The PAX Report ‘08

So I leave tomorrow to team up with Brendan to began are adventure at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo). I’m hoping to have at least two posts a day and a wrap up video afterwards. Brendan is hoping to have photos posted up everyday or so and I will have a collection afterwards. So hopefully I will be posting from Seattle tomorrow. Until then, check out this week’s silly episode of the podcast with special guests from Elcycle.org.

8/26/08

Here is the first of many entries about my journey to PAX (or Penny Arcade Expo). My story begins at 6:30 am EST as I was awoken to begin the process of preparing to leave on this fine adventure. After rolling out of bed (literally) I grabbed my iPod, notebook, and comics and prepared for five and half hours of boredom and utter insanity that is air travel. My father and I then proceeded to pack up the hatchback and drive to Philly International Airport. After a short trip to the airport we unloaded are bags and checked in only to find the fun surprise that is bag check-in nowadays. American Airlines now forces it customers to pay for each they load on the plane. While I’m sure they need to make money some (the current health of the Airline industry is comparable to that of the housing market) they choose to resort to the all powerful nickel and dime. When we arrived at are gate (after a fun experience of getting through security) we were informed that are flight was overbooked. So my father chose the free tickets (plus first class to Seattle) instead of wading are way through coach and arriving in Seattle only to sit around for a whole day.

Sitting at the Terminal.

So we returned home to kill time (wasted my day watching movies and listening to podcast) After viewing Oliver Stone Classic Natural Born Killers we departed at 4:00 pm promptly we left yet again for PHL (Philadelphia International). After we breezed through security (which was a new experience for me) we came once again to gate C 27. As they began to make the boarding call I noticed a large segment of those boarding to be wearing gaming t-shirts or related attire. It slowly began to sink in that I was going to the biggest gaming convention in the United States. While it probably should have hit me a long time ago it still felt like that confirmation I was lacking.

The flight was late boarding and taking off so to kill time (because you still can’t listen to your iPod when planes are taking off which is still dumb) I browsed through a recent post by Ex-EGM Editor and Chief Dan Hsu on the dark side of gaming journalism. Throughout his posts he shares stories of the problems associated with publisher and the back room dealing that occur with many other outlets more willing to heighten their Meta critic average.

The plane sat here for 20 minutes and it sucked.

Enough about boring blog posts (complete sarcasm) I should probably inform you the viewer what is in store from us at PAX. Well I brought my handy camera along (the one that has brought you such fine productions as Bored and nothing else) in hopes of attaining some version of great footage. I will be posting entries every day (though I am only their two day) and when I return to the find state of PA (Pennsylvania for the every man) I will post in depth coverage of PAX and the many things we (meaning Brendan and I) saw and hopefully give you a look into this awesome show. So see you tomorrow!

Lots of work to do before landing in Seattle.

8/27/08

So while I am still one day away from PAX I still went on a great adventure. Early today my father and I left to go to Everett, Washington home of the Boeing manufacturing company. Now before you tune out I did run across one game relate item on this trip. Boeing’s new 787 have plans to integrate a wide range of entertainment medium’s including video games. The company went as far as to partner up with Nintendo to have exclusive Nintendo games on their flights. Zelda: The Four Swords, Advance Wars 2, Fire Emblem, and Warioland, they also have integrated a controller similar to that of the Nintendo Entertainment System to use as the controller. While I didn’t get to actually play any of the games it did peak my interest for one strange reason. Remote play, or for those who don’t know the ability to play games remotely by having your system (which ever one you use) linked in some way online.

Boeing’s demo showed off the ability to have conferences (while completely impractical), phone conversions (for a small fee), or AIM/ MSN chats through a new centralized hub they devolved. Now for those who don’t closely follow the industry Sony has recently emphasized the idea of Remote play using the PS3 as a hub to stream movies to your PSP. While there are some problems getting it to run it still is a concept that really could change a lot of things, for instance you could link your TiVO account to this online service allowing you to access your personal TiVO through this plane. How long is it until you could play your games over the internet?

The demo had most of the requirements (ok well the bandwidth would probably be through the roof for this idea) but it’s not so far fetch for you to access your Xbox or PS3 through an online service allowing you to play your games anywhere with a high speed connection. While this far off it’s still an idea that I want to share with everyone. While the logistics are not all there it’s still not impossibility for the future.

Ok now that that out of the way I thought I should talk about what we are actually planning for PAX. With Kotaku’s announcement of Fallout 3 being showed to the public that adds another game to the list of shit we plan to see. Here the short list of shit.

