I've always done a Post-PAX recap.
This year was just as relaxed and carefree as the last time. Things with friends seemed to click into place. I think I was worried about being left out if I didn't organize things myself, but I wasn't. Honestly, what I've realized over the last several days is that there's not much else in the world besides friends. Connecting with other people is one of the most important things and I don't think I could be happy without it.
Somehow, I went through the entire Octopus Pie archive tonight. I bought a print of my favorite page. I'm a sap I know it. It's kind of a depressing comic though. Like Freaks & Geeks, it's too real.
I wish I could go on a run right now, but it's the middle of the night. It looks like the weather is taking a sharp turn into autumn too. Lots of rain.
After talking to T in line, I've decided I'm going to do NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. My November so far is completely empty, except for my birthday, which I've pretty much already planned. As long as I keep it that way, and hole up for a month, I can accomplish something that I've always wanted to. I don't think it even matters what the story is, as long as it makes some sense. I think I just need to know I can do it.
I don't want to get into the Dickwolves debacle, but I will say that I don't plan on boycotting PAX and I still want to Enforce for Prime. I think there's other ways of being heard.
This has been one of the most social PAXes I've had. I definitely spent more time talking to people than playing games. This was the year of the Oculus Rift and Omni. For $800, you too can own the next gen VR experience.
What else can be said? I think a lot of people were somewhat disappointed by this year's PAX. It's becoming rote. We're no longer so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. There were some great indie games for sure, ones that aren't afraid to push the envelope, to mashup, and to delve into uncharted territory. Games as Art. That's what I want to be the next big thing.
Showing posts with label PAX. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PAX. Show all posts
September 5, 2013
August 27, 2013
Summer Recap
It's the last week of the summer months and while I hope there's still several weeks of nice/warm weather ahead, I thought it'd be fun to recount what has probably been one of the most physically active spring/summers I have ever had.
April 25 - I started the Zombies, Run! 5k training and haven't looked back since. This one change has drastically impacted my fitness level and paved the way to doing so much more without feeling like I want to die. Who knew running 3 times a week would make such a difference?September 13, 2011
PAX 2011
Another year, another PAX Prime.
This was the most relaxed PAX I've ever had. I've finally boiled down PAX to what really matters: Friends & Indie Games.
We actually all (minus 1) sat down together at the Tap House Grill and had lunch together. Right in the middle of the day, during normal lunch hours, not to mention the exhibition hall being open. And the food was really good. And we had beers. Like adults. It was a real defining moment: we'd all done this song and dance before and there was no reason we needed to run around frantically, subsisting on junk food and being sleep-deprived.
I didn't even put on makeup for two of the days. Previous PAXes were focused on getting free T-shirts, the majority of which I never wear and fit me poorly, silly swag which sits untouched in bags, and playing up my role of being a hot gamer chick.
I'm hoping that this year's epiphany flows over to my IRL existence and that I can try to cut out some of the things that I used to think were important, but that I don't really need. Boil it down to the things that really matter. And what does really matter? Seems like sleep matters less and less because it's the only way I can hang out with more people.
Writing matters to me. I read somewhere that you have to get to a point where you can't NOT write, when not writing is like dying. I've always been focused on writing something amazing, and that's where it ends. But writing is one of the things that I do that I am genuinely proud of. I re-read good pieces and marvel that it was wrought by my hands and despair that I'll never reach that potential again.
I refuse to believe that I reached my creative genius in high school.
This was the most relaxed PAX I've ever had. I've finally boiled down PAX to what really matters: Friends & Indie Games.
We actually all (minus 1) sat down together at the Tap House Grill and had lunch together. Right in the middle of the day, during normal lunch hours, not to mention the exhibition hall being open. And the food was really good. And we had beers. Like adults. It was a real defining moment: we'd all done this song and dance before and there was no reason we needed to run around frantically, subsisting on junk food and being sleep-deprived.
I didn't even put on makeup for two of the days. Previous PAXes were focused on getting free T-shirts, the majority of which I never wear and fit me poorly, silly swag which sits untouched in bags, and playing up my role of being a hot gamer chick.
I'm hoping that this year's epiphany flows over to my IRL existence and that I can try to cut out some of the things that I used to think were important, but that I don't really need. Boil it down to the things that really matter. And what does really matter? Seems like sleep matters less and less because it's the only way I can hang out with more people.
Writing matters to me. I read somewhere that you have to get to a point where you can't NOT write, when not writing is like dying. I've always been focused on writing something amazing, and that's where it ends. But writing is one of the things that I do that I am genuinely proud of. I re-read good pieces and marvel that it was wrought by my hands and despair that I'll never reach that potential again.
