this year. The swag was a depressing affair. I missed grabbing a paper schedule until the afternoon - Not that bad as I use the app, but it's nice to thumb through when bored.

    I had most of my fun this year off-site and in the less-frequented areas as the convention itself is just too haphazard - a product of the massive demand and limitations of the venue, mainly.

    I think the printed guidebook should be in every swag bag, there are still some of us who don't use fancy cell phones and what not to keep track of everything. I hadn't been to Pax Prime since '08 and I thought the guidebook was included in the bag then and it really should be in every bag now. The rest of the bag was absolutely worthless and I agree with those who say the bag should be abolished entirely if it's not going to contain anything useful (like a guidebook).

    Agree about offsite being the place to be, my favorite parts of PAX this year were the afterparties like the VR demo party, my favorite onsite place to be was the Bioware room that wasn't near as crowded as the rest of PAX, plus I love Bioware!

  • BLaZuREBLaZuRE Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    lokar82 wrote: »
    I think the printed guidebook should be in every swag bag, there are still some of us who don't use fancy cell phones and what not to keep track of everything. I hadn't been to Pax Prime since '08 and I thought the guidebook was included in the bag then and it really should be in every bag now. The rest of the bag was absolutely worthless and I agree with those who say the bag should be abolished entirely if it's not going to contain anything useful (like a guidebook).

    There were printed guidebooks on the lower level of the WSCC before you got on the escalators. I think I saw them a couple other places too (wherever the lanyards were).

    BLaZuRE on
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  • PurpleSkyPurpleSky Registered User regular
    Yeah printed guidebooks were hard to miss this year but also less useful due to being outdated and simply obsolete.

  • HingoHingo Minneapolis, MNRegistered User regular
    PurpleSky wrote: »
    Yeah printed guidebooks were hard to miss this year but also less useful due to being outdated and simply obsolete.
    I don't find them entirely obsolete. I always tear out the map because it's easier to read on paper than it is on a 4" phone screen. Also, having the synopsis of all of the panels (even if the schedules or locations change) is nice to have around after PAX, when your brain forgets things.

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  • pogoplaypogoplay Writer/Blogger/Gamer Calgary, AlbertaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    A possible solution to the line cap situation. While I attended E3, some booths were implementing a card system. If the line-ups got out of hand, the line would be capped but then you could go to that booth and retrieve a card to come back at a time to line up.

    For example, you go on Friday at 4PM to the Evolve booth and you find out that the line is capped. At that time, an enforcer can give you a card telling you to come back at Saturday at 11AM and a spot will be open for you provided you still have the card. Everyone with the specific time with that card could hop in line and take part in the demo, if you aren't there at the specific time, you can retrieve another card for a different time and try again.

    This seemed to work very well at E3 and would love to see PAX have the same system set up to help reduce clutter at a booth for people waiting to get into the capped lineup.

    EDIT: I'd even help out with this if needed.

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  • PurpleSkyPurpleSky Registered User regular
    pogoplay wrote: »
    A possible solution to the line cap situation. While I attended E3, some booths were implementing a card system. If the line-ups got out of hand, the line would be capped but then you could go to that booth and retrieve a card to come back at a time to line up.

    For example, you go on Friday at 4PM to the Evolve booth and you find out that the line is capped. At that time, an enforcer can give you a card telling you to come back at Saturday at 11AM and a spot will be open for you provided you still have the card. Everyone with the specific time with that card could hop in line and take part in the demo, if you aren't there at the specific time, you can retrieve another card for a different time and try again.

    This seemed to work very well at E3 and would love to see PAX have the same system set up to help reduce clutter at a booth for people waiting to get into the capped lineup.

    I would definitely adopt this.

  • krae_mankrae_man Registered User regular
    This is my 4th Prime and I had by far the most fun at this one. Although 90% of that was my friends and some other things done by people other then the show organizers(such as getting into the Sony indie party on Friday night).

    Having said that, I do have a couple suggestions

    -Monday panel selection was horrible. If you're scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill 4 days of panels, allow more panels to have more then 1 hour. How may panels besides Giant Bomb are more then an hour? Maybe one or two others? Some panels suck and you're like "Oh god, get me out of here" 30 minutes in, but there are tons where the presenters are really, REALLY rushing to get through everything they want to talk about in the time allotted. Two hours might be a bit long, but 90 minute panels is totally doable in many, many cases. Or is the problem nobody wants a Monday panel slot? Either way, more length options for panels is needed.

