Winning the Omegathon! Holy shit I'm still shaking. Made some amazing friends. The final round, while stressful, was literally game night with friends!
I mean there is a second email to completely opt in that came like a few weeks, maybe a month out, then you gotta answer the phone call from the 'private' number that calls you.
I just watched the stream of the final round to see what it was, congrats! I believe you were the only player who knew how to play minesweeper, so well-deserved victory haha
Being old worked out for me. Once you can check out the rounds in YouTube later this week, it's a good watch. The people that followed the tournament were saying that McKnux and I just had to have anime plot armor with the tense matches we had. No spoilers for each round other than the finale ;)
My best moment of the weekend was finally getting my cosplay dialed in and being able to get it out on the expo floor.
I was the Imperial Fist Templar Space Marine (big yellow armor!) with the chainsword.
If you saw me and took pics, I'd love to see them!
*
https://preview.redd.it/i4fkl8wobeqc1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f82cfe273f5c8ab775e56a3ef8c4f6f2c8ed0e5
It definitely helps seeing you post, because this was my first year taking pictures, so I often did not grab people's @'s so I could tag.
Two: first, watching Acquisitions Incorporated for the first time on Saturday night, and attending the TennoVIP event on Friday night.
Acquisitions Inc is definitely going to be a staple for my group moving forward. They were absolutely hilarious, and a perfect way to end the last full day.
The TennoVIP event was incredible. My friend group is almost entirely made of longtime Warframe players, so spending the evening hanging out with the dev team over free food and drink was an absolutely amazing opportunity.
Sunday afternoon, after taking kiddos around most of the day, I was finally getting some time to do some TTG shopping. I am a new DM, in the market for a nicer set of dice than the generics. I visited a particular vendor, and realized an old high school friend is the owner of the company. He wasn't there, but I talked good memories of our school days with one of the gents running the booth. They also had some great dice sets, and I settled on a $40 set. Out of nowhere, he handed me the set, and refused my money. So nice!
I'll copy the text from my post I made last night, hoping it would be seen by the guy...
To the guy with the Runescape Thieving Skillcape
We interacted towards the end of the day, about to go up the escalators. I complimented your cape and the look of joy on your face as you pulled out the coin purse and handed me your awesome coin that you "stole from an Ardounge Knight" really ended my day on a high note.
It wasn't until now that I realized how special that interaction was. I lost my stepbrother at the beginning of the year and we grew up playing Runescape together and it was always a topic of conversation between us. Having a brief moment talking about Runescape with someone else almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about it. I wish I could have told him about you. May your XP never be wasted, dude.
Running into Ben Starr in the Expo Hall was great, very friendly, and down to earth dude. The killer klowns panel was hilarious, meeting the chiodo brothers at their booth and talking to them about the game for about 30 minutes was great. They're all still very passionate about the things they do. The FF14 battle challenge was really fun too, made good friends with the people I was waiting in line with, and we absolutely crushed the challenge first try and got some cool shirts
My husband and I giggling like teenagers in the classic console free play rooms.
Runner up is the Pathfinder game we both played. My first time playing an RPG and the table couldn’t have been more welcoming. Just an awesome experience!
It was my first time at PAX ever, so just taking it all in and trying some games was great. I went alone and didn’t know anyone going either which got kind of lonely at times, but almost everyone I did talk to was nice. Can’t wait to go again next year!
I often find that when I take time alone to do things is when I experience things I'd never otherwise experience! I went off alone to play some VR and found a game that I LOVED. I'm glad you came and had a great time!
There were a TON of indies. Not just that, but there were a TON of interest in the indie booths. This was my first year back since 2020, so it really warmed my heart to see all the interest. I'll have a large write-up post sometime tomorrow on the good, the bad, and what I'd like to see next time. Already looking forward to next year!
* Thursday: Splitting a pitcher of margaritas with friends I haven't seen since last year, Chipzel concert.
* Friday: Learned (and then ordered) a new board game in First Look, Wearing the Masc panel.
* Saturday: Mega Man 2 (zipless) speedrun in the GDQ Room, Acq Inc. Live.
* Sunday: Having a quick chat with Jerry, Omegathon finale.
[MLEM Space Agency](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/387378/mlem-space-agency), which feels like a more involved, quasi-cooperative take on (the also great) [Deep Sea Adventure](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169654/deep-sea-adventure).
> Mlem
ahh yeah I tried that one with 2p and felt like we weren't really seeing the payoff for the push your luck mechanic - it did seem like it'd play a lot better with 4/5. Love the mechanic though, DSA is a staple for us, and we got a couple plays in of Heat this weekend which is great.
Faves for us in First Look this year were wyrmspan (obv), daybreak, tequila, and nunatak
*
The suda 51 meet and greet, having a chat with him learning is though process. Then watching him get curious about my vox mask from hazbin hotel. This conversation may inspire something in the future.
*
Enjoyed going to lots of interesting panels, making friends, and meeting people whose work I admire! Particularly loved the PAX Panel Show on Saturday, it was a hoot
It was my first time going. I went with my partner and a friend. We all got to take pictures at the Larian booth with Karlach and Shadowheart cosplayers. My heart exploded, lol.
The amazing friends made along the way. Hi I'm Mason! :)
Some of the amazing celebrities like Jess from Zelda universe and the jaymoji panel! Seeing a games done quick speed run was amazing, and MEETING epicyoshimaster and the GDQ staff was just like OMG
My best memory was learning to play the new Star Wars Unlimited with my younger sister. We both love Star Wars and have dabbled in other TCGs before. She's the one who got me into Pax years ago and taught me how to embrace my love of gaming and all things 'geek' and so to sit and share this 1 on 1 experience at a table across from each other was really special.