I refuse to believe that I reached my creative genius in high school.
September 5, 2010
PAX 2010
Today was the last day of PAX Prime 2010. It was great as usual. Much much more relaxed this year than previous years, mostly because I've finally given up on winning swag/getting a bunch of free stuff. This economy just isn't cut out for the type of treasure looting I like.
Highlights include:
Highlights include:
- Winning diamonds* from the Monaco booth! I'd been thinking about winning them actually ever since I read the article and the guy was so nice! I played it once on Friday but it was with two little kids and basically we had a hard time working together and everyone died. The second time he basically waved the bag of diamonds* in my face and was like, go ahead and play a game and you'll get these. I got the most points out of my group but the Locksmith class usually does and he didn't really mention any sort of contest.. Anyway it was awesome. *i.e. 10 Cubic Zirconia
- The final Omegathon battle was 15 rounds of The Claw! The plushies were all so cute! Zach and I got great seats up in the balcony section, actually right across the room from Scott Kurtz. This year's game was no less epic than any of the others. Though it was definitely swankier being in Benaroya than being crammed up next to sweaty BO boys in a huge room, but at the same time, it's nice to be able to jump up and down and have the room charged with energy. Benaroya's ceilings are just a little too high for good energy containment.
- I bought Volumes 1-6 of Scott Pilgrim and also got a T-shirt, two wristbands and a sticker. I read through them all during this weekend, though I got a head start at my friends' house several weeks ago.
- I got to hot tub for a bit on Sat. at my hotel. It was pretty nice.
- I played Monty Python Fluxx with a bunch of strangers while waiting in line for the final Omegathon round and didn't win, they were nice to me, but also a bunch of jerks.
August 31, 2008
PAX 2008 Re-Cap
So this marks my 3rd consecutive year of attending the Penny-Arcade Expo (PAX). Friday and most of Saturday were mostly not the awesome swag getting that I remembered from last year, but I made up for it on Sunday by getting 4 T-shirts within an hour, five if you count the one I bought. Six if you count the one that I got at the Rockstar booth for Zach (the woman just shoved small t-shirts at me and I came out with two). The other cool swag that I got were Penny-Arcade postcards depicting their first D&D 4th Edition Quest (which we also recently finished) and a air gun that shoots little balls. Speaking of balls, I barely saw any Bawls at this year's PAX. I maybe saw one or two empty bottles lying about, but it was definitely not at the forefront of anyone's consciousness. Maybe they're going under? Hahaha...no one likes the bawls. I also didn't see very many raffles and such going on; it was very hard to figure out how and when to get the swag. I didn't attend any extraneous panels this year, which is a deviation from previous years, and I feel like I didn't really miss out. Sadly I didn't get to see Jonathan Coulton, but it was probably for the best...I'm not sick yet from the lack of sleep and running around!
Okay, now, for the more detailed day by day recap:
Thursday
We participated in the Pre-PAX Pub Crawl, also known as the Tri-Wizard Tourny. It was pretty crazy, and we actually met some people, both of which we saw again later at PAX. So that was pretty cool. I was apparently dressed up as Ada Wong from Resident Evil. Maybe next year I'll be a little more accurate. It was pretty fun, though crashing at the guys' place was not so great. Highlights: the make-out session, cream cheese, onion, and ketchup hot dog, and people surreptitiously taking pictures of me.
Friday
PAX begins!! I get up early and take the bus down to the WA Convention Center to stand in line. Zach does not come with because he drank too much the night before and was still feeling ill and needed more sleep. About being in line for a while, I've finished going through the PAX schedule and decide I'm bored enough to try to make friends with the nice looking guy standing next to me. He's not especially talkative initally, but luckily Ben spots me and comes to stand in line with me. He subsequently steals my new friend that's supposed to entertain me and starts to talk shop. And I'm still mostly bored. Once inside the expo hall, three seconds later I spot Zach. Turns out waiting in line was completely worthless. We wander around and completely squander the fact that we're early to the expo (i.e., we should have stood in line for something worth playing, like Left4Dead and RockBand2).
Highlights: the beginning of the Q&A Panel was f-ing BADASS EPIC AWESOME. Everyday I'm hustlin', everyday I'm hustlin'...