    -If the Swag bags are nothing but magic cards and ad space, get rid of them.

    -The individual panels in the streamed theatres need to be broken up into indivudual segments and watchable on the twitch channel way way faster. I tried to find the "how to collect retro games without getting scammed" panel when I got back home and I couldn't find it. Some panels were broken out into individual videos, some theatres had the entire day in one video, some theaters had a 5-6 hour block of the panels up in one video and some sections/days for some theaters were completely missing. Ideally within a couple hours of the panel ending or within 24 hours at the longest.

  • AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    krae_man wrote: »
    This is my 4th Prime and I had by far the most fun at this one. Although 90% of that was my friends and some other things done by people other then the show organizers(such as getting into the Sony indie party on Friday night).

    Having said that, I do have a couple suggestions

    -Monday panel selection was horrible. If you're scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill 4 days of panels, allow more panels to have more then 1 hour. How may panels besides Giant Bomb are more then an hour? Maybe one or two others? Some panels suck and you're like "Oh god, get me out of here" 30 minutes in, but there are tons where the presenters are really, REALLY rushing to get through everything they want to talk about in the time allotted. Two hours might be a bit long, but 90 minute panels is totally doable in many, many cases. Or is the problem nobody wants a Monday panel slot? Either way, more length options for panels is needed.

    -If the Swag bags are nothing but magic cards and ad space, get rid of them.

    -The individual panels in the streamed theatres need to be broken up into indivudual segments and watchable on the twitch channel way way faster. I tried to find the "how to collect retro games without getting scammed" panel when I got back home and I couldn't find it. Some panels were broken out into individual videos, some theatres had the entire day in one video, some theaters had a 5-6 hour block of the panels up in one video and some sections/days for some theaters were completely missing. Ideally within a couple hours of the panel ending or within 24 hours at the longest.

    Re: Streaming

    For one, we can't make any highlights until the given stream is over, and we usually stream the entire day in one chunk without stopping. Highlights have been a low priority because the raw streams are there for viewing, and we're busy putting out tech fires and modding chat during the show.

    We're hoping we can get the panels moved over to YouTube anyway, because twitch is awful for anything but live content.

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  • RavengerRavenger Trolololo Registered User regular
    Swag bags should go.
    Unless you're going to bring back the super hawt vampire manga from '07
    then they can come back.

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  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »
    That is correct

    So what about putting LoL into Benaroya and then turning the queue room into a tabletop expo hall so that they stop having all their stuff spread to the four corners of downtown Seattle?

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    That is correct

    So what about putting LoL into Benaroya and then turning the queue room into a tabletop expo hall so that they stop having all their stuff spread to the four corners of downtown Seattle?

    Devils advocate here, but we would loose Benaroya as a totally sweet venue for high-demand panels, and did you see the way the Benaroya staff were watching con goers? Like HAWKS. I doubt the Benaroya staff would want droves of people using those seats for 12+ hours every one of those days, dealing with people sneaking in food (and the messes caused), trying to manage occupancy for the entirety of the tournament... I think it would be a logistical nightmare for them.

    Edit: I only "popped" your post, TOGSolid because it completed the Kellogs trifecta. Much fun.

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  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    BouwsT wrote: »
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    That is correct

    So what about putting LoL into Benaroya and then turning the queue room into a tabletop expo hall so that they stop having all their stuff spread to the four corners of downtown Seattle?

    Devils advocate here, but we would loose Benaroya as a totally sweet venue for high-demand panels, and did you see the way the Benaroya staff were watching con goers? Like HAWKS. I doubt the Benaroya staff would want droves of people using those seats for 12+ hours every one of those days, dealing with people sneaking in food (and the messes caused), trying to manage occupancy for the entirety of the tournament... I think it would be a logistical nightmare for them.

    Edit: I only "popped" your post, TOGSolid because it completed the Kellogs trifecta. Much fun.

    I feel like we're missing out on a "Milk" reaction button. Of course then we'd need a "God Damnit It's Only Been Five Minutes And This Shit Is Already Soggy" button.

