Vacation was Bliss!

So the Mr. and I went this year to the tri-annual North Carolina Gameday over the weekend and we decided to make a vacation out of it. We left after work on Thursday night and were gone until Wednesday night!

This mini-vaca was not just to North Carolina, but also to our Nation's Capital, Washington DC!

It was awesome! As Kick Buttowsky says, "It was Epic!"

It was also much needed. As Mr. said, he can't remember a gameday with that many great games that everyone loved. We couldn't remember the last time we laughed that hard in a game.

It also reminds me that we should have a retirement community where all we do is play games and crack jokes.

I was trying to figure out how best to deal with the awesomeness of this trip without showing all 300 photos. (Which are available for viewing on Facebook.)

I think I am just going to start at the beginning and pick a couple pictures for each day that tell that day's story!

Starting with the next post!

Pax East Day 3: The end of the weekend of fun

There aren't too many pictures today, but that doesn't mean that there was less fun.




We got up and raced to the T station, and got to the convention center shortly after 10. I grabbed the other 6 comic books and then headed on to the Exhibit Hall. The hall was going to be our focus for the day, so we could try some new games, and get demos of others.


Our first stop was to the Civ V demonstration. Mr. went and stood in line for Red Dead Redemption. I waited and chatted with the people behind me. About an hour later, I had a spot at the last demo of the day. I went to wait for Red Dead Redemption with Mr. and after an additional half hour we were in.



While we were waiting for Red Dead Redemption, we saw a happy cooling robot:

Red Dead Redemption was awesome. The authenticity was awesome, the graphics were great and the aim was better than a lot of games out there. Definitely looking forward to that.

We wandered the Exhibit hall, saw the new control-less X-Box and tried a Wii game involving Afro Ninjas. Then we stopped by the 3-d gaming booth. It was incredible! I am in awe of technology sometimes.

After that we grabbed lunch and did a little shopping and we went to a panel called "Save my Game", which was not as good as it could have been. I think it was because any game system that was not the new one was not given a serious answer that they deserved. The sad thing was is that people in the back cheered them on. Seeing as we play Pathfinder now, this may have made the aggravation of their annoying behavior more apparent.

After, we grabbed an SNES in the classic console room and we played a little Mario. Mr. had never played Mario! We both had fun and when the half hour was up, it was time for my demo of Civ V.

It was worth the wait. I am hoping to get my computer fixed enough to actually run the game. And the designers were so excited about it that you couldn't help but be excited too.

When I left the demo, I saw the empty exhibit hall and became sad. Boston, for only 3 days, had become a geek mecha. We met so many new people, connected with the people who create our favorite games, and met up with old friends. Sure it would happen next year, but that was 363 days away.

Mr. was sad to see it end too.

How did we mourn this loss? By getting nachos and burritos at the Cactus Club before taking our swag home to remember the awesomeness that was the first PAX East.

Next up for us... NC Gameday... But more about that later... I have a game to prepare!

PAX East: Day 1- Welcome to Boston

Boston has never really hosted anything this big in forever. PAX East has arrived in all of its geeky splendor. And it is awesome!

After working a half day, I drove to the close to home T station and hopped on the train into the city. In short time, I found myself at the convention center. Where there was quite a line to get in!

It took about 30 minutes to get in... which left 30 minutes to the Keynote with Wil Wheaton. I began my sprint towards the main theater. I got to the door just as they announced that they were full. I was walking away crushed, when I heard a familiar voice behind me. It was a buddy of ours, who was being an enforcer, running an errand. I told him my predicament, and he told me to sit right where I was and wait for him to come back. He was back less than 5 minutes later and took me back down to the main theater where we went through a side door. (I have to admit it was pretty cool feeling entering the VIP area!) He found me a seat and I got to enjoy Wil Wheaton in all his glory.

First off... the guy is hysterical. His comedic timing is so spot on. He used the term "wicked" and spoke about a variety of topics including:

• How awesome gamers are.


• How video games are becoming a mainstream form of entertainment.
  
• How awesome the convention is.
  
• How gaming leads to lifelong friendships.
  
• How the geek stereotypes are going the way of the dodo. Everyone in a small way is a geek.
  
• How Dragon Age is a emotional video game, where the player gets so invested.
  
• He also talked about Star Trek and Stand By Me.
  

It ended to a standing ovation.

After I searched for my friend to thank him, but couldn't find him. Then I left the Main Theater and I headed to the line to meet Wil Wheaton. While there I spoke with a gamer girl blogger, and we chatted about being a girl gamer in the current gaming environment. She was pretty awesome and I will start following her here soon. After about a half an hour, he came out. He was awesome. Not only did I mention he and Star Trek: The Next Generation were my gateway drug to the awesomeness that is Star Trek, I also got to mention that we are fans of his Dragon articles. I also got an autograph and this:

The photo I instantly sent a SQUEEEEE!!!! Text message to my husband about.

And I found this on the way out!

Speaking of my hubby, he was stuck at work, so I started to check out the con while I waited for him to meet me. I saw the classic arcade games, classic consoles, and a little bit of the expo hall.

I ran into someone from G4 and got to say how much fun I was having! I got a photo.

Then I decided it was time to shop. I went and picked up some fun t-shirts and was such a line, someone started hitting around a beach ball. Then the Hubby arrived and we got dinner... and had to sit on the floor to eat it, but when we were done, we went back to try and get some Expo hall time in.

We saw 3D gaming, and some demo's of new games. We couldn't see much, but finished at the Intel booth where I won a "Life's a Glitch" T-Shirt. It was really cool and compact.

Then we attempted into the Bringing up Geeks panel, but it was full, so we went and stood in line for the Girls in Gaming Panel. There we ran into another friend who sat with us for the session.

After that we checked out the Rockband Party, and sang along because the line was way too long to get up on the stage and sing.

By that point it was late, and we were tired. So we hopped on the T and went home. Tomorrow will be our second and final day at PAX.

Will we get to try the 3D gaming?

Will I get to try Civ 5 and Bioshock 2?

How is Red Dead Revolver?

Stay tuned!