An Order Of PAX East With A Side Of Indie

I was really looking forward to my first Penny Arcade Expo, PAX. I’ve been to two E3’s and that convention is geared towards the AAA blockbuster games and studios. I figured PAX was more for the gamer & the indie developer. I was surprised to see the exact opposite. 

The expo floor layout literally pushed the indies to sides and towards the back. The big companies had the most space near the front and middle of the expo. The layout reminded me of the hard time indies had getting exposure on Xbox Live. The dashboard layout forced gamers to dig & hunt for the indie games. After some speaking up, Microsoft changed the dashboard layout so gamers had to navigate pass the the indie tab to get to the demos & game add-ons. I think the next PAX could do the same. 

Don’t get me wrong, I know there is limited space on the show floor. Prime real estate is paid for by the bigger companies. However, PAX organizers could do a better job getting the indie exposure they need. 

One solution, flip the floor plan. Have the Indie Showcase at the front of the expo floor. This would help the indies get gamer exposure coming to and from the show floor. The AAA games will still get the traffic they need if  not more. 

Second solution, would be reserved spaces for indies who register or are selected by Penny Arcade. It would be similar to Steam’s Greenlight program. Prime real estate would be given to a selected few deserving indie developers. 

I loved my first PAX East and I will be attending next year. Let’s hope we get an entree of indie goodness next time instead of a couple of side dishes.