-Gears of War 2

-Fallout 3

-Left 4 Dead

-Dead Space

-Rock Band 2

-Little Big Planet

-Castle Crashers (Because Darren wills it)

-Star Wars: Force Unleashed

-Fable 2

-Far Cry 2

-Guitar Hero: On Tour

Well I can’t make any promises (well I can on Left 4 Dead and Dead Space) but will do are best to go around the show to find anything and every thing big and get some coverage on it. Also we will be attending a handful of summits and panels from different people. First will be seeing Bioshock creator Ken Levine, then were going to see 1Up Yours Live. Finally we will be attending the Giant Bomb Reunion Tour. Other then that it’s going to play games as much as we possibly can.

So hopefully I will have my first impressions up tomorrow of whatever we end up seeing and hopefully It will be a good time!

8/28/08

 

So day one of PAX has ended and what a blast it was, I woke up this morning I was more pumped then anything ever (including Halo 2). So after a small breakfast we began are trek to the Seattle convention center. So after about a fifteen minute drive we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the Seattle convention. After picking up are tickets I began to poke around the convention center just to see what was going on. After poking around I met up with Brendan and began are plan for the days activities, so after a quick planning session we headed out to lunch and then…. PAX 08

The enterance hall to the show floor.

So after a filling lunch we made are way into the convention center to begin the process of getting into the show floor itself. While in line we had a fine conversation with two guys who work in the industry. While I can’t say their names I can say they worked on projects you know and many that you love. While waiting in line we got a couple of great quotes about the industry in general.

Good Quotes

“PAX is the new E3, a place for people to gather and work and network. Also it’s all about the fans”

On reviews coverage

“It should be up to the reviewer, not the publisher on how critical a reviewer should or should not be”

“Some studio’s give bonuses to those who cooperate with the company and give them the review that helps their meta critic”

On the PS3

“The PS3 is a great buy for the whole experience not the for just the simple gamer”

“Really solid package out of range for the usual Christmas gift”

After an entertaining conversation Brendan and I walked around the show floor to check out everything (and by walk we mean shuffle). First we went over to have a look at Valve’s Left 4 Dead which looks awesome. While we weren’t able to get to play the game (the line was huge) we planned to wait in line for the game tomorrow.

While Brendan made an attempt to wait in line for the game I went over to checkout Fallout 3 which was awesome. While we did obtain footage we were asked not to post the footage, but we did get an interview with Todd Howard Executive Producer of the game.

Q. Is their one aspect of the game your proud of the most?

A. I am personally proud of it all; just the sheer amount of things we’ve fit into the game is just amazing.

Q. What was one of your biggest worries with the game?

A. Filling it, I mean how do you fill an entire wasteland with stuff for the player to do or see. While it isn’t the same size as Elder Scrolls: Oblivion it’s more condensed and fill to the brim.
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Q.I one of the previews during E3 a lot of press talked about how you begin the game and how it sort of immerse you in the world, how does the game begin.

A. The game begins right from the moment of birth and you progress through a series of stages that introduces you to different aspects of the game. At age one you learn the basic controls, at seven you choose your skill set and so on and so forth. You finally leave the vault at age nineteen to begin your journey.

Q. Also in those previews many spoke of this birthday party where you’re first introduced to the dialoged in the game how deep to the relations go in this game?

A. Well during the party you may have heard that there are a group of kids planning to start up a gang. If you talk to them and become friends that gang could help you out later on in the story. So I believe are game is pretty deep in that manner.

Brendan

Q. What is the most memorable thing you’ve done in the game so far?

A. Umm… well when you pickpocket someone you can place a grenade in their pocket and kill them, and also earn an achievement “Psychopathic Prankster”

Todd Howard producer for Fallout 3.

After we thanked Todd I walked over to EA to try and find Dead Space (which is not being demoed on the floor). I realized Brendan was gone but when he returned he informed me that Fallout’s developer Bethesda was planning downloadable content and user generated content.

We then made are way over to something Brendan was dying to see, Mirror’s Edge which looked awesome. Brendan is going to go back and give it another play thorough but he seemed to love the game and how it controlled. It also looked amazing and every person their seemed to be having a blast with it.

We cruised around the show floor some more then made are way over to the lineup room for the Keynote presented by Ken Levine of Bioshock fame. After a long wait in line and an interesting conversation with an Australian we made are way into the giant main theater of PAX. Are seats weren’t great but we didn’t really care, so after sitting through more trailers then I’ve ever seen in my life Levine to the stage for the keynote.

Waiting in line for the keynote.

