PAX — the Penny Arcade Expo — kicks off September 3, and I am happy to say I will be at this annual geek-gamer gathering. If you see me, say hi! If you see GoldenEye in the Nintendo area, walk up and play it! That’s why they’re bringing it to Seattle, so you can get some hands-on time before the game ships.
The full speaker/panelist schedule is here but if you’re looking for me specifically, I know I’ll be at the following places at the following times:
Saturday, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Serpent Theatre
Twittering for the Man: Social Media & Game Publishers
This one was my idea. I felt that there were some fundamental differences between the way that a developer-side community manager works compared to the things I’ve learned from working on the publisher side of things in a similar role. So I invited a few folks who talk to the community on behalf of publishers — Larry Hyrb from Microsoft, Jeff Rubenstein from Sony, and Jeff Green from EA — to talk about how our roles are different not only from dev CMs but also from each other, and asked John Davidson from GamePro if he’d moderate. Little did I know that Jeff Green would not be at EA and John Davidson would not be at GamePro by the time this panel took place, but everybody’s still on board, and in Jeff’s case, it might simply make the stories that much more interesting.
Friday, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM, Pegasus Theatre
The Community Manager Challenge CANCELLED
Saturday, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM, Pegasus Theatre
The Community Manager Challenge Part 2 CANCELLED
If you look, you will not see my name on the official schedule for these panels, but apparently one of the other participants had a conflict (I don’t know which one) so I stepped in as an alternate — and I’m thrilled to do so! Those of you who know me know that I am a game-show junkie, so this is clearly fate: ten community managers locked in trivia combat in the first session, and then the championship round in the second. I was asked to write a few questions to stump the other team; I wrote three times as many as required. It’s ON, other team. Also, there will be some very nice swag giveaways at these panels — I put together to Activision goodies.
UPDATE: It breaks my heart, but unfortunately due to a family emergency, the Community Manager Challenge has been cancelled. While the participants were talking about carrying on with a different showcase, two other panels have already filled these spaces. So I don’t know where I’ll be for these times but I hope my swag gets used for a good cause.
Of course, there’s more to PAX than just sitting around hearing not-really-famous people talk into microphones behind a table — there’s great gaming, great shopping, great previews of software in development, and a kick-ass concert (I hope I get in to see JoCo, upon whom I am slowly building my entire musical aspirational life). And I still have some of the PAX East buttons to give away, so ask me for one if you see me. They are now officially “vintage.”
If you are looking for something to wear to the nerd prom, may I suggest these fine Activision tees, or the self-promotional whore in me has some other suggestions as well.
