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From PAX West 2023, to The Game Awards, to the 2024 New York Game Awards and the Day of the Devs: San Francisco Edition, my endeavors mingling and learning a little bit more about the game devs and the works they promote bring me to PAX East.
The show got another convention pass as Content Creators, and Imakuni and I went as representatives for the show. Unfortunately, she got sick with COVID, but we both got a chance to see (mostly) everything we wanted to. But, with formalities out of the way, here’s what I saw:
Kind Words 2
Burgeoning in the PAX Rising showcase was Kind Words 2, a game where you say kind words together. It saw modest increases in concurrent playercount during COVID — particularly in March/April and December 2020.
Removed from bad topics or ill intent, R̶e̶d̶d̶i̶t Kind Words 2 prides itself in invoking memories of keeping up with all your neighbors in Animal Crossing, and gives you a city street to interact with fellow players. You can draw poems, write something nice, ask a question, give feedback on the beta, and more.
How does the game where you can (or rather, should) only say nice things fare on a pugnacious website like 4chan? From what I could tell from checking the archives? So far, not a single grievance. But perhaps that’s to be expected from a game whose ambition is to be a “third place” online to chill out at, and trolling on a paid game isn’t exactly wasting anyone’s time but your own.
Its previous entry, Kind Words, placed fifth in “Most Pretentious Indie” in the 2019 Vidya Gaem Awards. But I’d attribute such a ranking due to being featured on that year’s Game Awards “Games for Impact” nominee slate rather than much contempt or ill-will for the game itself.
Due to the Kind Words 2 demo being “frozen in time” (the game had no internet connection), this offline version featured identical prompts from player to player. Yet the prompts each player answered had enough variety to keep each player engaged for a respectable amount of time.
All in all, a good showing.
Mega64 panel
Like at previous PAX events, comedy troupe Mega64 sold merch at their booth, and with the staff manning the booth throughout the convention, many fans visit as an opportunity to connect. It was nice to see folks like Shawn, Rocco, and Johnny out there. I also got to share some of my own appreciation for their Todd & Aaron Awards, a yearly treat to watch.
The “Mega64 Panel Generated By AI Technology” was cool. After showcasing a fake ad for Apple Vision Pro, Rocco emerged wearing an Apple Vision Pro and the panel began. He wore it for most of the panel. Shawn and Rocco led the discussion, but Johnny (who apparently hadn’t been a part of previous panels) emerged as the hidden rock star in it. They replayed segments of their old videos, as well as never-before-seen ones as a gift to the audience.
There also was some spilled tea to be insufflated. With the demise of Rooster Teeth announced earlier that month, Rocco and Shawn dedicated a segment to speak at length regarding their relationship with the company. They aired criticisms regarding a lack of guidance and consummation of a business relationship, though appreciating Rooster Teeth’s merch distribution network. They also shared Rooster Teeth was exploring a purchase of the Mega64 brand, but they backed out of it midway in the courting process.
They were happy to point out they themselves were not dead, and the rest of the panel continued back at full swing.
“Gooning Out” with Fallen Aces
In the middle of the expo hall is “the largest booth” New Blood has had yet at PAX, according to PR lead Dalia Figueroa. Shaped like a town square, within lies a merch booth at the center, with in each corner to play the game without being bumped by others, and free autograph booths for Gianni Matragrano and Jenna Lynn Meowri abutting the lines of people eager play their latest game, Fallen Aces. Everyone appeared to be dressed to the nines, from the voice actors portraying their characters, to New Blood Interactive head Dave Oshry, and most notably of all, Fallen Aces creator Trey Powell.
The PAX East demo afforded a different scene than what’s currently playable on Steam. It appeared to be the first level in which you meet Nightwave, escape your apartment building (now filled with goons) and briefly roam the streets of Switchblade City.
Although my experience playing the game at PAX East was limited to ten minutes to keep the line moving (I declined an offer to proactively remove the time limit for my session), cel-shaded aesthetics inspired by the graphic-novel turned video game XIII dote the atmosphere of a pulpy noir flick. Objects are billboarded to the player’s field of vision, and the enemy sprites move at right angles. It’s a strange and unique blend of pulp and FPS that provides a rare treat that brings players back to whatever decade gaming was good in.
Asked what food Fallen Aces would be most like, Oshry responded with an answer all wiseguys would understand: gabagool.
Buckshot Roulette: worth a shot!
Estonian developer Mike Klubnika’s Buckshot Roulette has you play a sick game of Russian Roulette with shotguns atop a gritty nightclub. Inspired by Daniel Mullins Games’ Inscryption and movie series Saw, the game’s twist on Russian Roulette is that you go three rounds with a shadowy face called “The Dealer”. If you win, you get a suitcase full of money. But if you lose, you die. Just kidding, you go back to where you started (in the club’s top floor bathroom) and try again.
The game will test your arithmetic and logical reasoning skills, but also fair enough and unintentionally funny to be fun. Various items (which increase in number given as you go from Match 1, to 2, to 3) add a level of complexity to each game.
That’s not to say the AI and RNG aren’t comically aligned at times. You’ll see the dealer carefully examine the shotgun to see if it’s loaded, but still opt to shoot his face off. Likewise, if you’re lucky enough to pair the box cutter with handcuffs, you can deal double damage while also denying your opponent the next turn.
