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PAX 04: The Good, The Bad & Making It Better

12357

Posts

  • sage_ich_nichtsage_ich_nicht Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Stubles wrote:
    Oh and also, more musicians next year! And maybe split up the performances - that way you wouldn't get this huge rush of people there just to see the Minibosses, or something. Though I admit that made me glad, as I was able to see the Front in person. But... maybe look into KOMPRESSOR or The Frontalittle Squad. I'd ask for, like, Weird AL, but I don't know if it'd be possible to GET him, and the other people who I can think might be accepted, Tenacious D, probably aren't geeky enough for PAX.
    It would also totaly rock to get Machinae Supremacy, but getting them to PAX would be bit of a problem. They would come, no doubt(Read the part about Gigs on there Website.), but the cost for flights Europe<->US are a bit high.

    sage_ich_nicht on
    "Fairy tales don't teach children that monsters exist.
    Children already know that monsters exist.
    Fairy tales teach children that monsters can be killed."

    G. K. Chesterton
  • PatwarePatware Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    SiD Metal...?

    Explain further.




    Do it!

    Patware on
    3rd place in Gamer Bling, with the Gamecube Controller medallion.
    (2nd went to the guy with a Virtual Boy.)
    (1st to that psycho with the zapper, controller, and Power Glove.)
  • sage_ich_nichtsage_ich_nicht Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    SID-->Soundchip of the C64.

    If you don't get it, download their songs from the website and listen to them, they have almost all of their songs on it to download for free(Except those that are on there first album[But you can still find and download two of the songs from the album on the discographypage.].).


    Edit: Added two links.

    sage_ich_nicht on
    "Fairy tales don't teach children that monsters exist.
    Children already know that monsters exist.
    Fairy tales teach children that monsters can be killed."

    G. K. Chesterton
  • FrowbakkFrowbakk Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Confirmation from the 9/1/04 newspost: Separate Free-Play and Tournament Rooms for Consoles & PCs at PAX'05.

    Reserved Seating for watching each event (Oh SNAP! dudes, I'm looking in your direction...)

    Secret Games are a go (For the Omegathon , and perhaps Tournaments)

    Frowbakk on
    Your sig was too tall.
  • LukasLukas Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Legacy wrote:
    I think the tabletop demos were in with all the other demos: In the main room on the 4th floor.

    The tabletop demos were downstairs with all the other tabletop stuff. Most of them had signs on the table saying "Confrontation Demo" or "Warmachine Demo," but it's true that at the more crowded times, they could be pretty hard to locate among the throngs.

    Lukas on
    Not just no, but HELL no.
  • mojomonkeemojomonkee Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    you can't have axe as a sponsor. you have all beared witness to what that prismatic spray can do (or maybe you saw the toned down reenactments in the commercials?). there would be so much conception during PAX that a sponsorship from trojan will also be requisite.

    ok the more i think about it the cooler it sounds. i want some cosplay chick all up in my grill next year. bring on the axe and the magnums.

    mojomonkee on
    Q: Mac or PC?

    A: Um, we like to play games.
  • AfflictionAffliction Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Speaking of DDR, can we vote fewer people walking around with sinus infections next con? 'Cause they kinda gave me theirs. I'm in bed right now. ;P
    Heh... sorry 'bout that, dude. It should clear up in a couple days.

    Affliction on
  • JoahWJoahW Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    eelektrik wrote:
    And my vote for next year's movie (if there is one) is Tron.

    Tron would be cool, and if they do more then one, perhaps The Last Starfighter as well...
    What about Hackers? Its not really about video games but its still a classic.

    JoahW on
    Jamada.gif
  • Reverend_ChaosReverend_Chaos Suit Up! Spokane WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Couple of quick ideas to help things run a little smoother.

    Have everyone do a check in for the Tournament before it starts, give each team a badge or something that tells them what team # they are or whatever you are going to go by. If you have not checked in by a certian time (start of the tourney or whatever) then too bad so sad, and the tourney starts with who is there. I was at the Splinter Cell tourney, and apparently 9 out of 10 people couldn't be bothered to get out of bed, and they literally called out names for minutes on end, whith no answer. This would eliminate that. You could also announce that the check in for each tourney is almost over, and if there are any spots open you could give those spots to walk-ons. It would be nice if the brackets were displayed somewhere, either up on a screen, or have a large bracket board made or something.

