Editor's note: Brian describes his PAX East experience the way any good geek should: by crunching some hard numbers. Check out his tabulation of cosplayers, consoles, and impromptu acappella and see how they match against yours. -Brett
As a way of coping with the sensory overload that inevitably accompanies being in confined spaces with lots of display screens and even more people, I started a list to keep track of trends I observed at PAX East.
This is that list.
Number of…
- DS Phats: 6
- PSPs: 4
- Links-in-Wind-Waker-PJs: 1
- Splicers: 3
- Splicers that may have been very angry Harveys: 1
- GBA SPs: 1
- Marios: 1
- +20 Shirts of Smiting: 3
- Dante (Devil May Cry): 1
- Dante (Aligheri): 0
- Dante (Aligheri) (Statues): 1
- Capes: 3
- Utilikilts – 7
- Non-utilikilt kilts: 1
- Tingles: 2
- Legends of the Hidden Temple teams: 1 (Blue Barracudas)
- Couples dressed as Professor Layton and Luke: 1
- Couples dressed as Pikachu and Ash: 1
- Couples dressed as Luigi and Daisy: 1
- Couples dressed as Guybrush and Elaine: 1
- People creeped out by the implications of half of those couples' costumes: At least me
- Seconds handheld lounge beanbags remained unoccupied: 15 (average)
- Chain-Chomp hats: 1
- Shaggy white dudes with beards: Come on now
- People who may or may not have been cosplaying: 8
- Seconds I stared at the Steel Battalion controller before giving up on it completely: 6
- Mirror's Edge bags: 7
- Handlebar mustaches: 3
- People I elbowed in the head on the T: 2
- Red Dead Redemption stickers placed in my bag by enthusiastic booth workers: 15. Ish.
- Times this happened on the T: 1
- Times the sassy T driver announced over the intercom, "I thought I told y'all, no singin' on my train!": 1
- Good people that I met: {People that I met}
I had a great time at the convention, and I wanted to especially thank everyone I hung out with on Sunday night. Next time I'll be less the stoic-yet-ruggedly-handsome (read: mentally fried) stranger in your group photos and more of a conscious human being. I may even gesticulate.
That's not as dirty as it sounds.