Home › Uncategories › There and Back Again: A PAX Prime Tale by Koriel Kruer
There and Back Again: A PAX Prime Tale by Koriel Kruer
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Wow! What a packed week!
And by packed, I mean PACKED.
Hehe. There was even a roof bag. It was a Tetris-Lover's dream.
TL;DR
Here are the numbers:
5400 Dollars Spent 3200 Miles Driven 1000 Postcards Printed 500 Buttons Nabbed 24 Tacos from Taco Bell in One Order 9 XING Banners/Signs Purchased 6 Flights between WA and AZ 5 Friends Teamed Together 5 TVs/Monitors Brought 4 Desktop Computers Carried Back and Forth 3 Passionate Developers 2 Drivers for All Those Miles 1 Awesome Booth
Countless New Friends....
0 Regrets :)
The team in front of the booth at PAX Prime. (From Left: James, Koriel and John)
Pro Tip: Skip to Day 3 and read up to Day 8 for PAX-only content
Oh the places you'll go...when on a tight budget.
~WARNING~ This is a long post - a detailed account of our journey "There and Back Again". While we would love and encourage you to read the whole post, we know that you all have busy lives too. We don't mind if you skim the words, only read the bolds and just look at the photos (there are a lot of them). For those of you who want the full experience, I suggest a comfortable chair and maybe a nice coffee or hot chocolate :) Day 1: LA to San Jose (on very little sleep)
By "little" I mean 1.5 hours for me, and about 3 hours for James. Long story short, we were still making the build for PAX at midnight and still had quite a bit to pack. Seeing as how we planned to leave the house by 4:30 AM (and I still hadn't dyed my roots) I decided to wake up at 3 AM to dye my hair, shower, and finish the rest of packing the car. I woke James at 5 AM, telling him it was about time to go. I ate some breakfast and James brought a pillow and blanket into the car, and we hit the road.
Originally I had planned to borrow my parents' minivan for the trip to PAX this year, but there was a last minute change in plans and I had to use my compact SUV instead. I somehow had to figure out how I would fit everything I planned to bring in a van in that. Hmm. That was one thing - but I currently had no AC and needed my axles replaced. I therefore had some work done on the car THE DAY BEFORE we took off, and all seemed well.
Goodbye Creaky Axles!
Then, about an hour into our first drive, my Engine Light came on. Crap. I'm 2 hours from my house (going back towards LA the traffic was stop-and-go), and it's now 7 AM. No mechanics are open till 8, right? ~sigh~ I was already in robot mode on reserve energy and decided that googling a nearby mechanic from a Whole Foods parking lot off the freeway might give me some luck: And it did! There was a highly rated mechanic just 5 minutes from me - and open at 7 AM! I drove over there and had them do a quick check on the car. After about 10 minutes, they found that one of my oxygen sensors was busted, but that I could drive the car just fine without it. That was good enough for me! I asked what I owed them and they said it was free :) I guess the day could have started off worse...
Onward to San Jose! James switched driving with me after he had built up enough energy from car-napping about 2.5 hours into the drive. I gladly traded the wheel for the pillow, and drifted on and off listening to the Elon Musk audio book. When I was more awake, we switched to listening to The Martian (which was excellent).
Stopping in Gilroy, CA for some fresh fruit and garlic goodies!
Building Franken-computer.
We arrived at James' parents' house around 12 PM and proceeded onto our next task: building a computer out of parts from all our old towers to run a 4th XING demo machine at PAX. Most of the parts were supplied by James' old desktop, including the motherboard and case. We set to work giving it a new hard drive ordered off of Amazon, and installing Windows 64-bit. I helped a bit with this, and then went outside to repack the car to make room for the 2 extra computer towers, TV box and suitcases. After 2 hours, and some Chipotle supplied by James' mom, we crashed.
Our wake up time was 4 AM, since we had a 14 hour drive ahead of us the following day. That night I woke up several times, sick with a terrible headache. I decided it was partially due to dehydration, so I made sure that for the rest of the trip we brought lots of water bottles wherever we went!
Day 2: San Jose to Seattle in 14 Hours
James and I woke up at 4 am and were ready to hit the road by 5 AM. James' mom woke up early to wish us a safe trip and make us a nice breakfast too! The first thing we did was get gas - then it was time to cruise.