    I loved that you guys broadcast the panels and everything to the TV's, that was definitely a good idea. There needs to be more TV's, or like someone else said, an entire room dedicated to televising the panels. I don't know if this is something that you guys are going to do, but all the panels and all of that should be filmed and put onto DVD's, I know that a lot of people would love to have that. Not only those who couldn't make it, but even those of us who did.

    I would love to see a couple of hours or something set aside to play matches against the PA crew. I had the honor of playing Splinter Cell:Pandora Tomorrow against Gabe and (Porkfry I believe). Even though it was my worst map, and they handed me my ass, It was a blast. I think more people would like the chance to play against PA crew. I know that I would definintely like a rematch! And maybe anyone who can beat the PA crew could get like a free shirt or signed poster as a prize or something. That would be a highly sought after prize!

    Thirdly, I have seen some pics and while some of them are pretty neat, for the most part they are just wide shots of lines and stuff. I am sure that some of the Press photagraphers got some good shots, but I have not seen anything about those. I think that PA needs to get a couple of guys to specifically take pics.

    The last thing that I wanted to bring up was the Enforcers. Don't get me wrong, you guys had a tough and mostly thankless job, and did it admirably, but every time I asked one of them about an event or Tournament, they never knew what was going on. I was lucky enough to find one of the books with the schedule in it, and that quickly became my bible for the weekend. The volunteers should be a little bit more knowledgeable about events, if only for the area they are working. and/or Have large listings of events in various places around the floor.

    Despite any bitching, I think just about everyone agrees that it was an awesome event, and I eagerly anticipate the next one. Thanks to EVERYONE who made PAX04 possible!!! You guys are AWESOME!!!

    Reverend_Chaos on
    “Think of me like Yoda, but instead of being little and green I wear suits and I'm awesome. I'm your bro—I'm Broda!”
  • TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I think a nice idea, if they go along with having a larger theater next year or something, would be to have the last round of every tournament played in the theater rather than the console room. Just something where there can be a hoard of spectators to observe some high level Smash Brothers, Soulcalibur, Prime 2, Halo 2, (you know those two will have tourneys next year), etc.

    Taramoor on
  • eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Yeah, showing off the final rounds in all the tournaments would rock... And they need another Mario Kart: Double Dash tournament next year...

    eelektrik on
    (She/Her)
  • Ezekiel Zelias ChaosEzekiel Zelias Chaos Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I approve of the AXE as a sponsor idea. I also approve of Trojan as a sponsor

    !Carnage and Sex!

    Ezekiel Zelias Chaos on
    heh heh heh
    enforceruserbarsplitcro.png
  • AfflictionAffliction Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I also approve of Trojan as a sponsor
    Yeah, because PAX is probably the only place on earth where any of us have a chance of getting laid.

    Affliction on
  • sPider817sPider817 Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    I got laid once, and then I remember bursting out of someone's chest, and going on a slaughtering rampage through a commercial cargo liner in space. Good times, good times.

    sPider817 on
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  • omoshiroiomoshiroi Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Yoshua wrote:
    And yes, the Bawls people need to skip the sugar free stuff next time. It would taste ok, but sugar substitutes always have that nasty after taste.

    Hey, people with hypoglycemia need to stay awake too. Honestly, I never in my life thought that I would get sick of Bawls, but by the end of the weekend I would just moan and turn my face away if someone proffered one.

    omoshiroi on
    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited September 2004
    You bet, Spider.

    Yup, there aint nuttin like face-hugging a hu-man and giving it a throat full of alien wing-wong!http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=108

    Unknown User on
  • CailYoungCailYoung Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Okay. I didn't go, I'm stuck here in SoCal with no money.

    But.

    I have a brilliant idea.

    Convention centers generally have a BUNCH of infrastructure to support video and audio hookups throughout the building.

    People were complaining that they couldn't see/hear events, didn't know what was going on, and so on.

    Solution:

    PAX TV.

    Hook up with a Seattle-based production company with a sizable rig and an OB van. Co-ordinate scheduling with them so they can program what will be aired.

    Place screens/TVs (and preferably sound) *everywhere*. I don't know about the Meydenbauer but I know that the SD Convention center has AV hookups everywhere.