Most of Levine’s keynote focused more on growing up as a nerd during the rise of D&D and the Atari 2600. Levine spoke about the idea of what we as a group were proving here today, we were I giant bunch of nerds here to play video games. He also took shots at himself and the culture that surround him. “When my parents rolled my character, they didn’t get any 18s,” commenting on his own social abilities. Levine also talked about something that very much hit home to me, the idea of growing up. While he was stuck away in his fantasy land he still lived in at the time. “So” he asked the crowd, “what does a lost fantasy role player do when his friends move on….. become a theater kid of course”. Levine then told of his times as a Hollywood screenwriter and how that didn’t turn out so well. After bouncing around a couple jobs he finally applied to what is now 2K Boston and joined as a Producer. At the end of his speech Levine made one of greatest statement I’ve heard from a game developer. “Were united not by the color of are skin, or by the place we live, or the any social class… were united by one common element… what brings us all together at PAX is we’re a giant bunch of fucking nerds” and with that thanked the audience and left the stage.

At the keynote (you can see Levine if you look really hard).

After the keynote Brendan and I once again set out to the show floor to find anything and everything for tomorrows show. We both were split off as Brendan attempted again to go get into the Left 4 Dead demo. I went off to go looking for a certain booth that I was dying to see… the 1Up booth. After some fumbling through the map and a couple of wrong turns I finally found my way their and was kindly greeted by 1Up Your producer Andrew Pfister and David Ellis. After getting pretty much every signature possible I made my way over to the 1Up Yours live at PAX show where I happened to stumble upon the host of 1Up Yours Garnett Lee. After a quick photo I sat back and relaxed a listen (and even asked a question) to the panel their which included John Davison of what they play, Luke Smith of Bungie, Shane Bettenhausen of EGM, Brad Shoemaker of Giant Bomb, and last but not least the whole cast of the Totally Rad show.

Meeting the cast of 1UP Your, Garnett and Andrew.

Mangod otherwise known as Shane from 1Up

After the show and a couple of hand shakes and thanks I departed for the cool and calm of a Seattle hotel room and just let the night pass away.

8/29/08

So it’s all over (for me anyway) and I have to say it was one of the best shows and event I have ever attended. Tomorrow I head back to the suburbs of Philly to begin the next great journey (getting ready for Senior Year of high school) but before that here is the report you have been waiting for.

So after being rudely awaken (because last nights entry took me about an hour or two) I got up went downstairs had a simple bowl of cereal (Raisin Brand the breakfast of champions) I left for my second (and final) day of the Penny Arcade Expo. After arriving an checking out the line I jump in line and waited for my partner in crime. Promptly at 10 am the show floor opened for day two of PAX.

The Left 4 Dead booth which had the longest line ever.

Left 4 Dead Preview

 

The first thing I did was head over to Valve’s booth and got in line for Left 4 Dead. After a lengthily wait in line (over thirty minutes) I got my hand on one of my personal favorite of the show. The sequenced they showed us was scene where the rag-tag team needs to do, out of the gate the game felt really intense, from the minute you turn the corner and begin your descent the horde nails you. Now I had forgot the existence of an AI director so when I turned the corner I expected no opposition just like the people before us. I was rudely awakened when I turn the corner to see ten to twenty zombies to be staring right down the barrel of my gun. After quickly shooting my way out of the situation (thanks greatly to my teammate) we made are way to a small kitchen down the hall. Oh man was that a mistake. As we walked into the next room we were attacked by a “boomer” one of the higher ranking zombies. I looked over to my teammate and made a motion to run, and that we did (like little kids being attacked by bees).

After a haste retreat we realize the error of are ways, we were spilt, standing between us was enough zombies to fill the cast of 28 Weeks Later (well I maybe over reacting but their was still a ton). After an intense fire flight we regrouped and made are way to the next section of the apartment building and finally met are friend the “boomer” again, but this time he brought friends. The one thing that really amazed me about this game is the level of intensity and pace the game stays at THE WHOLE TIME. There is not one moment in Left 4 Dead where you feel bored or wandering how much longer till the next big fight. Instead Left 4 Dead keeps you on your toes with the inclusion of the AI director.

So for those who don’t know already (people reading this most likely already know) the game has an AI director who strategically places zombies and hordes. So essentially every single level of the game is different every time you play through it, as my example above describes anything and everything can change.

So after a crazy fight through the apartment building we finally made our way to the streets, and that’s when the shit hit the fan. After exiting the building we were jumped by a large horde of zombies where we experienced are first real death. One of my teammates “fell down”, in this state the player can only use their pistol to try and hold of the hordes attacking them. After we clear the small horde we helped are team member up and began are mad dash through the open streets of Los Angles towards a nearby subway station/ safe room.