    I only went to a couple panels at Benaroya, I hadn't thought about the whole food and drink situation. LoL people: How long do you generally spend at the LoL stuff?


    wWuzwvJ.png
  • HingoHingo Minneapolis, MNRegistered User regular
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    BouwsT wrote: »
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    That is correct

    So what about putting LoL into Benaroya and then turning the queue room into a tabletop expo hall so that they stop having all their stuff spread to the four corners of downtown Seattle?

    Devils advocate here, but we would loose Benaroya as a totally sweet venue for high-demand panels, and did you see the way the Benaroya staff were watching con goers? Like HAWKS. I doubt the Benaroya staff would want droves of people using those seats for 12+ hours every one of those days, dealing with people sneaking in food (and the messes caused), trying to manage occupancy for the entirety of the tournament... I think it would be a logistical nightmare for them.

    Edit: I only "popped" your post, TOGSolid because it completed the Kellogs trifecta. Much fun.

    I feel like we're missing out on a "Milk" reaction button. Of course then we'd need a "God Damnit It's Only Been Five Minutes And This Shit Is Already Soggy" button.

    I only went to a couple panels at Benaroya, I hadn't thought about the whole food and drink situation. LoL people: How long do you generally spend at the LoL stuff?

    All day. LoL doesn't have many events outside of LA, so when it goes ANYWHERE, people don't leave. I didn't spend any time watching LoL this year because I don't wait in 2+ hour lines for anything. That being said, most of the LoL fans that were in the Queue Room will wait much longer. It'd be interesting to see if people would "leave" for bathroom breaks or whatnot if the capacity was higher, but I'm guessing due to the fear of losing your seat, people would still sit down and deal with it. At Prime 2013, I watched LoL for 1 day. I finally sat down at 10:30 am, and left at 5:30 pm.

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  • krae_mankrae_man Registered User regular
    Aioua wrote: »

    Re: Streaming

    For one, we can't make any highlights until the given stream is over, and we usually stream the entire day in one chunk without stopping. Highlights have been a low priority because the raw streams are there for viewing, and we're busy putting out tech fires and modding chat during the show.

    We're hoping we can get the panels moved over to YouTube anyway, because twitch is awful for anything but live content.

    When I first looked every day of every theater in one huge block wasn't there either and a good chunk of what was there wouldn't load, the page would just refresh instead.

  • PedroAsaniPedroAsani Brotherhood of the Squirrel [Prime]Registered User regular
    edited September 2014
    I've been running this through my head for a month now. Hopefully the bits have settled enough to be coherent as possible.

    Queuing: It has an entire Theory, The British Empire was seemingly founded upon it, and so it's fitting that I am spending most of my time on this. Should I get stuck on Queuing if I Enforce PAX South I have only this post to blame.

    Let's start with the queue room, because here's the biggest problem that I saw. Not just this year but last year, and not just Prime. There are various pens that attendees are herded into. Number them 1-10 from one side of the room to another. They are filled in the usual fashion, as one is crammed with bodies another begins to fill. Those arriving at 5am (dedicated or insane? Both, I assure you) at the front of pen 1. Those who get there at 9:30 at the front of pen 9. But then the Enforcers open the pens in an order similar to 1, 4, 7, 10, 2, 5, 8, 3, 6, 9. Any semblance of fairness is lost. I was in fact a benefactor of this system (I prefer to sleep and rest my feet for longer before venturing out) and managed to enter the hall well ahead of someone who had been in the next pen and had arrived at 8am. It was to my gain, and I *still* believe this is a bad system.

    Either the Queue Room is First Come First Served (FCFS) and someone is screwing it up, or you are trying to dissuade people from turning up at 5am by making the Queuing so random (Service In Random Order, SIRO, or FCFY, (First Come? Fool You in polite circles)) either of which is fine provided we are told about it in advance. A large notice saying "Queue Placement Is Meaningless, Get More Sleep" would do well. But if you are trying to be fair, getting this part right is as simple as a serpentine line of barriers with movable ends for the start of the day and the inevitable Fire Code quick-exit-requirement. Queuing needs to be fair, unless you intentionally want randomness.

    Which brings me to the Queue Caps. Just awful, awful all the way. Capping simply results in groups of people milling about, camping the end hoping to get in. At best, you have people queuing to queue. At worst, you have a mob and a blockage of bodies.