In all honesty this drive wasn't too interesting for the most part. Thank goodness we had The Martian to listen to!
Stretching our legs.
Stopping for Gas.
Pillow!
When we each became tired, it was nice to know we could switch off driving. My favorite part of the not-me-driving sections was the pillow - and the fact that I could take my shoes off and put my feet wherever I wanted :)
We met with John, Speedo and Gilbert at a restaurant near our Airbnb around 7 PM. They took the Seattle transit over and were sitting at a table, waiting for us to arrive. After catching up on the day's events and eating some dinner, James and I drove over to our Airbnb house and John, Speedo and Gilbert took an Uber (since of course there was no room for them in the packed car).
The hosts were lovely and actually allowed us to park the car in their garage for safety, since it had an easily un-zippable top bag and all our dev machines inside.
The house we got was a fantastic deal: $70 a night for all 5 of us, and we had the entire downstairs, including a kitchen, living area, bedroom and bathroom. There were also a bunch of instruments in the corner of the living room, and the guys immediately picked them up and started a jam session - keys, drums, guitar, bass and vocals.
John opening up our trip mascot: Grand Moff Tarkin.
Grand Moff Tarkin and Interrogation Probe
After an hour or 2 of getting settled, it was time for bed. I got the futon in the living room and the guys all shared the bedroom, which came with one low full size bed and a bunch of pillows, blankets and comforters. James and John took the floor for the first couple of nights.
The Guys' Room
Day 3: Constructing the Booth
At 6 am the crew started to arise. John made everyone eggs, since they were left in the fridge for us to use. We also had some morning tea.
Speedo, Gilbert, John and James
James and I drove the car to the convention center, which was about 20 minutes away, while John, Speedo and Gilbert hopped on the light rail. We arrived at the center, and the first thing we did after parking was was get our badges. Exhibitor badges are great - somehow they make you feel cooler than all the other kids on the playground.
Once the badges were passed out, it was time to go see our booth. I arranged with Megabooth to have the same spot as last year, which made the whole experience feel very familiar from the start.
Our booth space. I asked for black carpets and got them at no charge! (Almost everyone else in the Megabooth had red)
After we got the go ahead to start unpacking our stuff, I drove the car to the loading dock, where we were given a 30 minute time window to get everything out of the car. Just like last year, we unpacked feverishly and put everything on some carts that Speedo found. Thanks to our swift and diligent efforts, we were done in 20 minutes. Aww yeah!
It was still pretty funny to be the only regular car up in the docking area - as every other vehicle there was a commercial truck or white van. Hehe. That's what we get for bringing everything ourselves.
Speedo carting some Speedo-Snacks (Swedish Fish) and more...
The guys all grabbed a carts and I drove the car back to the regular parking lot.
Once we were all back at the booth, it was time to unpack all the boxes and bags and set everything up. This year I bought a TV stand from Amazon for just $130 that we mounted the TV to in front for players to just stand and play. In total it took us about 7 hours for booth setup.
Booth supplies included:
Necessary Items For Us
3-D Printed Miniature and Base
4 Computer Towers (John brought the 4th on the plane)
A professional grade Stage Gobo Light (my mom just had one lying around)
2 Framed Poster Prints
People could still buy posters like last year
A nice Frame for the postcard, which just made it look fancy and more desirable
John and James testing the build on the front TV.
You can see the Stage Light doing its job!
Everyone watching Speedo play.
After a while I started being absorbed by the booth.
I admit that during setup and packing I become a bit of a control freak. These are my areas and I know I sometimes get upset over minute details of the process. This year, I tried to work nicely with everyone, and gave everyone jobs to do that would both be efficient and effective. James and John set up the computers (including putting one of John's better video cards into Franken-Computer), and I set up the booth with the help of Gilbert and Speedo.
It's good to start from the back to the front, like putting up the large banner and hanging the plants first. After the tables were propped up, I built the TV stand and had all the boxes stored nicely by a wall next to our booth for carry-out later.
Did I mention how handy those black stools were? We had 4 of them to add to our 2 chairs that came with the booth, giving us a total of 6 places to sit.
After everything was set up, we loaded the boxes back in the car and pulled up the back seats for the rest of the crew to have a place to sit in the car.
The booth all set up!
