Also, were you in line for Beyond D&D; to get a button? I hope so because I gave all ALL the buttons, except one for myself, my boyfriend, and one for someone else.
Sorry, I didn't even know anyone was handing them out. I'm one of those people who either just doesn't make the cut or gets passed over for free stuff. Somehow I got through the opening day line and realized I was the only one without a handful of crap, so I went back to the end to get my initial swag bag and lanyard(I discovered later that I could have just asked an enforcer for one). This is obviously my own fault; I'm usually busy looking at other things and don't stand out enough to get noticed, or perhaps my biceps intimidate people. It's all good though. I DID get my Hello Kitty online adventure kit.
I'm sick of T-Shirts and buttons as swag. I'm more in need of some socks and underwear; I'll see if I can hold out and hope they come through next year. If they want to gamble with the weather, rain ponchos would be pretty nice too. Oh, and deodorant or body spray would be wonderful!
One of the booths were actually handing out Hand Sanitizer, and another booth was handing out some sort of body-spray! There was a lot of interesting swag this year, though yeah. I brought home 10 shirts.
PAX 2009 was beyond amazing. It just keeps getting better and better. I had the best time, and met and hung out with awesome people all weekend.
Just wanted to give special shout outs toHeavyCruiserLostand his posse. It was great meeting you guys and gaming it up. Also toVentureJ. I wish we had more time to hang out.
And of course to the Rym, Scott, Emily, & Alex: I'm always happy to meet new people of the FRC. Hope you guys feel better, for I am also getting a cold.
Jeremy and I plan on attending PAX East 2010. So hopefully more forumites and FRC will be there to meet and hang out with.
Time to pass out..
Ro, it was totally rad meeting you and your bo Jeremy this year. Thanks again for teaching me Dominion and then playing it with me just about every time we hung out. I was telling the ole' grilf about your awesome needlepoint(?), but I neglected to score an illustrative example. Assuming your Super Mario World project isn't "super secret" could you post/send me a picture?
One thing that really concerns me about PAX East is the audience that will be permeating there. As far as I know, the people in PAX West are just totally awesome and cool people. What I am worried is that those douchebags and scary fanboys will be there and not make it like PAX West. This upsets me because I just want there to be a con that doesn't have these scary people, and PAX West just sounds plain awesome and a revolutionary change of pace from other cons. I hope PAX East will follow suit.
I'm pretty sure there are douchebags and scary fanboys at every convention, it's just whether you either find yourself in an area full of them or are isoloated within a group of people so you don't have to worry about it :-p
I'm pretty sure there are douchebags and scary fanboys at every convention
The rate of scary folk is about 1000% higher at any given anime convention (or even gaming con) compared to PAX. I don't think it's a coast thing, either: PAX East is probably going to be just as fanboy-free.
It's part demographics. PAX attracts affluent 20-30 year old gamers. Anime cons attract 15-16 year old poor punk kids. The coast has nothing to do with it, either. As several PAX enforcers pointed out, Sakuracon is an awful, fanboy-filled convention which they they avoid like the plague. Those fanboys don't come to PAX, but they're in the area.
It's part psychology. Anime cons treat their attendees like children. They have a million rules, the staff are always yelling at people regardless of whether yelling is necessary, etc... The rules of PAX are so simple it's beautiful, and rarely is there a problem. It's not just age, either. The 15 year old kids at PAX act like adults, and often, the 30 year old anime con attendees act like idiots.
It's part attitude of the staff. One enforcer is worth twenty anime con "gophers" or even 5 anime con "staffers." They're smart, knowledgeable, dedicated, hard working, and most importantly, VESTED WITH THE AUTHORITY THEY ARE DUE. Every time something off-script happened, the Enforcers made a spot-call and immediately improvised a solution. At worst, they called up their base to get approval for their improvisation (which took all of 30 seconds). Despite being so clearly superior in every way, they're just volunteers like at any anime convention. The only difference is that anime cons generally treat their staff poorly and give them little authority, itself filtered through seniority and hierarchy. PAX's flat structure makes its "Staff" the best there is.
I would be very, very surprised if PAX East had even half of the problems that all other east coast (and west coast) conventions have.
I agree with Rym 100%. I'm only slightly hesitant about PAX East for one reason.
PAX West had years to build up to where it is now. We've only seen it for the past two years. There were four PAXes we did not attend. The first PAX was very very small compared to the later ones, with just a few thousand people. They were able to easily build the culture of PAX with a small group, and perpetuate it forwards.
PAX East is going to start out huge from the get go. How many west coast enforcers will make the trip? How many will be total newbs? Without that strong starting seed of awesome to dominate, the culture of PAX East will form in an uncontrolled nature during the early hours on Friday, and be difficult to modify from then on out. However, if enough people from PAX West come, they can dominate early on, and set the bar in its proper place.
Also, it appears that the Seattle Convention Center is incredibly easy-going compared to any of the others I've seen. The security staff are beyond excellent, and they let PAX get away with murder. Bean bags and tables in the hallways, letting people bring in outside food. It's almost like PAX didn't even sign a contract with the convention center. I wonder if they can get the same sort of power in the Boston convention center.
Gah, everyone is sick from PAX. I read the official PAX forums and it seems like a nasty flu is going around. I had a high fever last night and I feel like crud today.