    Sure, PAX Prime has space issues. It's at a premium, and there aren't a whole lot of options. BUT, there are some things that can be done. First, put the booths with highly anticipated demos near the booths that aren't expecting a constant swarm of devotees. Hardware vendors, I'm talking about you. Yes, your headsets and motherboards are the pretty shiny that allow the everything else to happen, but you don't have queues of people waiting an hour to test your stuff. So, let's take advantage of that, and use some of your bordering space to house the queue for the game vendor next door. Longer queue means less likely to have a forced Cap (longer wait time would take care of it, as nature intended) and the hardware vendor now has a captive audience peering at their goodies. Spending an hour waiting for Blizzard to let you play? Why not check out the new motherboard? You were thinking of upgrading anyway. Here's a guy who can tell you which bits you can use from your old rig. Etc.

    Some people have mentioned throughput. Vendors may not be thrilled with being told how long their demos can be, or how many stations they need (because the vendor has a Booth Designer with an E3 heyday mentality and thinks that a 30 foot tall Demon is required to hype the game with a million presales already) but the Enforcers can certainly do simple maths for each booth. "This booth has 10 demo stations and the demo takes roughly 10 minutes. 60 people an hour." Mark out in the queue space where roughly 60 people takes up, and put a sign saying "1 Hour from this point." Do the same at the 120 and 180 people marks. Highly visible wait times will disperse more people more readily than a Queue Cap with a vague "check back in 10 minutes".

    LoL in the Queue Room. So much better than the 6th floor. But seating was an expletive of epic proportions. I know this was handled by Riot staff rather than Enforcers, so here's the biggest piece of advice: Don't let Riot handle the crowds. They just can't do it. With only half the venue having actual seats, many people were saving seats and then leaving for most of the day.

    Here is how I would run it: In between matches, anyone who can find an empty seat that is being "saved" can camp it. If whoever it is being saved for isn't visible (ie. the person saving seats can point and go "that's them") by the time the teams are ready for the next match, they forfeit the seat. And if I had my way, they would forfeit the swag and any clothing they left too. I'm fine with people heading to the bathroom or grabbing food between rounds. But if you want premium seats for the entire finals, sacrifices need to be made. Too many seats were empty, which means too many people had to suffer the floor.

    As to moving LoL out of the main building and into another venue, it would probably make sense to use the Paramount or Benaroya, which both solve the "not enough seats" problem. Paramount is more relaxed about food and drink, so I would suggest there.

    Finally on the subject of Queuing, the Merch Booth. It has a table to it's side, which is used as an impromptu Pin trading station and signing area. The queue doesn't extend to that side, or to the window and dead corner. Yet that area becomes an "unofficial" queuing place. Do away with the table, move it to the Information Booth, or the other side of the Merch Booth. Make the queue use all the available space to the window and the dead corner. Larger queue space, less likelihood of having to cap it and create a milling mob. Again, mark down the 30 minute and hour point, you should be fine.

    It was mentioned about the board gaming section(s) that you had to check out a game in one building, and walk it over to another. That's just stupid. One contiguous area is needed. It was also mentioned that vendors demoing board games were very insistent that their tables were kept free the entire time, even if they weren't demoing. Numbers need to be done but if you have 60% of the table space required for every demo game to be run simultaneously, that should be enough. You don't need 100%, not every demo is always running.

    Swag bags seem to be a consistent meh. I think most vendors prefer to hand out the swag at their booth rather than the bag. Maybe time to retire it? It would remove a certain pre-PAX ritual, but from the Tales Of Enforcers, that might be for the best.

    Panels: Most of the panels I saw were excellent, with good speakers and coherent presentation. One in particular, was not. I have looked at what is required for a Panel Submission: The title and description, as shown in the program; Technical notes, if certain equipment is needed; Contact name, number and list of panellists. That's it. There are optional boxes for Mature Content, Interest in being Streamed (not guaranteed to happen if you say yes) and an Extra Notes box which is not mandatory. There isn't anything else about the content or running order, and I think that maybe there needs to be a little more vetting in that area. The topic might warrant a panel, but unless the speakers are well organised, they might not.

    Streaming: For those who can't attend, live streams or delayed recordings are fantastic. For those who have yet to perfect cloning techniques, it lessens the pain of missing a panel. I would love it if every panel was recorded. Logistics, expense, I know. But imagine a proper PATV. Channel 1 is Main Theater, 2 is Wyvern, 3 is Wombat, etc.

