You are at a fork in the road

Behind you lie the Mines of Moria. In front of you are two options: head left for Raccoon City, or head right for the town of Silent Hill. 

Where do you go?

Leaving home to come home

The Penny Arcade Expo is a special place. It’s said that PAX is a party with tens of thousands of friends you didn’t know you had. And it’s true, to an extent; the extent being only that if you’ve been to a PAX before, you become absurdly aware of the fact that these people really are your friends. 

There’s a comradely among PAXers that I do not experience anywhere or with any other group of people in the world. It is more than an understanding of what you have in common — it is a kinship. It is natural. It is immediate.

Yes, I’m being overly emotional and optimistic. But I can’t not be. PAX is so completely significant to nerds. Nerds like me. Nerds like the other 70,000 or so people who traveled from all over the globe to spend a weekend with friends. A weekend that celebrated them. That celebrated us. That celebrated games — a fairly new medium of entertainment that has now matured into mainstream and is trumping Hollywood and winning over the same people who thought that Dungeons & Dragons (one of the first real games of this kind) would allow their children to be overtaken by demons hidden in D20s. The same generation who rallied and rioted over Pokemon cards and violent 16-bit games are now a generation who spend countless hours raising sheep and putting bullets in their digital gang rivals on Facebook. 

As Warren Spector declared at the keynote speech that began PAX Prime 2010, “We spent 20 years trying to convince the masses that games are cool. And we won.”

So yes, PAX is a celebration. It is a party. It is validation that this medium that we love so much and have worked so hard to support, nourish, and protect over the last few decades is succeeding and thriving. It is confirmation that we as gamers will continue to be offered quality stories and gameplay, whether it be through books, dice, televisions, cards, or some other medium. 

Leaving PAX always sends me on my way with a renewed vigor for games and for the support of games. Over the years my tastes have refined — much like the games themselves. This year, for example, I left PAX with a burning desire to spend my weekends huddled around a table playing card and board games with friends. I was privileged to meet Steve Jackson (one of the most prolific card/board/dice game designers in the world, Steve Jackson Games) and tell him about my new interests. He was pleased, obviously. Humorously so.

So although I always hate to leave PAX and the beautiful city of Seattle, I’m happy to return home and get back to my gaming (not to mention my boyfriend!). The fact that I’m returning home with lots of swag, new games, and new friends — well, that’s just a nice, big, heartwarming bonus.

Aaaaaaaaaannnndddd we’re live!

Do me a favor: go check out www.thenakedgamers.com right now.

It’s been my labour of love for a short while now, and we’re really excited to go public, even if it is only a soft-launch. Right now you can expect 20-30 articles per week. We’re also about to release Episode 1 of our new podcast, The Naked Gamers Show. We’ve got a forum up at thenakedgamers.com/forums if that’s your gig, too.

Leave us a comment! Even if you’re not a hardcore gamer, I’m sure you’ll find some interested stuff.