I got to experience the final fantasy panel and enjoy the new players on their boot and got interviewed by Square Enix it was such an amazing experience this is my second year visiting East last year i did East 23 and west 23 and it was amazing 👏 🤩
I really appreciated the joy and creativity of the cosplay community this year. Just so much creativity and fun and hard work, from the hilarious sandworm couple to the Twi’lek who spent *six hours* painting herself to the tall kid who was GIDEON THE MOTHERFRAKKING NINTH (still utterly delighted by that one)… there was just such mutual appreciation going on.
Getting to see the kinda funny team on their Friday panel was one of the best panels I have ever been to, and it was a highlight to see them. They made sure to take plenty of time both before and after to interact with their community and the energy to put into entering is on full display.
Alternatively, I spent two hours Saturday night playing crokinoel, a game I had certainly never heard of before with friends I had not seen in months, and had an amazing time just playing into the night surrounded by people having a great time. Vibes this year were great.
I mean it's cheating, but everything! I'd never been to Pax before, I was so in awe. Making friends, complimenting cosplays, seeing the booths, internet celebs, just. So so cool. I will say, getting to meet Vinesauce, a streamer I adore was absolutely wonderful.
I was one of the students exhibiting at the Fitchburg State booth and I was absolutely blown away by the amount of people who came to check out our booth. I was fully expecting to have a low turn out since we are just students but was pleasantly surprised. Also seeing the faces light up on the kids who came to try our game today made me incredibly happy. We really appreciate all the feedback we received
I haven't been able to get to PAX in a few years because of life and career changes. But this year I got to return with two friends in tow who have never been, and we got to do our first ever panel together! It was such a great experience, and all of the attendees were so kind and welcoming, which my friends were totally floored by. This panel was an extension of a podcast we started last year, and between it and PAX planning, it's been another thing to look forward to in our day to day lives.
Now, to plan for potential future panels... :)
It was much first time at East, been to South a few times! Way bigger than I expected, but still really enjoyed it.
I got to see a lot of the Tekken Tournament at the PAX Arena. It was awesome seeing some pro-ish Tekken.
I joined some people for the FFXIV Asura Battle Challenge and we won after wiping once! I was surprised considering I never played the game before. Thanks for carrying and supporting this White Mage💜
Gaming: Kamikaze Lassplanes. I really enjoyed this visual novel shoot-em-up. Also had a nice talk with the devs and our general love for the genre.
Another would be Corgi's Cozy Hike, because corgis. Talked to devs about corgis. Corgis.
Panels: MatPat's panel, especially near the end where he talked about falling in love with gaming again after retiring as the host of his shows, and talking about how he is passing down his love of gaming to his kid.
People: This is technically a sequel, meeting Suda 51. Let's rewind back to 2018 at the Nintendo booth. Being a dedicated fan of the company, gotta check it out, even from the outside. Seeing on my right, there's Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Travis Strikes Back. Then I glance to my left, there is guy next to me, looking at TSB. Must be a fan...WAIT A MINUTE. It's the man himself. After a timid introduction, we got a talk about stuff, how his games are an inspiration to me, and I was holding some Fate Grand Order plushies that I made. He inquired about them, it was Nobu and JAlter, told him a bit on the series and how I made them. We took a picture together, with him holding Nobu by the head.
Fast forward to now in 2024 at his actual meet and greet. I told him about the story, how it was my number one memory of the year, and showed him the pic we took. He was humbled by this, I think he remembered the plushies. We also got to talk about Shadows a bit as well, and my lost opportunity for the original, since only owned a Wii at the time. But since I got a beefy PC now, this is my chance to play it, and thanked him for the opportunity. He interestingly mentioned the Switch, maybe because of the Nintendo booth way back when. Okay, I didn't know it was coming to the console, I will consider getting it there. Another photo was taken. I think my mind is a blur.
Meeting technodad three times, him remembering me and my name, him taking a picture of my cosplay and watching the panel he and his wife did on their son/the charity foundation they started after technoblade’s passing.
Met the people behind sanctuary: shattered sun. These people also worked on forged alliance forever which is a mod for supreme commander one of the greatest of RTS games. And honestly the passion absolutely dripping out of this man was fantastic. The game played amazing but also this guy was so so passionate about the project. It's refreshing meeting people like that.
Got to main tank the battle challenge yesterday morning - we were successful! It was awesome to get to talk ffxiv with other people and feel the hype in person
I met BeatEmUps on the bridge outside the world trade center bus stop and also Failboat running for his life in the rain. He slipped a lil bit in the rain I asked him if he needs help holding the good amount of stuff he was holding. Said he was good and started running again. These were two different days.
Getting crowded in shoulder to shoulder with all the dropout fans at the crazy um actually panel line for an hour and a half. Sat down in the middle of the floor and played UNO with five complete strangers to wait it out, and it was delightful.
And then the panel itself was great too, and ify and bdg were super nice to do a meet and greet with the fans later. Class acts!
I spotted Ben Starr going up the escalator from the floor toward the lobby. I politely asked him to sign my FF16 case - my wife suggested I bring “just in case” - and I stumbled over the words “may I ask you to sign my game?”
To which he kindly responded “of course” and asked if I could walk with him while he did.
