Monday, March 18, 2013

PAX East: Pros and Cons

Our indie company, Frogdice, is going to PAX East for the very first time ever, so I'm pretty excited. I'm also pretty nervous. I can't wait! I also don't want to go. I've been vacillating all week, so I finally decided to get it all out in a Pros and Cons list.

PAX and Cosplay

Pro: I absolutely love cosplay. Our players have been cosplaying for over 13 years for Threshold RPG, our 16 year old text RPG. There's going to be tons of cosplay there!

Con: Since I am representing our booth, I can't cosplay any of my favorite LoL characters. I was thinking of going as Gragas. (Yes, imagine a 4'11" old, Asian lady dressed up as Gragas. HAH!)

PAX and Marriage

Pro: I'm going to PAX East with my husband. We'll be representing a company that we've built together and showing off games we've built as a team. All this from having met each other on a game he created while we were both in law school. It's like the culmination of an epic love story.

Con: Prepping for PAX East might result in a divorce. I'll let you know if I'm still married when I get back.

PAX and Swag

Pro: I love our swag! And I can't wait to go swag shopping. I may be a game developer, but I'm also an avid gamer. I've already contacted other booths in hopes of swag swapping. Woo!

Con: It's swag. There ARE NO CONS. Okay, maybe a little con. I had a hard time choosing our swag because, as an indie company, you have to be pretty frugal and spend very, very carefully. There's not a lot of room to spend money on swag that people might just toss in the trash. I'm pretty pumped with the swag that we picked out. I think they have a high chance of making it home with gamers. If we have any left over, I know a ton of people at FroggaCon who will want it. So, maybe I was right. THERE ARE NO CONS!!!

PAX and Press

Pro: Our interview slots are filling up, and since we're both going, we can double up on the interviews. I'm extremely happy with the press and their interest. We've got a great story, but sometimes it can be a little bit tough to get their attention. Wait until I tell them that we're only married because I wanted better gear for my character on Threshold.

Con: As I said, it can be hard to get gaming media to reply at times. On the other hand, I can't wait to meet the people who have been INCREDIBLY responsive and supportive from the first time we've contacted them. Also, I may run out of bourbon trying to booze these guys up.

PAX and Parties

Pro: I'm gonna party all night like I haven't since college.

Con: I'm gonna party all night and pay for it since I'm now 37 and not 19. If you see me lying in the gutter, kindly scoot me back onto the sidewalk. Oh, and can I borrow your walker?

4 comments:

Michael said...

Cosplay: I hope we get to see lots of cool cosplay in the Expo hall. I hope they don't just stay in the other places!

Marriage: EEP! Scary...

Swag: I plan to do a little swag hunting, but not as much as Dalaena!

Press: I hope we make some solid press contacts. That is an area where we need to really improve. It is so challenging to get the word out about our games. I'd love to be able to build interest with regular updates throughout the development process. But right now that's not an option. I hope PAX changes that a bit.

Parties: I don't know what I can handle, but I'll do my best!

Unknown said...

Ha! I can't wait to hear how you guys fare at PAX. I'm kinda jealous to be honest!

And fingers crossed for the Press coverage. Frogdice could really use an influx of massive proportions.

And party like it's 1999!

Meghan Kalliavas said...

So bummed that I'm working this weekend. BOOOOOO!!! Hopefully Steven has fun and brings me back some cool swag.

Pang said...

Steven did not show up!! Sadface.