We found a place that was fittingly named "Thai Lotus", and ate a glorious feast of curries and rolls.
Appetizers!
Excited for food after a good day's work.
After filling our bellies and having plenty of leftovers, we headed out towards the house we were staying at. On the way we stopped at a grocery store to load up on sandwich-making supplies, as well as other-such necessities. We were all feeling pretty excited for the days to come.
The 3D Doritos were intense.
We got back around 11 pm and everyone just went straight to bed.
Day 4: The First Day of PAX Prime
I was the first to wake up at 6 am, knowing we would need to get to the center by 8 am (instead of the usual 9 am thanks to press hour). I took my shower and then proceeded to wake everyone up while simultaneously curling my hair. John made eggs and I made the sandwiches for lunch. We packed some snacks and brought my computer back into the car. (I took it back and forth every day since it has a bunch of photos and other non-backed up content that I would be devastated to lose if it was stolen overnight at the convention center.)
We left the house later than I had initially planned, so I assigned everyone a job that they were responsible for each morning - including turning off the lights and remembering the food bags. We all brought chargers for our phones too, and left a few outlets open for them to charge during the show.
Every morning we had an hour to set up and get ready for the crowds at PAX. Here's a short sequence of us prepping before the doors open to the public: I must say I was quite proud of our booth this year:
Ready for visitors!
The first Rift Demo.
Gilbert and Speedo were a big help and managed most of the Rift demos inside the booth!
We had 2 Rift demos going at all times. The demos stopped at 5 minutes this year, which was way better than us having to time each person on our phones and then tap them on the shoulder (like last year). We can learn!
Outside the booth, the crowd was forming.
It was so nice to have the controller in the front, just as a pick-up-and-play.
One of the great parts about watching people play XING is that there was not a specific "stereotype" of person who came by and picked up the controller.It made me very happy to see people of all ages and genders be genuinely interested in our game. As a female, I want to make games that are inclusive of as many types of people as want to play games.
Part of running a booth is talking to people. A lot of people. John, James and I spent the majority of our time outside the booth talking to the various people who walked by. If someone was looking at one of our screens, we would ask "Do you have any questions?"
James talking to people about XING.
The line.
James taking over the Rift demos.
Part of the Rainforest level used for the demo.
Inside the booth.
The first day we only each took a 15 minute break to wander around the show floor:
James loves Behemoth and all things Flash.
Time for me to take a photo!
Mirrors for the Rift demos.
The intro to the beach level was our Rift demo.
Enforcers getting ready to clear the hall of attendees at the end of the day.
Leaving the hall.
Heading out to a party near the Space Needle. The guys look pretty excited.
Here's a close-up of that photo in case you missed how ridiculous it was. Clearly we take everything very seriously at White Lotus Interactive.
That about wraps up the day. We went to 2 parties after the show ended, then headed back to our place.
Day 5: The 2nd Day of PAX
Every morning we were greeted by Mugsy, the resident cat at our Airbnb. I decided she was the Yin to my cat Derp's Yang. Somehow this made me feel more at home :)
Each day during our hour of setup we took off the goofy blankets and covers from our TVs, and made everything pretty again. John turned on the front 2 demos, James set up the Rift machines, and I turned on the fountain, stage light, rock light, and set out the giveaways.
Super Hidden.
It occurs to me that if you haven't seen the latest Environment trailer yet, you should :)
We had this playing on loop on the 32" TV situated up on the dragon table. Naturally.
The day started much like the previous day, and we turned on our smiles and talked to attendees about XING. Doing shows like this is always telling for us, because we can watch where people struggle with puzzles or clarity, and see them get excited and feel smart about solving other puzzles.
The bowl of Jolly Ranchers and Swedish Fish was an easy way to get new people to approach the demo.
The Line.
After the first hour, people decided that sitting in line was preferable to standing in line.
Often couples and friends sat down together and helped each other solve puzzles.
Avatar cosplayers!
I wanted a picture with them too!
Oooh button.
John and James watching over the demos and answering questions.
Speedo and Gilbert managing the Rift demos.
Our laminated brochures were handy, and gave people something to read while they waited in line..
5 minute Rift demos.
Out on the floor we walked through the Oculus booth.
Perfect timing.
I am Pikachu.
Talking to people in line was also a job we cycled through.