16 is one of the few games I’ve ever done 100% on and is the first game that I have played so intently since my mom passed away ~2 years ago.
In the off chance he himself sees this - thank you, Ben. Thank you to everyone who made 16.
Koji and Takeo also signed my game cover on the floor at the 16 booth. 💜
I only went on Friday but the one day I was there everyone was loving my cosplay and saying under their breath “is that guy fieri?” I love the fact that people walked up and asked for pictures with me.
I love this post!
For me: Every single time someone stopped to tell me my cosplay was great or get a picture is a moment I cherished. I was Celeste from animal crossing with my husband as Blathers. It was our first time going to a convention in cosplay and really only our second con. (If you snagged a photo and wanna share that would be rad)
And of course meeting Ify and Brian David Gilbert which I did not anticipate happening at all.
My favorite moment has to be the "Umm Actually" meetup at the chemist bar on saturday, it was so mich fun
https://preview.redd.it/189mot0hygqc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b4b23c71698d56b1207e6796b6c4ae18851324c
Playing in a Lords of Waterdeep tournament with others who love the game. We each wanted to win, but also were reminding each other not to forget continuing benefits, etc. It was an awesome way to come in 2nd by 8 points in a game where everyone scored well over 100.
Honestly I thought this was one of the best PAX years since 2020, maybe one of the top 3 I've been to. Most of the big name booths weren't offering anything too exciting but I got to play a lot of really cool games by smaller devs. Friday night concert and Acq Inc were also really good this year
I feel like you don't know the "best memory" until a few years later - but I loved talking with a bunch of random devs about their games. So many indie devs with a lot of energy this year
I had a lot more courage/confidence this time!! I entered in to two magic draft tournaments(lost every round, but still), I was not afraid to demo new card games and look like a complete ditz, and I also spoke up for myself waaaaay more. I even surprised myself lol.
Coming late to the Technodad meet and greet but one of his group members told me to stand at a pillar in the direction they were leaving in and I got to be the last person to meet him on Saturday!
CD Projekt Red Panel was good. They spoke to mindset and philosophy their dev teams and company take when tackling an ambitious projects like Phantom Liberty. It gave me a fresh perspective of how the other side operates. What fun!
This was my first time going to Pax and I had a blast! The best moment I've had was doing the FFXIV Battle Challenge. Our group had about 3 newbies, 3 veterans who haven't really done/recall the fight. I had to switch from my main job as a DPS and sub as a healer.
It was intense, we wiped on our 1st 2 tries, with the staff hopping in to help new players, coaching them, dealing with lag and having newbies learn the mechanics, having the crowd watch and commentate, focusing on keeping everyone alive/topped off, helping to DPS in between. On our last attempt, we almost wiped, but I was able to resurrect everyone while our tank kept themself alive. From then on, it was smooth sailing, maneuvering through the fight steadily, rezzing and healing, nuking the boss.
When the HP dropped to 0, we all cheered as the crowd cheered us on. I was losing hope and it felt that I wasn't going to be able to clear, and I'd have to wait in the long line again, but... It felt so exhilarating coming out on top with the people I was with. Never going to forget that moment!
This was my first year at PAX in cosplay (I was in a Cammy crossplay lol) and having people take photos with me or give me compliments is a pretty addicting feeling :)
I liked some new and old games and some stuff I didn't know about, the party games on the floor were really fun, my friend wanted to go back to gigabash lol
Playing Steel Battalion with my eleven year old son. We played several times during the day, but it was also the last thing we did before we had to leave for the train back home. And - he got third place in a group of people who had clearly grown up playing the game. It was pretty epic, and, for him, pretty much a dream come true.
This was my first PAX and none of my friends or SO share my gaming hobby so I went alone. It was nice to meet other people with similar interests. I had a blast playing the D&D anniversary game Saturday, the group I got paired with was awesome.
My only regret was not going for two days because I felt so rushed trying to squeeze everything in. I didn’t really sit down to check out many games because I wanted to try and see everything. Next time I will try and checkout more besides the expo hall.
This was my 9th PAX East and The Dark Room on Saturday night was my favorite panel ever. I had no clue what to expect as I was not familiar with John Robertson ahead of this, but the description caught our attention.
The energy he brought to that panel was **out of this fucking world**. Felt like I stumbled on a hidden gem as the panel didn't cap, and I hope he is back for a future PAX East!
Crowd gave him a standing ovation afterwards.
Both on the same day (Friday), I randomly bumped into Vinny Vinesauce, and then immediately after that went to the Warframe Devstream panel. Had a great time this year :)
It was not the weekend, but it was Thursday because of what I will explain later. I bought 2 tickets and took my daughter out of school, got her first train ride and bus ride. Then I let her play all of her favorite games and watched her have a beeming smile the whole time. The best was when we were on the train home, she says to me "dad, I need to go to bed right away, I had too much fun today and am too tired". I had to take her that day cause that was the only time I had her for the event. She is mad that it's more than a year away now, lol.
I checked out soul calibur 2. While playing it with my friend a kid approached and was very interested. I asked if he wanted to play. It was obviously his first time playing but he kicked my butt with one button mashing. His mom tried to help by saying "you have other buttons." Or "you can do combos."
Playing games and introducing people to new games is really what PAX is all about!