As we made are way around the first corner we realized that we were truly screwed, with only one block to go one of are team members set off a car alarm. With that a message flashed on the screen that assured that I was not completing this level. “The Horde has been alerted”, and with that every zombie left in the level (plus more that were spawned in) began to descend on are position. I attempted to begin counting but lost count around fifty or sixty (and that was of what I could see).

I ran down the subway station only to realize that every other member of my team was still up stairs trying to fight off the horde. So I ran back up stair took one shot gun shot and preceded to be annihilated. After my clumsy diversion my team made their way down without me and complete the level.

 

Overall the game was pretty spectacular, with great sense of pace and intensity the game holds to that Valve standard of excellent. The controls for the game are nearly perfect (though in the demo there was no way to adjust sensitivity) everything felt in the right place. The one interesting thing was that they chose to map the bash to the left trigger (boxer style for those who play Halo) making you fall back to bashing instead of your secondary weapon. Overall Left 4 Dead possibly my new most anticipated game for this year, while they would not give a release date (they have moved back from the original November 4^th date) they still promised the game would be out sometime in November for Xbox 360 and PC.

After the awe inspiring Left 4 Dead demo I began to browse around the show floor searching for the Dead Space demo. After a long fruitless search I ran across Jeff Kielhy of Spike TV and the pronounced dean of games journalism I asked him what he thought of Dead Space, from which I got a puzzled look from. “Why don’t you go see it”, I looked at him for a moment and he then told me about the Dead Space public demo. After a photo I set off to the demo and found it (after a little searching and questioning). So jumped in line and began to wait, and wait, and wait. After about a forty five minute wait I got my hand on another great game.

The man who started it all.

Dead Space Preview

 

So for those who don’t know, Dead Space is a Sci-Fi third person shooter focused on Isaac, an engineer sent to investigate the lost of contact the Ishimura a mining ship lost in deep space. When Isaac arrives he finds the ship in complete disarray and the whole crew infected my a mysterious virus turning them into deadly things (I don’t want to call them zombies because they acted some version in intelligent).

The Dead Space demo.

So after a quick demo of the controls and how to move I began to make my way to the Ishimura hull where I dealt with my first major challenge. The hull had four large asteroids sitting inside that need to be destroyed before I would be able to re-engage the gravity. So after getting the first two asteroids I face my first group of enemies. The first engagement was against a small baby like creature, so foolishly I went up and tried to stomp it to save ammo. And yet again was I wrong, as I approached three tentacles popped out and began assaulting me from every side, luckily the chamber still had zero gravity so I whisked my self away to regain focus.

When I reached the other side of my jump I turned around to try the engagement again and much to my surprise the creature had disappeared. Nervously I moved back to get the last two asteroid. After throwing the last two rocks in to what I could only explain as a superconductor. I moved towards the end of the demo, my last objective was to turn on zero gravity, after I flipped the switch all hell broke loose. Seven enemies began to descend from both sides and I braced for possibly the hardest fight of PAX. While I had heard it was difficult I did not expect what was coming, after firing of a couple shot to “strategically” a larger enemy I was mobbed from behind by the baby with tentacles. So I shook him off and pulled out my favorite weapon so far, the flamethrower. After incinerating one side of the room I turned my attention to getting rid of the other. After a thumb numbing two minutes I finally cleared the room in record time (the EA rep said I cleared the demo faster then anyone else so far, so yeah).

So overall I really loved the demo (though it was rather short) it gave me enough time to get a feel for both the controls and combat (as you have probably realized I haven’t really commented on sound or story because I just don’t have enough background). So the controls themselves are really simple (takes about two to three minutes to get use to them) but once you get them they feel really natural. The only complaint that I have is how slow Isaac moves, but after a little though I know that they must make him move slow to really keep the tension of the game, they have also said that they will have no co-op in the game. Overall I can’t wait for Dead Space this Halloween for Xbox 360, PC, and Playstation 3.

So after the demo I made my way to Fallout 3, in hopes of getting a follow up interview with one Todd Howard, sadly he was already up in the main theater to do a public demo but thankfully the line was rather short for a chance at the demo.

Fallout 3 demo area.

Fallout 3 Preview

After much anticipation I finally got my chance with what I am sure will be game of the year for many. So the basic idea behind Fallout is that in the late fifty’s a nuclear war occurred the United States in a wasteland. Your character starts out in Vault 101 one of the many Vaults spread throughout the USA. You’re Vault falls smack dab in the middle of the Washington D.C wasteland a large expansive land with small towns and ultimately Washington D.C itself.

