PAX '09

[moot]

It's almost time! We're only 23 days away from this post to one of the greatest events to ever grace Seattle - the Penny Arcade Expo.

Where: Washington State Convention & Trade Center
800 Convention Place
Seattle, WA 98101-2350
When: EXHIBIT HALL HOURS
Friday, Sept 4th, 2009 - 10am to 7pm
Saturday, Sept 5th, 2009 - 10am to 6pm
Sunday, Sept 6th, 2009 - 10am to 6pm

EVENT HOURS
Friday, Sept 4th, 2009 - 10am to 3am
Saturday, Sept 5th, 2009 - 10am to 3am
Sunday, Sept 6th, 2009 - 10am to 7pm

If you don't know what PAX is, check out their website.

http://www.paxsite.com/

What is PAX?
PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. We call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas we've got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, the weekend-long Omegathon event, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Even with all this amazing content the best part of PAX is hanging out with other people who know their shit when it comes to games.


How much does PAX cost?
The three-day pre-registration rate is $50, which is a $5 discount from the at-the-door price. Details and the pre-registration link can be found here. We'll be mailing pre-reg badges the second week of August, so when you register, make sure to think ahead when you enter your mailing address. Your PAX badge is all-access, and is good for all events, concerts, parties, panels, and freeplay areas. Only "sealed deck" tournaments, which require new physical product in order to be played, will have any sort of additional fee. You don't have to buy "tickets" for individual activities. Just show up and enjoy the whole festival!


What's the best day to attend?
Hard to say. The exhibitor hall, freeplay areas, and tournaments are open all three days of PAX. Concerts are Friday and Saturday nights, the final round of the Omegathon is Sunday. if you ask me, everyone is burned out by sunday anyway- but that's also when they are getting rid of all their free swag and prizes. Unfortunately, no concerts on Sunday.

The music lineup this year is actually pretty damn good- some bands that premiered last year are returning, including my favourite, Anamanaguchi, and others such as Freezepop, Johnathan Coulton, and MC Frontalot.

Anyway if anyone is going to be in the seattle area at that time and is interested in going one- or all- of the days, post in here! I'd love to get together with a few smogoners for awhile! I know I'll be there all three days. Last year was stellar.

edit: forgot to mention: according to their twitter, the official schedule is getting released sometime this week, which means event times and booth setups will be known. woo!

 

[Firestorm]

Oh awesome. I've been checking the site each day for a schedule. I was going to make this topic sometime soon but great job on it. I'll be there along with 7 friends. I'll try and ditch them for a quick Smogon meetup if there are enough interested :) I'm getting there Thursday night and leaving Sunday evening so I'll have to miss the end of the event I guess.

Anyone staying at the Sheraton?

 

[Outlaw]

Im more interested in Blizzcon, but will there be any exciting announcements at PAX?

 

[moot]

Oh awesome. I've been checking the site each day for a schedule. I was going to make this topic sometime soon but great job on it. I'll be there along with 7 friends. I'll try and ditch them for a quick Smogon meetup if there are enough interested :) I'm getting there Thursday night and leaving Sunday evening so I'll have to miss the end of the event I guess.

Anyone staying at the Sheraton?

I'm actually staying at my friend James's house, but a few of my friends are holing up in a hotel room at the Sheraton so I might have to drop by and say hello :}

Yeah I'm hanging out with a group too but I'll probably ditch them for a few hours if we get enough smogoners together, I'd love to meet a couple of you guys and grab lunch or play ddr or something. :}

Im more interested in Blizzcon, but will there be any exciting announcements at PAX?

Last year was right around the time that Fallout 3 got released, and they had this GIGANTIC demo played in the main theater that was legitimately one of the coolest things i'd ever seen in terms of pre-release showing. They have tournaments and usually new and upcoming games are announced... it's not exclusive but PAX is usually one of the first times that consumers are allowed to fiddle with upcoming games.

edit: oh, SHIT, what if there is a scribblenauts demo. i just pissed my pants.

 

[Firestorm]

There will be a Scribblenauts demo. WB is listed as an exhibitor, 5th Cell is located in Bellvue (same place as Penny Arcade, close to Seattle), and they've been at every event since E3 including Comic-Con.

I am making a beeline for Scribblenauts.

