I’m not going to do a full explanation of all the experiences I had at this years iteration of the east coast’s gaming pilgrimage. But I will jot down a few notes to broadcast some interesting or novel items.
Underexposed
I spent relatively little time in the expo hall, but I managed to gather enough noteworthy items to create a short bulleted list.
- 3D printers are neat! I’d never heard of Maker Gear but hey had a few freshly minted toys on display.
- I can think of a few Battlemech-related things to do with a Stinkyboard. Man, that’s an awful name, though.
- Guncraft is a thing that exists. I’m not sure how I feel about this.
- I didn’t see this booth close up, but the guys at Supergiant Games (of Bastion fame) are making a cyberpunk action RPG called Transistor. I’m going to buy it, because Bastion was amazing, so I suppose seeing them was optional.
- Speaking of booths I didn’t see, Rise of the Triad’s upcoming reboot was also on display. I’m kind of bummed I didn’t get to see it in person, or meet the demented individuals who would do such a thing.
None of the PC component vendors were doing much interesting besides the occasional Twitter giveaway. I suppose I’m not entirely to free shit, but what is Corsair going to tell me about RAM that I don’t already know?
Dressup
As I don’t have a camera strapped to my face at all times (waiting on you, Glass), I didn’t get very many pictures of cosplayers. Except this one.
But fortunately the folks at Ars Technica were a little more diligent. PAX isn’t just a cosplay convention, but the folks who do go that extra mile tend to do it right.
Light up the Night
I’ve been through these dog and pony shows four times now, and the experience changes every time: the people I’m with, the panels I attend, etc. But one aspect that remains consistent from year to year is that the Protomen melt my face off with their show, every time. And this time was no different.
The hits were thrown down with great justice, with a splendid Queen cover and an Act III preview. During the meet and greet, The Gambler was very disappointed that I didn’t know that Act III was a thing, so I’m passing that on. That’s a 2012 PAX Prime recording, because I can’t find recordings of 2013 yet.
It’s a this point that I’d like to note that Stephanie was a trooper through this whole expedition. She went to her own panels, conducted board game outings, and really made PAX her own. And then all of a sudden, she surprises me with this thing. Not regretting putting a ring on this one.
Bonus Points
Some people apparently don’t know about Extra Credits still. Now you do!
They’ve been consistently putting out an episode a week for a couple of years now, so there’s a lot of content there. But they’re in easily digestible chunks, ready for your cerebral consumption.
The way it’s meant to be grayed
The Nvidia panel was one of the larger ones I attended, occupying the main hall, and I’m not sure how I felt about it. You could tell, just sitting there, that the folks conducting it did this for a living. The free noisemakers and copious prize giveaways made the whole event seem more like a pep rally than an info session. I’m enough of a hardware geek that I don’t need loud lotteries to keep my attention. But I suppose when you’re pushing the bracket in a potentially flat industry, you need to keep the team spirit going. I’m so disillusioned I’m not even going to post links or images here. Well, that and I’m lazy.
I didn’t know that much about TITAN before, and I still don’t, because apparently a single teaser slide with some hilariously large numbers is all the technical info we were smart enough to digest. Wrong audience, I guess. Also, I don’t care if you re-invented DVFS with a mildly attractive interface. The take-home from this was the old “bigger is better.”
I’m going to come out and say it, I do not understand Project SHIELD. I do not foresee a time where I will want to take my PC game, shrink it down to a smaller screen, and play it on a console controller. The novelty of playing on my couch doesn’t justify the purchase of yet another portable device. The marketing is aggressive, and I’m sure it’ll sell, but I feel out of touch here.
Still clocking
It’s great to know that OC Remix is still going strong. Apparently someday the website is going to be overhauled. It’ll look great when that happens! Totally rad! Someday.
Eidos Montreal and Alex Brandon are collaborating with the site to release a Deus Ex remix album. That tickles me right in the awesomebone, but the downside is they’re choosing to drip-feed it to us via facebook. Expect two tracks a week.
Freemium
PGI, Hi-Rez, and Chris Roberts did a great panel on the stewardship of long-standing IP and the inexporable rise of the free-to-play model. I asked a panel question for the first time ever (regarding exposing metrics through an API), and I didn’t swoon or freeze up. Baby steps.
I didn’t know who Chris Roberts was until yesterday. Apparently the same guy was behind Wing Commander, Freelancer, and Privateer. And he’s making a new space sim that went kind of okay on kickstarter (to the tune of about $2 million).
I still feel slightly taken advantage of when developers tap into my nostalgia like a teeming maple tree. But at least this one seems to be putting real effort in there, unlike some other recently announced ventures.
As I’m already waiting patiently for a few donations to ripen into actual projects, I do have some skin in this increasingly popular game. But I think I’ll wait for this one to mature before investing.
I’m beat and need to decompress, so I’ll leave you folks with just one more image of the scale of this thing event. If you’ve never been, keep your eyes out for next year’s recurrence, and maybe I’ll see you there. Among these other blurry folks.
