PAX East, Day 2

I arrived at day 2 of PAX East a little after noon, so I was late for the panel discussion "I HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR A GAME!!"  The gist of this discussion was getting yourself to SACWAG and surround yourself with talented people.  It was very entertaining and the panelists,Chris Oltyan [Director of Product Development, ZeeGee Games], Eitan Glinert [President, Fire Hose Games], Darius Kazemi [President, Orbus Gameworks], Ichiro Lambe [President, Dejobaan Games] were very lively and engaging.

While waiting for the next event, I visited the exhibition hall and played a very entertaining (if not very abbreviated) version of D&D 4E.  Instead of using miniatures, we moved ourselves through a small tiled area and battled against a life-sized (cardboard cut-out) opponent.  Our group was victorious defeating the wraith, and we each received a "Monster Slayer" medallion.  I applaud WotC for the way this booth was operated; the personnel were really into it in a light-hearted stage way.

While I had not planned on attending this next event, I found myself thoroughly enjoying and laughing throughout "A Sophisticated Evening with Rooster Teeth Productions."  This raunchy, irreverent group is responsible for the hit machinima series Red vs. Blue, and the audience got a lengthy preview to season 8.  This event was truly a lot of fun.

The final panel discussion that I attended was "MMO Gamer Behavior 101," featuring Ethan Gilsdorf [author, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, freelance writer], Victor Pineiro [Social Media Strategist, Big Spaceship], Juan Carlos Pineiro [CEO, Pure West], Sean Stalzer [President and CEO, the Syndicate].  This was a discussion on the social aspects of MMOs, focusing primarily on World of Warcraft and Facebook, and where the two intersect.  We all love to be the hero, and we all love the opportunity to overcome challenges, but with MMOs, we are able to face these challenges with friends, and within there lies the appeal.  This was a very informative discussion, and I have more to say on it.  I'd best save that for another journal entry.

I've really been enjoying myself.  Tomorrow is the last day.  I'll need to play more games before the exhibit halls close.