I'm mostly interested in the panels. Will definitely try to catch 1up Yours Live and GFW Radio Reunion.

 

[moot]

The schedule is up, ladies and gents!

http://www.paxsite.com/schedule.php

some highlights i'm really interested in seeing:

Friday, 1:00pm-2:00pm, Main Theatre
PAX 2009 Keynote Ron Gilbert

Because PAX is about culture, our keynote speakers are always tough to pick. We don’t have that laser-like focus for the show, so it’s not like some guy with a powerpoint deck that rattles off charts and numbers for an hour is going to cut it. We’ve wanted to get Ron to do our keynote for a while, and even though his resume alone qualifies him in regard to how he has shaped our pastime, it’s who he is today that tells us this keynote will be one to remember.

Friday, 7:30pm-8:30pm, Main Theatre
LIVE ON-STAGE DEMO – Assassins Creed®II and Splinter Cell Conviction

Exclusive footage and insights behind two of this year's most highly anticipated titles, LIVE on stage at PAX. Don’t miss out on two special guest speakers from the acclaimed Ubisoft Montreal Studios here to share insider secrets into these blockbuster titles. You won’t be disappointed!

i'm a coh tool so i have to go see this one

Saturday 2:30pm - 3:30pm Raven Theatre
Mission Architect: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Story

City of Heroes Mission Architect lets users generate their own content. It launched in April and over 250,000 stories have been created by players. The Paragon Studios developers are back to share their experiences with you, thePAXers ! What went well? What problems arose? How has this affected the way customers play City of Heroes? We'll look at the good, the bad, the ugly, and the future of City of Heroes Mission Architect.

Sunday, 2:30pm - 3:30pm, Serpent Theatre
Wil Wheaton presents: THE AWESOME HOUR!!1

Wil Wheaton first came to PAX in 2007, when he gave the keynote address that your parents won't stop making you listen to in the car. In 2008, he returned for a panel that asked and answered the burning question, "Can Wil Wheaton really be a panel all by himself?" This year, Commodore Wil Wheaton welcomes you aboard the USS AWESOME for 60 minutes of story-telling, lingerie-dodging, mirth-making, myth-making, iconoclasting, and the obligatory burning-questioning ... ing.
Presented by Wil Wheaton

 

[Firestorm]

Finally! Been waiting forever for this. I'm interested in the media and community side of things. Hopefully I can get into the building in time for "Post-N'Gai, Post-EGM Video Game Journalism, or Where Do We Go Now". I need to pick up my tickets at the event though as they don't ship tickets for free outside the US. Was interested in How can we make online gaming communities suck less? until I noticed it's being run by only the Destructoid staff.

 

[moot]

10 days to go! Anyone who didn't catch this the second time going?

They're all out of 3-day and 2-day passes now, unfortunately. Only singles left. Which really blows.

Firestorm, we should probably set up a time so we can hang for a couple hours or so. I'd love to come say hi.

 

[Firestorm]

I probably won't have a couple of hours since I'm going to be at panels + with friends =P PM me your cell number and I can call you at the event. I probably won't know my number until I get down there and activate my SIM card. I'm pretty sure the one my brother used when he went down to the States has expired.

We should meet up at Scribblenauts booth :o

 

[moot]

haha if nothing else, hell yeah. we can grab an overpriced hot dog or something. i'll be the idiot dressed as richard nixon.

well again i'll be there all three days so if you want to do something whenever, i don't really care.

yeah, hit me up. pm sending.

 

[Firestorm]

Yeah I'll be there all three days. These are the panels I'll most likely be attending:

Friday, 10:30am - 11:30am, Unicorn Theatre
Game Design 101

Friday, 11:30am - 12:30pm, Serpent Theatre
Post-N'Gai, Post-EGM Video Game Journalism, or Where Do We Go Now

Friday, 1:00pm-2:00pm, Raven Theatre
Breaking into the Game Industry the Educated Way

Friday, 5:30pm - 6:30pm, Raven Theatre
Live Taping of CO-OP at PAX

Friday, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, Serpent Theatre
Listen UP LIVE at PAX

Saturday, 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Unicorn Theatre
Now What? Keeping Community Engaged

Saturday, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, Serpent Theatre
Medium is the Massage: Story Matters

Saturday, 7:30pm - 8:30pm, Wolfman Theatre
The Aesthetics of Play Control: The Role of User Interfaces in the Ongoing Discussion of Video Games as Art

Saturday, 8:30pm - 9:30pm, Raven Theatre
The Brodeo Reunion "LIVE!" at PAX '09

Sunday, 2:30pm - 3:30pm, Raven Theatre
So you want to be a game designer?

