Even though we try to remember to give a heads-up on what each new episode of Critical Myth will cover, sometimes we forget. Also, I find it's nice to let people know, so they can catch up or know when to tune in for discussion on a favorite show. To that end, here is what this week's episodes of Critical Myth will be covering:

MONDAY (Show #292) - Live from PAX East 2013

Recorded live from Boston!
John gives his impressions of this year's PAX East
The rest of the gang engages in a Roundtable


WEDNESDAY (Show #293) - Cold Rotten Prey

The Walking Dead 3.14: “Prey”
Spartacus: War of the Damned 3.7: "Mors Indecepta"
Being Human US 3.10: "For Those About to Rot"
Lost Girl 3.9: "Ceremony"


FRIDAY (Show #294) - Replaying with Time

Encores of:
Continuum 1.7: "The Politics of Time"
Continuum 1.8: "Playtime"
Continuum 1.9: "Family Time"


We hope to pop in and out of the chatroom during the premiere run of the episodes, so hopefully we'll see you there!

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(I also posted this on CM's site)

Just listened to this ep on VOG this morning. Wanted to fill in some of the questions John posed about my experience at PAX East.

It sounds like your experience at PAX East is about the same as mine is at an anime con, which is there were a few things I'd want to see, but it's definitely not a three day experience. At PAX East, I actually ran out of time to see everything I wanted to see, which is probably how you feel at a TV-based con.

I did only go to the one panel - there weren't any others that I really wanted to go to. But I also don't hit too many panels at Dragon*con either.

I did find it funny that you said that PAX was very press heavy - PAX severely limits press access (VOG wasn't eligible) and a lot of the big press things happened at the Game Developer Conference that started a day after PAX East ended. What you might have seen in the BioWare booth were hobbyists who do podcasts asking for, and receiving, interviews even though they just had a three day pass like I did. The interviews I did were all from a few PR contacts I already had, and they were ecstatic that I WASN'T on the press list because I wouldn't be torn in a bunch of different directions. Most of the interviews were also with people NOT on the show floor, they were there as speakers or attendees and were showing me their game while sitting in a corner near the press room that I wasn't allowed into.

There are two ways I describe PAX - First, it's a celebration of the culture of gaming, and not necessarily a celebration of gaming itself. That's why it was geared a lot towards community (all the free play rooms, empty tables for card/board games, game-centric concerts, etc) and getting people to come together. PAX is heavily a convention that is about who you're there with, moreso than other conventions or trade shows. (I also find the same thing is true with Dragon*con - when I used to go to D*C alone without meeting up with anyone, I literally could see everything I wanted to see in about 6 hours on Saturday. Now that I have people to hang out with, I'm there from Thursday afternoon until Monday evening - and I spend most of my time at D*C in that scary basement of the Hilton with all the board gamers!)

Second, PAX is what people who have never been to E3 (the industry-only trade show not open to the public) think E3 is like. That's the hook for a lot of people who go to PAX - they can't get into E3, so PAX is the second best thing.

Just got to the portion of "they don't teach you..." You're right, they were hidden and hard to find. There were two instances where they actually had "let's teach you how to play" - one was in the board and card game vendors, there were a LOT of "hey, come and demo our game" and you play the game with one of the designers and they teach you how to play. I walked away with some games that I never thought I would get had I not played them. The other was tucked in a dark room near the console freeplay area - they had 12 Steel Battalion's (old Xbox game with a $200 controller where you pilot a mech) networked together, and they had an enforcer teach you how to play.

I'm really glad I got to meet up with you for the few minutes that we did!

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Bobby Blackwolf
Co-Founder, Editor in Chief: Technical
Host - The Bobby Blackwolf Show
LIVE Sundays 8PM ET/5PM PT

Bobby:

You're absolutely right...at a con like NYCC or DragonCon, I would run out of time without a doubt...it happens every time! This was my first try at PAX, and I think it was a combination of a few things. But like I said, partly, it's because what was supposed to be one part of an overall visit to Boston became the sole focus of my trip.

Also, as I alluded to during our show, there was some stuff that happened at work on Thursday, very suddenly, that I had to deal with right up until I left to drive to Boston. That was bad enough, but then on Saturday, I started getting sick. I've been under the weather all week (not PAX Pox, but this lovely vertigo-inducing thing that has been going around our building at work...thankfully mine is a mild case), and so combining those factors together, I was even more introverted than usual.

Now that I know what to expect a bit better, I think I would/will enjoy it a lot more next year!

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