Two and a half weeks after from playing it at PAX East, the game released April 4th and listed for $2.99. Notable additions not seen in the PAX East build include new items such as a burner phone, expired medicine that either gains you two charges or takes away one, and an item that lets you steal another from the other’s inventory.
The LOVE 3 affair
Retroware had a rich offering of games on display, including The Transylvania Adventures of Simon Quest, Toxic Crusaders, Iron Meat, Prison City, Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures, and Eagle Island Twist.
But with each of the games facing immense popularity, I ended up playing LOVE 3, a game that’s already been out for two and a half years. It still was a good time.
Love 3 is a precision platformer that borrows aesthetically from the Atari-era of gaming. Each level presents as an obstacle course for your senses. You can set checkpoints, but if an object hits them, they get erased and you have to start from the beginning. You can also clear your checkpoint or self destruct and go to beginning of a level if you get softlocked.
Fun With Ragdolls Plus
Fun and Simple were also at PAX, showcasing their upcoming release Fun with Ragdolls Plus.
The developers announced a change in their game engine from Unity to Unreal in November 2023 due to changes with Unity’s licensing model. The graphical improvement is palpable, with “hire this man” reflections and ambient occlusion never before seen. While I drew comparisons to Mirror’s Edge for its looks and The Lego Movie for its dialogue, the creator’s background is actually in machinima. His most recent work is a five minute short made for the game’s universe.
Of course, the game itself was pretty good too. What I played was three levels of activating switches located on different positions through the level, and each required an increased level of focus and agility to make it through to the end of the level. Once you pass through the finish line, time slows and the screen goes dark.
Apart from a story mode, also plan to feature a level editor like the first game, as well as split-screen multiplayer option when playing in sandbox mode.
Fun and Simple also earn the distinction of having the nicest setup of any booth in the convention. Instead of spaghetti cables spitting out the back of the machines, RGB gamer fans, and racer chairs, their setup consisted of two iMacs and a clean, solid background. Very nicely done.
Making Progress
Since I started going to gaming events in the US on a regular basis last year, I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of the developers often, with their works iterative. Likewise, just as in the case of New Blood Interactive, I also got a chance to see some of the studios whose games were nominated in our past articles continue to showcase their games and what they’ve got coming up next. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Antonblast’s blastin’ on again
Right by the first elevators of the expo hall was a familiar face, Antonblast. Donny Q, Cormano and I each played their game at PAX West 2023, but I have since crossed paths with the devs a handful of other times. For those who weren’t aware, Antonblast is an action platformer inspired by games like the Wario Land series and Crash Bandicoot.
I got to learn a little bit more about the game’s development process, too. Built in GameMaker Studio, the development of Antonblast started at the end of 2021 after Antonball Deluxe, with production starting out in May 2022. After a Kickstarter campaign and 18 months of solid work brought them to here, they’re happy to announce a release date of 2024.
Among the changes in the PAX East build were some quality of life improvements, such as mapping actions to specific keys on the keyboard/gamepad rather than context-sensitive tapping for the charge smash. Some animations were added too, particularly when Anton divebombs into solid ground, he falls face-first and his teeth stick out as if to say ‘oops’.
Frey-making it happen
Being a fan of Smash and platform fighters (though not necessarily skilled at them), I was sure to catch up with lead artist Ramsey Kaid of Team Fray to see if there were any updates with Fraymakers. Of course, I also played a match myself. Like any good journalist, I got my ass handed to me by some guy maining Welltaro.
With the exception of The Watcher being added, and Fishbunjin being completed as a character (apparently, it had some issues during the PAX West showcase), the PAX East build of Fraymakers played mostly similar to that of PAX West 2023. Like last time at PAX, Kaid was happy to solicit everyone’s feedback and suggestions on new fighters and assists.
Although Peppino Spaghetti of Pizza Tower has long been in the game as an assist fighter (since we last checked during PAX West 2023), he ranked among the top requested characters in a recent player survey done done by Team Fray. Hopefully, in light of his wins in our award show for Best Character, Best Representation of Men, Best Gameplay and Best Soundtrack, they bring our chef a little closer to the fray.
Anything else?
Of course, we congratulated Larian Studios representatives on Baldur’s Gate 3’s win in our award show’s “Least Worst” and “Best Writing” categories. Although a /v/GA magnet is somewhat removed of the glory of having our 3D-printed trophy sent to their headquarters in Belgium, our congratulations remain the same. Thanks for a solid title, guys!
I also played Animal Well (published by Bigmode), as the name suggests, it’s a metroidvania set in a well with animals. The atmosphere is serene — the animal spirits intimidating. The time limit was a bit of a bummer, but I spent every moment appreciating how tasteful the pixel art and particle effects were.
The last game I played before I had to catch my flight was Midwest Games’ Lullaby of Life, a puzzle game that relies on your ability to match up notes and join them together to play part and parcel of your adventure. People who played the demo also got a fidget spinner.
Ending on a note of appreciation
Though we’ve done our awards for many years, the 2023 Vidya Gaem Awards (our 13th show) was our first year that we’ve gone as media for PAX. It’s been really humbling to see these games get developed, as well as meet the people behind them.
With that in mind, our viewers and audience at 4chan are the main reason why we’re able to go to these conventions in the first place as an organization, and they give us the motivation to make an award show that continues to challenge the status quo, and do it all with a smile, for free.
