PAX East 2025 Day Three

  Saturday was the most crowded day of them all.

Surprisingly, it still didn't feel too crowded with the number of people there. Normally, you're squeezing through giant walls of people and weaving your way through to manage your way to different booths and exhibits.

  I took more time for leisure since I had already visited the booths and exhibits I had planned.

  This meant I didn't have to feel the rush to see anything or to join any long lines. Once you hit that point at any convention, it becomes easier to enjoy your time.

Dune Awakening

  While casually walking the expo hall, my cousin, sister, and I were stopped by one of the Dune Awakening exhibitors and were given codes to the weekend beta of the game.

  Can't pass up opportunities like these.

  I found myself wanting to check out the exhibit more for Dune Awakening. Not knowing much about it, I inserted my code into Steam, which gave me access to the weekend beta. I then downloaded, installed, and played the game.

  Dune Awakening is an online multiplayer survival crafting game. It has both player versus player and player versus environment elements.

  I only had the opportunity to play for about two and a half hours total before the weekend beta was over.

  During that time, I didn't end up running into any other players, just the random NPCs and story-driven aspects of the game. If they had a mode where I didn't have to potentially interact with other players, I'd be more likely to pick it up. The story itself, along with the survival and crafting aspects, has made me consider getting the game.

  I'm not a fan of MMOs, so this will probably keep me from purchasing the game once it's released, but I might reconsider. I did enjoy the playtime I had.

Alienware Day Three

  We returned to Alienware once again in an attempt to try to win the Area 51 gaming desktop they were giving away.

  Long story short, we didn't win today.

  On another note, I was allowed to answer an Alienware trivia question. They asked me where the Alienware company was started. Luckily enough, I had learned that on Thursday.

  "Florida" was my answer, and the rep tossed me a decent-quality Alienware mousepad.

  I can't complain about how Alienware has delivered this year at PAX East. I love their branding. If I end up needing to get a gaming laptop, I'll be looking at what they have to offer.

Final Thoughts

  I unfortunately didn't attend day four, but that's due to the need to drive back home. Most years, I do need to return to work on Monday.

PAX East this year was a lot of fun. The fact that there were fewer people this year made it less stressful.

  The other side to the issue of fewer people might also mean PAX East is losing popularity. This creates the concern that it might eventually go away.

  I hope that will not be the case.

  Other supporting factors to this idea are that major industry companies like Sony and Nintendo stopped showing up.

  The best we can do is try to show up every year and support the event. PAX is like a family event to the few of us that go. It's the one time of year I get to play games with my family, and the few opportunities where I can see a few friends.