Over 50,000 people confined to shoulder length mobility. Cramp, heavy breathing, and trembling with every step from pure exhaustion isn’t limited to a few moments, but the entire day. But these tales of anguish wash away in a sea numbness as the day grows long. Time begins to melt under the radiation of bliss to where each hour feels like a minute and each minute is fueled with anticipation. Inhale wonder, exhale creativity, all in the name of PAX East.
This was the scene of the first PAX East in 2010, and even though venues have changed in attempt to accommodate the crowd, the charisma remains the same. PAX was designed to bring video game fans a convention for the everyday gamer, instead of being another showcase for developers to flaunt their latest project. Dedicating itself to the people who support the industry that allows these developers separates PAX from any other event in our culture. Created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic (where PAX comes from, Penny Arcade Expo) established this event to integrate all forms of gaming to one convention for the fans.
Although 10 years ago was the real introduction to PAX at Washington in 2004. The first convention only attracted a rough 3,000 guests but this number manifested into something greater throughout the years.The following years saw exponential growth to a staggering near 20,000 in the year of 2006. This increase in popularity gave rise to the expansion of PAX heading to not only places like Boston, but even to the shores of Melboune, Austrailia. Establishing new ground, PAX clawed itself to the top of popularity through the help and dedication of the fans that they invest endless effort into trying to satisfy.
An urge of anxiety surfaces in the pit of your stomach. Sick to your stomach, but this is different from any other illness, a unique fever. A fever of meeting a personality that you’ve aspired to in your goals and dreams. PAX delivers a slew of panels by 
personalities from popular podcasts, famous YouTube accounts, and classic websites. Though, PAX can be the place for them to recognize you during the after parties or if you can lure enough attention at one of the many tournaments.
PAX originates from individuals who have been impacted through gaming and the implications of behavior it produced for everyday situations. So it comes as no surprise that PAX 10 was introduced as 10 games handpicked from the creators of PAX Prime, which is the PAX hosted in Washington. PAX East’s response to PAX 10 is the Indie MegaBooth for the indie development teams and their titles. Indie MegaBooth is a show floor dedicated to several small booths to show off their cream of the crop.
PAX East is just around the corner, even though over here at IP we’ve been prepping ourselves for the chaos to ensue for a couple 
months. PAX has become an essential part to the gaming industry by bracing itself at the forefront of being the event for the people. Devoting its panels, tournaments, and attractions to giving fans the weekend they deserve after their relentless commitment to gaming. As PAX East arrives, and shortly invades the stories here at IP, we recognize and appreciate the convention for the people, and hope to create similar passion in people at Boston this weekend.