    Audio: Until we get a full video recording of every panel, what about audio? Most panels are wired for sound, is it not possible to record that and release it? It would certainly help lift the quality of the cellphone videos of the smaller panels, and 90% of what we want is the audio anyway. Doesn't need editing, just press record and let it run.

    Scarves: Brian, seriously. WTF?

    Pins: Well of course I was going to say something, right? We are going back to vendor throughput for this, and obviously PA want to be as hands off with the vendors as they can. But the problems with The Order Pin are well documented in the Pinny Arcade forum, and having it be either a random 3:1 chance or the whim of whomever is handing them out is incredibly frustrating. They were not the only people with issues, but they were certainly the worst. I would suggest that their vendor minimum is increased, to 115% of booth throughput. Expecting to get through 2,000 people in 4 days but only ordering 1,000 Pins? There is an obvious problem here. Also, every booth was repeating the mantra "they are really limited" which was probably to prevent booth staff from being too generous, but was unnecessary. At East they seemed to have more leeway, so perhaps it is down to whomever was running the Prime booths.

    Pin Trading: Would benefit from a serpentine line, to facilitate more trades whilst waiting to get in. Once inside, put more space between the tables. The horseshoe formation meant a big dead gap because everyone needs to be close up to see what is on offer. Surface to volume ratio matters.

    Cosplayers: I love them, I am one. But for the love of all that is good and pure, don't allow them to do photoshoots in the expo hall. The Power Rangers blocked half the walkway between Main Expo and Annex. Not great. On a good day Freeway Park is ideal for photoshoots. Indoors, the Grand Staircase in the South Lobby or the area in the South Galleria should do nicely. If you are in costume in the Expo and people are constantly asking for pictures, heading out would be the best option. You know the difference between one person for one picture and a clown car of photographers. Nobody wants to walk through and ruin a picture, but that means a lot of empty floor space desperately needed by people.

    PedroAsani on
  • Scipo9thScipo9th Registered User regular
    ^Agreed with all points of this guy's discussion.

  • whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    edited September 2014
    PedroAsani wrote: »
    Finally on the subject of Queuing, the Merch Booth. It has a table to it's side, which is used as an impromptu Pin trading station and signing area. The queue doesn't extend to that side, or to the window and dead corner. Yet that area becomes an "unofficial" queuing place. Do away with the table, move it to the Information Booth, or the other side of the Merch Booth. Make the queue use all the available space to the window and the dead corner. Larger queue space, less likelihood of having to cap it and create a milling mob. Again, mark down the 30 minute and hour point, you should be fine.

    We had some pin trading happening at Info Booth during the afternoon (two Enforcers trading from their personal collection and a take-a-pin, leave-a-pin area). By Sunday we had to do away with it because it created 2 lines in an area that can really only support 1. If that area suddenly became a PA staff trading area, forgetaboutit.

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  • PedroAsaniPedroAsani Brotherhood of the Squirrel [Prime]Registered User regular
    whypick1 wrote: »
    PedroAsani wrote: »
    Finally on the subject of Queuing, the Merch Booth. It has a table to it's side, which is used as an impromptu Pin trading station and signing area. The queue doesn't extend to that side, or to the window and dead corner. Yet that area becomes an "unofficial" queuing place. Do away with the table, move it to the Information Booth, or the other side of the Merch Booth. Make the queue use all the available space to the window and the dead corner. Larger queue space, less likelihood of having to cap it and create a milling mob. Again, mark down the 30 minute and hour point, you should be fine.

    We had some pin trading happening at Info Booth during the afternoon (two Enforcers trading from their personal collection and a take-a-pin, leave-a-pin area). By Sunday we had to do away with it because it created 2 lines in an area that can really only support 1. If that area suddenly became a PA staff trading area, forgetaboutit.

    Then the other side of the Merch Booth would be better for impromptu trading. My point is that the Merch Queue is confined to an arbitrarily small area with an "overflow" area that exists but isn't talked about. Unlike the Expo Hall which can't do a whole lot (apart from the above points) there is room for a larger queue for the Merch Booth. Larger queues mean less likelihood of needing an artificial Cap, and marking out time sections will assist in that area.

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