A Convention for Casuals and Hardcore Fans
The beginning of “Convention season” always get me excited for PAX East which is in the first quarter of the year. PAX; or Penny Arcade Expo, started out in Washington for their first show in 2004. Since then it expanded to Boston in 2010 and it has been growing ever since. What makes this special for me is that it’s a convention focused only on games and not just video games. From hardcore D&D to casual tabletop games and card games they have it all covered. What’s truly wonderful about the creators of tabletop games here is there is a section where you and your friends can try out the whole game before you even buy it. The people of PAX are a very friendly community and it is always an enjoyable experience.PAX is a much smaller convention than the ones I’m used to which is a breath of fresh air. I only purchased a Saturday pass because its possible to see the entire floor in a day. This year there was a much larger indie gaming presence and I couldn’t have been happier. I am a completionist at heat and I had to attempt to get to each booth and find something that would leave a lasting impression on me.
First Impressions
As soon as you get onto the escalator to the show floor you immediately know where all the big-name studios are. What surprised me was that Twitch had a much larger presence this year than in 2016. They had a lounge where you could network with Twitch streamers and relax. There was a see-through box in which a single streamer would be playing a game. People would press their hands and faces against the glass and watch them like they were in a human exhibit at the zoo. I was only interested in the indie games.
8-Bit Love
My first stop of the day was at a gaming booth dedicated to Polish game studios. The publisher of the following games was 11 Bit Studios:
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