This marks my first PAX and there seems like there is a lot. Apps and Nintendo warp-pipes and parties and Seattle. But I'm mostly just hoping to see some cool panels and to spend 5 days not at my job. What all are you people looking forward to.
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Anyone going to PAX West 2019?
- Thread starter PersonAndStuff
- Start date
Hey, I just got to Seattle! This is my eighth PAX (seventh Prime/West), and my first West after moving back to the East Coast. There is a lot to do and see, but hopefully it won't overwhelm you.
Don't know if you're looking for some panel recs, but "The Improvised Postmortem" is a hilarious good time. The game music panels tend to be excellent as well. One new-to-me panel I'm looking forward to is "RPS Presents: A Complete and True History of Jason Statham in Videogames".
As for games on the show floor, my favorites tend to be the little indies I've never heard of before. I am hoping to check out the Playdate at Panic's booth, however.
I'm also looking forward to meeting up with friends; I used to organize Cheapassgamer's PAX meetups and we have a small, but tight-knit, group that gets together most every year now.
Hope you have a good time!
Don't know if you're looking for some panel recs, but "The Improvised Postmortem" is a hilarious good time. The game music panels tend to be excellent as well. One new-to-me panel I'm looking forward to is "RPS Presents: A Complete and True History of Jason Statham in Videogames".
As for games on the show floor, my favorites tend to be the little indies I've never heard of before. I am hoping to check out the Playdate at Panic's booth, however.
I'm also looking forward to meeting up with friends; I used to organize Cheapassgamer's PAX meetups and we have a small, but tight-knit, group that gets together most every year now.
Hope you have a good time!
Gonna bump this thread rather than create a new one.
Anyone else incredibly worried that the new security measures are going to ruin PAX?
There are so many people, and going through metal detectors and bag searches is going to be insanely slow compared to the usual "flash your badge" style.. also less entrances.
I'm not joking when I suspect the line to get into PAX at any given time might be several hours.
And all it does is create a MASSIVE bottleneck of people way larger than any crowd inside of PAX ever would be... I really don't understand how that is more secure for the attendees.. it simply puts the attendees outside of the venue and removes the liability on the vendor.
Anyone else incredibly worried that the new security measures are going to ruin PAX?
There are so many people, and going through metal detectors and bag searches is going to be insanely slow compared to the usual "flash your badge" style.. also less entrances.
I'm not joking when I suspect the line to get into PAX at any given time might be several hours.
And all it does is create a MASSIVE bottleneck of people way larger than any crowd inside of PAX ever would be... I really don't understand how that is more secure for the attendees.. it simply puts the attendees outside of the venue and removes the liability on the vendor.
My main worry about the security measures is that the convention's events are spread out between the WSCC and a handful of hotels. It's going to make it very hard to go to a panel at the Sheraton, pop over to the Expo Hall for a bit, pop out to go to a different hotel, etc. Having to go through security each time will be a pain. I hope it won't be so bad, but I guess we'll see.
IIRC, other PAXes don't have this issue as for those, the entire event takes place within one convention center. It seems they might not have thought things through when it came to West's specific logistics needs and how they differ from those for the other cons.
IIRC, other PAXes don't have this issue as for those, the entire event takes place within one convention center. It seems they might not have thought things through when it came to West's specific logistics needs and how they differ from those for the other cons.
I live in the area, but this is the first year in a while I am not going. It is usually a good time! I am going to the ID@Xbox event tonight since it is free and generally the lines to play some interesting indie titles are not nearly as long as they are on the show floor.
Did you queue up this morning? The Annex line got moving more than 15 minutes late. Was in the Sheraton half the day afterward, but getting back into the WSCC in the late afternoon was another ~5-7 minute wait.
Hope things go smoothly tomorrow, especially given how much bigger the crowds will be.
I'm a pax vet, looking forward to my last one for a while before I move to Germany for a few years. Sunday only this year. I think over time, I've found myself less interested in playing the games as opposed to meeting fellow gamers and seeing the excitement around this awesome segment of entertainment.
