The theme of this year’s PAX for me is…Story.

Creating a well crafted story and conveying differences in perspectives across your audience, or across a mass audience. As much as I want to join in on the more technical Game Development panels, or the Data Analytics panels like “Games User Research” or “Awesome Video Game Data”, I want there to be a growth in my abilities at this years PAX. There are plenty of great panels to go to, plenty of amazing games to try ( Indie and Triple-A), plenty of cool people to meet and greet, but there needs to be some cohesion in the experience.

Yum yum in my thumb thumb.
Yum yum in my thumb thumb.

You go to these trade-shows, tech conferences and celebratory events and you need to come out of it with something that wasn’t in your arsenal beforehand. Knowledge, skill, a developed social circle. There should be growth somewhere to make these things worthwhile. Else-wise, you’re just blowing a few hundred dollars to go up to Seattle for a few days. This isn’t a bad plan, but there’s plenty else to do in Seattle than be in a mass of sweat and vested fedoras (sorry Yahtzee, don’t hate me) overflowing through a few thousand square feet of convention room hallway.

It’s not just about creating perspective in a game, either. It is important to have a strong story in story-based games, but it’s also important in selling any story that you’re given. Being an advocate for all sides of a situation. Knowing that if there’s a story coming through someone’s perspective, then you’re only getting a tinted version of the story. The clarity comes from learning the other perspectives of the story because the mood of everyone involved and the mindset of everyone involved changes how each person experiences any aspect of the story. This is what makes open-minded debates interesting because it’s each person’s job to try and see things from all angles. Seeing the pros and cons of any controversial topic as well as the history that leads assumptions to exist and be prevalent today.

I'd probably be happy with half of a couch. That thing doesn't look that uncomfortable, actually.
I’d probably be happy with half of a couch. That thing doesn’t look that uncomfortable, actually.

It’s also what makes a story so compelling and sheds light on the tinted view of situations. Take Game of Thrones for example, since the book relays each event through the eyes and mindset of a single character and retells events through the eyes of others as well. Getting the perspective from multiple people let’s you see that every person has a motive, they don’t just kill out of blind evil, they don’t just do things on a whim, and they aren’t crazy because the story requires them to be.

That’s what constructing a good story entails, and that’s my focus for the next week. (maybe see Markiplier, again. His voice is like a cold stout. Creamy with no beer-spike and great with some coke)

If you’re going to PAX or want me to cover anything in particular, write in the jibbly jub below or on the Twitty-rer.

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