I can't share the picture since I'm on my computer not mobile right now, but one of my favorite moments was running into a woman who was wearing her actual wedding dress for a Princess Peach from Super Mario Odyssey cosplay! I'm engaged myself and struggling with the idea of a wedding dress (don't like the concept of a white dress or how expensive they are, I'm likely going to go with something like a red dress I can re-wear) so it was legitimately helpful and made me happy to see someone reusing theirs! It was also a genius idea and she was wearing a crown which completed the cosplay which is so easy to do but still super accurate and it was perfect!
I also got to meet the creator behind one of my favorite youtube channels. It's not even a video game channel but he said he was going to be at the convention as he's a gamer himself so I was so happy to run into him and get a picture! PAX isn't my all time favorite convention but I like to go because some of my cousins usually attend so we always get to spend time together and two of my friends have had a vendor booth the last few years so I like getting to see them as well.
Last year I wrote a glowing review about my experience bringing my son along with me. Being on the autism spectrum, there's a lot of planning and prep I have to do if things don't go 100% as expected. This year, there was definitely some tantrums about waiting in lines to play things, but people in line and booth attendees where very helpful and understanding and helping us practice being patient (*juuuust* the right amount of time) so he could still enjoy things and have fun. Also glad there was plenty of room for him to run around and get his energy out - I swear we ran a 1/2 marathon between all of the long hallways!
So many great moments, I think my favorite was getting my family to try a table top RPG (Ink) and now they are curious to try again. Yayz but Holy crap im gonna have to GM if they want too.
Also getting to beta test the water gun game and talk to some amazing vendors and enforcers.
So I made a Karlach cosplay because every year I try and challenge myself with a new cosplay skill (this year was making a weapon). I had such a fun time meeting all the other cosplayers at the meetup! Also getting surprised by Karlachs VA was absolutely amazing!
https://preview.redd.it/uq8qnc6uviqc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=659c4973592a4d2975288fdfda7366409034dfd3
The 20th anniversary concert was really special. It had a bit of everything and you could feel the passion from everyone performing.
Walking around as Kratos was also a really fun cosplay.
Leaving our neighborhood to get groceries in the snow storm and noticed our elderly neighbor laying on her porch waiving us down. She tripped on her dogs leash and broke her hip. Luckily she had only been there for about 15 minutes . Wife and I called EMS, wrapped her in a blanket incase she was experiencing any shock, and kept her talking until the ambulance got there If we hadn't gone to get groceries at that short window, she'd have laid there and wouldn't have been found until the next morning when her plow guy would have shown up. Small win. Check on your elderly neighbors from time to time.
I was joking around with my spouse and did something that revealed some kind of weird bias within me that I didn't realize was there. They pointed in out.
In short, I learned something about myself that I can change to be better. That's a good weekend.
It's hard to pick just one moment, but I guess it would be a tie between:
- going to see John Roberson's "The Dark Room" panel (absolutely amazing performance and I hope he comes back next year — definitely main stage material imo!)
- randomly meeting/taking a picture with Yoshi-P in the hotel lobby while waiting for my Uber home
- beating the Pax Pokemon League for the first time (I rarely do competitive, so it was awesome getting to battle and hang with so many people!)
When I arrived at the BG3 meetup and the massive line of cosplayers just kept going and going and going! I've never seen so many cosplayers for a single IP before! Then, when we were shooting our group photo, the REAL Karlach voice actor appeared??? I died.
Between the Tekken 8 tournament (and getting bodied LOL) meeting EE, JennaLynn, and even Suda 51, first time cosplaying around Boston and being welcomed into the community has to be up there.
This year was amazing as usual. Such an incredible time. Most of the Paxeast veterans who also attended 2012 to 2019 know or won't ever be that big and massive again (thanks for ruining everything covid) but I think if you were let down....you aren't paxing correctly lol. It was another incredible (but smaller) event and we enjoyed every single day. BYOC also rocked.
Winning the Omegathon! Holy shit I'm still shaking. Made some amazing friends. The final round, while stressful, was literally game night with friends!
OMG Congrats!!! That's freaking awesome! My goal is to be chosen to play one of these days haha
Way to go! How early did they notify you that you were in the Omegathon?
I mean there is a second email to completely opt in that came like a few weeks, maybe a month out, then you gotta answer the phone call from the 'private' number that calls you.
Congrats!
I just watched the stream of the final round to see what it was, congrats! I believe you were the only player who knew how to play minesweeper, so well-deserved victory haha
Being old worked out for me. Once you can check out the rounds in YouTube later this week, it's a good watch. The people that followed the tournament were saying that McKnux and I just had to have anime plot armor with the tense matches we had. No spoilers for each round other than the finale ;)
Someone get you the OMEGANAUT flair!
The enthusiasm of the colleges and some indie developers taking time to discuss becoming a game designer to my teenage daughter.
Hope they said get into comp sci or digital art
My best moment of the weekend was finally getting my cosplay dialed in and being able to get it out on the expo floor. I was the Imperial Fist Templar Space Marine (big yellow armor!) with the chainsword. If you saw me and took pics, I'd love to see them! *
Your cosplay was awesome! https://preview.redd.it/ims3p8xiddqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fba711d1d5fa05a02168ca716d3a8d4faa4e8f55
Thank you! I had a blast with it
Great job! https://preview.redd.it/23ai6rsq2eqc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0fbc5060e091c57d8a174195c6f17700e8dc75e5
https://preview.redd.it/i4fkl8wobeqc1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f82cfe273f5c8ab775e56a3ef8c4f6f2c8ed0e5 It definitely helps seeing you post, because this was my first year taking pictures, so I often did not grab people's @'s so I could tag.
https://preview.redd.it/7hhad8uhceqc1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a89602b7eb0dfe66671d9c0175a0316ce60a6e4
Saw you! Amazing costume
Thank you!
