It’s been quite a blur the last couple of weeks, folks!
With the start of school I’ve been hard pressed to find time to do much of anything but study, and it’s only Week 2! Seeing as a couple of my classes really haven’t even gotten started yet, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a hectic semester.
Before school started, however, I had the chance to participate in the annual Seattle spectacle known as PAX, or Penny Arcade Expo for the uninitiated. It’s a giant gaming convention that thousands of people and groups participate in every year, including DigiPen. The indie (small independent developer) presence at PAX is huge, and it’s a great way for the DigiPen students to show off the games they make at school.
It’s also a ton of fun. Basically, it’s four days of game nerds and geeks celebrating every video game, board game, and card game they’ve ever loved while getting a chance to play brand new ones with friends. PAX has everything you might expect: people dressing up (cosplaying is the official term), tons of games, panels on game development, tournaments, and more.
To add to the experience, two of my old college buddies came into town to join me over the weekend. Mike, my buddy from San Fran, and Nate, from my DC post, both came to explore Seattle some more and see at least some of the spectacle.
When we arrived at the Convention Center, it was early (we weren’t sure what traffic would be like trying to drive into the heart of the city on a Friday morning), but the lines were already starting to form. We were also greeted by this fella, who told us we were in the right place.
Nothing says ‘Welcome!’ like a giant furry goblin that chucks bombs.
Technically, he’s not a goblin, but that’s descending into a level of geekery we don’t need to go to right now. The important thing to know is that it didn’t take long for PAX to kickoff, and it quickly became apparent there was waayyyyy too much to do in so little time. I made the mistake on Friday of trying to hit every single panel I could, and that left me running around the convention center and the nearby hotels with little time to enjoy the surroundings.
That said, I did see some pretty cool talks, including one by a surgeon at Udub (University of Washington), who discussed how he’s building and using simulations to improve surgical outcomes, with some pretty impressive results. He’s found through his research that video gamers can actually outperform trained surgeons in certain tasks, and that by having a surgeon warm up with a video game (pretty much any one) fifteen minutes before a surgery reduces the number of errors by over 30%. He also brought a simulator with him, and gave a few members of the audience a chance to remove an appendix and clamp a bleeding blood vessel.
Saturday was a bit more laid back, and I spent some time exploring the show floor and some of the new games coming out:
Just your average, everyday Titan robot popping up through the floor. Nothing to see here.
Sonic the Hedgehog! Will he finally release a great new game after so many years of waiting? Find out in Booth #317.
We also had the chance to see the League of Legends Championship Series live, which was pretty cool. They had set up a huge stage and arena on the top floor of the convention center, and the line of people waiting outside was massive.
We had a chance to watch some pretty great games right there, listening to the announcers and seeing the players firsthand. The crowd was pretty electric. I suppose you might wonder why someone would want to sit in a room to watch someone play a video game, but honestly, I don’t think it’s much different than sitting in a stadium to watch a game. If you know the game, you understand how good the guys are, and to be able to see them live means you can actually get a better feeling for how they interact off camera. And as they are ultimately playing a million dollars (or $200,000 per teammate), and future endorsements (by computer and game companies, of course) they definitely interact.
Sunday and Monday were more low key, and I spent them playing in some tournaments and meeting some new people. It was nice to step outside the crowded halls and just sit with people and play some exciting 2013 and 14 games, or occasionally an old classic. I still attended more than a few panels, and got some great insight into game development from more than a few individuals who have encountered numerous struggles.
Unfortunately, despite all the fun I had, PAX brought something bad with it as well. Pox.
Or specifically, the notorious random sickness that has become renowned every year as the ‘PAX Pox’. Inevitably, while being surrounded by thousands of people, touching the same surfaces, or just talking and meeting new friends, someone will get sick. A game convention is particularly susceptible to such an occurrence simply due to its nature. Playing games still requires touching controllers, game pieces, and direct interaction between people. Even with the most proactive measures, it’s bound to happen. In the end, I guess I got the full PAX experience. It was a risk I knew going in, and fortunately, it didn’t fully strike until later in my first week of school.
As I said at the beginning of the post, school has been plenty busy, but fortunately, I’ve been making a point to be extremely proactive about it. By the time I came down with PAX Pox, I had already completed a great deal of my homework (yes, I had many assignments given the first week – it wasn’t just a wasted week of handing out syllabi). However, all that said, I don’t think I can do the first weeks of school justice without making the post even bigger, so I’m going to hold onto that story until next time.
I had a blast at PAX, and recommend it to anyone who loves video games. It’s a fun experience, and very low key, so even if you just wanted to check it out, you’d be welcomed by the crowd, no matter your familiarity with the games.
As a final farewell to PAX and this post, check out the video below for a collection of some of the zany costumes seen this year. See you next time!
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