credit Photo: Puja Parakh
SEATTLE – Gamer geeks from across the nation packed into the Washington State Convention and Trade Center for Penny Arcade Expo 2007 over the weekend. With the death of the E3 trade show, PAX has become the country’s largest gaming convention, nearly tripling in size from last year, with 40,000 people attending between Aug. 24 and 26.Show organizers were bowled over by the attendance figures, but handled the boom in stride, presenting a weekend packed full of surprise celebrity guests from the world of gaming, tournaments with cash prizes and, most importantly, a chance for like-minded gamers to get together and try out the latest games.Left: The game rooms at PAX stay full late into the evening. Banks of PCs and monitors, set up by Intel, line a massive room opposite the exhibit halls. Players test their skills at Counter-Strike against all comers, with thousands bringing their own PCs to the event.
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Master at Work =
description Mike "Gabe" Krahulik, one-half the Penny Arcade creator team, is the artist who brings the web comic’s characters to life on the page (or screen). Krahulik and writing partner Jerry "Tycho" Holkins take the stage Saturday to create Monday’s installment of the comic live, in front of an audience of thousands. As Holkins takes questions, Gabe inks and colors the comic in about an hour flat as the audience watches the work on two giant screens flanking the stage. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Gamer Mom =
description Jerry Holkins, one of the founders of Penny Arcade and the writer of the comic strip, brings his mother, Peta Countryman, to the event Saturday morning. "I wouldn’t miss it for the world," she says of the show, which drew 40,000 of her son’s fans to Seattle. "I knew when he was three that he was going to be something. I thought a rocket scientist. When I saw his game, and people were playing it, tears came out of nowhere.""Eyes," Holkins quips. "They came out of your tear ducts." 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Ready to Rock =
description A miniature stage on the PAX show floor lets gamers get their moment in the spotlight – after they endure a lengthy wait of up to 45 minutes – when they play Rock Band, MTV’s four-player music game that makes Guitar Hero look like child’s play. Get three of your friends together and you can sing lead vocals or play guitar, bass or drums on songs like Weezer’s "Say It Ain’t So" and Bon Jovi’s "Wanted Dead or Alive." Rock Band will be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Geek Power =
description "My name is Wil Wheaton, and Jack Thompson can suck my balls." That’s how PAX’s keynote speaker kicks off his address, to thunderous applause. "Nothing brings me as much joy as gaming," says the 35-year-old actor-cum-geek-culture-blogger who’s best known for his roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stand By Me. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
By the Numbers =
description PC graphics cardmaker Nvidia sponsors a contest that proves impossible to ignore even if you aren’t playing. Company reps pass out buttons with five-digit codes, then tell attendees to find their matching number among the rest of the crowd to win prizes. Within hours, fans are walking around with makeshift signs, looking for their partners. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Team Nintendo =
description Two PAX attendees dress as Link and Samus from Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda and Metroid games. Cosplay isn’t as prevalent at PAX as it is at Japanese animation conventions, but fans who take the leap craft elaborate reproductions of their favorite characters’ outfits. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
BioShocked =
description The recent release of BioShock, a critically acclaimed first-person shooter, is a big topic of conversation at PAX. Chris Furniss, who runs a podcast called "Weekly Geek," is so enthralled that he quickly assembles a costume and dresses as one of the game’s surreal enemies. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
All That You Can Be =
description The Army operates the largest booth on the PAX show floor. Virtual Army Experience, a life-size game in which four players sit in a Humvee and play through a realistic war-on-terror scenario on three giant screens, unfolds behind an ominous black curtain."The weapons were definitely more realistic than a controller or keyboard, but it could have been more accurately tuned," says one PAX player after giving the game a shot. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Game Jazz =
description After hours at PAX, a variety of musical acts rock the convention hall. The One-Ups (pictured) and The Minibosses perform live covers of game music; other acts included "nerdcore" rap like Optimus Rhyme and MC Frontalot. Synth-pop act Freezepop headlined. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
In Character =
description While attendees can’t play the upcoming game Penny Arcade Adventures, created by the organizers of the PAX convention, the can design their own 3-D characters in the Penny Arcade comic-strip style. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Naked Fandom =
description Forgetting the rule that "no costume is no costume," some fans forego modesty to truly embrace their videogame-inspired costumes. We’re not sure what videogame this is from, but we definitely don’t want to play it. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Motion Tabled =
description For Penny Arcade attendees, gaming doesn’t just mean sitting in front of a computer monitor. A vibrant tabletop gaming community takes over a floor of the convention center, holding everything from Magic: The Gathering tournaments to pick-up games of Risk. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Good Game =
description Microsoft’s Ken Lobb high-fives Charles Simmons, 24, of Philadelphia. Simmons and about a hundred other gamers lined up to deliver 45-second pitches for game designs to a panel of industry experts. The panel enjoyed Simmons’ concept, an action game called Spud the Potato in which the main character can use moves like "Home Fry Tornado." 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Not Mario =
description Jonathan Mann, aka "Gamejew," dresses up as a shirtless Super Mario to serenade the PAX crowd on the guitar, singing songs he wrote about his love for Nintendo. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Orc King =
description Amazingly, this guy is not working security. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Hello, Halo =
description Master Chief, the green-suited hero of the Halo games, is on hand to pose for pictures with his adoring fans, then immediately slice them in two with a plasma sword (not shown). 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Magic Mushrooms =
description Seattle-area retailer Pink Godzilla sells rare, retro and imported videogames (and assorted ephemera) to the appreciative PAX crowd. The most popular items: Japan-exclusive games like Jump Ultimate Stars, a Nintendo DS game that features characters from many popular manga. The biggest-ticket item is Nintendo’s rare 64DD system, with a complete set of launch games, for $600. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Beanbags =
description Elsewhere at PAX, late-night attendees sack out on a hallway full of giant beanbags provided by Sumo, and kick back with their Nintendo DS handhelds. Although Sony also makes a portable system, the PSP, Nintendo devotees dominate the PAX crowd. 
credit Photo: Puja Parakh
Don’t Breathe =
description An epic three-day game tournament called Omegathon takes place at PAX, with 20 hand-selected candidates vying for the ultimate gamer nerd prize: a trip to the Tokyo Game Show and $5,000 in spending money. The first round? Jenga. Competitor Chelsea Stark, 23, holds the audience in rapt attention as she makes a late-game move that keeps her in the tournament. "I was so scared," Stark says. "My hands were shaking. That tower was so shaky."