    The end result is a continuous stream of information being sent to the attendees in the most efficient manner possible.

    PAX TV can provide updates on tourney progress/winners, can be the conduit for announcements, can show live interviews, can simulcast the Omegathon events to the *entire building* and so on.

    Just a thought from the lowly A/V engineer who didn't get to go :)

    CailYoung on
    Freak this, I'm going to the toilet - Shaun Micallef
  • BorfaseBorfase __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    the sugar free bawls tasted exactly like the regular bawls to me

    Borfase on
    duhhhh i like spaghetti-o's lolz
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited September 2004
    The PAX TV idea sounds really cool, if it could be done. I was thinking about other things they could show in the slower times, and realized I have a ton of old video game commercials. Not sure it would interest the younger gamers, but man, "Have you played Atari today?" is a classic jingle that I'd love to share with those that never got to see them on TV.

    Unknown User on
  • eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Oh, a couple things I thought of while at work today...

    More Arcade games! Im sure alot of people would appreciate more DDR machines, but Id love to see F-Zero AX there, and kick ass games like Gauntlet, Gauntlet 2, and Smash Tv... Or the 6 player X-men sidescrolling game. Or, anything cool you can get your hands on.

    Warn the local fast food places ahead of time of the massive crowds that will be in town, Subway ran out of bread last saturday... Subway fucking ran out of bread!

    eelektrik on
    (She/Her)
  • Reverend_ChaosReverend_Chaos Suit Up! Spokane WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I had an idea for the Tournaments. This would work best if Lanyards are used for PAX05. If you could get some kind of tag that you could throw on your lanyard. The tag would identify your involvement with that Tourney, and could have your Team number or whatever on it. You could make up generic ones if you wanted too, but It would be cool to have specific ones for each tournament. My personal request would be to have pic of one of the Red vs Blue characters for the Halo 2 tournament, maybe a random one for each team, or a different character for each member of a team or something. That might be something that you could get the game manufacturers to donate, I don't really know, but in either case, they would definitely be a cool memento.

    I would be willing to front a couple of bucks for each tournament that I wanted to enter if It would get me something like that. So maybe if the entrance cost to PAX05 would not cover something like that, then maybe the Tournament participents would be willing to throw down some cash. If you made them for every tournament, they would be pretty cheap per badge, and I think most participents would be willing to help cover the cost.

    What do you guys think??

    Reverend_Chaos on
    “Think of me like Yoda, but instead of being little and green I wear suits and I'm awesome. I'm your bro—I'm Broda!”
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited September 2004
    Book The Black Mages. Minibosses ain't got nothing on that shit.

    Unknown User on
  • JoahWJoahW Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    ndruo wrote:
    Book The Black Mages. Minibosses ain't got nothing on that shit.
    They're the ones who do "Clash on the Big Bridge", correct? Yeah, they're pretty cool. Dunno if they're better than the Minibosses, though :P

    JoahW on
    Jamada.gif
  • Red Machine DRed Machine D __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    My desires for next year:

    Badges and lanyards.
    More signs, less lines.
    Open the main ballroom for the concerts. Have open seating and a pit for moshing/crowdsurfing/stagediving.
    Book the Black Mages.
    Book Machinae Supremacy.
    Get the musical acts from PAX04 back.
    Bring back DDR.
    Truckloads of Bawls.
    More PCs in the Freeplay PC area.
    Casemod contest.
    Scavenger hunt!

    Red Machine D on
  • LukasLukas Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    My desires for next year:
    Have open seating and a pit for moshing/crowdsurfing/stagediving.

    As awesome as that would be (I regularly attend punk shows around Seattle) I think Meydenbauer might have some problems with it. :cry:

    Lukas on
    Not just no, but HELL no.
  • omoshiroiomoshiroi Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Lukas wrote:
    My desires for next year:
    Have open seating and a pit for moshing/crowdsurfing/stagediving.

    As awesome as that would be (I regularly attend punk shows around Seattle) I think Meydenbauer might have some problems with it. :cry:

    Hey, any of you remember that part when in the middle of the MiniBosses, a whole bunch of Enforcers rushed in, cleared the aisles, and ringed the stage? Yeah, that was because some einstein decided to stage dive and almost got the whole deal shut down by Meydenbauer. If some idiot teenager gets his head busted in that kind of situation, his parents are going to sue the living hell out of Mike, Jerry, Robert, the MiniBosses, and the Meydenbauer for allowing it to happen.