Saturday
My fave day at PAX, hands down. In the morning, we got up early and headed over to help some friends move. They had some difficulty getting the van and stuff so they were about 1/2 hour late. It was kind of cold outside and I didn't bring a jacket since I assumed I'd be getting pretty warm from moving stuff. It was warm inside, but Zach was just sitting and sleeping and outside, I chatted with the guys for a little bit but then they also retreated to their car to sleep. So I was bored. I ended up entertaining myself by climbing around and jumping off the porch. However, since I was launching myself off to get the most air to do a cool move before hitting the ground, the momentum practically forced me to do a roll after landing. It was exhilarating, silly, and slightly embarrassing, which resulted in me laughing uncontrollably. It's been a really really long time since the rebellious daredevil f-what people think (sort of) side of me has had an opportunity to get some fresh air. Though I guess the rocking out dancing I did for a RockBand song last week counts too. I used to do that kind of shit all the time. But over time it became more important to me to be the cute, silly, slightly befuddled girl than it was for me to be badass and do things for the shock value. I guess it was growing out of being a teenager. Anyway, I did it to impress people and shake their impression that I was just some quiet asian girl and I think I'm more stable now about who I am as a person that I don't need to do outrageous things to convince myself and others that I'm not stuck in some box. At the same time, it is completely refreshing and freeing to know that I'm still capable of thinking up and following through with my harebrained shenanigans.
Anyway, then at PAX, we hung out in the expo hall until it closed, with a short break to Starbucks near the end. I didn't get very much accomplished, I think I tried winning a t-shirt and failed miserably and kind of played the new Viva Pinata, but I couldn't figure out how to do anything. The coolest thing was watching a game that's not out yet, The Maw. The environment just looked really beautiful and cute. In retrospect, if I had known it was a PAX 10 contender, I would have voted for it.
After the expo hall closed, we putzed around for a while and then stumbled upon the RockBand freeplay area and they were playing Weezer and everyone was singing along and clapping along. There was some really great community there. Then we went over to the Annex and I got to participate in a large manual, old style adventuring quest, Action Castle, which was pretty cool, even though I almost "used" the fishing rod on the lake. I got to demo Burning Wheel and managed to kick some major ass as the lowly rat guide. It seemed like everyone else also enjoyed watching the demo and that it was a pretty good indicator of what the game play/style/fights are like. The guys actually talk a little bit about their experience doing 5.5 hours of demos on their forum. It looks like there'll be a podcast about it on Tuesday from Front Row Crew. I'll be interested to see if any of my demo session was worth mentioning :). It was a great time, though I was pretty anxious/nervous/hyped up and had the shakes for a good first half of the demo. Then we went back over to the RockBand area and stood in line for a really long time and played Highway Star for everyone. It was super exciting performing for a crowd though the drums were quite a bit harder to play due to the height, chair, and they seemed modded so I had to hit them quite a bit harder for it to register. I didn't get to see any of the cool stuff that everyone did to warm up the crowd, but it seemed like everyone really liked it. I got a high-five afterwards from some random guy. It was a good way to end the night.
Sunday
Got to sleep in a little and got to PAX around 11 or so. Hung around the expo hall doing pretty much nothing else but get t-shirts. We were quite successful at the endeavor too. I stood in line for the second Q&A and not a bit too soon since I managed to be the second to last question. I felt like I stuttered a lot of was weird sounding but Zach said that compared to the other people, I sounded great. After that, Zach and I lounged around on the Sumos for a while and then went to the console freeplay area and checked out Boom Blox. It was entertaining, but we're probably not going to buy it. I have pretty unsteady hands which is a liability in that game. We have so many Wii games that we haven't finished either even though they're just go through mini games. Then we stood in line for some Taco Del Mar food and waited in line with the guys to see the final Omegathon. Which was okay, it turned out to be Vs. ExciteBike. It was f-ing hard, like many of the ancient games. It was also a total shut out, which was too bad and the guy that I was rooting for didn't win :(. Hopefully next year's final round will be cooler. I also didn't win the drawing sadly. Some girl named Grace Wong won though. It would be cool if a girl won the Omegathon someday.
Zach and I ended the day by watching Tsotsi.
Overall, I had a great time at PAX and will need to come up with a better plan next year for making the expo hall a little more worthwhile. The lines are always ridiculous (no one got to play Left4Dead or RockBand2), and the swag was more challenging to get, but there was still cool stuff to see and a surprisingly large number of booth babes this year too. Still undecided about how I feel about that. All I can say is, I can't wait for next year's PAX! I'm so glad I live in Seattle and don't have to pay tons of money to attend it. It's totally worth it.
Okay, now, for the more detailed day by day recap:
Thursday
We participated in the Pre-PAX Pub Crawl, also known as the Tri-Wizard Tourny. It was pretty crazy, and we actually met some people, both of which we saw again later at PAX. So that was pretty cool. I was apparently dressed up as Ada Wong from Resident Evil. Maybe next year I'll be a little more accurate. It was pretty fun, though crashing at the guys' place was not so great. Highlights: the make-out session, cream cheese, onion, and ketchup hot dog, and people surreptitiously taking pictures of me.
