the bblog

Retrospective: PAX 2010, days 2 and 3

What happens when you drop your laptop hard enough to unseat the keyboard's ribbon connector?

What happens when you edit the configuration files of your web server while drunk, and lock yourself out?

You get a "liveblog" that's nine days late, that's what! Accordingly, I have abandoned the timestamps, and given up on the sequential format.

Saturday, I arrived late, skipped the expo hall entirely, and spent a while playing with the Microsoft Surface demo unit they were using as a baroque ordering interface for the PA prints page for a while.

Despite being grainy, (it's only 1024x768) stuttery, and generally half-assed; it really is bizarrely compelling. I can see why it's been getting so much fawning press.

The corporate strategy regarding it is odd as well. It's not for sale, but they've been demoing it for the last three years. It's not a concept piece, but full, semi-working commercial gear. It's all very confused.

I also went to the late night show with Kris Straub and Scott Kurtz. It was mostly in-jokes and the hosts getting progressively drunker. After that, I went to the showing of the PATV episodes with the director in attendance, then awkwardly didn't ask him any questions at all. Though I did point out that you didn't have to open-with every file.

There was a Guild Wars 2 billboard on a truck orbiting the convention center all weekend, and I only got a picture of it on Sunday. And the winner for "most boring job" goes to: that dude.

Pictured: Somebody at a Halo: Reach demo unit.

Also pictured: Halo: Reach's primary demographic.

Burn.

(Long time readers may note that I may the exact same joke last year. That's because I love repeating myself.

Here's an obligatory illegible shot of of a 3D LCD. I thought the setup was incredibly cool, even if the game being played on it is lame and sucks.

Carrying your pass in a lanyard is so passe. Real men tuck 'em into the band of their fedora. Then tape them to their band so they don't fall out.

This picture was taken in a panel on contemporary legal issues on the video game industry, which was pretty interesting, but completely pointless to photograph.

And that's it. The last photo of PAX.

This year was definitely defined by what I missed. I missed the panels with the Dead State guys, where I was hoping to harass them about setting a release date; thanks to Tammy Bierwagen, whose fault, and whose fault alone, was responsible for me missing the best parts of PAX.

I also missed Jason Scott, since he only posted about it on his ███████ and not his blog, like an asshole. Though beating him out on intentionally misleading people would like to meet him was Jonathan Blow, who secretly exhibited his next game at the SpyParty booth. Like an asshole.

I also managed to not touch a single Steel Battalion controller all weekend, because I apparently have the worst timing in the world.

Maybe I'll fail less in 2011.