I have been to my fist PAX. I really didn’t have any idea what to expect since my convention experience has been limited to the Emerald City Con (a comic book convention…no I don’t read them, I went with my daughter), PNW Mouse Meet (in Lynnwood for 4 years now. If you are a Disney geek like me, this is a must do) and Sew Expo (in Puyallup, not just sewing and quilting but also yarn, spinning and classes). To say this was different would be an understatement!
We got there about 10am and there weren’t all that many people so we were able to get right in. The crowds did build up by about noon to the point where it was difficult to walk. This is not a show with a lot of vendors selling things, although there was a little of that. It is mostly for gaming companies to show off their biggest and brightest new things and let people try them out. All the big companies where there: Disney, Nintendo, Warner Brothers, Sega, Microsoft, EA, well you name them and they were probably here. But it wasn’t all about the big companies because there were a lot of very small companies and new start-ups. It was nice to see regular people making a go of their business and to be so excited about what they were doing. Many of the small businesses are trying to get funding through Kickstarter. They also had large areas set up on multiple floors just so people could play table top games. They all seemed to be having fun.
Something else that struck me about this show was the graphics. I know that sounds odd but I don’t play games much, mostly confined to my older gameboy where the pictures are not the best. I haven’t looked at a “real” video games in a long time and suddenly tI am in the middle of these huge rooms with screens 20-5- feet tall and with the most stunning graphics I have ever seen! These are animated masterpieces. Even if the subject isn’t to my taste, the artistry is amazing. Oh and did I mention the sound? Oh my gosh, it was over whelming and it was everywhere. It is possible I need to get out more but I was blown away by the sheer experience of it all. I had a great time!!
My only 2 disappointments were that Disney was giving a way Oswald Ear Hats if you played a demo of Epic Mickey. Well the line at the beginning of the day was about 2 hours and I wasn’t going to was that much time when we only had one day (even for Oswald Ears) and Wil Wheaton was there and I didn’t get to see him. I didn’t want to talk to him, I just wanted to lay eyes on him.
So, would I go again? In a heart beat! My daughter says we have to get the 3 day tickets next year and I think I will. It was more fun than I thought it might be and I really learned a lot. And boy did I get a lot of “art materials” Wow. I haven’t created anything with it yet but I will.
Dana
Special Things 