My Favorite Things About PAX

Good morning, and welcome to PAX Prime 2012 everyone! By the time you read this, I’ll be knee deep in Enforcer hullabaloo in the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington, surrounded by tens of thousands of gamers and having the time of my life. 

It'll be as much fun as when Tycho groomed Felicia Day. Source.

I feared that this write-up would come off far too brag-y, so here’s my solution to fix things: today’s article is about my favorite aspects of PAX. Its purpose is to entice you to attend some year, or get you super pumped about attending next year if you were unable to obtain tickets for the 2012 show.

It’s not easy to narrow down the innumerable fantastic things about PAX, but I’m going to do my best. Keep in mind that this is in no way a definitive list, and everyone’s experience varies! No matter how you prefer to spend your time, PAX has something fantastic to offer. This is but a tiny sampling of an ever expanding table of geek nourishment.

Source.

1. The Vendors

Have you been eyeing a specific shirt, dice bag, or other piece of nerdy accoutrement? Chances are that a vendor at PAX will have exactly what you’re looking for. Better yet? A reasonable price and free shipping*! My personal favorite? Sanshee, the New England based nerd clothing and accessory company. Last year I purchased a shirt, earrings, and bumper sticker from them. This year I anticipate many more shirt purchases!

*free shipping because you'll be carrying it. Get it? Heh.

2. The Expo Hall

I love video games. They’re exciting and fun and I can’t wait to get my hands on the upcoming titles from my favorite companies. PAX provides opportunities for the general public to play games before they’re released. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are always on the scene with the latest and greatest, so you can bet they’ll be bringing something exciting. PAX 2005 I played Twilight Princess for the Gamecube before the Wii version was announced (a whole year before the game was released) and it remains one of the most glorious moments of my life. 

3. The PA Q&A Panel

Gabe and Tycho, your gracious hosts. Source.

Mike and Jerry, or Gabe and Tycho as they’re better known online, are the founding fathers of PAX, and indeed the creative duo behind Penny Arcade, the webcomic from whence PAX sprang. Every year they host a Q&A panel where excited attendees can ask whatever questions they want. More often than not, people share deep, personal, touching stories, and it’s quite the experience to be in the room as the tales unfold. Additionally, Mike and Jerry wax hilarity and share entertaining behind the scenes information about their ever-expanding empire.

4. Tabletop

One entire floor of the convention center is dedicated to tabletop/board games. Dice, mats, and player tokens as far as the bespectacled eye can see. Practically any game you could imagine playing will be present at PAX, and you, my friend, will have the pleasure of playing. Friday and Saturday night PAX is open until 2 am, so there’s practically no limit to how many games one could get in (OK that's not true, some games take hours upon hours). And it gets even better. You know those vendors I mentioned earlier? Well, a lot of them sell board games, too.

5. Community

Cozy socialization. Source.

It’s amazing knowing that I’m with friends when I’m at PAX. Even if I end up wandering alone, I am surrounded by friendly faces. Lines are long, but tempers don’t run high. It’s difficult for me to strike up conversations with strangers, but at PAX I don’t even hesitate. Everyone is friendly and willing to talk. It’s the most accepting place I’ve ever been. If you find yourself in the handheld lounge desperately seeking a beanbag chair to relax in, don’t be afraid to ask for a spare one. These people are nice, and they’re willing to share.

So there you go, my favorite things about PAX. If you’re still really upset that you’re not attending, then please follow us on twitter and instagram (both @abitofgeek)! We’ll be doing our best to post highlights and entertainment throughout the weekend. If you ARE at PAX and you managed to read this, then I thank you and we should find each other and say hello!

What are your favorite things about PAX?

-MJ

Read More

PA Kickstarter creeps close to 450k goal

The Penny Arcade Kickstarter has been going for almost a month now, and while at the time of this writing they've made $410k, almost twice their $250k goal, they're still a far cry from their ultimate and still-secret goals at the one million dollar mark.

Penny Arcade’s undertaking is straightforward and still fascinating: raise enough money to make the site ad free for an entire year. Be sure to read their Kickstarter for full information, but here's a short summary: eliminating ads, and therefore the time needed to organize, sign on, and create advertising content, would free up time for a plethora of new and exciting projects.

I was surprised at first, because I don't find their ads to be intrusive. I'd even say that it's easy to forget Penny Arcade even has ads. The ads on the site don't include flashing images, bright colors or sounds, and they never pop out and take over the user's screen. Each ad is carefully chosen, and games are only advertised if they have first been played, and more importantly enjoyed, by the Penny Arcade team. They are ads that can be trusted, assuming you respect Penny Arcade’s opinion.

Once one understands that the ad removal is less about the actual ads and more about sparing time for new projects, then it's easier to rev up your excitement engines and start kicking money toward all of the goals.

Penny Arcade Kickstarter goals that have been achieved so far.

Personally, I find their goals to be awesome and inventive. Fans can, so far, expect the leader-board ad to be gone for a year, a new six page Automata comic, and a cosplay event from Jerry Holkins aka Tycho from Penny Arcade. The next goal to be reached is titled 'Strip Search,' and will be a reality style show about up and coming webcomics.

It's amazing to see the list of ideas that the Penny Arcade team has formed, and it seems that the fans and community at large are anxious to help the goals come about.

Mysterious Penny Arcade Kickstarter goals.

However, the highest goal sits at a whopping $1.4 million. Other Kickstarters may have reached into the millions, but those all had a tangible reward, i.e. something to buy, have, or use once funding had been reached. In the instance of Penny Arcade, the money simply goes toward paying the Penny Arcade corporation. This isn't a bad thing though. As stated on their Kickstarter page, a lot of fans want to contribute financially but aren't interested in purchasing books or t-shirts. And truly, there's nothing all that strange about paying for a product that one enjoys. Penny Arcade is merely allowing fans to help fund them directly.

They're breaking new ground and very likely starting the wing flaps of a revolution. I'm very curious to know where it all goes and if they try it again next year. It doesn't seem likely that they'll make all of their goals, and it doesn't seem realistic to ask people to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars every single year. That's really the only part where I draw up short: what will happen next year? Where will Penny Arcade go from here? They've said themselves that they have no idea, but they really want to explore the "what if's" of the situation.

Lookouts: Daughters of Eyrewood preview drawing from the Penny Arcade Kickstarter.

As a huge fan of Penny Arcade and a believer in chasing your dreams in general, I hope that the Penny Arcade Kickstarter exceeds all of my wildest imaginings and Mike will get to draw to his heart's content. If we're lucky, the world will soon know more about the Daughters of Eyrewood, we'll get a free Twisp and Catsby children's book, and I'll finally get to cruise around the PA website via a custom made app! Man, who cares* what they do next year, this year is going to be awesome!

-MJ

*actually I do care, I'd love to see all of the incredible, amazing, inspiring things that Penny Arcade dreams up year after year after year All images taken from the Penny Arcade Kickstarter site

Read More