My boss let me have Wednesday off, so today is my Friday as well. That also means that I can, in theory, go to bed a bit earlier than I would have Wed night/Thurs morning, and we can probably head up to Seattle at our earliest convenience for some pre-PAX gaming.
The 2004-2007 ones were great. I only missed 2005 due to stupid drama. I still regret it. I don't plan on going to East, but at least going to the first South will be worth it.
I started going in 2008. Skipped 2011 and just went to Bumbershoot. Living in Seattle makes it easier to get to both though. Before we had to drive over from the east side which was a pain.
With some clever reboxing, I can fit Suburbia (+ Inc.), Pandante, Blue Moon, Caylus Magna Carta, and Yspahan into two boxes (with some loose boards for Suburbia and Yspahan).
Another brilliant PAX, completely satisfied yet happy-sad it is over.
I accompanied 2 people on their first PAX experience and it helped me see that PAX is indeed as awesome as ever (in case I doubted!) as they are as affected as I was after my first PAX. One of them spoke repeatedly and without provocation that he felt so welcomed as a gamer for the first time in a long time (maybe ever) and the lack of judgement or disapproval was heartwarming and that he felt like he had finally found a home.
I felt like one day was pretty satisfying. In hindsight maybe I would have gone a second day but I dunno. Felt like I experienced most of what I wanted to. Next year if I'm still as lucky I might just buy the 4 day badge and then just keep it on hand if I want to wander over from Bumbershoot, or I'll just share it with my friends.
I had a lot of fun this year despite having to drive back home each night to take care of my cat, and getting sick Sunday morning. I got to play some new games, and met some new, awesome people.
Now you can tour the Expo hall with us in glorious mostly raw style.
Experience the joy of what it's actually like to walk next to us in an Expo Hall! I only edited out long conversations with other people, bathrooms, and fighting through crowds.
I'll probably cut the best moments into their own videos. Notable moments include:
1. Background Guy who seems really mad at / impatient with us at the Logitech booth 2. Scott: "Tell us about your game." Guy: "Have you played MOBAs before?" Scott: "OK, we're good." 3. THE BRAIN IS A HOUSE; THE HOUSE IS A BRAIN 4. The guy who owns hundreds of pounds of dice. 5. Cardboard Naruto 6. RAM STICKS!
I'll probably cut the best moments into their own videos. Notable moments include:
1. Background Guy who seems really mad at / impatient with us at the Logitech booth 2. Scott: "Tell us about your game." Guy: "Have you played MOBAs before?" Scott: "OK, we're good." 3. THE BRAIN IS A HOUSE; THE HOUSE IS A BRAIN 4. The guy who owns hundreds of pounds of dice. 5. Cardboard Naruto 6. RAM STICKS!
I watched it. There were definitely some good entertaining parts and some not so good parts. We definitely did some bits that were a combination of humorous and informative. If we practice more I think we can do something really good. I think a monopod for a walkaround like this can help the camerawork a lot. Good thing I already own one.
Also, switching between the audio from the camera and the marantz is too obvious. The camera audio is actually surprisingly good. Maybe get one of those shotgun mics for the camera? Maybe the wireless system with a handheld mic?
Shotgun mic is useless unless it's pointing directly at both of us or the single third person. We'd have to be careful, or we'd have to get Emily to be our cameraman.
The audio would be way better and not require switching if I'd calibrated the mics better. It never mattered for what we normally use the Marantz for, but here I discovered a disparity between the metering/clip indicator and the actual clip point. A little research later, I've calibrated it correctly.
If it hadn't clipped, I could have done some super clever inverted channel stuff to clear out the noise. I tested more thoroughly here, and it was crazy high quality.
We could use a shitto Tascam to use both E6s AND have a local close mic for people:
Really, we went in only expecting to record ourselves, and ended up accidentally having good conversations with people. A combination of editing and planning handles that better: they're two very different kinds of video.
I experimented with stabilization, and I can work magic. I only used it in a few places, however, as it requires a nuanced human hand to not look awful. Definitely doing it for short segments, but never long videos.
I also didn't bother with sliding any video around to cover bad angles. Whatever video is on screen there is exactly what we saw while we were talking: complete 1:1 sync. I could easily have cleverly moved the video around.
But yeah, the experiment was a success. Round Two at PAX South.
No no, get the dr-44wl. Full wireless control, the on board mics have shockmounts (if you ever use it), more recording options (multiple formats at once, lower gain backup recordings, etc), and it comes with more accessories (wind screen, handle, carrying case, etc).