It's always a nice bonus to play that little game tucked off in the corner that you'd never heard of before and falling in love with it. Panels can be interesting as well, I always try to hit a few that pique my interest. This year I'm thinking of attending at least NoClip and The Couple That Games Together, and possibly the PAX Bake-off and Kinda Funny if I can swing the time (more like energy 😜).
It's always a nice bonus to play that little game tucked off in the corner that you'd never heard of before and falling in love with it. Panels can be interesting as well, I always try to hit a few that pique my interest. This year I'm thinking of attending at least NoClip and The Couple That Games Together, and possibly the PAX Bake-off and Kinda Funny if I can swing the time (more like energy 😜).
How is it BS when people want to feel safe after all the crazy stuff that's been happening in the country? I've been coming to every PAX West/prime for 11 years now and I'd rather have this than not. They at least decided to open half an hour earlier so there's that to at least compensate a little bit. I really wish they don't stop with the metal detectors next year because people want to get in faster and sacrifice security.
I was being a bit dramatic but I still don't like it.
And Waffle I don't feel more safe at all personally.
Security didn't cause any problems getting into the main theater yesterday for the keynote an Q&A, they had plenty of people manning the doors, went just as smoothly as before they added security
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Security isn't too bad. Largely because the other venues don't have it. And convention center lines lighten up after a few hours.
Still way too much to do. Choosing between parties and panels and video games lines.
FYI, playing a board game with randos in a decent way to relax and sit down.
Still way too much to do. Choosing between parties and panels and video games lines.
FYI, playing a board game with randos in a decent way to relax and sit down.
I have to imagine whatever it is will be posted on the internet eventually.
This is my first year attending and the show floor has been ok, played some indies, some big stuff. The panels have been the highlight of my days so far. Only regret is I'm not here for 4 days and I'm sad I'm leaving after 2 days.
I've been going for 15 years now and I totally agree. The new security measures suck the fun right out of it. The WSCC staff and enforcers are all yelling a lot more. I got asked to take my child off my shoulders before getting on the escalators. Wtf?
Before the appeal was moving around between board games, events, q&as, Expo halls, food at Pike place, console Freeplay, etc. Now everything is in separate buildings and the entrance is around the back and you have to funnel in big brother style. Phew, long gone are the days of Meydenbauer people were breaking bottles of Bawls stepping around broken blue glass like no big deal we're all adults.
Was there an active shooter threat or something?
Before the appeal was moving around between board games, events, q&as, Expo halls, food at Pike place, console Freeplay, etc. Now everything is in separate buildings and the entrance is around the back and you have to funnel in big brother style. Phew, long gone are the days of Meydenbauer people were breaking bottles of Bawls stepping around broken blue glass like no big deal we're all adults.
Was there an active shooter threat or something?
I'm way too poor to go to any conventions like PAX. Being that I'm from Ohio, there's almost no conventions that anyone would care for like PAX or GDQ.
The show floor this year is definitely more toned down if you're not into indies in my opinion. A lot of major devs/publishers aren't there or have smaller presence which I'm guessing is because we are at the end of this gen. Bethesda and MS usually have pretty big booths.
Depending on where in Ohio you are, GenCon could be close enough. "Save you a plane ticket" close enough, albeit probably not "no need for a hotel" close enough.
But it's a lot more of a board games/DnD kind of thing, which may not be your style.
That said, what are people's highlights of the show so far? I'm only going two days this year: anything I need to be sure not to miss? For my part I'd say that Steel Battalion in the Console Freeplay area is a must, just because it's something you won't get to play elsewhere if you missed it when it came out. Like, I don't need to wait in line to play a demo of a game that comes out in two months, but a chance to play a unique game that I've lost the opportunity to reasonably buy myself is huge IMO.
There's also True Dungeon apparently; I've done it at GenCon and it's a good time. Tickets for the real thing are sold out, but apparently there's a free demo I might try for funsies.
No, nothing like that. ReedPop, the company that produces PAX and other conventions, seems to be making this more of a norm for their shows, as far as I can tell. They also run Emerald City Comic Con out of WSCC, and this past year's show was the first time that metal detectors were instituted there, as well. PAX in general has also been looking for ways to make more effective use of space since pretty much forever, too.
