The Penny Arcade Expo has come and gone from San Antonio, TX and while a few thousand miles prevented me from attending, my brother Tim was fortunate enough to check things out. I typed up a few questions for him to get his take on what the show had to offer. With any luck I’ll be able to live vicariously through his answers. Check out the link below for the full interview and be sure to check out my brother’s Twitch channel at twitch.tv/piratemushroom.
Q: This was the first year for PAX South in San Antonio. How was the city/venue?
A: I’ve been to the city before, but yeah this was my first time at PAX or any convention like it. I thought the city was perfect for something like this. If you had a hotel that was on the River Walk you could walk anywhere that matters in the city including the convention center. It was a nice plus to never mess with traffic or public transportation.
As far as the actual venue goes. The convention center was awesome as well. Lot’s of walking, but that’s as expected, plenty of room for everything. I will say this, they could have set it up just a bit different for walking traffic but it wasn’t a huge issue. Tons of bathrooms, never had to wait in a line for them once. I could see them picking it again next year.
Q: You went to PAX South with your girlfriend Morgan, what were some of her thoughts on the weekend?
A: I’ll let her answer this… Considering I am not a habitual player of any type of game, it was an interesting experience. One thing that really shocked me was how reasonably priced the merchandise was. I was surprised at how much fun I had painting the figurines for some type of game (I don’t recall). I thought the expo was cool in the sense that it included all ages and types of people. Everyone was respectful and courteous to one another. I thought the lines at the booths and panels was a little ridiculous, but I can’t think of a better way to filter that traffic than by having you register for certain booths and panels before you attend PAX, which would take the fun out of the freedom you have to go explore. I also really liked watching people dance to DDR. Overall, interesting and fun experience.
Q: What were some of the best booths on the floor?
A: There were so many so I’ll break it down to my top 3 in no particular order.
The Magic the Gathering set up was really nice. They had the largest area reserved for tabled and everything. Had a tournament set-up, the actual booth itself, and a place just for new players wanted to learn the game and they provided you with decks you could take home.
Games & Grinds 