Friday
PAX begins!! I get up early and take the bus down to the WA Convention Center to stand in line. Zach does not come with because he drank too much the night before and was still feeling ill and needed more sleep. About being in line for a while, I've finished going through the PAX schedule and decide I'm bored enough to try to make friends with the nice looking guy standing next to me. He's not especially talkative initally, but luckily Ben spots me and comes to stand in line with me. He subsequently steals my new friend that's supposed to entertain me and starts to talk shop. And I'm still mostly bored. Once inside the expo hall, three seconds later I spot Zach. Turns out waiting in line was completely worthless. We wander around and completely squander the fact that we're early to the expo (i.e., we should have stood in line for something worth playing, like Left4Dead and RockBand2).
Highlights: the beginning of the Q&A Panel was f-ing BADASS EPIC AWESOME. Everyday I'm hustlin', everyday I'm hustlin'...
Saturday
My fave day at PAX, hands down. In the morning, we got up early and headed over to help some friends move. They had some difficulty getting the van and stuff so they were about 1/2 hour late. It was kind of cold outside and I didn't bring a jacket since I assumed I'd be getting pretty warm from moving stuff. It was warm inside, but Zach was just sitting and sleeping and outside, I chatted with the guys for a little bit but then they also retreated to their car to sleep. So I was bored. I ended up entertaining myself by climbing around and jumping off the porch. However, since I was launching myself off to get the most air to do a cool move before hitting the ground, the momentum practically forced me to do a roll after landing. It was exhilarating, silly, and slightly embarrassing, which resulted in me laughing uncontrollably. It's been a really really long time since the rebellious daredevil f-what people think (sort of) side of me has had an opportunity to get some fresh air. Though I guess the rocking out dancing I did for a RockBand song last week counts too. I used to do that kind of shit all the time. But over time it became more important to me to be the cute, silly, slightly befuddled girl than it was for me to be badass and do things for the shock value. I guess it was growing out of being a teenager. Anyway, I did it to impress people and shake their impression that I was just some quiet asian girl and I think I'm more stable now about who I am as a person that I don't need to do outrageous things to convince myself and others that I'm not stuck in some box. At the same time, it is completely refreshing and freeing to know that I'm still capable of thinking up and following through with my harebrained shenanigans.
Anyway, then at PAX, we hung out in the expo hall until it closed, with a short break to Starbucks near the end. I didn't get very much accomplished, I think I tried winning a t-shirt and failed miserably and kind of played the new Viva Pinata, but I couldn't figure out how to do anything. The coolest thing was watching a game that's not out yet, The Maw. The environment just looked really beautiful and cute. In retrospect, if I had known it was a PAX 10 contender, I would have voted for it.
After the expo hall closed, we putzed around for a while and then stumbled upon the RockBand freeplay area and they were playing Weezer and everyone was singing along and clapping along. There was some really great community there. Then we went over to the Annex and I got to participate in a large manual, old style adventuring quest, Action Castle, which was pretty cool, even though I almost "used" the fishing rod on the lake. I got to demo Burning Wheel and managed to kick some major ass as the lowly rat guide. It seemed like everyone else also enjoyed watching the demo and that it was a pretty good indicator of what the game play/style/fights are like. The guys actually talk a little bit about their experience doing 5.5 hours of demos on their forum. It looks like there'll be a podcast about it on Tuesday from Front Row Crew. I'll be interested to see if any of my demo session was worth mentioning :). It was a great time, though I was pretty anxious/nervous/hyped up and had the shakes for a good first half of the demo. Then we went back over to the RockBand area and stood in line for a really long time and played Highway Star for everyone. It was super exciting performing for a crowd though the drums were quite a bit harder to play due to the height, chair, and they seemed modded so I had to hit them quite a bit harder for it to register. I didn't get to see any of the cool stuff that everyone did to warm up the crowd, but it seemed like everyone really liked it. I got a high-five afterwards from some random guy. It was a good way to end the night.
