Determined to learn from my mistakes from the previous day, I left the house at 7:00 am.  The trick I realized was arriving slightly before the doors opened at 8:00, but not too early so as to stay out in the cold for an hour due to long lines.  I arrived at the convention center by 7:30 am.  My prediction was correct, and, within 20 minutes I got inside – a little past 8:00.

As soon as I walked in the door, the enforcers (volunteers who work at PAX) filed everyone through into two lines either for Jack Septic Eye’s Greetings and Discussion panel or for the convention hall to play the latest and upcoming games.  Of course, I followed the line for the convention hall, but was amazed at how many hundreds went to the line for Jack Septic Eye.  Once I proceeded as far as I could, I was told that everyone would have to wait for two hours.  I killed time by chatting with fellow game enthusiasts and networked where I could.  Towards the end of the wait, volunteers brought out inflatable Pokeballs, beach balls, and cubes for people to hit and keep in the air.  We celebrated when someone managed to hit one of the banners hanging from the ceiling.  At 10:00 am the floodgates opened and everyone jogged or sped walk to the gaming booth of their choice.

Remembering CharminEXSoft’s suggestion to play the game Dauntless, I decided to head there first and see if I could perhaps get in line to play.  While I expected a long line last two hours, I was greeted by a pleasant sight of only 8 people waiting for the developers to finish playing.  After speaking with one of the designers of the game and hearing how to play, I teamed-up with three strangers and fought a giant owl.  Within 15 minutes we emerged victorious and earned a cool badge as our reward.  I also entered a raffle to join the beta, so we’ll see how that goes.  As I left the booth, I saw an enforcer holding a sign that said “Dauntless, est. wait time 90 minutes.”  Glad I arrived early.

Next I ventured towards the indies where I tested several titles such as Bulb Boy, Northgard, Night in the woods, Wulver Blade, Tooth and Tail, West of Loathing and Rude Bear Resurrection.  While this may seem like a small amount of game time, spending 15-20 minutes at a station can really eat up the clock.  Compared to the previous day, I felt that my second day was much more productive. By researching the games ahead of time, I was able to make a list of games I wanted to play and then visit whichever booth had the shortest line.

Feeling satisfied of a long day’s work, I ventured around the exhibition hall and took photos, checked out some new board games, bought a PAX shirt, and even treated myself to a horror movie-themed card game. I can’t wait to try this!

To end the day at PAX East, I took a selfie with Randy Greenback and interviewed him for my upcoming podcast.    Thanks Randy!

I hope to one day showcase my own game at PAX, but I know I’ll have to earn it.  Let the games begin!

Hello fellow gamer!  Adam here.  I thought I’d kick my first post off with PAX East.  During PAX I was jet lagged from leaving Japan and returning home, but I was hyped.  I hadn’t been this excited since I attended the Tokyo Game Show last fall, where I caught a 5:00 am train to be one of the first in line at 7:00 am.  After attending the Tokyo Game Show twice, I learned that every show requires a different style of preparation. Since I live in the heart of Boston, I thought I’d leave my apartment at 7:00 am and make it to the doors by 8:00 when security allows people inside.  Boy was I wrong!

When I arrived at the convention center, I was greeted by a long line of people snaking two blocks.  After enduring what seemed like a never-ending 90 minutes outside in the cold snow, I finally made it to the first panel of the day, “How to PAX.”

The panel was as I expected: an introduction on how to make the most out of PAX, but the last 15 minutes brought the event to life.  Everyone drew three emoticons that described their personality and turned their sheet into a paper airplane.  We exchanged paper airplanes by having a paper airplane war, and I made some good contacts.  Thanks to that exercise, I met a computer programmer who was hoping to work for valve and a passionate game artist.  After exchanging business cards, I made my way to the exhibition hall to play some indie games.

Despite the long lines for the games, I was uplifted since I knew today was the chance to meet Randy Greenback, the executive producer of Friday The 13^th The Game.  I recalled several of his tweets advertising a game of his called Battle Sloths, so I decided to check it out.

I went to the Battle Sloths booth and what I thought would be a quick 15-minute visit, turned into a 1-hour play session and free talk with the developers of the game.  I even got to meet Randy Greenback and talk to him about Battle Sloths and Friday the 13^th.  He’s a great person who loves making all kinds of games and trying new things.  For those who don’t know, Battle Sloths is a simple game where players play as sloths and compete in classic game modes such as king of the hill, death match, and capture the flag (or in this case, pizza).  Oh, and did I mention the sloths have these epic hats?!?!?  The booth was so much fun that I even returned for a second time to participate in a raffle.  I was one of three selected and won a new Corsair Mouse Mat.

After an exhausting afternoon of gaming and networking, I grabbed myself a pizza and claimed my spot in line for the Friday The 13^th: The Game panel.  The 1-hour wait in line was worth it.  I got to sit in the second row and ask some questions during the panel. (story continues below)

(You can see my recording of it here).

The best part was getting to meet and chatting with co-creator Ronnie Hobbs, Randy Greenback, and the community manager Ben Strauss.  I hope to one day reach their level of success and position in the industry, so I was able to say that I had a fulfilling day thanks to that panel.

I slept like a log that night, but I knew I could organize my time better for Sunday’s panel .  With that in mind, I began to plan for Sunday’s PAX.