After the floor closed to the public we packed up faster than the day before. Then it was time for some free dinner at a Valve mixer :) It was a nice event, and we talked to a lot of great people about what they do and what we do. Unfortunately, Speedo and Gilbert weren't able to get in - but they found something fun to pass the time by entering a Super Smash Bros competition. Speedo almost won too!
That night there was a huge rain storm, and we were all drenched head-to-toe before getting back in the car. As we drove back I set my windshield wipers to max, and thought about how nice it would be to sleep...
When we got back I fed Mugsy (as I did every night), and she in turn thanked my with a loud purr, which lulled me to sleep.
Day 6: Halfway Through!
Good morning Mugsy!
By the third day we had our routine down. I got up early and showered, then everyone else got up and started their duties.
We bought several dozen eggs on the first night, so everyone had some each morning. The homeowners also left us with a giant box of yogurts, from which I had 1 per morning. I brought Oatmeal too, so I had that as well. And a banana. Suffice to say, I was happy and fed each morning - which was a good way to start the day.
Good morning Speedo.
When we arrived at the booth we were all feeling the midway hump.
I decided it might be a good idea to take a team photos at the beginning of the day, instead of at the end.
Firing up those Rift demos. Speedo has a coffee.
XING Brochures. So great.
John helping a kid get through a tougher puzzle.
A dad and his sons playing the PC demo with mouse and keyboard.
We brought tons of throat lozenges each day to help our voices remain in tact. So far everything had gone relatively smoothly - which was in part due to our past experiences at trade shows.
Around 12 each day we all took turns getting to eat our sandwiches, which I labeled with names (since everyone had their own taste.) They were mostly comprised of an assortment of turkey, mayonnaise, pastrami and provolone cheese.
The postcards were a real hit!
James did a Live stream for XING: The Land Beyond with Tiny Build.
I found Lucky's Tale (A fellow Oculus Rift game) while heading back from the Live stream on the 6th floor.
At the end of the day we decided to take it easy on just hang out with friends. John, Speedo and Gilbert wen to have some drinks and dinner with friends they had made the previous year. James and I went to support one of our friends in a ridiculous game trivia panel, and then afterwards went to Gameworks across the street from the convention center for food and fun. We ended spending quite a bit of time in the rhythm games section...
James was actually terrible at this game.
Our friend Jason + his buddy John in front of Pop'n music!
I couldn't resist a photo op with the giant display out on the street, courtesy of Magic: The Gathering.
After a fun night off we were ready for sleep. We were grateful that the place was only 20 minutes away this year!
Day 7: The Final Day on the Show Floor
The show floor was already abuzz an hour before the doors opened to the public. Everyone seemed excited and relieved for the final day of PAX to have arrived. Developers, Company Reps and Enforcers ran around playing demos while there were no lines.
Then the doors opened...
The front TV was easy for people to stand around and watch.
This woman (right) was awesome! When she first came by the booth I saw she had these beautiful feather earrings. I complimented her and she thanked me. Then she played the XING demo on the rift and came away enthused. Later she brought her husband and son to play the demo. Both of them enjoyed the game too, and signed up for our email list! When they were about to leave, she turned to me and asked if my ears were pierced. I answered "Yes" and she started taking off her beautiful feather earrings. She told me to try them on, and then explained to me that she had a second pair. I asked if she was giving them to me and she said she was. Smiling and giddy, I thanked her. I wore them proudly for the rest of the day :)
The line is still going strong on the last day.
These guys came back and played the Rift demo 3 times, in attempts to speed run and get farther in the level before the 5 minute cutoff! It was so fun and amusing to watch :)
The staff of Loki. I was keeping it safe while the owner was in the Rift.
Part of the Lake level we showed in the demo.
Mid-Day Coffee.
The end of the show!
At the end of the show, we grouped together to take a last photo, before rushing over for the giant Megabooth photo. We were only gone from the booth for about 7 minutes, but in that time someone came by and (most likely accidentally) broke one of our poster frames :( It was the only thing to break during the entire show, so I guess that it wasn't all that terrible. Still, I was sad to lose it. Oh well - time to pack everything up!
It took over an hour to pack everything onto these carts. We ended up leaving the Convention Center at 9 PM.