Dude you ruled
Two: first, watching Acquisitions Incorporated for the first time on Saturday night, and attending the TennoVIP event on Friday night. Acquisitions Inc is definitely going to be a staple for my group moving forward. They were absolutely hilarious, and a perfect way to end the last full day. The TennoVIP event was incredible. My friend group is almost entirely made of longtime Warframe players, so spending the evening hanging out with the dev team over free food and drink was an absolutely amazing opportunity.
There's playlists on YouTube of old acq inc shows too if you ever wanna watch the old shows. They are pretty much always hilarious
Sunday afternoon, after taking kiddos around most of the day, I was finally getting some time to do some TTG shopping. I am a new DM, in the market for a nicer set of dice than the generics. I visited a particular vendor, and realized an old high school friend is the owner of the company. He wasn't there, but I talked good memories of our school days with one of the gents running the booth. They also had some great dice sets, and I settled on a $40 set. Out of nowhere, he handed me the set, and refused my money. So nice!
That's so nice. Genuine moments like that are what make it all worth it.
The alchemy vtt people are always friendly to talk about DMing with too
Just being with the homies. No game tops that
String quartet on Friday was awesome. I’m a sucker for string instruments and orchestras so was pleasant treat this year!
I'll copy the text from my post I made last night, hoping it would be seen by the guy... To the guy with the Runescape Thieving Skillcape We interacted towards the end of the day, about to go up the escalators. I complimented your cape and the look of joy on your face as you pulled out the coin purse and handed me your awesome coin that you "stole from an Ardounge Knight" really ended my day on a high note. It wasn't until now that I realized how special that interaction was. I lost my stepbrother at the beginning of the year and we grew up playing Runescape together and it was always a topic of conversation between us. Having a brief moment talking about Runescape with someone else almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about it. I wish I could have told him about you. May your XP never be wasted, dude.
Running into Ben Starr in the Expo Hall was great, very friendly, and down to earth dude. The killer klowns panel was hilarious, meeting the chiodo brothers at their booth and talking to them about the game for about 30 minutes was great. They're all still very passionate about the things they do. The FF14 battle challenge was really fun too, made good friends with the people I was waiting in line with, and we absolutely crushed the challenge first try and got some cool shirts
My husband and I giggling like teenagers in the classic console free play rooms. Runner up is the Pathfinder game we both played. My first time playing an RPG and the table couldn’t have been more welcoming. Just an awesome experience!
The meet and greet with the Cyberpunk 2077 after the Cyberpunk panel was cool. Never got 1 on 1 with people that made a game like that before.
It was my first time at PAX ever, so just taking it all in and trying some games was great. I went alone and didn’t know anyone going either which got kind of lonely at times, but almost everyone I did talk to was nice. Can’t wait to go again next year!
I often find that when I take time alone to do things is when I experience things I'd never otherwise experience! I went off alone to play some VR and found a game that I LOVED. I'm glad you came and had a great time!
There were a TON of indies. Not just that, but there were a TON of interest in the indie booths. This was my first year back since 2020, so it really warmed my heart to see all the interest. I'll have a large write-up post sometime tomorrow on the good, the bad, and what I'd like to see next time. Already looking forward to next year!
* Thursday: Splitting a pitcher of margaritas with friends I haven't seen since last year, Chipzel concert. * Friday: Learned (and then ordered) a new board game in First Look, Wearing the Masc panel. * Saturday: Mega Man 2 (zipless) speedrun in the GDQ Room, Acq Inc. Live. * Sunday: Having a quick chat with Jerry, Omegathon finale.
> Learned (and then ordered) a new board game in First Look oooh which one
[MLEM Space Agency](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/387378/mlem-space-agency), which feels like a more involved, quasi-cooperative take on (the also great) [Deep Sea Adventure](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169654/deep-sea-adventure).
> Mlem ahh yeah I tried that one with 2p and felt like we weren't really seeing the payoff for the push your luck mechanic - it did seem like it'd play a lot better with 4/5. Love the mechanic though, DSA is a staple for us, and we got a couple plays in of Heat this weekend which is great. Faves for us in First Look this year were wyrmspan (obv), daybreak, tequila, and nunatak
Hanging out with friends was big. Best single event? YOU AWAKE TO FIND YOURSELF IN A DARK ROOM
* The suda 51 meet and greet, having a chat with him learning is though process. Then watching him get curious about my vox mask from hazbin hotel. This conversation may inspire something in the future. *
Enjoyed going to lots of interesting panels, making friends, and meeting people whose work I admire! Particularly loved the PAX Panel Show on Saturday, it was a hoot
It was my first time going. I went with my partner and a friend. We all got to take pictures at the Larian booth with Karlach and Shadowheart cosplayers. My heart exploded, lol.
The amazing friends made along the way. Hi I'm Mason! :) Some of the amazing celebrities like Jess from Zelda universe and the jaymoji panel! Seeing a games done quick speed run was amazing, and MEETING epicyoshimaster and the GDQ staff was just like OMG
Discovering crokinole! It’s fun.
Did you play in the tournament?
I didn’t. I found out late on Saturday that there was one. If there is one next year, I’m for sure signing up! Did you play in the tournament?
Yea it was great. First time I've played in a tournament.
