PAX East: Moving Towards Derp

We set up our booth today at PAX East, and it went much more seamlessly than I expected. That might have come from years of experience running our own small convention for our Threshold RPG players. We brought extra supplies so that the other indie companies that came with us from Lexington were able to set up relatively painlessly as well. I'm happy with how it all turned out in the end.

Since we spent most of our time at our own booth, I didn't get to tour the floor as much as I would have liked to do so. I did hit the Nintendo booth to check out any Pokemon swag for my girls. I tried really hard to hit the PopCap booth, but they hadn't set up yet. Sadly, I couldn't get my bid in for swag early. I might have to wait with everyone else. SADFACE!!

I stopped by the Riot Games booth, and my favorite AP character was there. Ziggs had a bajllion bombs ready to toss around for fun. KABLOOEY! (Ziggs, I had no idea you were taller than me. I'm a little jealous.) I love the Riot booth, but I didn't get to talk to any of the people. I just took a bunch of pictures with some of the really awesome booth statues that they had. I don't really even know what to call these models. They're gorgeous, and it's like seeing my favorite characters come to life. I got a great picture with Katerina and her... erm... double Phantom Dancers. Such big, lovely weapons, too! I also got a wonderful picture with Tryndamere and his insanely huge sword. (I really hate your ult, sir.)

I did meet a ton of really awesome indie developers and discovered that most of the people at PAX, and especially the Indie Mega Booth people, are extremely friendly, helpful, and ready to share. I met a group making a little game called Cupcakes and Critters. It's a modified tower defense game that caught my eye because the art was RIDICULOUSLY cute. And. They. Had. Cupcake. Stuffies. I hugged one. Maybe I'll win one!! I can only hope. What cracks me up most about this absolutely adorable (and really fun) game is the fact that three guys created it. How did they manage to get the perfect recipe for cuteness for me? (Guys, I wrote about you in the blog. Surely I get a cupcake?)

About fifteen people in Lexington came in addition to the indie companies that actually make up our booth. I'm amazed by their support, enthusiasm, and boundless optimism for our developing gaming community. Want to know something really amazing about Lexington? The guy who heads up the ICC, someone who knows actually knows absolutely nothing about gaming, is here supporting us and representing Lexington. Mr. W. Nash, you really make my heart happy.

All in all, PAX has been pretty awesome so far. We meet with the press tomorrow, and I can't wait to talk about our plans, our players, and our games. Time for bed. Big day coming up! Peace out, Girl Scouts. (Did I remember to tell you guys we have Girl Scout cookies? If you're here at PAX East, make sure you stop by and support an awesome group of little gamers. Yep, one of our troops just earned a badge for game development. Guess who spoke at that meeting?)