I’ve by no means labored so laborious to earn a t-shirt.
The plan was easy: Arrive at PAX as a bunch as early as attainable on Sunday, its quietest day. Make a beeline when the doorways open at 10am for the Remaining Fantasy XIV stall. Get to the entrance of the queue. Beat the boss, win a shirt.
The execution nevertheless was fraught.
Early, 9am on this occasion, wasn’t early sufficient. The queue corridor into the occasion was already three-quarters full with hundreds of individuals. What ensued might finest be described as a fever dream.
A collage of repeated advertisements for Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves, blended in with trance music. A DJ was employed to entertain the 9am crowd whereas they waited for the gates to open.
This was all topped off by the looping soundtrack of John Denver’s Take Me Dwelling, Nation Roads; a track that’s been co-opted by the occasion to spruik its recurring theme of PAX being a “residence” for Australia’s gaming neighborhood.
The wrinkle: Many others had the identical concept. In hindsight, it was hilarious watching a swarm of avid gamers — together with my buddies and I — energy stroll to this stall when the gates opened. No working is allowed at PAX, a rule enforced by a military of volunteers for the occasion.
We simply managed to squeeze into the top of the queue earlier than the cutoff. What ensued was an almost three hour wait to beat a boss we problem nearly weekly at residence anyway. By noon, we have been donning our extremely prized t-shirts – and maybe questioning our life selections.
The T-Shirt in query.
This is without doubt one of the extra obscure recollections I’ve in attending PAX Australia as a part of the broader Melbourne Worldwide Sport Week (MIGW) for the higher a part of a decade. It launched again in 2014, and is anticipated to attract a crowd of over 125,000 this 12 months. To place that in perspective, that’s greater than this 12 months’s AFL Grand Remaining which pulled in just below 100,000 spectators to the Melbourne Cricket Floor.
It’s an extremely various week of occasions. It begins with the area’s main recreation developer convention, GCAP. Various different trade talks and occasions run all through the week, together with Excessive Rating – a recreation audio targeted occasion – and the Australian Sport Developer Awards proper in the course of the week. Lastly, it’s topped off with PAX Australia, the nation’s largest gaming expo over the weekend.
And that’s excluding so many different smaller occasions, developer talks and pop-ups in between.
For loads of Melburnians, it’s maybe probably the most complicated and misunderstood week of the 12 months. Hundreds of individuals, together with many from abroad, descend on the town carrying all types of gaming paraphernalia.
Some are in full costume (or cosplay because it’s recognized), others merely donning a t-shirt or accent sporting one among their favorite video games. Although many gown plainly. You couldn’t inform they have been heading to PAX or lots of the different occasions scattered throughout the town.
I’ve been requested numerous instances throughout a number of years: So what character are you dressing up as? And whereas cosplay is big – and rising yearly – it’s not the explanation why everybody goes to those occasions. Neither is it concerning the giveaways. Although it’s true: In case you are on the proper place on the proper time, you may stroll away with an costly gaming PC or bag of equipment.
I like to think about Melbourne Worldwide Gaming Week as an occasion that actually brings collectively the nation’s gaming neighborhood, in all of its kinds. It’s the place builders meet with followers, the place the trade shares concepts that spur on the subsequent era of video games. It’s every week that unites what’s a disparate group of those that wouldn’t work together in any other case.
Gaming itself is a really broad church. Some could also be into esports, others into roleplaying, some could solely vibe tabletop video games.
Name it kitschy advertising and marketing, however PAX Australia maybe has carried out their homework with their positioning of the occasion. It does the truth is really feel like “residence”, being amongst my individuals. A spot the place you meet others with a easy query: What are you taking part in?
However one factor is for sure: I believe I’m carried out making an attempt to earn any extra gaming t-shirts.
Everybody has their very own story with Melbourne Worldwide Video games Week.
So to underscore simply how various and attention-grabbing it’s, I reached out to numerous individuals within the video games trade or who usually attend its occasions.
I requested what they’re most trying ahead to through the week and why.
Right here’s what they needed to say:
Elliot Lamb, Composer and Musician
Among the many myriad occasions that make up Melbourne Worldwide Video games Week, the sport audio convention Excessive Rating is a selected favorite of mine, a potent collision of all my pursuits in a single jam-packed weekend.
As a musician, a composer and a gamer, the bringing collectively of innumerable sound designers, composers, builders, voice artists and audio professionals makes for an enlightening and provoking occasion.
The convention, hosted by the legendary Angharad “Rad” Yeo, and going down this 12 months at ACMI, is loaded up with keynotes, panels, masterclasses, demos – countless alternatives to select the brains of among the unbelievable artists working within the recreation audio house on matters from composition, to implementation, to networking and improvement.
