PAX Day Three Wrap-Up (The End)

On the last day of PAX East it felt very much like the winding down of something epic. There was a sadness in my chest that can only be explained as the end of something special. The experience was like nothing I had ever had the pleasure of attending. It is like they say, "We made the kind of convention we wanted to attend when we were growing up."

To start off the beginning of the end, my wife and I attended the XBOX LIVE Enforcement panel which even my wife said was a learning experience.  You can hear the full audio of the panel above if you missed out.

Afterward we met up with our friends again to see the last Penny Arcade Q & A. Mike and Jerry (again Gabe and Tycho respectively) are as funny as they are weird and seeing them arm wrestle was priceless and perhaps a once in a lifetime (or once a year) experience.

Then, it being the last day and all, we had to finally meet Wil Wheaton. My wife and I waited in line for an hour and a half; let me just say this, meeting him, was one of the best experiences I have ever had - ever. I will be writing more about this later so if you are interested I will have a link on my Twitter or in this post sooner rather than later.

The last things that I took away from PAX East were interview questions that I asked a couple of studios (once more, more on that later). I also had the pleasure of playing Monday Night Combat which (again) will have a hands-on write-up soon.

It was one of the greatest weekends of my life and also one of the most exhausting weekends. I would have never thought I could get my fill of video games but in three short days I managed to have more (pent up) conversation about video games than I could have ever imagined. Part of me wants PAX to continue FOREVER (like an every day sort of thing) but part of me is glad that I will have to wait for the next one.

PAX Day Two Wrap-Up (The Experience)

The second day had come to pass and the gaming overload said, "Let there be knowledge."

This is my general feeling about yesterday's delicious PAXy goodness. Overall the day felt more organized - I am not entirely sure how this came to pass and whether it was my anticipation of lines or just better knowledge from the Enforcers of how things were supposed to run. A fine person whom I had the pleasure of thanking for the show also said that the convention should be running smoother.

My wife and I also woke up for the show rather early so that I could attend the Joystiq Blueberry Muffin Tops Breakfast. At the breakfast I had the opportunity to play a second map in Split Second that I will also be adding to my thoughts on the game later on.

From the breakfast we (again just my wife and I) went to the panel for the Penny-Arcade series and it was hilarious. Jerry (Tycho) and Mike (Gabe) did a live commentary on two previously aired episodes; I was doubled over in laughter most of the time. We then saw an episode that will not be aired until this Friday so that was a nice treat for PAX attendees.

Directly thereafter we got back in line for the create-a-strip panel having met up with some friends. Watching the strip was not only entertaining, but it was visually unbelievable. Watching the whole strip come together, in person, could not have been a better experience. Later when I spoke to Mike, albeit briefly, he said that the create-a-strip panel is his favorite of the weekend. It can only imagine how humbling and awesome that must be to share that.

For a good portion of the day after that panel we turned our four person group into a seven person group and just hung around chatting about what we had seen in the previous two days. This is truly what is so great about PAX - to be among friends whose heart is in the same place as your own.

I also had the distinct pleasure of introducing my friends to the Joystiq Podcast LIVE and that was great.