Sunday, 4:00pm - 5:00pm, Raven Theatre
WTF is the matter with videogames?

Dunno about the last one. Panelists don't seem that interesting and I might be cutting it close. I need to be at the Greyhound depot at 6 I think.

 

[moot]

According to site, all badges are officially sold out. Thank GOD I got mine early.

So as a last roll call, just gonna be me and Firestorm meeting up for a few minutes? How lame, I was expecting more people actually living around here. Ah well. No one will get to see me dressed up as Richard Nixon. x)

On a side note, I'll be sure to post pictures here and on the photo album after the event. :D

Edit: I am also staying at the Sheraton now.

Edit2: MAKE SURE TO CALL ME FIRESTORM OR I WILL FORGET ABOUT YOU I SHIT YOU NOT

 

[Firestorm]

Don't worry man, I'll text you once I get a number down there =P
Man too bad there's no Pokemans panel or we could meet up there!

 

[Firestorm]

I got my US number already. Check your PM! My bus leaves in about 9 hours =)

 

[moot]

Did it! See you there man! :D So scribblenauts booth?
I'm leaving around 8 and i'll be in line around 9 am i think. Thank goodness I only have one class that day. :'D

CAN'T WAIT PAX YAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Firestorm]

moot and I met and took pics =o
I'm back home now!

 

[Doomsday]

Did any of the PA guys mention Precipice of Darkness episode 3? It's been ages

 

[moot]

Did any of the PA guys mention Precipice of Darkness episode 3? It's been ages

I think they were supposed to at the create-a-strip panel, but Tycho got called away.

I.
She had trawled iTunes for the worst sort of music possible to accompany the process, music in quotation marks, "Meditation Trax" where the waveforms of synthetic pan flutes and the built-in Casio drums compete with one another to abrade the tissue of the brain. She would never choose this kind of music under any other circumstances. She is buying it because she has to. This music is appropriate. Even she resents it.
She is in the car now, holding the seatbelt away from her belly, aware of the extent to which there is no overlap between the sets "car designers" and "pregnant women." I'm pushing the speed limit, one, sometimes two miles per hour, and it makes me feel like the tattooed despot of some post-apocalyptic road gang.
Between contractions she has managed to fish out the yoga bullshit from her bag, looks at it, decides against it. She reaches up to the visor, where the disc holder is strapped, and produces Doolittle. It is in immediately, and Debaser scours away the surreal fog which has thus far clung to the proceedings. "Fuck yoga," she says, when her body allows her to speak. She looks out the window, shaking her head. "Goddamned yoga."
I accelerate to thirty-five miles per hour.
II.
I have always felt that I was too conservative in naming your brother, in naming him comfortably, in giving him a name without sufficient destiny. I determined that this would not be your fate, Ronia. You also have a Q, in Quinn, so that when you are forced to append some meaningless form or other with your middle initial, you will deposit a Q thereupon - unleashing it, very nearly unsheathing it, young lady, to dazzle thine enemies.
I need you to be thus armed because I fear your mother and I have played a trick on you; we have brought you to a place where hidden weaponry is sometimes necessary. In our defense, and I recognize that it may be insufficient, this was the only world available to us.
III.
You are alive; you are alive. May I be worthy of you.

 

[Firestorm]

I got swine flu'd.
Well the walk-in clinic that's beside my house said it probably wasn't and if it was, that it was very mild as I'm almost better. But damn man. Lots of sick people coming out of PAX and a couple cases of H1N1 confirmed.

 

[moot]

God damn, you too? A lot of my friends are complaining about having flulike symptoms, the cute girl I met there has strep, and Gabe actually contracted it. o______O

Crazy shit man. Place was a breeding ground for sure. :o

 

[Firestorm]

Don't worry man, I didn't get it until Sunday night. I met with you Saturday so it should be fine! I blame the asshole my friend was playing Magic with. Apparently coughing all over the place and then my friend got sick. Pretty sure I got it from him. All three people in my hotel room were sick at some point of the weekend.