What makes PAX so special?
On a warm late August 2008 in Seattle, WA I landed from an 11 hour flight from London to attend an expo the like of which I had never experienced before. I'd decided to attend the Penny Arcade Expo after hearing so many good things about it from those that had attended it. But no amount of words, pictures or even videos can describe how amazing and unique PAX is. Yet here I am trying to do that very thing. For this article is all about PAX and what makes it the gaming expo that moves people to write features like the one you're reading now. PAX is about inclusion, understanding, empathy and of course fun. As everyone who attends PAX has an interest in games, in whatever form they come in. Be it video, card, board or even smelly hippy pen and paper role-playing-games that have players taking on the guise of a mutant space penguin; everyone is welcome to PAX, and everyone who goes knows this. It is for this reason the tagline for PAX is 'Welcome home', as that's how you feel when you go. I know I did when I first went and I was 6,000 miles away from 'home'!
PIC 1
Enough with the hyperbole already! What exactly is PAX?
Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is an event that was created by the two people who are behind the satirical Penny Arcade web comic. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins decided to make an expo that celebrated the people who played the games and the culture that surrounds them, as well as the games themselves. It is this that differentiates PAX from other expos, such as EuroGamer Expo as it is more focussed on the people who play games and not used as a vehicle to market them. This philosophy pervades the whole of PAX and this has been the primary cause of its overwhelming success. PAX started in 2004 and had just over 3,000 people show up. Now the average number of attendees hovers around the 70,000 mark. PAX runs over 3 days twice a year, once in Boston MA in the spring and again in Seattle WA in late summer. It opens at 10am and closes at 2am the following day, except for the last day where it shuts down at 6pm. Yes you read correctly, PAX closes at TWO A. M. How does that work? Well I'll tell you.
PIC 2
PAX doesn't have just games
Beyond the normal paraphernalia that normally comes with gaming expos such as demonstration booths of yet to be released games, PAX has a significant amount of peripheral events occurring both around it and within it. In the first instance there are Pre-PAX events that are organised by the PAX community. These are not formerly sponsored by PAX, but they aren't discouraged either. These events range from a Pokémon and Harry Potter themed bar crawls to a coordinated 1,000 mile train trip along the West Coast of North America with other PAX attendees. Then there is the Cross Country Super trip in which people drive for 3 days across the USA from the eastern side of the country to Seattle WA, where PAX is being held. No, I am not making this up, this actually happens every-single-year.
PIC 3
So many panels, yet so little time
During PAX itself there are panels, tournaments and concerts. The panels are where people give a presentation to an audience. The subject can range from people talking about developing games for the iOS platform through to popular podcasts recording their show live in front of an audience. Some of these panels are so popular that people stand in line for 2-3 hours in order to get a good seat. Yes that's right, again your eyes are not deceiving you, people stand in line at PAX for 2-3 hours. Look I'll tell you what, why don't you go and read that sentence again and I'll wait here for you when you get back. All done? Good! Then we shall continue.
PIC4
You have insulted my family and my kin! I challenge you to a game of Super Street Fighter IV!
The tournaments are just as varied as the panels. On one part of the expo there could be a Steel Battalion based event with players battling it out of a LAN to a Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master challenge. These typically occur in the tabletop, free-to-play PC and console areas as well as the hand held lounge; all of which remain open into the wee hours of the morning. There is also the PAX spanning Omegathon. This can best be equated to a decathlon, only rather than testing one's phyical abilities the participants' gaming prowess is put under the spotlight. Running as a knockout event throughout PAX, the contestants are called 'Omeganauts' and they are accorded some respect, for attempting to compete in it as it is very challenging as it is time consuming!
PIC 5
Nerd-core rising
The concerts occur on Friday and Saturday nights and are also extremely popular. The artists performing are not ones you would find in the iTunes top ten however, although many would argue that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Musical tastes aside, the performers at PAX have a significant bias towards game culture. Bands such as Anamanaguchi, who consists of 2 guitarists, a drummer, a bassist and hacked NES console from which they have developed a synthesiser. Singer songwriter Jonathan Coulton who is most famous for his Portal songs within the gaming community, also performs at PAX. Then there is MC Frontalot who raps about rolling a perfect 20 on twenty sided die. Like I said, not commercial material, but you wouldn't know it from the crowds of PAX attendees who go to see them. These shows typically run on into the early hours.
PIC6
PAX is 'home' for gaming fans
If you've got this far I hope you've got some grasp of how unique PAX is as a gaming related event, even if I've only scratched the surface. I failed to mention the volunteer group of helpers known as 'enforcers' who do their utmost to keep PAX running as smoothly as possible. Then there's the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) section where people hook up their PC's to a LAN network and play games using their own machines. It just goes on and on. I shall sum up by saying that if you're a fan of games in any way shape or form, you owe it to yourself to going to PAX at least once. If you do, you'll never ever forget what you saw, played, drank and ate there. So do yourself a favour and go home!
