PAX East Weekend, where did you go?
Last weekend was nothing less than spectacular. It started with a road trip from NYC to Boston with some of my best friends. After an easy drive up I was met by my very best friend of 18 years as he flew from San Francisco, CA to Boston, MA to join us for PAX East.
THE HISTORY OF PAX
In 2004, the folks at Penny Arcade decided they wanted a show exclusively to celebrate gaming and game culture. Comics, anime, and other nerd hobbies were all cool, but those activities already had their own shows…where could gamers call home? With that in mind, PAX was born, and when exactly 1337 people pre-registered for the very first event, we knew we were on to something magical.
(taken from pax site: http://www.paxsite.com/history?_ga=2.217077343.83969389.1554145907-610250992.1554145907)
Since its inception PAX has grown to host satellite conventions in Boston, MA (PAX East), San Antonio, TX (PAX South), Australia - Melbourne, Vic (PAX Aus) throughout the year.
I have been faithfully going as an attendee for the past 3 years with each being better than the last. This year I made it my goal to network more and not just buy every amazing piece of merchandise that I saw (believe me this was hard). I wanted to take the time to understand the concepts behind the creation of games and items. I wanted to know how other people went about building their brand and garnering excitement for their products. My end goal was to experience at many panels discussions as possible and be less of a fan boy this time around and more of a potential brand ambassador.
My first great experience was attending the Introverts Guide to Networking Panel hosted by Victoria Tran (@TheVTran), Chris Wulf (@chriswulf_ ), Anya Combs (@AnyaynA) and Nick Verge (@NicolasVerge). This panel was an informative discussion on how to network and feel comfortable doing so as an introvert. There Q&A session provided different perspectives that I had not thought of.
One of the highlights of the whole trip was getting to see a live stream of a D&D show called Rivals of Waterdeep. The show is streamed on Twitch but can also be found on YouTube. I attended the season three finale with my best friend. This was an experience that I couldn't have enjoyed more. My best friend is more of a gamer than me, whereas I love RPG's. I love Dungeons and Dragons. This show was the first time I had seen a full cast of people of color playing dungeons and dragons. Watching them play made my best friend take another look at the game. He could relate to the players and was intrigued. I was already sold but this brought us closer together as he could finally understand why I loved the game so much. I can't thank the cast enough for a great show and an even better experience. If you want to see an exceptional D&D show with a phenomenal fully POC cast. Check out Rivals of Waterdeep and follow the cast on twitter: @RivalsWaterdeep, @iamBrandonTV, @cypheroftyr, @shareefjackson, @SurenaXMarie, @stubbystan, and @CarlosCrits
The close of my Pax 2019 ended with a relatively frugal amount of spending, a weekend of knowledge I will take with me forever, friends and fun and a giant cinnamon roll. Can't wait for the next one.