James and I drove the car full of booth goodies back, while John, Speedo and Gilbert took the Light Rail. We knew everyone was hungry, so when we got back to the area we were staying in we took a slight detour to a Taco Bell. When we rolled up to black box, a woman's voice came through the speaker and asked what we would like order. I immediately answered with 2 12-Taco Packs, and she let out a giggle. I ordered a few more things, all the while hearing her giggling at my seemingly ridiculous order. Somehow we spent $40 there, but it was well worth it.
When we got back to the house, everyone gathered around the TV with their tacos and burritos to watch the latest episode of Rick and Morty. It was a nice way to end the day :)
Even Mugsy got some special treats :)
Day 8: A Trip to Cyan Worlds
We woke up early again (surprise) on Tuesday to make sure we would leave the house in working order. Speedo and Gilbert packed for their plane flights back to Arizona, and I packed up the car in a way that somehow magically made space for John to sit in the back seat. This was in preparation for a 5 hour drive over to Spokane, WA to see our friends from Cyan Worlds and get a tour of their studio. We had planned this trip weeks in advance and were excited, albeit tired, for our next adventure.
After saying our goodbyes to Gilbert and Speedo, the 3 of us hopped on the road to Spokane. It rained about half the time we were driving, but during that time it was still a beautiful forest and mountain drive. We filled the time with talking about our plans for the future of XING, things we wanted to add, things we needed to fix, and more. It was a pretty and pleasant trip as I drove us across all of Washington state.
Before we drove into the Cyan parking lot we treated (or mistreated?) ourselves to some McDonalds fries and a McFlurry for me. Maybe I was hoping that the sugar might help keep me awake.
Made it!
When we pulled into the parking lot, we immediately recognized the front facade of the Cyan building from photos we had seen online. We walked in and there was a tablet on the front desk for signing in. John and I both grabbed chairs as James studied the entrance.
Waterfall on the back patio of Cyan Worlds.
We were quickly guided around the office and met a lot of great people. We even got to play some of Cyan's latest game Obduction! At some point after the demo of the game and touring the studio I fell asleep on the couch. It was probably a whole 20 minutes before I woke to find John and James talking to some of the developers about where to eat dinner.
We ended up picking a place 20 minutes away, so we got back in the car and headed out for dinner. On the way to the dinner venue, we knew we would have some extra time because some of the Cyan guys were taking a trip to their homes first. I used this time to stop at a nearby carousel to take some photos for my mom (she loves and collects carousel horses.)
Dinner was great, although I ended up having a stomach ache right before my meal arrived. Luckily I was splitting it with John (it was a Rock Fish) and I gave it to him and just ordered some scrambled eggs instead. The waitress smiled at me and said it was no problem, and quickly came back with the eggs. It was a wise choice.
The conversation was mostly about games, the game industry and the technical workings of using Unreal 4. It was a great night, and the 3 of us were glad we had made the trip.
We were graciously given a place to sleep by one of the guys at Cyan, and it didn't take much time between arriving at his house and crashing.
Day 9: Spokane to Eugene
We woke up early to get John to the Spokane Airport, and left the house swiftly and silently. At the airport we said our goodbyes. John's trip was almost over, but I knew I still had 3 days and many more miles to go before I too would be home.
This is the space I had carved out for John to sit. I was pretty proud of it.
John is sad for the trip to be over...but also happy to be heading home to rest and recover!
Our next destination was in Eugene, where a high school friend of mine was letting us stay the night. We could probably have driven the 15-16 hours back to San Jose and James' house, but we figured this might be a nicer trip if we gave ourselves a break.
Since we had about 8 hours to drive, and my friend wouldn't be home till 8, we had 2 extra hours to kill during the drive. That sparked the idea of taking the scenic route to Eugene instead of hitting the 5 halfway through (which was the road we took up to Seattle). James and I agreed that would be fun, and it would also set us up for driving through the middle of a national forest.
Our first stop (about an hour and a half in) was a fruit stand, where we bought some delicious peaches and apples for the road.
Yum. Peach Good. Me Approve.
This drive also allowed us to continue listening to The Martian, and switch that off with Elon Musk.
The first half of the drive was filled with fields of green and gold.
Getting to the forest was a bit of a hassle, as we were on a one-lane road. That means we had to go as fast as the slowest driver, or risk getting ahead by driving in the lane designated for oncoming traffic. There were several times this made the detour drive less than ideal.
