BOSTON — It’s time once again for Penny Arcade Expo. Each spring, nerds from all over New England (and everywhere else) swamp the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for a three-day weekend of all things dorky. While videogames are the starring attraction, PAX East is also a haven for fans of board games, tabletop games, geeky concerts from the likes of Jonathan Coulton and MC Frontalot, and much more.
PAX is such a whirlwind of distractions that we’re trying something new at Game|Life — we’re liveblogging each day of the show. So in these very blog posts, I’ll be adding everything I see and do on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. See what I see! Smell what I smell! Et cetera. When a live streaming broadcast of Game|Life’s video show is about to start, that’ll appear here as well for your convenience. As the show continues on into the weekend, you’ll be able to access more live blog posts via the handy menu bar above.
5:45 PM EDT #
Ducked into the overflow room for the final round of the Omegathon, a gaming competition that runs throughout the show. The final round is the official closing of PAX; creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins make a final appearance and deliver the play-by-play. This year’s game is Spaceteam, a cooperative iOS game in which players have to shout out ridiculous commands to each other. I’ve heard good things about it; being chosen as the Omegathon finale is certainly a ringing endorsement from the tastemakers at Penny Arcade.
5:14 PM EDT #
Chess sex dot com. For all your chess sex needs.
4:03 PM EDT #
Dare I go back in?!
3:49 PM EDT #
PAX: probably the only place on Earth where you can find a room full of people all playing Steel Battalion, Capcom’s ridiculously elaborate and expensive Xbox mecha robot game with a 40-button, $200 controller.
3:42 PM EDT #
Cast members of “King of the Nerds” spotted so far at PAX: two
2:51 PM EDT #
This guy is speed-running Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, trying to break 30 minutes.
2:43 PM EDT #
The Classic Console room is packed in Sunday, as it is every day — come in, reserve a spot with an old gaming console, and play one of hundreds of original games in their original formats.
2:42 PM EDT #
Important advice at the Classic Console room.
11:59 AM EDT #
The last day of PAX East means the last day of Game|Life Live. Starting at 1 PM Eastern, we’ll go live on the air to check out two hilarious indie games. Devon Scott-Tunkin of Young Horses will be here to show us Octodad: Dadliest Catch, and Graham Smith of Drinkbox will take us through a live demo of the upcoming PlayStation 3/PlayStation Vita game Guacamelee. If you miss the live stream (above), we’ll have a dedicated video link later today.
11:59 AM EDT #
Last minute excitement! I’ll be on Twitch live starting at 12 pm, with a surprise game demo! (The surprise is DuckTales!) twitch.tv/twitch Then stick around for the second show at 1 with Octodad and Guacamelee!
11:05 AM EDT #
Just played Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Card games are not my thing, but I can tell you the experience feels very polished and fun on iPad. Controls are great, rules easy to understand. Dragging and dropping to attack feels very natural.