I went to PAX the past couple of days and my last day this year will be Sunday. The heightened security aside, it hasn't felt that different to me from the past few years, ever since more panels were pushed out to the hotels and the show floor was reconfigured for things like the arena.
I'm here, 4 days. Went to Garry's story time, Outer World's panel, Greg's Indie Game Showcase and The Inter Website game tournament. Been the good part so far. I tried a few games, PAX just doesn't feel the same to me anymore. One of my buddies sold his pass for sun/mon already just wasn't feeling it.
I went to Death Stranding and played some indies. But I just can't seem to find anything to get into here. I just feel like a cash cow now, instead of a valued guest (This is honestly the last few years I've felt this way) vs 4-5+ years ago.
I went to Death Stranding and played some indies. But I just can't seem to find anything to get into here. I just feel like a cash cow now, instead of a valued guest (This is honestly the last few years I've felt this way) vs 4-5+ years ago.
It was the footage from Gamescom with an additional cutscene at the end. It was the one that explains how you need to cross America to link together colonies that refuse to be connected. You also have to save the woman in charge who was trying to connect everyone before she was taken to the west coast. You start in the east coast. DC specifically it seems.
Yea, explained why the BB's are necessary equipment to see BT's and how none has survived beyond a year. Then had the info about Emily, who's mother it seems was very close to Sam. They stripped Sam of something, locked him down or captured him. Clearly there's bad blood between him and the government. They want him to reconnect the network while traveling across America. Once he gets out west to save Emily who is being held as a bargaining chip/leverage by a proposed terrorist organization that's causing void zones. (BT sites?) Through various means, including suicide "bombings".
It's basically nonsense. If you can walk right into the Hyatt Regency board game area with no metal detectors, what are the metal detectors at the CC doing? They're both part of PAX, and both have tons of people. If someone wants to get into PAX and cause death, they'll have no issues at all.
It's security theater and making the experience worse. Yes, mass shootings are terrifying, but this does nothing except make them feel like they're winning, in my opinion.
On topic, still having fun. The Supergiant Games orchestra concert was great!
It's security theater and making the experience worse. Yes, mass shootings are terrifying, but this does nothing except make them feel like they're winning, in my opinion.
On topic, still having fun. The Supergiant Games orchestra concert was great!
I'm working in the Expo Hall as an Enforcer. I'm not at liberty to say much as I can only speak for my experience. But I think the security measures are fine and welcome as a veteran of many, many cons. I also think the reason many big games are MIA is because of Gamescom and quite a few other cons still left. As for the metal detectors, that's something WSCC wanted, not ReedPOP.
If anyone sees a tall Latino man on the 6th floor hovering near Finji with two bandannas (yellow and magenta), black framed glasses, and a grey fanny pack, please say hi. I'm wearing a bunch of pins around a dull blue lanyard include a Witcher 3 one.
If anyone sees a tall Latino man on the 6th floor hovering near Finji with two bandannas (yellow and magenta), black framed glasses, and a grey fanny pack, please say hi. I'm wearing a bunch of pins around a dull blue lanyard include a Witcher 3 one.
Both of those companies missing surprised me. At least Doom Eternal is at the Stadia booth in Bethesda's case, but Microsoft not being there seems like a big deal, especially since they're local. Nintendo's presence feels like it's been dialed back over the past few years as well, since they're no longer in the Handheld Lounge. I did like that a smaller publisher I follow, NIS America, has a proper booth this year, but I'm mainly into B-tier games and indies of all kinds to begin with.
Steel Battalion is in Console Freeplay?! That I'd like to check out. They've had some neat oddities there in past years, like a Vectrex, but I don't remember seeing Steel Battalion before.
As a figure collector, I enjoyed First 4 Figures' display near the main PAX merch booth. They brought some completed prototypes of upcoming figures like Conker, Phoenix Wright, and Amaterasu. As for games, not much yet. The Playdate was very cool, and Panic also brought back last year's Untitled Goose Game demo, which I finally got to play. Haven't played much else yet; Wilmot's Warehouse (which has been at PAX before and just came out on Steam) and Spacebase Startopia were two that stood out. Starting today with the Dwarf Fortress panel, which sounds like it should be great.
