Tiger Sheep

I did not attend PAX Dev because I am not a developer, but I did run around Prime Friday and Saturday and checked stuff out. This was my first year going to PAX as a 3DS owner, and man it was nuts! By nuts I mean, way more fun standing in lines than usual. I think I Streetpassed something like 400 people by weekend’s end, including what I’m pretty sure was most of Canada.
 
Since I was only there for two days, I focused less on panels and more on actually playing games. This is contrary to my usual comic convention strategy—where I almost solely attend panels (mostly for the celebs, let’s be honest). Besides, other than the Omegathon, most of the panels sounded not quite aligned with my interests, weirdly enough.
 
The actual Expo Hall itself was fantastic as usual, although I felt the Nintendo section was lacking a bit—it was a little small and focused only on two games. Admittedly, they were two pretty great games (the new Zelda and Smash Bros) but I would have liked to see more variety, particularly more 3DS-specific perks.
 
The Behemoth had a fantastic setup, and easily one of the longest demos I’d ever played. They were debuting Game 4, a hex-based strategic RPG with the usual humor and unique art we’ve come to expect from the company. Instead of just handing you a controller to demo with, you had an entire console, complete with arcade-esque circle buttons and even a lever. That really made the experience special, and after fifteen minutes of demoing, you got a drawstring bag as a gift. Woo! Thanks The Behemoth, you’re too cool.
 
Of course, the Indie Mega Booth was just as great as usual. It was super crowded both days I attended, so I didn’t get much of a chance to demo games, but the variety on offer was absolutely stupendous, which should surprise nobody.
 
Perhaps my favorite part of the Indie Megabooth was being able to try out the Oculus Rift, as the tech was on offer for a few indie games. After waiting in line for only about thirty minutes, I got to try the Oculus 2 with XING: The Land Beyond. Disregarding the admittedly odd name (is it pronounced “crossing” or “zing?”), the game itself was quite gorgeous.
 
An exploration puzzle game, the reality seemed to stretch beyond just that description. This was my first time using the Oculus, and the short five-minute demo didn’t give me quite enough time to get used to it. Although it’s probably good that the demo was only five minutes, as I got a bit of motion sickness from the world immersion, something that took me by surprise. I’m greatly looking forward to using the Oculus more, and perhaps figuring out a way to not get motion sick by using it.
 
Overall, PAX was a blast as usual, although the AAA game offerings weren’t quite as exciting as last year. But as always, the convention gave me a chance to go full geek and play video games quite literally all day, every day.