    Come on, people. Isn't it good enough that we're geeks? Do we have to pretend to be jocks, too?

    omoshiroi on
    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
  • CerriusCerrius Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I wanna mosh goddamnit!

    Cerrius on
    [SIGPIC]image.php?type=sigpic&userid=5578&dateline=1219903129[/SIGPIC]
  • flatrabbitflatrabbit King of Toast That place, over there.Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Some fool actually jumped off of that stage?

    flatrabbit on
    --"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
  • eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Moshing is for fucking retards...

    eelektrik on
    (She/Her)
  • TheMountieTheMountie Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    lol, ya, fuck all you people that mosh.

    which is....like........everyone that goes to rock/metal shows.

    TheMountie on
    Dear PAX, next year may i have an enforcer shirt instead of just a staff badge. Love, Tyler.
  • BinkleyBinkley Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Those sugar free bawls were quite good. I'm a big fan of sugar-free/diet stuff or just water since I lost like 20+ pounds from simply not drinking soda.

    Binkley on
    A video blog about random jank:
    The KB Life
  • JaidenJaiden Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    flatrabbit wrote:
    Some fool actually jumped off of that stage?

    Yeah. It was about eight seconds after that they grabbed almost a dozen Enforcers and we ended up standing there for the rest of the Minibosses set, then Front's set.

    Jaiden on
    [15:51] <+Snickers> Dur, I R CUM
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  • YatesYates Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Overall PAX was great fun, though a little overcrowded. Blah blah blah everyone's said that already

    Two things I would change:

    1) Move out prizes at the prize store over time. I won 2nd place in the Call of Duty tournament which was one of the very last tournaments and by that time all the good prizes were taken. I ended up giving my points to a teammate so he could get an XBox live subscription and then had to explain to my little sister why I didn't bring home and cool free stuff. This was actually suggested by the nice lady working at the booth who was very appologetic and tried to make us excited about some weird fastfood --a nobel effort.

    2) Close down between 2am and 8am. It may be a little unpopular, but it gives people a chance to get some sleep, eat, wash up, and take care of themselves. Crashing after a very caffinated night is not fun and not eatting and sleeping will turn you into a zombie. I felt pretty bad for the staff volunteers who were monitoring the event for two days straight.


    OH! I just thought of something: would it be possible to grill hamburgers and hotdogs? Probably not because it is in the city... but it would have been nice to have an event "dinner time" and for a couple bucks you could get a coke and a hot dog and eat with everyone without having to worry about events you're missing or just simply being too engaged to remember to eat :|

    Yates on
  • flatrabbitflatrabbit King of Toast That place, over there.Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I agree witht he food thing, It would be nice to have a place where we can have a few food vendors next year. I don't think that Maydenbauer allows cooked food on site, but I'm sure a few other places have outdoor areas that would allow setup of these types of vendors.

    flatrabbit on
    --"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
  • seppuku FDseppuku FD Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    TheMountie wrote:
    good job ladies.
    nothing wrong with being smart :)

    i was just disappointed that fragdolls didnt play other games, mario kart for instance.

    i wish... but since we were with ubi, we had to be playing the games at our area. i would have LOOOOVED to enter the halo tourney or try out some of the new games, but alas... we simply did not have time... :cry:

    seppuku FD on
    1-Get a frisbee from the store or friend.
    2-Clean the Frisbee
    3-Put something slippery on it, like butter or cream
    4-Get really super pissed
    5-Fold Frisbee hard
    6-Insert Frisbee into mouth hard
    7-Push hard until you can’t see it
    8-Wait
    9-Die
  • flatrabbitflatrabbit King of Toast That place, over there.Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Next year I'm actually going to play a damn game. I played a total of 1.5 hrs of games in the 40+ hours I was there. And most of that time came at about 1AM on Sunday when a few enforcers and I decided to requisition a spare xbox and take it down stairs into the 2nd floor lobby area and use a TV there to play a bit of halo. Then some asshat stole a banner and cut our session short.

