What the Penny Arcade Expo means to Destructoid

3:00 PM on 08.28.2009   |   Hamza CTZ Aziz

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The Penny Arcade Expo was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the guys behind Penny Arcade and Child’s Play, back in 2004. They started up this expo so gamers of all kinds -- console, computer and tabletop gaming -- could all get together in one place and enjoy gaming with one another.

Destructoid has gone to PAX since 2007, and the number of people from this Community that have made the pilgrimage to Seattle with us has doubled in size each year. Gaming, among other things, is about a social connection, and in this day and age, it’s a lot easier to sit on your ass at home and be “social” through the Internets. That may work for most people, but the folks that call Destructoid their home have a need that others probably can’t understand.

Destructoid gives you a ton of ways to state your views, opinions and ways to connect with others, but the one thing this Web site can’t give you is that actual physical and social interaction, which is a basic human need that we all share and crave.

Enter PAX.

In 2007, a number of editors and around 30 Community members all flew into Seattle not knowing what to really expect. By the end of the weekend, it was hard to say goodbye to all the new friends that everyone had made. Destructoid doesn’t go to PAX to work. We went in 2007, we went in 2008 and we’re going next week not to work, but to see our friends whom we haven’t seen in over a year, to see our friends that we’ve made through Destructoid for the first time, and to make new friends, too.

The Internet is a magical place that makes it easy for all of us to get that very basic social connection. With Destructoid, there’s this extra need we all share that makes us desire more. The Dtoid City groups that are located all around the world do help quench our thirst a little, but there are only a handful of those groups at the moment.

So we need something more. Something that everyone can attend that takes place once a year, that people can save up for and all be in one central location. This year, there are nearly 150 people coming in from all across the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada and Mexico under the Dtoid flag to PAX. Everyone that went to PAX last year will tell you that it was the best time of their lives. You don’t have to take my word for it, though. Practically everyone that went to the expo wrote up a Community Blog detailing what they experienced and how they loved every moment of their trip.

While PAX is a vacation for the Destructoid staff, we will be working the show in a small way. Last year, we held a panel (part one, part two, part three, part four and part five) where we discussed what it takes to get into the blogging industry. We shared with you how Destructoid was a ruse to get into E3 2006, how it takes balls to blog and how it’s important to write original features that will hook editors of sites to share your content with their audience. Chad also sang some Aladdin, which was the best thing ever.

This year, we will actually have two panels. One is for Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin and the other will be about how to make online gaming communities suck less. There’s a certain charm about Destructoid and we all feel it in some way. We have a community base that is rather intelligent compared to most communities. Sure, we have our share of trolls, but the good far outweighs the bad.  There’s just something about us and we’ll talk about that at our panel as well as hearing from other gaming sites about their communities. It should be pretty interesting, especially for me, since I can’t honestly put into words how we make this work. It just does, in my eyes.

I talk to a lot of you on a daily basis. Not because I’m the Community Manager, but because I'm a Community member, too, and that's just what we do. I’m on the Forums, I’m in the blogs, I jump into the feeding frenzy that is IRC, my e-mail is available for all and my Gtalk is always on from the moment I wake up. You have an issue, I’ll solve it.

More importantly, though, I will shoot the shit with any of you and I do on a regular basis. Pheonix-blood has told me many a time about all the fresh bloody babies she has seen while at work as a midwife in the UK. WastelandTraveler has been hitting me up a lot these past couple of weeks about how pumped he is for Rage. Professor Pew sends me links to shirts all the time because he knows I’m a giant shirt whore. Teta is a paintballer who’s trying to make it as a pro. Coonskin05 is drunk. Constantly. AgentMOO always tips me off when there’s a spammer around because he can’t stand them mucking up Dtoid. CountingConflict and his wife just had a baby. Gantz and I talk about all sorts of random things. I’ve talked to Neonie and Ub3rslug multiple times about Gurren Lagann. Dexter345 and Vexed Alex sent me a text asking if I wanted to play some Halo 3 as I was writing up this post.

I can go on and on. The point is that we’re all friends in some way or form. And after awhile, just talking online isn’t enough. We’ve created a bond that IMing, Stickaming, Skype partying and other Internet tools just can’t satisfy. So those of us that are able to do so will make that annual journey to PAX. The goodbyes will be painful, but not a single one of us will trade in that pain for anything in the world because we all got to see each other. We all will get to share in a weekend that will be talked about until the next PAX. This PAX is also going to be extra special -- it is the last PAX before the expo gets split up. In March, PAX East in Boston will take place, and there may even be plans for PAX to cross international waters. It just goes to show you the power of PAX.

PAX is something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. When I’m old and retired, hanging out at my beach house with my two Corgis and family, I’ll still have memories of PAX in my head. I’ve made lifelong friends because of Destructoid that I’ll never forget about.

So thank you, Mike and Jerry. You’ve created a beast that people all around the world can attend to play videogames long before they’re released and, more importantly, see old friends -- and make new ones along the way, too. PAX holds a very special place in the hearts of Dtoiders for these reasons.

See you bitches next week!