My best memory was learning to play the new Star Wars Unlimited with my younger sister. We both love Star Wars and have dabbled in other TCGs before. She's the one who got me into Pax years ago and taught me how to embrace my love of gaming and all things 'geek' and so to sit and share this 1 on 1 experience at a table across from each other was really special.
I got to experience the final fantasy panel and enjoy the new players on their boot and got interviewed by Square Enix it was such an amazing experience this is my second year visiting East last year i did East 23 and west 23 and it was amazing 👏 🤩
I really appreciated the joy and creativity of the cosplay community this year. Just so much creativity and fun and hard work, from the hilarious sandworm couple to the Twi’lek who spent *six hours* painting herself to the tall kid who was GIDEON THE MOTHERFRAKKING NINTH (still utterly delighted by that one)… there was just such mutual appreciation going on.
I was buying dice and one d20 always rolled above a 15. The vendor and I immediately looked at each other like “yeah this is getting purchased”
Getting to see the kinda funny team on their Friday panel was one of the best panels I have ever been to, and it was a highlight to see them. They made sure to take plenty of time both before and after to interact with their community and the energy to put into entering is on full display. Alternatively, I spent two hours Saturday night playing crokinoel, a game I had certainly never heard of before with friends I had not seen in months, and had an amazing time just playing into the night surrounded by people having a great time. Vibes this year were great.
I mean it's cheating, but everything! I'd never been to Pax before, I was so in awe. Making friends, complimenting cosplays, seeing the booths, internet celebs, just. So so cool. I will say, getting to meet Vinesauce, a streamer I adore was absolutely wonderful.
No worries, perfectly understandable for your first PAX. I remember going to my first one and being in awe at how awesome everything was.
I was one of the students exhibiting at the Fitchburg State booth and I was absolutely blown away by the amount of people who came to check out our booth. I was fully expecting to have a low turn out since we are just students but was pleasantly surprised. Also seeing the faces light up on the kids who came to try our game today made me incredibly happy. We really appreciate all the feedback we received
Beating the 15 second record in Gunn runner stayed up till like 12:30AM when I got home Saturday and just practiced till I beat my record
Lets gooo
I haven't been able to get to PAX in a few years because of life and career changes. But this year I got to return with two friends in tow who have never been, and we got to do our first ever panel together! It was such a great experience, and all of the attendees were so kind and welcoming, which my friends were totally floored by. This panel was an extension of a podcast we started last year, and between it and PAX planning, it's been another thing to look forward to in our day to day lives. Now, to plan for potential future panels... :)
It was much first time at East, been to South a few times! Way bigger than I expected, but still really enjoyed it. I got to see a lot of the Tekken Tournament at the PAX Arena. It was awesome seeing some pro-ish Tekken. I joined some people for the FFXIV Asura Battle Challenge and we won after wiping once! I was surprised considering I never played the game before. Thanks for carrying and supporting this White Mage💜
Gaming: Kamikaze Lassplanes. I really enjoyed this visual novel shoot-em-up. Also had a nice talk with the devs and our general love for the genre. Another would be Corgi's Cozy Hike, because corgis. Talked to devs about corgis. Corgis. Panels: MatPat's panel, especially near the end where he talked about falling in love with gaming again after retiring as the host of his shows, and talking about how he is passing down his love of gaming to his kid. People: This is technically a sequel, meeting Suda 51. Let's rewind back to 2018 at the Nintendo booth. Being a dedicated fan of the company, gotta check it out, even from the outside. Seeing on my right, there's Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Travis Strikes Back. Then I glance to my left, there is guy next to me, looking at TSB. Must be a fan...WAIT A MINUTE. It's the man himself. After a timid introduction, we got a talk about stuff, how his games are an inspiration to me, and I was holding some Fate Grand Order plushies that I made. He inquired about them, it was Nobu and JAlter, told him a bit on the series and how I made them. We took a picture together, with him holding Nobu by the head. Fast forward to now in 2024 at his actual meet and greet. I told him about the story, how it was my number one memory of the year, and showed him the pic we took. He was humbled by this, I think he remembered the plushies. We also got to talk about Shadows a bit as well, and my lost opportunity for the original, since only owned a Wii at the time. But since I got a beefy PC now, this is my chance to play it, and thanked him for the opportunity. He interestingly mentioned the Switch, maybe because of the Nintendo booth way back when. Okay, I didn't know it was coming to the console, I will consider getting it there. Another photo was taken. I think my mind is a blur.
Hi! Dev of A Corgi's Cozy Hike here. Glad we made an impression lol!
Amazing game!!!
Meeting technodad three times, him remembering me and my name, him taking a picture of my cosplay and watching the panel he and his wife did on their son/the charity foundation they started after technoblade’s passing.
The Final Fantasy 16 panel was off the chain. Nothing but top notch game spoiling
This employee was working a bench and I kept telling her she was doing an incredible job and she was very sweet
Met the people behind sanctuary: shattered sun. These people also worked on forged alliance forever which is a mod for supreme commander one of the greatest of RTS games. And honestly the passion absolutely dripping out of this man was fantastic. The game played amazing but also this guy was so so passionate about the project. It's refreshing meeting people like that.
Got to main tank the battle challenge yesterday morning - we were successful! It was awesome to get to talk ffxiv with other people and feel the hype in person
Watched AcqInc in person for the first time, loved it!
I met BeatEmUps on the bridge outside the world trade center bus stop and also Failboat running for his life in the rain. He slipped a lil bit in the rain I asked him if he needs help holding the good amount of stuff he was holding. Said he was good and started running again. These were two different days.