It was a super enjoyable walk through. I like the edits, especially the mad mouse guy and dismissing games.
Also, by Blizzard taking all the bullshit out of a MOBA to make it better has the opposite effect (from my play on the beta). You know when that one person on the enemy team gets ahead and is really hard to kill unless you have some team coordination? Now its just the entire team gets better and you're pretty powerless to change the outcome. The game depends too much on teamwork which might sound stupid but if you have one guy who's not down with the plan, everything just fails and the rest of the game is the other team winning slowly.
If you're a super casual player and don't care about winning then it is the game for you.
I don't mind shaky camera, but I do mind TILTED camera. The camera should ALWAYS be horizontal. Always. Get a spirit level and stick it on top of the camera.
I don't mind shaky camera, but I do mind TILTED camera. The camera should ALWAYS be horizontal. Always. Get a spirit level and stick it on top of the camera.
The camera has a built in level on the LCD. I'm pretty much always using it, but of course if its handheld in that kind of environment it's not always going to be 100% perfect.
I really liked the fact that you didn't appear on screen much or at all. And because Scott was one of the commenters, he knew exactly what to point at. The less you are on screen, the better, because then for editing reasons you can make yourself say the most interesting things while the most interesting view is on screen.
Stick with Scott on camera, Rym appearing as hands and demo man, have a spare mic to point at someone talking, and a slightly tighter edit.
Comments
OMG, it's my Friday. I'll get my PAX prep of relaxation and pampering soon. Massage and pedicure. Ahhh.
I DIDN'T KNOW!
Caverna remains massive.
I accompanied 2 people on their first PAX experience and it helped me see that PAX is indeed as awesome as ever (in case I doubted!) as they are as affected as I was after my first PAX. One of them spoke repeatedly and without provocation that he felt so welcomed as a gamer for the first time in a long time (maybe ever) and the lack of judgement or disapproval was heartwarming and that he felt like he had finally found a home.
Damn PAX is a special place/experience.
See you at South!
Also, FLOOSH!!!!
Experience the joy of what it's actually like to walk next to us in an Expo Hall! I only edited out long conversations with other people, bathrooms, and fighting through crowds.
1. Background Guy who seems really mad at / impatient with us at the Logitech booth
2. Scott: "Tell us about your game." Guy: "Have you played MOBAs before?" Scott: "OK, we're good."
3. THE BRAIN IS A HOUSE; THE HOUSE IS A BRAIN
4. The guy who owns hundreds of pounds of dice.
5. Cardboard Naruto
6. RAM STICKS!
Also, switching between the audio from the camera and the marantz is too obvious. The camera audio is actually surprisingly good. Maybe get one of those shotgun mics for the camera? Maybe the wireless system with a handheld mic?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/907000-REG/Panasonic_dmw_ms2_External_Stereo_Mic_For.html
Too much moneys...
The audio would be way better and not require switching if I'd calibrated the mics better. It never mattered for what we normally use the Marantz for, but here I discovered a disparity between the metering/clip indicator and the actual clip point. A little research later, I've calibrated it correctly.
If it hadn't clipped, I could have done some super clever inverted channel stuff to clear out the noise. I tested more thoroughly here, and it was crazy high quality.
We could use a shitto Tascam to use both E6s AND have a local close mic for people:
http://www.amazon.com/DR-40-4-Track-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B005NACC6M
Really, we went in only expecting to record ourselves, and ended up accidentally having good conversations with people. A combination of editing and planning handles that better: they're two very different kinds of video.
I experimented with stabilization, and I can work magic. I only used it in a few places, however, as it requires a nuanced human hand to not look awful. Definitely doing it for short segments, but never long videos.
I also didn't bother with sliding any video around to cover bad angles. Whatever video is on screen there is exactly what we saw while we were talking: complete 1:1 sync. I could easily have cleverly moved the video around.
But yeah, the experiment was a success. Round Two at PAX South.
Also, by Blizzard taking all the bullshit out of a MOBA to make it better has the opposite effect (from my play on the beta).
You know when that one person on the enemy team gets ahead and is really hard to kill unless you have some team coordination?
Now its just the entire team gets better and you're pretty powerless to change the outcome. The game depends too much on teamwork which might sound stupid but if you have one guy who's not down with the plan, everything just fails and the rest of the game is the other team winning slowly.
If you're a super casual player and don't care about winning then it is the game for you.
Stick with Scott on camera, Rym appearing as hands and demo man, have a spare mic to point at someone talking, and a slightly tighter edit.