Lights, Bleeps and a Roll of the Dice, PAX Australia 2014
There is nothing better in life then relaxing with a good video game. Scoring those points, completing quests, getting new content....it is just fun. So of course with PAX heading back to Australia this year we had to go and get our game on.
And we got our gaming on (ok me more in the retro gaming area because I am woeful at modern console games and I am old) checking out the new games hitting shelves or ready for download soon. And drooling over the incredible equipment we should have to play games.
The crew from Penny Arcade filled a massive space with tons of geekiness gaming. So on with the review of our day.
Entering the Exhibition Centre we were automatically greeted with the first of many references to the world of gaming Tetris....aaaahhhh the classics. And even queuing up to enter the show above the lines of people were banners with points for beach balls to fly through....was going to be a fun day.
Now as media (sorry folks) we did get an hour on the floor to look things over and chat with the teams from the booths. We got a feel of all there was to offer and even got a quick play or two in before the flood gates opened and all were able to enter. In this hour though there was not anything special for the press (see do not feel bad all you people stuck in the queue) heck a few booths were not even ready but this did give us a great opportunity to see everything that would be on offer in the day. I was really impressed not with a video game company's showing but with Cards Against Humanity's booth and the release of the official Australian edition of their game. As an American living in Australia I can truly say it was beautiful in its obnoxiousness....'Murica. Everyone in our little group took home a Bigger, Blacker Box and at least we're lucky to grab that as the game sold quick. By Saturday it was mostly sold out....wow...thank goodness they updated their site to start selling it in Australia.
The big gun gaming companies were right up front with a big showing by XBox, Ubisoft (wow big area guys and can not wait for The Crew to hit the shelves), Nintendo and Wargaming.net (I missed my press kit *sniff* but they brought a tank). But they were not to be outdone by the tech companies. Oculus had set up a nice little area that was swamped from the start. Alienware was showing of its new Steam gaming system and massive overspec PC. Heck Harvey Norman was even there to there to sell folks new computers.
And then it hit us, an incredibly massive set up for League of Legends. Now picture does it justice but here is a portion of what we saw. I have not had the opportunity to give the game a try but it had to easily be one of the most popular sites throughout the day. The place was overrun with gamers trying to get in on the competitions and just play along with fellow players there. This had to be one of my favorite stands of the day. And even though I did not give it a go I was impressed.
Just off where League of Legends was going strong was the Indie Games Area and it was a great showing on these guys part. Giving everyone a go at their hard work in the newest games up for download soon. As much as the big names liked chatting with the press I truly believe the guys and girls from the indie area were the most gracious chatting with the media. They had put their heart and souls into these games and it showed in their enthusiasm to just have a quick hello. Hoping in coming years this area just gets bigger and bigger.
We then passed through the stands of company upon company showing off there newest and finest and entered into the gaming area. This was truly a beautiful site as the masses had an area to just sit and play consoles, PCs, handhelds and even retro games (aaaahhhh games my speed). There was even an area to bring your own PC in to play (why I have no idea but was cool none the less and seemed pretty popular).
Past there was finally the tabletop gaming area. This area alone made me wish I could have squeezed in another day on the floor. I have not played a tabletop game in many years (but part of me would love to get back into it) and I was surprised to see in an age of almost lifelike graphics and truly immersive gaming that tabletop card and board games were still popular. Magic the Gathering's stall was full of people all day. Which made me wish I stood in line early because I wanted to get refresher. And Wizards of the Coast did not stop at Magic as they also had set up a live action D&D game. And just like the electronic gaming area was set up for all sorts of games the tabletop area had an area where people could play an older game or even get a crash course in a game.
Luke Henderson