Yeah, the metal detectors seem like ReedPOP just covering their asses. There's a ton of people at the hotel venues and those have much lighter security. At least the WSCC lines move reasonably quickly.
Yo, Jo-awn is there? I'm heading to seattle right now. I'll only be at pax tomorrow, but if he's still around maybe we'll bump into eachother.
I've never been to PAX, and I have a one-day pass for tomorrow. I also was lucky enough to get a Nintendo appointment at 10 AM. What I see on the PAX website is that the convention opens at 10 AM.
Anyone have any tips or is there anything I should know about entering? I'll probably show up early so I can figure things out, but I'm a bit worried I'm going to get stuck in some line or lost and not get over to the Nintendo area (wherever that is...need to look for a map) in time.
Anyone have any tips or is there anything I should know about entering? I'll probably show up early so I can figure things out, but I'm a bit worried I'm going to get stuck in some line or lost and not get over to the Nintendo area (wherever that is...need to look for a map) in time.
1. Wear deodorant
2. Bring water (there are a bunch of water fountains but having a bottle means you aren't running around looking for one, and it gets warm in there)
3. Nintendo is on the fourth floor, they have a massive area that's hard to miss. But the lines are long, so be prepared to wait/get there early
4. Food in the convention center is definitely inflated in price so I'd recommend bringing your own snacks.
5. HAVE FUN
6. Wear deodorant
Noted on the deodorant. Haha. Regarding getting to Nintendo early, is it possible to enter the convention before 10 AM?
I could have sworn it opened at 9:30 but I imagine getting in line early would help. That said, it's the last day so maybe a lot of people had their fill already
I'm locked in the 6th floor all 4 days. Only time I come out is to take bathroom breaks for water and run to the break room. Additionally to get food from Juicy Cafe during my lunch break. That PAX Crack tho. 👌
Played FF7 Remake. It was good. Also go check out the Red Bull Lounge on 1F. Free drink and swag until 5, games. Come find me brehs. Today there will be an army of Enforcers with kazoos during hall close (I kid you not).
Expo Hall is open now. Good luck with Nintendo and SE since that's been a bum rush to their booths for the tickets.
The doors do open at 9:30 this year, though with the added security and metal detectors, queuing first thing in the morning is not what I'd recommend. Especially after a friend of mine suffered the queue for 45 minutes on Friday and had a psychological distress reaction to it.
I appreciate the clarification, and also the work that you and all of the other enforcers put in! I was so worried about my friend when she didn't show up on the show floor that I had to pull an enforcer aside to ask people to look for her. Friday morning was absolute hell, but the show improved massively for us from then on.
My pleasure! The top priority of Enforcers is to make sure no attendee leaves unhappy. So if there's a wall of Enforcers keeping foot traffic clear because of Nintendo, it's for you own safety. Conversely, it could be someone's first and last PAX and an Enforcer could be their last interaction.
Ditto strollers being banned from the expo hall. It's a fire hazard hence why they're either folded, have a medical badge, or are tagged with gaff tape marking clear to be on the floor.
I've been bouncing around between Double Fine, Fan Gamer, Playdate, Sanshee, Finji, Astroneering, Kitfox Games, Yacht Club, Retro Entertainment, and No More Robots. If I'm not there, then I'm near the entrance using my phone to check messages.
Edit: if anything, PM your number since that's faster. I plan to go on break for an hour.
Ahh man missed this threads continuation (figured it died). I was there three days and sold my Monday pass. Would have at least liked to say hi to people. As far as the event. I think this will be my last year. Had a blast with my group of buddies but that was almost entirely indepdent of Pax in reality. Pax is drastically different than when I first started coming. I couldn't really find my niche, or interest in many of the things. Prior to coming I'd pretty much seen all of it and the engagement wasn't there for me. It was helpful to come with a large group again to confirm that it wasn't just the people I was going with (friends with only passing interests) but the event itself too. I think the next con I attend will either be one of the biggest, or much smaller more specific cons that allow a little more personal touch.
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I stayed at the Regency during PAX and completely agree with this. None of those measures were going to prevent an active shooter or someone going in to cause mass damage. It was completely safety theater as you say. Could it prevent something? Sure possibly. It's a preventative measure to a degree. But anyone who really wanted to could have done so easily.
