PAX Wrap-Up
Sep. 7th, 2010 09:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swordmageWell, I think that we can safely say it was a damned good weekend.
Apart from the fact that I seemed to get a minor form of con-crud that made today miserable enough that I only worked for 3 hours.
Before we get started, let's send you over to my Flickr, where all the photos are. Conveniently, you can find them organized in albums for looking at.
We got into Seattle on Wednesday morning, checked in, and spent the day wandering around the tourist-y areas - namely Pike Place Market. Sadly, the fact that our room had no fridge meant that I was not able to pick up some of the things I wanted, like cheeses and some lox. So I settled on bringing back smoked salmon and coffee from Victrola. Wednesday and Thursday were spent further exploring before the Pre-PAX dinner and Triwizard Drinking Tournament.
The Pre-PAX dinner was the first taste of what we were in for over the weekend. We kind of wandered around a little before finding a seat there, and sort of hoping we wouldn't be alone. Nope, not at all. Seems the Gryffindor attire made it easier to be talked to, and pretty soon, our table was full and everyone was talking about themselves, neat games they'd played lately, and stuff like that. When the dinner started breaking up, a group of us headed to the location of the first bar - using our iPhones and much laughter. There was a brief stop in an art supply store for glue, and eventually we made it there. The crawl itself was 50/50 - people were awesome, the bars... weren't quite prepared for us. But some of the drinks were damned good, and we managed to complete the event, thereby earning a button.
As an aside, we got lots of buttons, and I swear, I'm doing the whole buttoneering thing next year. Because I think it would be really fun.
Friday had the only panel I ended up hitting. The Myth of the Gamer Girl was really good, and I'm glad I went. Other than that, there was lots of wandering. We expected the event to be large and kind of impressive. But that didn't even describe it. There were lots of booths, lots of vendors, and lots of things to see. Early on, we got sidetracked by Flying Frog, and had a good time chatting with their guys. Ended up picking up some Last Night on Earth scenarios for Ryan's birthday later on, which I greatly look forward to playing. We ended up missing Of Dice and Men, and instead ended up in the boardgame free-play room, where we met several very nice guys and had a good time geeking out.
Once more, I was totally surprised with how much was put into everything. Of course, there's always the comparison of PAX to, say E3. The difference being that PAX is for the gamers themselves, whereas E3 is an industry thing. Needless to say, it was really fun to see what was handed out (we mostly ended up with shirts - and you can pry my Fallout: New Vegas and Portal 2 ones out of my cold, dead hands), as well as what was there.
Here, it's probably worth it to explain me and gaming. See, PAX isn't just for video games - there's also a large board and tabletop presence, as well as ccgs and so-forth. I've been a fan of board and card games for years, and it was only when I got to college that I tried tabletop. After that, it's only been in the last month or so that I've gotten into playing video games. Don't get me wrong, I've always been a fan, but more happy to watch then play. Consequently, the video game displays didn't hold quite as much of an interest for me as it is possible that they would have. Of course, I'm really excited for Portal 2, and I admit that watching some demos made me interested in other games.
Definitely really informative, I think. Oh yes, and I discovered that the original model of sumo sac is very comfortable.
Saturday, the highlight was the concert, and during the day, there was more goofing off and exploring the halls and such. Also, met up with Nico and Angie, which was awesome - good dinner and good conversation. We're both big JoCo fans, and Ryan loves Paul and Storm (not that I don't, but I'd consider him a bigger fan). Neither of us knew much on MC Frontalot, but, hey, we'll happily listen to nerdy stuff.
As it turned out, we had a phenomenal time. MC Frontalot was good, Paul and Storm a riot, and JoCo was.... *squeeeee!* Really, I could go on about it for some time, but I'll spare you all. It was great.
Sunday, we had breakfast with Nico and Angie and another wander of the expo hall with them. I was quite sad when the time came to part, and for us to take the light rail back to the airport. We got home late, and Icka was here, which was great because it gave me (at least) a little time to come down from the high by sharing the joy.
Yesterday, though, I spent on the couch, not doing anything of great importance. It felt good, and I was quite pleased to have the day off.
Apart from the fact that I seemed to get a minor form of con-crud that made today miserable enough that I only worked for 3 hours.
Before we get started, let's send you over to my Flickr, where all the photos are. Conveniently, you can find them organized in albums for looking at.
