Heads up - there are a LOT of pictures in this blog. If you're on the mobile version of Dtoid, I'm sorry! I'm going to keep my thoughts fairly short so we can get through this with our sanity intact. I apologize for some of the blur. Most of these pics were taken with the iPhone and not a proper camera.
My PAX 2011 experience was nothing short of absolutely fucking magical. A million thanks to knutaf and his lovely wife for allowing myself and roughly 15 other people to congregate at their place. I had some of the best times I've had in
years, no joke. I had nearly forgotten how great it is to get together with real people and game. Needless to say, I can't wait until next year!
Here are some of the people Handy and I met during our adventures.
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Destructoid meetup at Gameworks
Dtoid Show personality Max Scoville attempts to bribe me for a small taste of Handy; succeeds.
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Tara Long didn't necessarily want to pose for a pic. Too bad!
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Outside, we met an extremely opinionated adult-sized infant wearing sunglasses. Seattle is crazy!
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Danny Baranowsky (composer for Super Meat Boy and the upcoming Binding of Isaac) goes in for a lick.
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PAX - Day One
The dark silhouette is none other than the world famous Occams electric toothbrush.
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Hamza was found lurking around Halofest. Typical.
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These elf women were very nice and seemed genuinely happy that someone wanted to photograph them.
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Immediately after this photo was taken, Ken Levine lifted up his shirt to show me his Darksiders II chest tattoo. Breathtaking.
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Mr. Andy Dixon evolves into his true form - Mr Foam Boner.
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Pedobear poses with Handy but gets his sentries sapped in the process.
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Derek Yu (creator of the indie game Spelunky) was nice enough to draw me a picture and talk to me. What a guy!
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PAX - Day Two
Badass Fem Shep got all stabby when I tried to take Handy back from her.
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Then....uh.....there was this guy.
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Tragically, one of the light fixtures above Carmine fell and fatally crushed him only moments after this picture was taken.
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A really impressive looking Juri was hanging out near the Street Fighter x Tekken machine.
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A rare Goatee Wario sighting.
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Johnny Cage and Ermac took a moment from their grocery run to pose while Jade and Sonya discussed flavored potato chips.
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Cardboard Isaac Clarke only had enough money for a Saturday pass. :(
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Whew! SteezyXL and I ran into Mr. Destructoid near the end of the second day. Nice! (Please note the delicate pinkies.)
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PAX Day Three
-Not Pictured-
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the last day of PAX due to a work related obligation. This required me to fly straight to Las Vegas; a city that I loathe. Handy could tell I wasn't looking forward to leaving all my new friends so he worked his magic and mysteriously got my flight bumped up to first class status. Sweet! If that wasn't enough, more good news was to follow!
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GameStop Conference - Las Vegas
I was very tired when I boarded my 6am flight and I forgot to wear my Pillow Tie! Dammit! (as seen in Sky Mall.)
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This is basically what Las Vegas looks like up close.
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In another strange turn of events, my roommate and I's hotel room got bumped up to a suite. This picture doesn't really do it justice. It was huge! Thanks Handy! *wink*
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The bathroom was equally impressive.
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Here's a pic of Clifford J. Bleszinski signing autographs in the Microsoft hospitality suite. I later asked him to sign my Gears of War themed gift card. He's short!
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The Joker himself, Mark Hamill, rolled into the lecture hall in a fucking Batmobile!
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You may be asking yourself, "What the fuck is this?" Well folks, this is a picture of the penny slot machine that coughed up $45 in cash money! It seemed like Handy was dead set on making this trip worth my time. I almost feel bad for leaving him in my luggage the whole time!
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The best thing about Las Vegas? The giant pyramid hotel. Neato.
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After a solid week of meeting countless lovely people, laughing my ass off, playing hours and hours of Rock Band, eating delicious home-cooked food, walking miles and miles, drinking more than my fair share of alcohol, multiple flights, attending countless brainwashing sessions, packing/unpacking and basically running around non-stop, I finally made it home safely. Though I'm glad to be back, I will never forget the time I had.
Friendships were solidified. Games were played. Memories were made.
Tired of hearing about how amazing this community is? Tough shit - it's fucking awesome. More than anything else, this trip to PAX has restored my faith in humanity. There actually
are good people out there; they're just all here on Destructoid.
<3
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