PAX 08 came and went as a whirlwind adventure deep into the heart of nerddom. I saw strange things; I saw glorious things. I put faces with the names I only know through the internet. I got drunk and met Solid Snake in the street. I hugged a ninja. I amassed a wealth of free trinkets.

But most importantly, I played video games. Video games that aren’t out yet. Video games you likely haven’t played yet. But I’m not bragging. No, far from it. I’ve played these games and now I want to share that experience with you.

Wade will be an unlockable character in Metal Gear Solid 5: Snake Streeter

I have seen the future, and it is wondrous. So, stay tuned to Ripten in the coming days for the word on this fall’s biggest titles. But for now, I give you the PAX overview, a taste of the madness.

The first thing to say about PAX is that it is big. Many thousands of people big. The second thing to say is that this convention is truly the gamers’ show. “For gamers, by gamers” as the signs around Seattle say. And its dead on. This show isn’t about Penny Arcade, or the dozens of games on display on the show floor. No, it is all about the gamers. Giving them what they want, first and foremost.

Thousands of gamers stare at the pretty lights while pickpockets go to work

The entire Seattle Convention center was crawling with nerds. Old nerds, young nerds. Guy nerds and girl nerds. Table-top nerds and Console nerds. The only nerds that weren’t there, as far as I could tell, were the little colorful candy ones.

Some wore cosplay outfits, many wore gaming shirts, and some showed up naked (ok, that last part is a lie.) It felt a little bit like a homecoming to be amongst so many dedicated gamers. Along the way I met up with Ripten’s very own Wardrox (who was on “holiday” as they say across the Atlantic) and we did our best to represent.

John and Wade drink lots of brown colored water to enhance their gaming

The show floor was covered in people and gaming demos of every variety, and side rooms held panels of industry people who shared their knowledge and experience with the n00bs that are we, the gaming public.

Gabe and Tycho, the shows hosts, were out and about between hosting panels, and the Omegathon pitted twenty gamers against each other in a marathon of games (culminating in Excitebike Versus) for a chance to win a trip to the Tokyo game show and a set of sexy custom PAX 08 consoles.

At night the sounds of nerdcore music filled the venue, unless you were in one of the console freeplay rooms, in which case your were as likely to hear the music of Kid Icarus or Street Fighter II being played on big screens and old consoles.

Look out!!! Puffy ninja balls are gonna get ya!!!

After hours, downtown Seattle was swamped as the swarms poured alcohol down their gullets and money into Seattle’s downtown. The bar we established as our base of operations clearly was not used to the demands of alcoholic gamers and the service was slow, but hey, when you’ve got thirty people to serve and two bar tenders, things tend to slow down.

I met a lot of people as well. I sat in demo lines and played goldfish with some kids, I chatted with fellow bloggers and talked to game makers about why they’re excited about their games, and it got me excited about their games.

PAX is place where the public, the press and the producers come together on common ground and share their love of gaming. And for that, we owe Gabe and Tycho our thanks.

So, on the off chance they’re reading this, from the bottom of my heart meter, I offer you my thanks for a great event. And for the rest of you, get your shit together, I’ll see you at PAX 09.

Tags: PAX 08, Penny Arcade Expo

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