    flatrabbit on
    --"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
  • SquallSeeD31SquallSeeD31 Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I agree with PAX TV, so a few notes are in order.
    I'm sure Meydenbauer has impressive A/V capacity, but it's no SDCCC.
    First of all, I'm from San Diego too, but let me remind you that the SDCCC has over 525,000 gross square feet of space on the ground floor alone, with room in the exhibit halls for I think 48,000 people. Then you've got the middle and top, not to mention the Sails Pavillion. That convention center isn't big, it isn't bigger than big, it's frickin' huge. It's also billed as the best city in North America to hold a conference, hence why it's the exclusive choice of the west coast's Comic Con International...
    But they have lots and lots of money, and over 70,000 registered attendees to offset the cost, of course they've got the capability to hold SDCCI TV, but they don't.
    On the other hand, and I apologize for bringing up this Sci-Fi con so many times, BayCon is executed exclusively out of a DoubleTree Hotel with absolutely no convention center space, and they host BayCon TV through the hotel's network with 24-hour programming, about a fourth of it live. If PAX wanted to amp things up for next year, it is perfectly reasonable for them to strike a deal with their DoubleTree to use a hotel channel for PAX TV, filming major events for broadcast there and filling the rest of the programming slots with geeky movies.

    SquallSeeD31 on
    FFXIV: Alchemy Stuff Character:
    8229_48d6215903dff562.png
  • TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I agree with PAX TV, so a few notes are in order.
    I'm sure Meydenbauer has impressive A/V capacity, but it's no SDCCC.
    First of all, I'm from San Diego too, but let me remind you that the SDCCC has over 525,000 gross square feet of space on the ground floor alone, with room in the exhibit halls for I think 48,000 people. Then you've got the middle and top, not to mention the Sails Pavillion. That convention center isn't big, it isn't bigger than big, it's frickin' huge. It's also billed as the best city in North America to hold a conference, hence why it's the exclusive choice of the west coast's Comic Con International...
    But they have lots and lots of money, and over 70,000 registered attendees to offset the cost, of course they've got the capability to hold SDCCI TV, but they don't.

    People keep bringing up other cities.

    Part of the point of PAX, as Gabe & Tycho put it, is that Seattle is a major hub in the world of Video Games (Microsoft AND Nintendo are based in Redmond) and it doesn't have a convention yet. Aside from that, San Diego, and California in general, are already teeming with conventions and expos, and if PAX was added to the existing list it would just get lost in the shuffle.

    Taramoor on
  • SquallSeeD31SquallSeeD31 Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Taramoor wrote:
    People keep bringing up other cities.

    Part of the point of PAX, as Gabe & Tycho put it, is that Seattle is a major hub in the world of Video Games (Microsoft AND Nintendo are based in Redmond) and it doesn't have a convention yet. Aside from that, San Diego, and California in general, are already teeming with conventions and expos, and if PAX was added to the existing list it would just get lost in the shuffle.
    I don't personally want to see PAX in the SDCCC, for that very reason. The major developers probably like it more when it's in their back yard. I'm sorry if I really sounded like I was trying to steer PAX to San Diego, but it's actually quite the opposite. I would love to see PAX stay in Bellevue (Or at least the Seattle area), because I don't think it's feasible for them to try for San Diego. The SDCCC is way too damn expensive and big. The SDCCC is big enough to hold E3, but LA is more of a central location.
    San Diego really isn't 'teeming' with conventions and shows, that's just Southern California as a whole. We do see Comic Con International every year, and that's enough show for anyone, but aside from that we've only got a few teeny tiny Sci-Fi cons. Los Angeles is the one that gets E3 and Loscon and all that good stuff. Collectively, we rule. :D
    That aside, PAX belongs with its creators, and Seattle has plenty of room for them to grow into if Meydenbauer proves too small after next year.

    SquallSeeD31 on
    FFXIV: Alchemy Stuff Character:
    8229_48d6215903dff562.png
  • SnowGhostSnowGhost Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Yates wrote:
    Close down between 2am and 8am. It may be a little unpopular
    YOU DIE NOW!.. Sleep deprivation, starvation and lack of sanitation/hygiene is part of the fun. On site food would be good, though. The Meydenbauer has an enormous kitchen in between the console and byoc/PC rooms.

    I think everyone has covered anything and everything that could be added and or changed for next year. There is only one thing that I want, nay, demand for PAX05:
    MC Chris
    In 2005, backpacks will have jets...

    SnowGhost on
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