Past all these flashy convention components, nevertheless, is crucial facet of the occasion, and the one which retains me wanting to come back again annually – the sport audio neighborhood in Melbourne is a deeply welcoming, encouraging and supportive group of artists who need nothing greater than to spend a weekend chatting to anybody who’s on this world.
For an aspiring recreation composer, there’s by no means a boring second because the delegates bounce round sharing insights and recommendation over coffees and snacks with rising and established artists alike. It’s turn into a staple calendar occasion for me, and I can’t wait to see what’s in retailer in 2025!
Chad Habel, Dangerous Plan Studios
I can’t wait to indicate our recreation, that is gonna be nice! I’ve been to nearly each PAX Aus since they began, normally as a punter, often on panels, and typically on the AIE sales space exhibiting scholar video games, however that is the primary time I’ve attended with a studio to indicate a recreation we’re engaged on.
Finish of Ember is within the pre-demo section and though we’ve carried out SAGE and AVCon in South Australia (twice), it’s excellent timing to indicate to the general public on the greatest occasion within the gaming calendar. The group is working laborious on a giant new mechanic (swappable weapons!) and we hope to have this prepared for a construct for PAX.
It’s so thrilling to think about hundreds of individuals seeing the sport and taking part in it, and we’re additionally hoping to meet up with some traders and publishers to progress the enterprise facet of the studio as properly. Lastly, it’s the primary time all three of us (Chad, Dan and Eli) are going to PAX collectively, in order that’s a little bit of a bromance second. Hope to see a number of people there!
Jasmine Wilson, Nova Video games
PAX Aus would be the first large occasion the place we showcase our video games, Ooble Gardens and Teeny Tidy, and with each of them going from just a few months into improvement to with the ability to showcase at one of many greatest occasions in Australia, it’s an enormous milestone for us!
We’re nonetheless wrapping our heads round this chance, all we’ve carried out is figure on what we love and put ourselves on the market. It looks like our first actual step into the trade we’ve all the time dreamed of becoming a member of, and we will’t wait to fulfill individuals at MIGW and see them expertise the video games we’ve poured our hearts into.
Renee O’Flynn, freelance author and The IndiEXP
Sadly, because of me being a full-time carer I’m solely capable of attend PAX, though I’d like to go someday and expertise all of it in its hectic glory. I’ve really managed to attend each PAX since its inception, with the final 4 years being privileged sufficient to go as media!
The factor I like about PAX probably the most is the indie video video games. You’ll be able to usually see the massive gamers on-line and discover heaps of opinions of them, but it surely’s these small gems hiding in plain sight that actually excite me.
Seeing the fervour the builders have for his or her tasks makes them attention-grabbing, even when it’s a style I usually don’t play. It’s right here the actually inventive stuff occurs! In an analogous vein, I do get pleasure from tabletop however by no means have the time or (native) buddies. PAX is the one time that I get to play a bunch of board video games and uncover small ones that you just’d by no means hear of in any other case!
It’s principally a time of discovery for me.
Briar Francis, Thomson Geer
As a video games lawyer who performs video games, I all the time expend all of my vitality at GCAP (normally within the Native Lounge – no regrets), then my husband drags my weary physique round PAX.
MIGW is commonly the one likelihood I get to see my shoppers within the flesh, so I’ll be taking in all that invigorating vitality you may solely expertise by getting amongst trade, and making that feeling maintain me for one more 12 months!
I’m on a roundtable on GCAP Day 2 discussing AI in video games and actually trying ahead to getting some completely different views on such a scorching button subject.
Ben Schuster, Qualbert and Gameloft
Whereas there’s nothing fairly as thrilling as stepping onto the present ground and taking part in your most anticipated recreation, it’s really the sense of neighborhood that retains me coming again to PAX.
In an trade that operates on-line, the prospect to genuinely join with many individuals who you may solely work together with over social media or Discord is an extremely particular second.
I’ve had the pleasure of working the #GamersofAUS neighborhood meet-up the final three years, and nothing fairly beats the sensation of with the ability to convey individuals collectively from throughout Australia. Few different occasions can obtain that.
Kate Corridor, PlayIndies
I’m attending GCAP, PAX Aus, and several other different occasions throughout MIGW. What excites me most is how MIGW brings collectively such a various mixture of indie builders, publishers, and creators.
The networking alternatives are invaluable for sharing concepts and constructing collaborations. I’m additionally trying ahead to spreading the phrase about my new firm, PlayIndies, and connecting with trade professionals, indie devs, and creators who may profit from it.
As a GCAP speaker, I’m desirous to share my experiences in recreation advertising and marketing whereas studying from others tackling related challenges.
Join his e-newsletter beneath:
- Infinite Lives is a reader-supported publication. It’s free to enroll and browse the newest piece, however as of July a subscription can be required to learn Harrison’s backlog of over 70 distinctive articles. Every subscription goes in direction of bettering his Substack, supporting the broader Substack gaming neighborhood and funding extra unbiased video games journalism in Australia.