The theatre schedule for PAX Australia has been revealed! I’ve also just received my 3 day passes in the mail and gotten my leave all cleared. It’s a super exciting time for me; not only am I excited for PAX, I will also be on a 2 week holiday to Germany with Jeannie right after PAX!

I’m not as big a video game nerd as Evan or some of my other friends, but I’m really pumped for PAX since I’ve heard that it caters really well for all sorts of geeks, not just gamers. I’m pumped for the Tabletop Games area and I’m hoping to play some cool board games and meet my geek brethren at the show. Also, my old gaming buddy Kim will be in town from Malaysia to attend PAX, so it will be nice to catch up as well. I’m curious how many Malaysian will be traveling down to Melbourne to attend the convention, since it’s pretty accessible.

I already have my eye on a few panels in the schedule. I’ll probably try to hit up the following events/panels:

• Story Time with Ron Gilbert (Friday, 10:30 am, Main) – I’ve really enjoyed his games, so I’m very interested in his take on games
• Penny Arcade Q&A (Friday, 11:30 am, Main and Sunday, 2:00 pm, Main) – I’ve been a fan of Penny Arcade since the early days, and a Q&A panel is ripe for unexpected fun and whimsy. I’m thinking of just staying after the Ron Gilbert talk, but some of my friends are only attending on Sunday, so I might go then instead.
• We Study Games Without Having to Make Them: Musings from PhD research students (Friday, 12:30 pm, Skippy) – This one I’m curious about, since I’ve taken an interest in the academic study of games and gaming psychology. However, this interferes with the lunchtime munchies…
• Games Can Be Anything – Are We Seeing Enough Innovation or Not, and Why? (Friday, 2:30 pm, Wombat) – Group me into the cult of the new. One of the major reasons I game is to experience new things and play with new tools. Novelty and innovation are an aphrodisiac to me.
• BioWare Journeys Down Under (Friday, 4:30 pm, Dropbear) – More for the novelty of listening to people from a major league studio talk about massive hit games that I never finished :p
• Aussie Indie Showcase (Friday, 8:30 pm, Wombat) – Love me some new games.
• Penny Arcade: Make A Strip (Saturday, 10:30 am, Main) – I want to watch a dick or dicks (multiple) being drawn on screen in front of a live audience.
• Good Game – Ask Us (Almost) Anything (Saturday, 6:00 pm, Dropbear) – Local gaming TV show represent! This is more so I can make Evan super jealous, since I’m more interested in making it to the next one down…
• Indie Board Games: Making Your Own Tabletop Game (Saturday, 6:30 pm, Skippy) – Yeah board games! And a panel on game design? Sign me up!
• Magic: the Gathering with Aaron Forsythe (Sunday, 10:30 am, Wombat) – Did you know I love Magic? OMG. Also, I plan to surreptitiously replace Aaron Forsythe (we have the same first name geddit?). Hopefully no one will notice…

Other than the panels I mention above, I might still drop in on some other panels (there are a lot of other interesting ones!) if I have time between walking the floor and trying to play some games. I’m not sure what to expect, and how much of a line I should expect with getting into the popular ones. Still, I am super pumped for PAX and I’m hoping to meet lots of great people there, play some great games and have a great time immersing myself in the geek culture that I love.