Fortunately it turned out to be quite worth it when we started seeing the trees grow taller and taller, eventually turning into a forest around us.
We stopped several times in the National Forest, to take photos and gather texture samples. Of course.
I'm a sucker for forests, so this was definitely a highlight for me.
Reflection.
We found this crystal clear lake thanks to Google, and took some reference shots. I guess in a way we are always working on ways to improve XING :)
The we came upon this crazy jungle and...
...no wait. That's a screenshot from XING. Ahem. Moving on.
I took a video of a little girl running away from a duck, exclaiming that it was going to eat her.
James changed into jeans in a restroom so he could have a few nice photos NOT in pajamas.
We had a great side trip to the forest, and felt more inspired to work on XING after spending time in nature. It's so detailed! ~sigh~
We got to my friend's place around 8 pm and had some dinner. He and I caught up while James started getting ready for bed. We would get a little more sleep that night, because we could get up at 8 am (which in my opinion is still quite early, but not as early as the past week). Our work schedule had slipped to later and later in the day during the weeks before PAX, so this schedule reset was probably a good thing for us.
Day 10: On Our Way to San Jose
See what I did there?
In the morning we got up and ate a bit before getting back on the road. For some reason there was a kitty everywhere we stayed! I was glad. Usually I miss my pets a ton when I go on trips, but having other little critters to dote upon makes it better.
Puma loved pets.
It was a 9 hour drive between Eugene and the San Jose area, and we looked forward to having a home-cooked meal on arrival at James' house. In the meantime, we would finish The Martian.
When we started getting hungry for lunch halfway through the drive, we stopped at the Black Bear Diner. One recently opened up in my area, and I was excited to see others pop up along the 5.
Time for a Bear Claw!
Onwards! Home!
Griswold
When we got back to James' place we were greeted with open arms and hot food. I was just glad to finally get to sleep-in a little the next morning :)
During dinner we detailed the trip to James' parents, giving them most of the highlights. I knew I would have to do the same thing as soon as I got home to my own parents.
Also, I must include a photo of a cat, as has been a trend on this trip. This time it's Griswold, James' funny cat who missed him while he was gone.
Day 11: The Last Stretch
On the last day of driving I was alone. It was a straight 6 hour drive down the 5 Freeway, and I listened to the Elon Musk audio book to keep my mind occupied. Man, that guy has done a lot. I'd be amazed if I was half as productive in my entire lifetime as he was by the time he was 30...
When I arrived home I was happy to see my parents, who were ready to hear all about the trip. I talked to them for a while about my adventures before unpacking the car. Later my brother arrived home and I got to give him his birthday gift, since I missed his 21st birthday while I was gone.
I put my computer back together before finally falling onto my pillow, smiling because I had set no alarm the next morning.
This woman (right) was awesome! When she first came by the booth I saw she had these beautiful feather earrings. I complimented her and she thanked me. Then she played the XING demo on the rift and came away enthused. Later she brought her husband and son to play the demo. Both of them enjoyed the game too, and signed up for our email list! When they were about to leave, she turned to me and asked if my ears were pierced. I answered "Yes" and she started taking off her beautiful feather earrings. She told me to try them on, and then explained to me that she had a second pair. I asked if she was giving them to me and she said she was. Smiling and giddy, I thanked her. I wore them proudly for the rest of the day :)
James and I drove the car full of booth goodies back, while John, Speedo and Gilbert took the Light Rail. We knew everyone was hungry, so when we got back to the area we were staying in we took a slight detour to a Taco Bell. When we rolled up to black box, a woman's voice came through the speaker and asked what we would like order. I immediately answered with 2 12-Taco Packs, and she let out a giggle. I ordered a few more things, all the while hearing her giggling at my seemingly ridiculous order. Somehow we spent $40 there, but it was well worth it. 
We woke up early to get John to the Spokane Airport, and left the house swiftly and silently. At the airport we said our goodbyes. John's trip was almost over, but I knew I still had 3 days and many more miles to go before I too would be home.
We woke up early to get John to the Spokane Airport, and left the house swiftly and silently. At the airport we said our goodbyes. John's trip was almost over, but I knew I still had 3 days and many more miles to go before I too would be home.
