Luana Rawlins
I haven't been gaming much lately -- that pesky thing known as work tends to get in the way -- but I had the chance to be involved in the behind-the-scenes mechanisms of one of the best gaming-related experiences I've ever had.
A while back, I shot an email off to the head honchos of the Penny Arcade Expo, asking if they needed any additional Enforcers (their volunteer support staff). I ended up being brought onto the crew, and during August 26 and 27 I worked the 8pm - 2am shift at the Prize Redemption booth.
I didn't quite know what to expect when I got there on Friday evening, to be honest. I wasn't sure if it'd be slightly busy or if it'd be packed or whatnot, but I was really taken aback when the elevator doors opened. There were people crashing on the floors and on the benches intently staring at their PSP and DS units respectively. Lines of televisions filled the lower floor, with groups of four waging war in matches of Halo 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and other competitive games. My jaw dropped when I saw that the vintage shooters and pinball machines were set on freeplay mode. As I rode up the escalator, I saw tables of gamers playing CCGs and World of Warcraft together. When I got to the top floor, across from the PC and CCG rooms were blurs of bodies dancing on two DDR Extreme machines. The DDR machines, as well as Drummania and Guitar Freaks, were pulsating familiar rhythms into my heart.
It was like a gamer's heaven, really.
I officially worked in the slowest area of the convention, since the only time my partner and I had to deal with people were when the tournament winners came by for their booty. "The Wizard" was playing on the big screen TV that was beside my booth, and the movie made way for the Omegathon competitions and the concerts held both evening. I got my partner, Mike, hooked on Kirby: Canvas Curse (and the DS in general), and I was able to Pictochat with people that I couldn't even see -- something that I'd never done before. I even got to watch Tycho and Porkfry duet in Guitar Freaks after the doors closed for the evening, and get some CDs signed by Optimus Rhyme and the Minibosses, as well as meet MC Chris.
Since I worked the evening shift (and couldn't make it to the convention during the day, due to that other thing called motherhood), I wasn't able to go to the Exhibition Hall. However, I heard so much about it from people who would stop by my booth to chat, since Nintendo had a playable demo of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Microsoft had XBox 360s for attendees to try out. There were also a lot of panels, from pitching your game ideas to industry members to sitting in on Gabe and Tycho working on what would end up being the Monday comic.
The best thing about PAX, really, was the whole feeling of cameraderie. Being a geek was something that I struggled with when I was younger -- not many people were as interested in gaming as I was, and it was tough having to explain this passion of mine to everyone that didn't get it. I never got that feeling there, since everyone just knew what I was talking about. The thing is... even if we all didn't quite share the same interests, style or even language, we all had a common bond in our love for gaming in general. That truly was a wonderful feeling, and already I can't wait until next year.