Sunday
Got to sleep in a little and got to PAX around 11 or so. Hung around the expo hall doing pretty much nothing else but get t-shirts. We were quite successful at the endeavor too. I stood in line for the second Q&A and not a bit too soon since I managed to be the second to last question. I felt like I stuttered a lot of was weird sounding but Zach said that compared to the other people, I sounded great. After that, Zach and I lounged around on the Sumos for a while and then went to the console freeplay area and checked out Boom Blox. It was entertaining, but we're probably not going to buy it. I have pretty unsteady hands which is a liability in that game. We have so many Wii games that we haven't finished either even though they're just go through mini games. Then we stood in line for some Taco Del Mar food and waited in line with the guys to see the final Omegathon. Which was okay, it turned out to be Vs. ExciteBike. It was f-ing hard, like many of the ancient games. It was also a total shut out, which was too bad and the guy that I was rooting for didn't win :(. Hopefully next year's final round will be cooler. I also didn't win the drawing sadly. Some girl named Grace Wong won though. It would be cool if a girl won the Omegathon someday.
Zach and I ended the day by watching Tsotsi.
Overall, I had a great time at PAX and will need to come up with a better plan next year for making the expo hall a little more worthwhile. The lines are always ridiculous (no one got to play Left4Dead or RockBand2), and the swag was more challenging to get, but there was still cool stuff to see and a surprisingly large number of booth babes this year too. Still undecided about how I feel about that. All I can say is, I can't wait for next year's PAX! I'm so glad I live in Seattle and don't have to pay tons of money to attend it. It's totally worth it.
July 10, 2008
Pre-PAX 2008 Thoughts
OMG, they're going to start sending out our PAX badges next week! Exciting times are almost upon us!
Every year (so far this'll be my 3rd time), I dream about what it would be like if I were chosen to be one of the Omeganauts. Or, I guess, someone that I knew. Anyway, they're doing the random choosing between this week and next! Ahhh, the fame and the glory...or possibly the utter humiliation and shame...the chance to participate in one of the greatest Gamelympics ever. Though I suppose with PAX being next month, you'd only have about a month to "train" for it. Man, the final round was last year with Halo 3 was really intense. Though, pretty much all FPSs are.
Also exciting...Jonathan Coulton will be there (though apparently he was there last year as well...how did I miss that?)!! Time to brush up on his songs and memorize all the lyrics so I can sing along like a true fan. I hope he plays his song on Rockband and gets people from the audience to fill in the rest of the band. He can even play guitar and sing. That would be the roxorz.
Every year (so far this'll be my 3rd time), I dream about what it would be like if I were chosen to be one of the Omeganauts. Or, I guess, someone that I knew. Anyway, they're doing the random choosing between this week and next! Ahhh, the fame and the glory...or possibly the utter humiliation and shame...the chance to participate in one of the greatest Gamelympics ever. Though I suppose with PAX being next month, you'd only have about a month to "train" for it. Man, the final round was last year with Halo 3 was really intense. Though, pretty much all FPSs are.
Also exciting...Jonathan Coulton will be there (though apparently he was there last year as well...how did I miss that?)!! Time to brush up on his songs and memorize all the lyrics so I can sing along like a true fan. I hope he plays his song on Rockband and gets people from the audience to fill in the rest of the band. He can even play guitar and sing. That would be the roxorz.
October 24, 2007
Picture Exhibit A & B
Last week's post was a little rushed and dull, so I thought this week's posts might be more entertaining with pictures!
Figure 4: Lobby Outside of Exhibit Hall & PC Gaming Room
Figure 5: Big Daddy - BioShock
Figure 6: Orc Man Playing Cards
Figure 7: Pirates & Booty
Figure 8: Rock Band!
Exhibit A: My first ever pedicure & manicure
As the title so accurately points out, the following pictures are of my first ever ever pedicure and manicure. I think it cost me about $50 for both. However, the place that I went to was decidedly the suxorz. They butchered Rae's manicure, i.e. several of her fingers were bleeding after the cuticle removing bit, and both of our manicures were all cracked under the clear veneer after just a day or two. Which apparently is a sign of cheap nail polish :P.
I'm looking forward to going back to the Tri-Cities where Zach (the boyfriend)'s mom knows of a nice parlor and I'm planning on taking my mom to get her nails done there.
Figure 1: My Bootiful fingers & toes!
Exhibit B: PAX 2007
Our second year of attending the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Good times were to be had by all, though none of us won anything, I got a couple free T-shirts and lots of chicken ramen.
Figure 2: Most Annoying Experience of PAX
Figure 3: The Tetris Loser from Last Year's PAX
Our second year of attending the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Good times were to be had by all, though none of us won anything, I got a couple free T-shirts and lots of chicken ramen.
Figure 2: Most Annoying Experience of PAX
Figure 3: The Tetris Loser from Last Year's PAX
Figure 4: Lobby Outside of Exhibit Hall & PC Gaming Room
Figure 5: Big Daddy - BioShock
Figure 6: Orc Man Playing Cards
Figure 7: Pirates & Booty
Figure 8: Rock Band!
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