Ice PAX

Hey there!

Late post this week. There’s been an awful lot to do. Sorry.

So let’s go back to last weekend, which was our annual trip to PAX South in San Antonio. Yes, I know I didn’t mention it earlier, but I’ve made the conscious decision to NOT advertise on the internet when we’re leaving our house empty for 4 days.

We headed out to Seguin on Thursday evening, once Jen got off of work, and we had a pretty fantastic drive out there. (Heck, I even remembered the passes this time!) Jen and I got a chance to actually talk to one another for the entire 2 hours, while Daphne happily sang to herself and created Goldfish crumb sculptures on my back seat.

Friday

Friday was my solo day at PAX, which translates to “BumbleDad Does Panels…Lots of Panels.”

Good morning, San Antonio.

The opening one was at 10:30 (we are on gamer-time, after all) and it covered a lot of VR stuff, which is exactly what I went to learn about.

Things like proprioception and hand permanence and motion sickness variables…

Again, I have an idea for a tech startup, and these things would be very important to its function.

After that I walked the Expo Hall and checked out the usual suspects that come every year, browsed the new vendors, and marked a few that were notably absent. (Nintendo, GreyBox, Paizo… Where were you guys?)

Then I grabbed a quick bite to eat before my “Streaming 101” panel, which is a topic that I clearly needed help with after my last failed attempt.  Unfortunately I left with the realization that I really don’t want to bother streaming games.
BUT!
I do still want to broadcast a little with Daphne. And so I had the idea of doing a weekly kids’ book stream. Basically Daphne and I will sit down to read a couple of her books together, and we’ll stream it live on Facebook, Twitch, and/or YouTube, depending on which is easiest.
I’ll be sure to link us on the BumbleDad Facebook page when we go live, but I’ll probably need a few days to get it all set up properly first.
Soon…

Anyway, the rest of the panels were pretty meh. I did get to see Patrick Rothfuss give another talk this year.

And somehow he was even surlier than last year. Which is saying something.

This is not the face of a happy man.

Saturday

My brother-in-law and niece drove in with me on Saturday morning, and there was a lot of bouncing around with them to various tournaments and shops and snack bars the like. As such, I really didn’t have much time for pictures on Saturday.
But…

Sunday

Sundays are, hands down, my favorite PAX day. Because it’s the day that the crowds subside, and Daphne and Jen come with me.

I think it’s Daph’s favorite day too.

She really dug watching the Super Smash Bros. finals.

“Can you believe that guy chose to play Samus? Seriously, she’s like tier 3 in this meta.”

Good times.

I came across some pretty decent stuff this year, as well.

One Deck Dungeon
I’ve had a ton of fun with this game so far, and it was easily my best purchase of the convention. It takes the perfect amount of time to finish, and each playthrough is wildly different. For those of us who are a bit too busy to make it out to our local gaming store with any regularity, this is an excellent solo game and one I very much recommend.

Unlock!
I watched a demo of this and came away very intrigued. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it in any of the shops on the sales floor. It’s essentially a mystery/escape room style game, played out with cards. I’ll have to track down a copy and learn a bit more about it.

Star Wars: Legion
Warhammer, but streamlined and in the Star Wars universe.

Shut up and take my money.

There were also a LOT of clothing retailers this year, which is a trend that makes me smile. Sadly, I’m way too dadly (read as: old) to be wearing jerseys for any sports team, nevermind an e-sports one. (The Houston Outlaws Overwatch team have a particularly awesome logo, too…)

That said, I can wear the more understated of gaming tees. And there were a few from Meta Threads that I could conceivably get away with. (I picked up their black “hit box” tee and really like it.)

I was also almost sold on a beautiful long-sleeve design from Nations until they explained that the pattern on the sleeve was actually an AK-47. No, I simply cannot, in good conscience, walk around pimping automatic weaponry. Their designs are pretty awesome though, and we picked up one for Jen…

This one, as a matter of fact.

We headed back home early in the evening on Sunday, and got to Houston just in time for ice storms and temperatures in the teens and for the entire city to ostensibly shut down.

It’s been glorious.

Okay, I’m off. I’ll see you all soon.

j.s.

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