A PAX Upon Your House

Posted byNicholas RadfordPosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , ,

In 2019, I was deep into trying to make wrestling happen. I was focused on doing extra work for WWE and trying to wrestle as frequently as possible. The blinders I put on during this time prevented me from connecting with old friends or cultivating a life outside of the squared circle. That said, I was extremely fortunate to have a friend like Josh who reached out to let me know they were attending PAX that year and had an extra pass. This simple olive branch would set me on a course to frequent the event yearly (minus a couple missed opportunities during a global pandemic).

In the years since, I have grown to understand and appreciate “how it works.” Various studios and entities set up booths on the show floor, offering a variety of ways to engage–game demos, photo opportunities with props or “booth babes” (cosplayers dressed as characters from the game, etc.), and free swag like lanyards, stickers, and pins. Throughout the rest of the convention hall, panels and meetups create an opportunity to connect and share knowledge within the video game community.

Dawn of the 2nd Day

My favorite piece of the puzzle has always been the swag. Pulling up spreadsheets from Reddit and determining a plan of attack to complete all the silly little side quests to collect my silly little rewards has always scratched the checklist part of my brain. (I mean, you say “spreadsheet” and I’m usually IN). Because of this collector’s urge, I have accumulated many branded items, both useful and novel. Many tote bags, masks, hats, pins, and lanyards have adorned my con outfits (usually represented by a floral romper and a pair of running shoes), and now sit somewhere amongst my hoard or accompany me on my weekly grocery trips.

This year felt different, though. Things felt smaller and less flashy, which is probably a sign of the times, as news of studio layoffs comes almost daily, and tariff uncertainty continues to affect nearly every aspect of everyday American life.

There was still swag and photo ops, but much less than in previous years. Heck, two years ago, Nintendo reserved a whole floor just for their own little sub-con called Nintendo Live, with demos, walking characters, props, freebies, and other goodies. This year, they were down to two (admittedly still fairly large) booths–one for their newest console-sellers, Pokémon Legends Z-A and Kirby Air Riders, and another for third party games like Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Elden Ring, Hades 2, Borderlands 4, and Hollow Knight: Silk Song (which required a special ticket that was given out randomly).
I’m certainly not complaining! I enjoyed my time with all of those games. (Except Borderlands 4. I’ve never been much into that series, and it took an unnervingly long time to load on the Switch 2.) I’d never played Hades before, but somehow I made it to the big boss within my fifteen-minute demo before I got absolutely destroyed. I credit most of my success to the Nintendo Ambassador helping me. She was an excellent coach and cheerleader, but unfortunately, she went to break right before my tragic defeat at the hands of the boss.

Similarly, I’d played the demo for FFVII Remake when it initially dropped on PS4 and found myself repelled by the combat, but, with the coaching of a different Ambassador (who remembered my wife and me from last year), I had a better understanding of and much more fun with the game. In fact, I dare say that this demo sold me, and I might actually pick this up when it comes out for Switch 2.

Elden Ring is still not for me, but I enjoyed my time with it at the booth.

The last thing I’ll say about Nintendo is that I absolutely adored my time playing Legends Z-A and Air Riders, surprising nobody. I’m a Pokémon fan through and through, but I was nervous about the new combat in Z-A. Fortunately, I picked it up really quickly and had a great time. It definitely left me wanting more, but I sadly ran out of time just as I was about to battle the mythical Pidgeotto that is apparently a sickeningly high level. I played the original Air Ride with friends in high school, and we played Super Smash Bros. all through college, so Air Riders just felt like a logical progression of those games. ‘Nuff said!

Coming back from that tangent, the swag was extremely lackluster, especially compared to something like Nintendo Live. All I now have to show for the time I spent waiting in line to play these demos is some patches and a pencil case, whereas just for entering Nintendo Live, I received a cloth tote bag full of goodies and the opportunity to purchase special, branded merchandise, such as Switch cases and mugs. There were also no Nintendo photo ops this year, which is weird because even last year, they created a cool Pokémon timeline you could take pictures with.

This was the story for the whole con. There were still plenty of demos around, but little engagement aside from that. We ended up only taking two branded photos, whereas last year, we walked away with almost ten.

