Image Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images/Nintendo
Tens of thousands of gamers poured into the Boston Convention and Expo Center this weekend for PAX East, the annual video game expo from the creators of Penny Arcade, a massively popular web comic that has spawned its own empire.
Unlike other gaming conventions that are aimed at industry professionals and media, PAX is all about the fans, giving gamers the chance to play upcoming games months before release and hear from game creators, in addition to featuring community events like concerts, tournaments, and parties.
Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski kicked off PAX East with the story of his lifelong love of video games, which was surprisingly charming and sentimental coming from the man who invented Gears’ lancer, an assault rifle with a chainsaw bayonet used for cutting foes in half.
Bleszinski discussed the great impact games had on his life, and how they have influenced everything from his career to meeting his wife. He talked about being bullied for loving his Nintendo Entertainment System in middle school and lauded the gaming community for its supportive nature, rejecting the idea that violent games cause violent behavior. He showed several slides of brawls erupting at sporting events and joked that you probably won’t see many fistfights break out at PAX East. READ FULL STORY »
