The first day at PAX East is extremely overwhelming. As the escalator descended into a landscape of colossal screens and mainstream logos, I wove through throng after thong of colorful cosplayers and eager gamers on the EXPO floor. I attempted to wait in line for the Oculus Rift but the wait was three hours long and I had forgotten my motion sickness pills. Deciding to ditch the chaos of the show floor, I went to a panel that focused on anxiety and depression in gamers.
Led by Brian Liberge (creative director of Beer Star Games) and Philippe-Antoine Menard (scriptwriter for Ubisoft), the panel kicked off with a statement about their own mental illnesses. I couldn’t help but admire their personal courage and willingness to make mental illness the topic of a much needed conversation. When it was time for the Q&A, I ambled on up to the microphone and asked them what they thought about the use of games as a form of mental health therapy. Menard’s response was nothing short of enthusiastic. He said that games combine social interaction while delivering endorphins. He also added that the gamification of one’s life can add structure and reduce stress.
The next panel was on the development of Life is Strange, a game about a time bending teen and her relationship with her best friend. I met several key people from DONTNOD Entertainment such as Luc Baghadoust, the team’s leading producer. They were wonderful. I’ll never forget their jubilant expressions when a member of the audience, dressed as Max, approached them for a quick picture. She even had Max’s signature old school camera. I can’t speak for everyone at Not Your Mama’s Gamer but Life is Strange is a special game for some of us. A couple of weeks ago we all played episode one with the intention of discussing it in length on our podcast. This conversation resulted in a terrific post by Samantha Blackmon. I’m glad this game exists because it’s a great conversation starter.
The game centers on relationships among women and that’s important. Though story driven games are more common these days, it’s unique because it focuses on the various types of relationships women can have with each other. I was particularly interested in the representation of a potentially romantic relationship between two women. Chloe’s ambiguous relationship with Rachel feels purposeful. It makes me happy to see a game that’s inclusive of non-hetero relationships. Let’s move onto day two, shall we?
Saturday morning I woke up to a cup of spiced tea. My boyfriend knew I needed the caffeine. We ended up sampling a card game when we arrived at the convention center. It’s called Pixel Glory and the objective is to defeat monsters for glory points. The mechanics of the game reminded me of Magic. The players first construct their decks by auctioning elemental spells. After about nine turns or so of the spell auction, the more active segment of the game begins and that’s when players combat for glory. The art style harks back to older Final Fantasy games. Good stuff. I highly recommend it.
I caught a late afternoon panel on transgender characters in video games. The panel discussion was guided by Mollie Patterson, executive producer of EGM Media. Other panelists included Charles Battersby (tech journalist and theatre critic), Rebecca Heineman (chief executive officer of Olde Skuul), and Jennell Jaquays (chief creative officer of Olde Skuul). Patterson took us through a series of video clips and still images that showed a broad scale of transgender representation in video games. There were a handful of positive portrayals like Crem from Dragon Age Inquisition but I was appalled by the fair number of negative portrayals. When the transgender prostitutes in one of the GTA games appeared on the screen, I was struck by the offensiveness. The game heavily leans on the idea that male to female characters are really just men in dresses. It ignores all the complexities of gender. Patterson believed Rockstar Games could do better. He said they’re capable of a much higher caliber of game and I couldn’t agree more. I’m not one for gender norms and cliches. It’s unfair to hold people to those kind of standards. It’s just not realistic and we’re more complex than we give ourselves credit for.
The next panel was on censorship and creative freedom in video games. Brianna Wu (Head of Development, Giant Spacekat) hosted the panel and was very lively and engaging with her questions. They discussed their personal experiences and the differences between working for a big name company versus an independent company. The panelists explained that independent companies tend to have more artistic freedom because they aren’t required to adhere to a certain set of standards or appeal to a specific market. I’ve been in the publishing industry for about four years and I know full well that there’s a fine line between art and business. My professional experiences in the book business paralleled their experiences in the game business and so to some degree I could relate. When the panel ended, I took a deep breath and approached Brianna Wu.
I was a bit nervous because I expected to meet a hardened individual. She went through a lot with Gamer Gate, after all. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Wu was the furthest thing from a broken or jaded person. She was an absolute delight to talk to. After commenting on our drastic height difference, she shook my hand and listened as I talked about Not Your Mama’s Gamer. When I wandered back to my group of friends, I was overcome by exhaustion and post nervous jitters.
The last panel I attended concentrated on romance in video games. They discussed various types of romance and romance as a growing genre. I met Nicole Martinez, a writer for Telltale Games, who worked on The Wolf Among Us. I was genuinely shocked by how young she is. What an incredible job to have at such a young age! The remainder of the day was spent checking out the independent games on the EXPO floor.
My experience at PAX East 2015 was both positive and educational. I was moved to tears during the transgender panel, I saw a lot of impressive cosplay costumes, and I discovered a handful of truly ambitious independent games. I highly recommend going to PAX East, especially if you want to network and learn more about the gaming industry. It’s important to get yourself out there because getting into the gaming industry isn’t easy or linear. This business requires you to take risks, make mistakes, and ask for help. I’m not skilled in mathematics or computers but I can write and I can use my imagination and somehow I became a cog in the enormous machine. Stick to what you love.
