PAX East '23

My amazing son is in town from LA and was kind enough to let me tag along with him to this year's PAX East Video Game Exhibition in Boston. It is now turning into a bit of a family tradition for PAX to be a family event. He brought me along this year and last year and he is already planning for next year - complete with a luxury hotel and all the bells and whistles that go with it. 

There is so much to see and the Expo floor is an endless thunder of lights, electricity, games, novelties, and  food trucks. Seeing the camera operators and the amount of wires and equipment that go into setting everything up is impressive. Besides all the amazing new games and gear the creators are excited to share, the people who attend PAX is the most intriguing to me. Throngs of people from a wide array of backgrounds, lifestyles, and social settings - ranging from parents with children to retired adults - suddenly become one big entity with one common interest: gaming. And there is never any fighting, bullying, pushing, or taunting. Everyone accepts everyone. Come.As.You.Are and Be.Who.You.Are. Truly rare and truly beautiful. 💖

People working the booths are willing to share their games and show you how to play and offer you a deck of cards or a game controller so you can try it out and hopefully love their game enough to buy it. Their sales pitches are never pushy or aggressive, but friendly and hopeful and they are just happy that you stopped to chat. 

I saw a community building game called the Wandering Village where the object is to build a sustainable community of people while traveling on the back of a dinosaur who randomly stands up and walks around - making you scurry to sustain your village in the new environment you've been moved to. Fun and Funny and the kind of game that makes you think and plan and take care of people you're in charge of. Inspiring.

The Wandering Village

I saw a hand-crafted pop-up board game called The Shivers that was eerie and beautiful and full of mystery. It is a storytelling adventure game that is brand new to the gaming market.

The Shivers

I saw PAC Man Tournament live and happening in real time with computer screens that took up a whole wall and camera boom that (I'm pretty sure) was at least 100 feet long. 

PacMan Tournament

Players and audience

PacMan Players on Stage

Players and Moderator

Players on stage

Giant camera Boom

 

 

In addition to games for entertainment and excitement, I met a company called Geek Therapeutics whose innovative games are entertaining and therapeutic as they aim to help people help themselves through a variety of life's obstacles and experiences. This is the only game I bought at PAX and it is a deck of cards that asks questions that are thought provoking and guide you on a journey of introspection into who you are and how to de-stress in a stressful world. I'm looking forward to getting started with it. In addition to buying their game, they gave me a free pin and a free velvet drawstring pouch of hand-crafted dice. So cool.

Geek Therapy Card Deck

And ... LASTLY ... super exciting was The Last of Us display with Ellie playing guitar and a Clicker sneaking up behind her. Our family has been fans of TLOU since the game first came out years ago. We remember when it was announced back in 2011 and anxiously waited for its release in 2013. We've been playing it ever since and - Holy Shit: Dream Come True - the series that just came out on HBO is a family favorite so it was super exciting to see them represented at PAX this year. 

The Last of Us - Watch out Ellie!

The Last of Us - Ellie! BEHIND YOU!

See you next year PAX!