Von Bostin' nach Boston
Hey Gamers, Steve from the Wired community team here and as the haze of another Pax East passes into memory. I thought I would do a small write-up of my experience this year.
To attend an event like Pax. Months and months of planning go into it, but not for me. I headed from my home in the West Midlands to a hotel near our base in Watford. We were flying out from Heathrow at the unheard-of hour of 7 am. This meant we had to make our way there by 5 am! Praise be for setting multiple phone alarms.
We flew over and landed in Boston on Tuesday the 21st at about midday. Plenty of time to prep our games for display on the “Wired Indie Game Parlor.” For the opening at 10 am Thursday. We cleaned, primed, prepped and prepared until this booth was the best it could be.
A view from above:
With butterflies in our bellies and a steely glint in our eyes. The announcer at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center barked out “Pax east 2023 is now open!” and with that the fun and games could begin.
“But, Steve. What could I do on the Wired Indie Game Parlor?” The simple truth is you could spend days there and several members of the community did.
The Last Worker
We took the latest build of the last worker. One week from launching ( It is out NOW!)
Gamers took on the role of Kurt and worked for the world’s largest retailer. Not that one! Jüngle.
Being forced to choose between capitalism or activism.
There was plenty of debate as gamers chatted together and with us about corporations, workers’ rights and the future of employment in the world.
After we had put the world to rights we took a break and relaxed with a cannoli from the world-famous Mikes’s Pastry. These are a slice of pure Italian dessert heaven delivered right into the heart of Boston. If you ever get a chance. Check them out.
Tiny Troopers: Global Ops.
This station played home to some of the most intense action as gamers squadded up and lay waste to bad guys all around the world. Gamertags, emails and even some phone numbers were exchanged as friends were made for life in the co-op shooter.
Besides games to play. We also had games and music to buy and WOW! We brought out the big guns.
The Deliver us the Moon Collector’s Edition and Black Label Victor Vran #01 and Town of Light #02 held prominent places in our cabinets of dreams. Yes, we discounted them for the show and if you know one thing about us is we love a deal!
These were displayed next to our Vinyl collection of Deliver us the Moon, The Falconeer WP #01, Martha is Dead WP #02, Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles WP #03 and Arcade Paradise WP #04. The amount of passion shown by the VGM vinyl community towards these was fantastic to see. I spent many an hour talking game soundtracks of all types and It has certainly given us food for thought on where we take the collection next, so watch this space.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage.
Proving a massive hit was Gori from Angry Demons. A constant queue showed how much gamers wanted to play it, but none so more than Daniel.
He had waited an entire year to get his cat nip and dragged Mom and Dad back for a complete playthrough. Curiosity has certainly got this cat and he is now one of the biggest fans of Gori. He looks like the cat that got the crème.
Last year we had our famous “NFT’s” stickers at the show and we had thousands of requests to get these made into pin badges. Well, you are the boss so we did!
These sold like hot cakes…Hot cakes that doubled down on our stance on NFTs and how much we love Indie Games. Did we mention we f*****g love ‘em?
We are completely sold out of these, but we hear you. Another batch is on order. How to get them will be on another blog.
Bollwerk: Die Falconeer-Chroniken
Indie Dev Tomas Sala was here all week. Training an army of builders in the way of the Bulwark. Tomas went in deep explaining the evolving demo he was crafting and meeting plenty of Falconeer fans. He even found time to sign some of the Falconeer WP 01 vinyl for them.
You should jump on that evolving demo right now!
Between days at the booth we even managed to experience some of the sights, sounds and delicacies of Boston. One night we tried Korean barbecue, lots of soju and even a Karaoke bar, but as the saying goes. What happens in Boston, Stays in Boston…Until the phone videos get shared 😉
Tin Hearts
Our last game to get your hands on was Tin hearts. Chris from Rogue Sun ( Thats him above singing his heart out on the left.) was on hand to guide gamers through this narrative puzzle adventure and it was a good job as he also had to accept a nomination for the best indie game at the show from Marooners rock. I think he is our good luck charm as the last time he was with us it won the Most anticipated Nintendo Switch title at Gamescom. I have a feeling these little Tin Soldiers will be marching off with a lot of awards.
And Finally, Tattoos.
The Wired Indie Game Parlor was based around the sort of place you end up in (After Karaoke) and get a tattoo. This is in the DNA of Wired and luckily is in the heart of Thousands of you. We ‘Inked’ you up day and night! We laughed, We got scared, and We laughed some more. There are far too many to shout out individually, so we made a compilation with just a few of you on:
The love we felt from this community at Pax East will last a lot longer than any tattoo. We thank you, We love you and You will see us again next year!
…How about a real-life tattooist next time?