On a warm late August 2008 in Seattle, WA I landed from an 11 hour flight from London to attend an expo the like of which I had never experienced before. I'd decided to attend the Penny Arcade Expo after hearing so many good things about it from those that had attended it. But no amount of words, pictures or even videos can describe how amazing and unique PAX is. Yet here I am trying to do that very thing. For this article is all about PAX and what makes it the gaming expo that moves people to write features like the one you're reading now. PAX is about inclusion, understanding, empathy and of course fun. As everyone who attends PAX has an interest in games, in whatever form they come in. Be it video, card, board or even smelly hippy pen and paper role-playing-games that have players taking on the guise of a mutant space penguin; everyone is welcome to PAX, and everyone who goes knows this. It is for this reason the tagline for PAX is 'Welcome home', as that's how you feel when you go. I know I did when I first went and I was 6,000 miles away from 'home'!
PIC 1
Enough with the hyperbole already! What exactly is PAX?
Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is an event that was created by the two people who are behind the satirical Penny Arcade web comic. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins decided to make an expo that celebrated the people who played the games and the culture that surrounds them, as well as the games themselves. It is this that differentiates PAX from other expos, such as EuroGamer Expo as it is more focussed on the people who play games and not used as a vehicle to market them. This philosophy pervades the whole of PAX and this has been the primary cause of its overwhelming success. PAX started in 2004 and had just over 3,000 people show up. Now the average number of attendees hovers around the 70,000 mark. PAX runs over 3 days twice a year, once in Boston MA in the spring and again in Seattle WA in late summer. It opens at 10am and closes at 2am the following day, except for the last day where it shuts down at 6pm. Yes you read correctly, PAX closes at TWO A. M. How does that work? Well I'll tell you.
PIC 2
PAX doesn't have just games
Beyond the normal paraphernalia that normally comes with gaming expos such as demonstration booths of yet to be released games, PAX has a significant amount of peripheral events occurring both around it and within it. In the first instance there are Pre-PAX events that are organised by the PAX community. These are not formerly sponsored by PAX, but they aren't discouraged either. These events range from a Pokémon and Harry Potter themed bar crawls to a coordinated 1,000 mile train trip along the West Coast of North America with other PAX attendees. Then there is the Cross Country Super trip in which people drive for 3 days across the USA from the eastern side of the country to Seattle WA, where PAX is being held. No, I am not making this up, this actually happens every-single-year.
PIC 3
So many panels, yet so little time
During PAX itself there are panels, tournaments and concerts. The panels are where people give a presentation to an audience. The subject can range from people talking about developing games for the iOS platform through to popular podcasts recording their show live in front of an audience. Some of these panels are so popular that people stand in line for 2-3 hours in order to get a good seat. Yes that's right, again your eyes are not deceiving you, people stand in line at PAX for 2-3 hours. Look I'll tell you what, why don't you go and read that sentence again and I'll wait here for you when you get back. All done? Good! Then we shall continue.
PIC4
You have insulted my family and my kin! I challenge you to a game of Super Street Fighter IV!
The tournaments are just as varied as the panels. On one part of the expo there could be a Steel Battalion based event with players battling it out of a LAN to a Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master challenge. These typically occur in the tabletop, free-to-play PC and console areas as well as the hand held lounge; all of which remain open into the wee hours of the morning. There is also the PAX spanning Omegathon. This can best be equated to a decathlon, only rather than testing one's phyical abilities the participants' gaming prowess is put under the spotlight. Running as a knockout event throughout PAX, the contestants are called 'Omeganauts' and they are accorded some respect, for attempting to compete in it as it is very challenging as it is time consuming!
PIC 5
Nerd-core rising
The concerts occur on Friday and Saturday nights and are also extremely popular. The artists performing are not ones you would find in the iTunes top ten however, although many would argue that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Musical tastes aside, the performers at PAX have a significant bias towards game culture. Bands such as Anamanaguchi, who consists of 2 guitarists, a drummer, a bassist and hacked NES console from which they have developed a synthesiser. Singer songwriter Jonathan Coulton who is most famous for his Portal songs within the gaming community, also performs at PAX. Then there is MC Frontalot who raps about rolling a perfect 20 on twenty sided die. Like I said, not commercial material, but you wouldn't know it from the crowds of PAX attendees who go to see them. These shows typically run on into the early hours.
PIC6
PAX is 'home' for gaming fans
If you've got this far I hope you've got some grasp of how unique PAX is as a gaming related event, even if I've only scratched the surface. I failed to mention the volunteer group of helpers known as 'enforcers' who do their utmost to keep PAX running as smoothly as possible. Then there's the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) section where people hook up their PC's to a LAN network and play games using their own machines. It just goes on and on. I shall sum up by saying that if you're a fan of games in any way shape or form, you owe it to yourself to going to PAX at least once. If you do, you'll never ever forget what you saw, played, drank and ate there. So do yourself a favour and go home!