PAX goes beyond the convention center, so whatever is at the wscc has to follow the guidelines of the building. The stuff at satellite locations is the same. I think the Paramount is the only other place that had security, and the rest are all hotels which it would be up to them, but then they'd have to do it for everyone staying there as well.
Anyways, security was annoying but I'm used to it from East and south so it was just a matter of time. Good PAX overall, this makes 25 in the books for me.
Anyways, security was annoying but I'm used to it from East and south so it was just a matter of time. Good PAX overall, this makes 25 in the books for me.
This PAX was so boring. Definitely an off year. Next year should be wild though with the next gen consoles coming.
It was an okay PAX for me. There weren't as many games on the show floor that I found interesting, unlike past years, and one panel I ducked out of because it wasn't very good, but it had its moments. The Jason Statham panel was probably the highlight.
It was also good to see our West Coast friends again. One of them doesn't even go to PAX anymore and just explores Seattle for most of that time (though he did watch at least one of the streamed panels from his Airbnb). He might be on to something.
It was also good to see our West Coast friends again. One of them doesn't even go to PAX anymore and just explores Seattle for most of that time (though he did watch at least one of the streamed panels from his Airbnb). He might be on to something.
Sorry I missed this comment before; I also made the mistake of attributing the additional security to ReedPOP.
The Sheraton had additional security with dogs, but that seemed to be the only other venue. The Paramount's security was a little weird. I only went there for the Omegathon final, but their metal detectors were set up differently, with no way for security to screen bags separately, as it was with WSCC. Also, unrelated to security: it was very nice to be in the Paramount again; it's a beautiful space.
I only went for Monday but I had a good time. Was a bit overwhelmed at first and definitely missed out on a few things cause of the limited time, but I was able to do most of what I wanted. Now, I'm stuck in the beautiful city of Seattle until I can fly back to Orlando where a hurricane has shut down the airport...
This is the first time in years I've gone in on Monday, and boy, that's gotta be the best day to do the show floor. It wasn't empty by any means, but it was the *most* empty, a lot easier to walk around, had shorter lines. That was the PAX I remember. If I go next year I'll probably do Sunday and Monday instead of my usual Friday and Saturday.
For me, Friday was the only day I wanted to get there first thing, and I started the day at the Paramount; its line along the side of the road seemed fine. Sunday and Monday I strolled in shortly after 10, no line worries (but...also too late to get tickets to play FFVII Remake, which were only available first thing)
I know it's over, but I thought I read that they were going to allow people to enter the building starting at 8am (with the exhibition hall opening at 9:30). Which should have minimized queuing outside of the metal detectors.
For me, Friday was the only day I wanted to get there first thing, and I started the day at the Paramount; its line along the side of the road seemed fine. Sunday and Monday I strolled in shortly after 10, no line worries (but...also too late to get tickets to play FFVII Remake, which were only available first thing)
If you go to another PAX show and feel overwhelmed, remember, the AFK room is always there for folks to take a breather in. It's okay to feel overwhelmed so that's why that room exists. Also, Unplugged is chill as sin so you would probably find it less crazy.
While it's unfortunate that there wasn't a meet up (I was bored quite a few nights) for this show, I enjoyed PAX West. I particularly enjoyed how chill it was upstairs as opposed to the 4th floor's mad house. I sadly never got to see the Indie Mega booth and the Stadia booth but I heard it was lit like a Roman candle. I now place Seattle on #2 behind my home sweet home, NYC on US favorite cities I've visited so far. Chicago is tied if not #3.I l hope to return again next year. Furthermore, I got Greg Kasavin to sign my badge and told him I loved his work during his Gamespot days. PAX Unplugged is likely to be next for me and I'm mulling over South. There's going to be three PAX shows on back to back months. 😬
Hecht It was a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh. If you ever find yourself in NYC, I'm making B-Dubs take to you to Action Burger. 😏
The two things I can say about the Stadia booth:
1. It was bright enough to see from Tacoma.
2. It was one of the more sparsely trafficked places on the show floor compared to most everything else.