PAX West had years to build up to where it is now. We've only seen it for the past two years. There were four PAXes we did not attend. The first PAX was very very small compared to the later ones, with just a few thousand people. They were able to easily build the culture of PAX with a small group, and perpetuate it forwards.
I think that you have a point with this. It will be interesting to see.
Gah, everyone is sick from PAX. I read the official PAX forums and it seems like a nasty flu is going around. I had a high fever last night and I feel like crud today.
Scary. I honestly don't know what I have. I really don't have stuffy/runny nose, but mostly a really bad cough and body aches. No fevers, but I'm cold.
I just took some cough syrup with codeine. Time to each chicken soup and fall asleep in front of the TV.
There was an H1N1 outbreak at WSU over the past week before and during PAX. I'm guessing a few students went to PAX as well and that's how it spread.
While H1N1 pandemic flu still hasn't reached 1918 influenza morbidity and mortality rates, it *is* going up. If you get really sick, it would probably be a good idea to go to the doctor or hospital if necessary. Last spring most of the people getting really sick were the immune compromised patients but a shift has started to occur where more non-immune compromised people are developing more serious cases.
In short, don't write it off just because you think it's not a big deal.
I'm glad I carried Hand Sanitizer around with me. Definitely helps that whole flu situation quite a bit. The only aches I got were caused by prolonged standing and walking.
The security staff are beyond excellent, and they let PAX get away with murder. Bean bags and tables in the hallways, letting people bring in outside food.
I never really noticed this, but you're absolutely right. Do they normally let people get away with that (in other conventions)?
The security staff are beyond excellent, and they let PAX get away with murder. Bean bags and tables in the hallways, letting people bring in outside food.
I never really noticed this, but you're absolutely right. Do they normally let people get away with that in other conventions?
In a word, no. Otakon is filled with "staffers" shouts of "No running! Don't block the aisles! Get out of the way!" One kid, this year, got kicked out on Sunday for bringing in and playing either a bagpipe or an accordion, my memory fails me. A lot of people followed him out.
Comments
That's too bad you didn't get a button. I was pretty much handing out buttons and cards for Geek Nights to the people in line.
I'm already craving some Dominion action. I think I'll have to convince my bo to play with me today. =3
It's part demographics. PAX attracts affluent 20-30 year old gamers. Anime cons attract 15-16 year old poor punk kids. The coast has nothing to do with it, either. As several PAX enforcers pointed out, Sakuracon is an awful, fanboy-filled convention which they they avoid like the plague. Those fanboys don't come to PAX, but they're in the area.
It's part psychology. Anime cons treat their attendees like children. They have a million rules, the staff are always yelling at people regardless of whether yelling is necessary, etc... The rules of PAX are so simple it's beautiful, and rarely is there a problem. It's not just age, either. The 15 year old kids at PAX act like adults, and often, the 30 year old anime con attendees act like idiots.
It's part attitude of the staff. One enforcer is worth twenty anime con "gophers" or even 5 anime con "staffers." They're smart, knowledgeable, dedicated, hard working, and most importantly, VESTED WITH THE AUTHORITY THEY ARE DUE. Every time something off-script happened, the Enforcers made a spot-call and immediately improvised a solution. At worst, they called up their base to get approval for their improvisation (which took all of 30 seconds). Despite being so clearly superior in every way, they're just volunteers like at any anime convention. The only difference is that anime cons generally treat their staff poorly and give them little authority, itself filtered through seniority and hierarchy. PAX's flat structure makes its "Staff" the best there is.
I would be very, very surprised if PAX East had even half of the problems that all other east coast (and west coast) conventions have.
PAX West had years to build up to where it is now. We've only seen it for the past two years. There were four PAXes we did not attend. The first PAX was very very small compared to the later ones, with just a few thousand people. They were able to easily build the culture of PAX with a small group, and perpetuate it forwards.
PAX East is going to start out huge from the get go. How many west coast enforcers will make the trip? How many will be total newbs? Without that strong starting seed of awesome to dominate, the culture of PAX East will form in an uncontrolled nature during the early hours on Friday, and be difficult to modify from then on out. However, if enough people from PAX West come, they can dominate early on, and set the bar in its proper place.
Also, it appears that the Seattle Convention Center is incredibly easy-going compared to any of the others I've seen. The security staff are beyond excellent, and they let PAX get away with murder. Bean bags and tables in the hallways, letting people bring in outside food. It's almost like PAX didn't even sign a contract with the convention center. I wonder if they can get the same sort of power in the Boston convention center.
I just took some cough syrup with codeine. Time to each chicken soup and fall asleep in front of the TV.
Sorry, I just had to type it.
While H1N1 pandemic flu still hasn't reached 1918 influenza morbidity and mortality rates, it *is* going up. If you get really sick, it would probably be a good idea to go to the doctor or hospital if necessary. Last spring most of the people getting really sick were the immune compromised patients but a shift has started to occur where more non-immune compromised people are developing more serious cases.
In short, don't write it off just because you think it's not a big deal.
One kid, this year, got kicked out on Sunday for bringing in and playing either a bagpipe or an accordion, my memory fails me. A lot of people followed him out.