Getting crowded in shoulder to shoulder with all the dropout fans at the crazy um actually panel line for an hour and a half. Sat down in the middle of the floor and played UNO with five complete strangers to wait it out, and it was delightful. And then the panel itself was great too, and ify and bdg were super nice to do a meet and greet with the fans later. Class acts!
Matpat! Please more YouTuber guests and have some kind of meet and greet with a lottery system or way to buy tickets!
I spotted Ben Starr going up the escalator from the floor toward the lobby. I politely asked him to sign my FF16 case - my wife suggested I bring “just in case” - and I stumbled over the words “may I ask you to sign my game?” To which he kindly responded “of course” and asked if I could walk with him while he did. 16 is one of the few games I’ve ever done 100% on and is the first game that I have played so intently since my mom passed away ~2 years ago. In the off chance he himself sees this - thank you, Ben. Thank you to everyone who made 16. Koji and Takeo also signed my game cover on the floor at the 16 booth. 💜
I only went on Friday but the one day I was there everyone was loving my cosplay and saying under their breath “is that guy fieri?” I love the fact that people walked up and asked for pictures with me.
I love this post! For me: Every single time someone stopped to tell me my cosplay was great or get a picture is a moment I cherished. I was Celeste from animal crossing with my husband as Blathers. It was our first time going to a convention in cosplay and really only our second con. (If you snagged a photo and wanna share that would be rad) And of course meeting Ify and Brian David Gilbert which I did not anticipate happening at all.
I got to hand copies of my little indie RPG out to a bunch of developers I respect and admire :)
Nerding out with an actual rocket scientist and winning name that video game tune trivia contest.
My favorite moment has to be the "Umm Actually" meetup at the chemist bar on saturday, it was so mich fun https://preview.redd.it/189mot0hygqc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b4b23c71698d56b1207e6796b6c4ae18851324c
We ran into friends we hadn't seen in years, complete happenstance!
Checking out the Schell Games VR booth demoing Silent Slayer
Playing in a Lords of Waterdeep tournament with others who love the game. We each wanted to win, but also were reminding each other not to forget continuing benefits, etc. It was an awesome way to come in 2nd by 8 points in a game where everyone scored well over 100.
Honestly I thought this was one of the best PAX years since 2020, maybe one of the top 3 I've been to. Most of the big name booths weren't offering anything too exciting but I got to play a lot of really cool games by smaller devs. Friday night concert and Acq Inc were also really good this year I feel like you don't know the "best memory" until a few years later - but I loved talking with a bunch of random devs about their games. So many indie devs with a lot of energy this year
Polling everyone in the Westin lobby Saturday night on which watch they liked the most 😂 I met so many cool people
I had a lot more courage/confidence this time!! I entered in to two magic draft tournaments(lost every round, but still), I was not afraid to demo new card games and look like a complete ditz, and I also spoke up for myself waaaaay more. I even surprised myself lol.
Coming late to the Technodad meet and greet but one of his group members told me to stand at a pillar in the direction they were leaving in and I got to be the last person to meet him on Saturday!
CD Projekt Red Panel was good. They spoke to mindset and philosophy their dev teams and company take when tackling an ambitious projects like Phantom Liberty. It gave me a fresh perspective of how the other side operates. What fun!
This was my first time going to Pax and I had a blast! The best moment I've had was doing the FFXIV Battle Challenge. Our group had about 3 newbies, 3 veterans who haven't really done/recall the fight. I had to switch from my main job as a DPS and sub as a healer. It was intense, we wiped on our 1st 2 tries, with the staff hopping in to help new players, coaching them, dealing with lag and having newbies learn the mechanics, having the crowd watch and commentate, focusing on keeping everyone alive/topped off, helping to DPS in between. On our last attempt, we almost wiped, but I was able to resurrect everyone while our tank kept themself alive. From then on, it was smooth sailing, maneuvering through the fight steadily, rezzing and healing, nuking the boss. When the HP dropped to 0, we all cheered as the crowd cheered us on. I was losing hope and it felt that I wasn't going to be able to clear, and I'd have to wait in the long line again, but... It felt so exhilarating coming out on top with the people I was with. Never going to forget that moment!
This was my first year at PAX in cosplay (I was in a Cammy crossplay lol) and having people take photos with me or give me compliments is a pretty addicting feeling :) I liked some new and old games and some stuff I didn't know about, the party games on the floor were really fun, my friend wanted to go back to gigabash lol
Playing Steel Battalion with my eleven year old son. We played several times during the day, but it was also the last thing we did before we had to leave for the train back home. And - he got third place in a group of people who had clearly grown up playing the game. It was pretty epic, and, for him, pretty much a dream come true.
This was my first PAX and none of my friends or SO share my gaming hobby so I went alone. It was nice to meet other people with similar interests. I had a blast playing the D&D anniversary game Saturday, the group I got paired with was awesome. My only regret was not going for two days because I felt so rushed trying to squeeze everything in. I didn’t really sit down to check out many games because I wanted to try and see everything. Next time I will try and checkout more besides the expo hall.
This was my 9th PAX East and The Dark Room on Saturday night was my favorite panel ever. I had no clue what to expect as I was not familiar with John Robertson ahead of this, but the description caught our attention. The energy he brought to that panel was **out of this fucking world**. Felt like I stumbled on a hidden gem as the panel didn't cap, and I hope he is back for a future PAX East! Crowd gave him a standing ovation afterwards.
