I love video games.

Some of my earliest memories involve watching my dad play Doom on his computer when I was 4 or 5 years old. Adventuring down pixelated brick hallways captured my imagination, both with video games and with technology in general. I remember playing around on the computer, typing in letters and dashes before deleting them – amazed at how what I typed on the keyboard showed up on the screen.

The first system that I owned was the Nintendo 64, which I’d convinced my dad and sister to buy instead of going on a trip to Disneyland. My argument was that Disneyland was 3 days of enjoyment, while an N64 would be forever. Goldeneye 007, Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and, of course, Super Smash Bros. occupied my time over the next few years as my world became increasingly digital.

It was my dad who introduced me to video games, but it was probably my uncle that accelerated the love. When I was 9 or 10, he gave me his copy of Age of Empires. Game over. Since then, every computer I’ve purchased was made so that I could play Total War. And on the console side, my N64 eventually turned into an Xbox, then an Xbox 360, then to what I have now: an XboxOne and a PS4 hooked up to my TV, while my roommate’s XboxOne and PS4 are hooked up to his TV. Ours is a gaming household, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.  

I’ve been a gamer my entire life, and with my more recent forays into Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy writing, and coding I’ve fully embraced my nerdom. That’s why I love PAX West – for four days each year, the Seattle Convention Center is turned into a nerd paradise. So, when my friends hounded me asking me why I wasn’t going to Bumbershoot, the response was easy: “I’m going to PAX.”

For the uninitiated, PAX (or Penny Arcade Expo) is a gaming convention held in a few cities around the world each year. PAX celebrates video games for what they are – amazing art, experiences, and adventures delivered to people through a variety of consoles, computers, and handheld devices. PAX was created by the authors of Penny Arcade to celebrate gaming culture, and it’s no surprise that Penny Arcade is based right here in Seattle.

We live in the gaming capital of the world. Nintendo, Xbox, Monolith, Bungie, Pokemon, and many other AAA players are based here, and that’s before we even get into the thousands of startups and solopreneurs creating their own games. Companies like Harebrained Schemes, Fun Bits, Sharkbite Games, Wobbly Duck Studios, and countless others are producing awesome content and helping create the best gaming community in the world. It’s no wonder that PAX Dev, a game developers conference a week before PAX, is only held in Seattle – we’ve got the best gamers here.

This is my third year of going to PAX West, but this year was slightly different than the last two.  For one, my friends that I normally go with were out of town, so I went with my family (which I must say was quite the experience. My mom played only one game the entire time: a Disneyland ride simulator; and my brother spent probably three hours in line playing Forza over and over in order to win a t-shirt (which he eventually got). But what struck me most was how many Washington companies were in the forefront, and that was cool to see.

Lyfting down to the Convention Center, the first sign of PAX was Destiny 2, made by Bellevue based Bungie, taking over the entire Paramount. People were lined up around the block waiting to get a sneak peak at Destiny 2 days before it came out. I didn’t wait in line, but I’m sure they weren’t disappointed – I’ve been playing it nonstop since it came out.

Upon entering the convention, one is quickly struck with sensory overload – bright lights, fast-paced music, and huge dinosaur statues were the first things that I noticed (I counted 7 total dinosaur and dragon statues). My strategy has always been to spend the first day scouting out the games I’ll want to play later, so I spent that day just walking around and taking it all in. Xbox had a huge area with all sorts of games, Nintendo had a Super Smash Bros. tournament being played out live on a massive screen with hundreds of people watching in the audience, and Monolith had a dragon to promote the upcoming sequel to Shadow of Mordor: Shadow of War – Washington was in the forefront all over.

The AAA studios are easiest to find, but there were many local startups making their imprint as well. When i took my brother to the VR Freeplay area to give him his first taste of VR, I immediately saw local haptic suit company, HardlightVR, who had already sold out all of their demo spots for the weekend (luckily, I’ve tried out their suit before, so while my friends looked up on the booth wishing for a chance to try it, I got to brag about how cool it was). We then headed over to play Sellsword VR by Emerald Beast Studios, another local startup, where my brother finally got his chance to try out VR (he was amazed).

It’s not hard to get excited at PAX, but seeing all of these local companies really took my excitement to a new level. That’s one reason that I love working at the Washington Technology Industry Association – I get to meet a lot of these startups and see the passion that they have for gaming. And when all those people converge on the Washington State Convention and Trade Center over Labor Day weekend it’s really something special – there’s nothing else quite like PAX and there’s no better place than Washington to have a gaming event.