I know this can come off like I’m complaining or saying PAX was bad this year, but that is simply not the case! These are merely my observations, and I still had tons of fun. My favorite part of PAX this year was the newest (in my experience) contributor: Wizards of the Coast, who were promoting Magic: The Gathering. In past years, the Pokémon TCG has set up their “Playlab,” which allowed anyone to pick up and play the game, ultimately rewarded with free mini-decks and a pin for completing the experience. They were nowhere to be seen this year, but MTG filled that vacant space perfectly. 

*THWIP*

Lately, MTG has been promoting crossover sets called “Universes Beyond.” They have included Lord of the Rings, Fallout, and most recently, the wildly popular Final Fantasy set. Soon, they will release the next set based on Marvel’s Spider-Man. This IP was obviously very expensive to get their hands on, so they are pushing it to the moon and back. Wizards set up a neat little booth designed to resemble a newsstand next to a park. At this stand, they would give out free mini-decks and playmats that looked like an issue of The Daily Bugle. Once you received these goodies, you could sit down in the “park” for a quick game, while experts offered advice or taught you to play, if needed. I was apprehensive about the Marvel sets (there will be more), but getting my hands on the cards and seeing them work got me pretty excited. That would have been enough to sell me, but we also stumbled across Wizards’ panel dedicated to the Spider-Man set. They revealed cards and beautiful artwork, announced prerelease events, and even gave out free comics and cards at the end of the event. Wizards did not come to play around, and I think they won PAX because of it.

The final piece I wanted to touch on, because it has weirdly been a part of my PAX experience from the start, is Dr. Exoskeleton. This is a lesser-known, but extremely fun part of the weekend. Dr. Exoskeleton is an entirely unknown character who, every year, sends out his “minions” to distribute invitations for his little virtual scavenger hunt/puzzle game. It really gives off “secret society” vibes when you see one of his minions–who dress like a plague doctor–walking around, or spot one of his envelopes sitting inconspicuously at a booth, like I did. 

My first experience with the good doctor was through Josh, the same friend who got me hooked on the PAX experience in the first place. He already knew about the minions and envelopes, and was savvy enough to get into the game fairly easily. Once in, you can invite other folks to be a part of your team, and you all work together to solve the grand puzzle before anyone else. And so, since I was basically Josh’s “plus one,” I was invited and quickly thrust into the secretive world of Dr. Exoskeleton.

This year, however, I was hunting for an envelope and inviting friends into the fold. As my wife and I waited in line to play My Hero Academia: All’s Justice (we were actually intending to play Digimon Story: Time Stranger, but got in the wrong line, though I did eventually get to play it and received my Digimon lanyard), I noticed a large tan envelope sitting just under the TV at one of the stations. I wasn’t sure if it belonged to the girl playing the demo at the time, so I waited for her to leave. As soon as she gathered her belongings and walked away from the console–leaving the envelope behind–I struck! I quickly hopped out of line, scooped up the envelope, and retook my previous position, with nobody in the booth being the wiser. We were in!

The fun of playing Dr. Exoskeleton’s game is playing with your team, so I recruited my entire Discord server to help out. (Message me if you would like to join–there’s no guarantee I’ll let you in, though, it’s an exclusive club.) Fortunately, Eve was a masterful “guy in the chair,” and helped us through much of the scavenger hunt without even being on site! Unfortunately, as we stopped by Deez Dogs outside the convention center for the final time that weekend, we were defeated by the doctor and could not complete the game in time. We did not walk away empty-handed, though! We obtained three lanyards from the Doctor’s horde to split amongst our teammates.

I literally just walked into Bumbermania off the street.
(Maybe that’s why I got eliminated first.)
Credit: Franny Crocker

Bringing things full circle, I no longer have wrestling blinders on. Sure, I took one day out of my PAX experience to wrestle two matches at Bumbershoot (gosh, everything in Seattle happens during Labor Day weekend), but that was a side quest, much like Dr. Exoskeleton’s game–an opportunity for fun with friends and a good story. Next, I’m off to run the Beat the Blerch marathon, so even though I’ve slowed down my wrestling hobby, I’m still plenty busy.

THE WORLD IS YOUR BURRITO!

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