So the first thing notice is the scope of the game and attention to detail. When you first step out of the Vault you’re blinded for along time, after finally regaining your vision you begin your quest (more of a search) for your father. So after walking about half mile in the game I ran across the outskirts of the town of Megaton. For anyone out their who has read preview coverage knows that the town is focused around a dud nuclear bomb and the cult that worships it. Instead of investigating the town itself I walked over to a nearby Elementary School and began to investigate it only to find that I have stumbled on a massive mercenary’s camp.

It was at this point I got my real first taste for combat in Fallout 3, after fumbling my way through the first encounter I realized how important the usage of VATS (Vault Assistive Targeting System). While VATS was a worry of mine during E3 it was quickly reassured with introduction of AP or action points virtually making VATS a special power no a win button.

After my first few engagement I began to get the hang of Fallout 3 controls, I then began to scan my HUD to see what else I had at my disposal and much to my surprise something I thought they would never fix. In the bottom right hand corner of the screen is a small bar called CND (Condition of the Weapon). For those who played Oblivion you all know the frustration of having your weapon be destroyed in the middle of a large encounter, you no longer need to worry due to the addition of this feature. At anytime you can see how much (not to the exact amount) longer your weapon will stay in tacked.

So after a quick fight through the school I began to make my way toward the town of Megaton in search of the Sheriff, after finding him I quickly summed up VATS and shot him to death. After that I began to be swarmed by the town’s citizens and after a haste retreat and I quick patch up I dived in to try and kill everything. Little did I know that the town had organized and I was now walking into a trap, for which lead to my ultimate demise.

So I passed the control on to the next person but stayed and watched as they tried to complete the same task as I did. Instead of watching the combat I began to look in finer detail the graphics behind this game, and I have to say they were awesome. From the lighting to the character himself everything looked incredibly detailed and well done. Overall I will say that I was thoroughly impressed by Fallout 3 and what it had to offer. While I did get a short amount of time with it, it still impressed me enough to want to play it, as soon as possible (which is October 28^th).

So after wading my way through the crowd at the Fallout booth I made my way around the show floor to see what else was their to offer. What ended up at was the Sony booth watching a demonstration of Little Big Planet which looks awesome (Darren you will not be disappointed). After that end I went over to an empty Kiosk and picked up a controller to find that I was playing Resistance 2 multiplayer.

So after playing it for two rounds I found myself really impressed with what it had to offer. From the small skirmish to the wide open maps that lead to full scale war between the two factions. One of my favorite things about the game is the focus on teamwork and the objectives presented to you and your squad. In the encounter I played my squad was ordered to take the lower part of a large saw mill. One of the first things I noticed and loved about the game was the breathing room it gives you while spawning. While you won’t be hauling ass across the map to attempt to rejoin the combat you will be spawning far enough that you won’t be spawn camped right out of the gate.

While I am not designating this a preview I do have one complaint with the game and it’s not really about the game more the PS3 controller. With the joysticks so close together I felt myself hitting my thumb’s together when attempting to make precision movements. While this problem maybe focused on the fact that I play mostly Xbox 360 games it still felt odd with the current controller. While it not a complaint toward the game is more a problem with the overall design of the controller. Now I am not saying the 360 controller is the greatest controller ever (the D-Pad really sucks) it still seems fit for first person shooters.

Please don’t take this as I hate the PS3 more that I can’t stand the design of the controller (I plan to buy a PS3 sometime soon) but the lack of dead space on the controller really bugs me’s.

So after the fun demo with Resistance 2 I made my way over to the Walrus Theater once again to watch some lectures. First up was the team behind Destructiod who talked about how to get your blog off the ground (something I really need) they also talked about how they built the community around them. For me it was rather interesting to see how crazy their fan base was (they had a dude wear booty pants and wear the helmet on stage). Overall it was a really interesting talk that made me feel that I should go and finally join the Destructiod community (which I did).

After that Brendan and I prepared for the Giant Bomb Reunion tour which was hands down one of thee highlights of the show. They were possibly the funniest (and nicest) group of guys ever. After a hilarious PowerPoint presentation they opened the floor for questions which lead me to ask the stupidest question ever (says Ryan Davis) but I still had fun doing it. Afterwards I met with them and had a funny conversation with one Alex Navarro and then left back to the hotel to begin packing for the journey home.

Alex and Vinny.

The man, the myth, the legend.... Jeff Gertsmann

The co-founder of Giant Bomb.com, Ryan Davis.

All in all PAX was the highlight of the year for me as far as gaming goes, getting to meet and chat with many of the members of the community that drove me down this path to now be writing the longest post ever on a plane back to Philly. If I could I would return in a heartbeat.

-Adam