We got into Seattle on Wednesday morning, checked in, and spent the day wandering around the tourist-y areas - namely Pike Place Market. Sadly, the fact that our room had no fridge meant that I was not able to pick up some of the things I wanted, like cheeses and some lox. So I settled on bringing back smoked salmon and coffee from Victrola. Wednesday and Thursday were spent further exploring before the Pre-PAX dinner and Triwizard Drinking Tournament.
The Pre-PAX dinner was the first taste of what we were in for over the weekend. We kind of wandered around a little before finding a seat there, and sort of hoping we wouldn't be alone. Nope, not at all. Seems the Gryffindor attire made it easier to be talked to, and pretty soon, our table was full and everyone was talking about themselves, neat games they'd played lately, and stuff like that. When the dinner started breaking up, a group of us headed to the location of the first bar - using our iPhones and much laughter. There was a brief stop in an art supply store for glue, and eventually we made it there. The crawl itself was 50/50 - people were awesome, the bars... weren't quite prepared for us. But some of the drinks were damned good, and we managed to complete the event, thereby earning a button.
As an aside, we got lots of buttons, and I swear, I'm doing the whole buttoneering thing next year. Because I think it would be really fun.
Friday had the only panel I ended up hitting. The Myth of the Gamer Girl was really good, and I'm glad I went. Other than that, there was lots of wandering. We expected the event to be large and kind of impressive. But that didn't even describe it. There were lots of booths, lots of vendors, and lots of things to see. Early on, we got sidetracked by Flying Frog, and had a good time chatting with their guys. Ended up picking up some Last Night on Earth scenarios for Ryan's birthday later on, which I greatly look forward to playing. We ended up missing Of Dice and Men, and instead ended up in the boardgame free-play room, where we met several very nice guys and had a good time geeking out.
Once more, I was totally surprised with how much was put into everything. Of course, there's always the comparison of PAX to, say E3. The difference being that PAX is for the gamers themselves, whereas E3 is an industry thing. Needless to say, it was really fun to see what was handed out (we mostly ended up with shirts - and you can pry my Fallout: New Vegas and Portal 2 ones out of my cold, dead hands), as well as what was there.
Here, it's probably worth it to explain me and gaming. See, PAX isn't just for video games - there's also a large board and tabletop presence, as well as ccgs and so-forth. I've been a fan of board and card games for years, and it was only when I got to college that I tried tabletop. After that, it's only been in the last month or so that I've gotten into playing video games. Don't get me wrong, I've always been a fan, but more happy to watch then play. Consequently, the video game displays didn't hold quite as much of an interest for me as it is possible that they would have. Of course, I'm really excited for Portal 2, and I admit that watching some demos made me interested in other games.
Definitely really informative, I think. Oh yes, and I discovered that the original model of sumo sac is very comfortable.
Saturday, the highlight was the concert, and during the day, there was more goofing off and exploring the halls and such. Also, met up with Nico and Angie, which was awesome - good dinner and good conversation. We're both big JoCo fans, and Ryan loves Paul and Storm (not that I don't, but I'd consider him a bigger fan). Neither of us knew much on MC Frontalot, but, hey, we'll happily listen to nerdy stuff.
As it turned out, we had a phenomenal time. MC Frontalot was good, Paul and Storm a riot, and JoCo was.... *squeeeee!* Really, I could go on about it for some time, but I'll spare you all. It was great.
Sunday, we had breakfast with Nico and Angie and another wander of the expo hall with them. I was quite sad when the time came to part, and for us to take the light rail back to the airport. We got home late, and Icka was here, which was great because it gave me (at least) a little time to come down from the high by sharing the joy.
Yesterday, though, I spent on the couch, not doing anything of great importance. It felt good, and I was quite pleased to have the day off.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 02:15 pm (UTC)Hrm. For a Fallout shirt, "something" might have to be arranged. I'll contact my hitmen. :-p
Sounds like it was a blast. I've wanted to hit PAX but just haven't had the time and funds. One of these days...
Also, Household dinner. We should do. Plans and stuff. Fondue?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 02:32 pm (UTC)Seriously, their booth was awesome, if you haven't seen the pics, check them out.
As I just told Sara - I only require coffee.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 02:50 pm (UTC)I've been drooling over F:NV since the first teaser video came out last year. I have a Collector's set pre-ordered from Amazon. I prefer the bonus in-game gear from Steam but they don't sell the Collector's set...
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 02:38 pm (UTC)*That's* why it sounded so familar. What a great game.
I'm so glad you guys had a good time.