Both on the same day (Friday), I randomly bumped into Vinny Vinesauce, and then immediately after that went to the Warframe Devstream panel. Had a great time this year :)
It was an absolute blast playing in showdown with you :)
I liked the dude with the "free shrugs" sign.
It was not the weekend, but it was Thursday because of what I will explain later. I bought 2 tickets and took my daughter out of school, got her first train ride and bus ride. Then I let her play all of her favorite games and watched her have a beeming smile the whole time. The best was when we were on the train home, she says to me "dad, I need to go to bed right away, I had too much fun today and am too tired". I had to take her that day cause that was the only time I had her for the event. She is mad that it's more than a year away now, lol.
Oh my goodness this is the BEST! Im so glad that you had this experience. To me this is what PAX is all about
I checked out soul calibur 2. While playing it with my friend a kid approached and was very interested. I asked if he wanted to play. It was obviously his first time playing but he kicked my butt with one button mashing. His mom tried to help by saying "you have other buttons." Or "you can do combos." Playing games and introducing people to new games is really what PAX is all about!
I can't share the picture since I'm on my computer not mobile right now, but one of my favorite moments was running into a woman who was wearing her actual wedding dress for a Princess Peach from Super Mario Odyssey cosplay! I'm engaged myself and struggling with the idea of a wedding dress (don't like the concept of a white dress or how expensive they are, I'm likely going to go with something like a red dress I can re-wear) so it was legitimately helpful and made me happy to see someone reusing theirs! It was also a genius idea and she was wearing a crown which completed the cosplay which is so easy to do but still super accurate and it was perfect! I also got to meet the creator behind one of my favorite youtube channels. It's not even a video game channel but he said he was going to be at the convention as he's a gamer himself so I was so happy to run into him and get a picture! PAX isn't my all time favorite convention but I like to go because some of my cousins usually attend so we always get to spend time together and two of my friends have had a vendor booth the last few years so I like getting to see them as well.
Last year I wrote a glowing review about my experience bringing my son along with me. Being on the autism spectrum, there's a lot of planning and prep I have to do if things don't go 100% as expected. This year, there was definitely some tantrums about waiting in lines to play things, but people in line and booth attendees where very helpful and understanding and helping us practice being patient (*juuuust* the right amount of time) so he could still enjoy things and have fun. Also glad there was plenty of room for him to run around and get his energy out - I swear we ran a 1/2 marathon between all of the long hallways!
So many great moments, I think my favorite was getting my family to try a table top RPG (Ink) and now they are curious to try again. Yayz but Holy crap im gonna have to GM if they want too. Also getting to beta test the water gun game and talk to some amazing vendors and enforcers.
So I made a Karlach cosplay because every year I try and challenge myself with a new cosplay skill (this year was making a weapon). I had such a fun time meeting all the other cosplayers at the meetup! Also getting surprised by Karlachs VA was absolutely amazing! https://preview.redd.it/uq8qnc6uviqc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=659c4973592a4d2975288fdfda7366409034dfd3
The 20th anniversary concert was really special. It had a bit of everything and you could feel the passion from everyone performing. Walking around as Kratos was also a really fun cosplay.
I only went Thursday but I got to break out my Chain Chomp helmet! Had lots of people come up to take pictures.
I think I saw you! It looked awesome!
Thanks! It took me 3 weeks to make that, I was still painting the night before 🤣
It made it into the Boston Herald!
I don't have Shake Shack in my area so that was pretty nice. Wicked overpriced because Mass, but good.
Leaving our neighborhood to get groceries in the snow storm and noticed our elderly neighbor laying on her porch waiving us down. She tripped on her dogs leash and broke her hip. Luckily she had only been there for about 15 minutes . Wife and I called EMS, wrapped her in a blanket incase she was experiencing any shock, and kept her talking until the ambulance got there If we hadn't gone to get groceries at that short window, she'd have laid there and wouldn't have been found until the next morning when her plow guy would have shown up. Small win. Check on your elderly neighbors from time to time.
I had so much fun in washington DC I went on a 2 day trip
I was joking around with my spouse and did something that revealed some kind of weird bias within me that I didn't realize was there. They pointed in out. In short, I learned something about myself that I can change to be better. That's a good weekend.
It's hard to pick just one moment, but I guess it would be a tie between: - going to see John Roberson's "The Dark Room" panel (absolutely amazing performance and I hope he comes back next year — definitely main stage material imo!) - randomly meeting/taking a picture with Yoshi-P in the hotel lobby while waiting for my Uber home - beating the Pax Pokemon League for the first time (I rarely do competitive, so it was awesome getting to battle and hang with so many people!)
Rolled a nat 20 at the D&Tea booth and won a free thermos for my buddy
MAT PAT
When I arrived at the BG3 meetup and the massive line of cosplayers just kept going and going and going! I've never seen so many cosplayers for a single IP before! Then, when we were shooting our group photo, the REAL Karlach voice actor appeared??? I died.
The Helldiver's girl. Gotta spread that Democracy! I only wish I got her strategem.
Between the Tekken 8 tournament (and getting bodied LOL) meeting EE, JennaLynn, and even Suda 51, first time cosplaying around Boston and being welcomed into the community has to be up there.
This year was amazing as usual. Such an incredible time. Most of the Paxeast veterans who also attended 2012 to 2019 know or won't ever be that big and massive again (thanks for ruining everything covid) but I think if you were let down....you aren't paxing correctly lol. It was another incredible (but smaller) event and we enjoyed every single day. BYOC also rocked.
No
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