PAX Aus 2016 is happening in Melbourne, Australia from November 4 to 6 and GameSpot has curated a theatre full of entertaining and informative panels for the entire duration of the 3-day show! If you can’t physically be here with us, you can tune into our Twitch channel below from 10:00am AEDT / 4:00pm PDT / 12:00am BST each day of the show to see and hear everything we’ve got in store!
All panel videos will eventually be hosted on GameSpot. The upcoming schedule of events can be found below (all times are in AEDT), or on the PAX Aus website.
Friday November 4th
10:30am – 11:30am: Game Trailers – So Hype or Too Hype?
We love to watch them, to nitpick them, to get a feel for an exciting new game. How do the people who make trailers balance maximising excitement with not overselling or confusing future players? Just how important is a trailer these days—for game both big and small?
Mick Hammell [Head of Production, Plastic Wax]
Chris Wright [Managing Director, Surprise Attack]
Ike Hamon [Marketing, Weta Workshop]
Seamus Byrne [Editor, CNET]
12:00pm – 1:00pm: Playing on Hard Mode: The Psychology of Dark Souls
Why are difficult games so compelling? Whether you defeated the Soul of Cinder or heard your friend obsess over Ornstein & Smough, you’ve wondered what makes Souls games special. We’ll explore a key factor; accomplishment. Accomplishment contributes to wellbeing, and the difficulty woven into Souls games makes success hard earned. Praise the Sun! What do Souls games make us feel? Why does removing freedoms improve it? Why are Souls fans so devoted? Join us in jolly cooperation to find out!
Josh Muller [Psychologist, MCRI]
Shell Osborne [Department Coordinator - Games Programming, CG Spectrum]
Jane Cocks [PhD Candidate, University Sunshine Coast]
Jennifer Hazel [Psychiatrist, Prescription Pixel]
1:30pm – 2:30pm: Changing Nature of Games Media
Join a diverse panel of media personalities for an illuminating discussion on the fast-evolving games media landscape, and how the industry, publications, platforms and individuals are navigating and capitalising on that change to reach gamers in new and different ways.
Nic Healey [Breakfast Presenter, 2ser 107.3FM]
Jessie James [GeekandGamerGirl]
Jess McDonell [Producer, GameSpot]
Lewis Mitchell [Partner Associate ANZ, Twitch.tv]
David Hollingworth [Next Media, Managing Editor]
3:00pm – 4:30pm: Can’t Code, Can’t Draw: The Many Creative Jobs in Videogames
There are many jobs in game design that don’t require coding skills or art qualifications. We speak to a panel of industry creative experts about the many different skills they need and what they look for when hiring into these less well known areas of creativity.
Seamus Byrne [Editor, CNET]
Georgia Van Cuylenburg [Voice Actress, Final Fantasy XIII]
Corey May [Narrative Director, Certain Affinity]
Mick Gordon [Composer, DOOM]
Sebastien Mitton [Art Director, Arkane Studios]
4:30pm – 5:30pm: The Sims 4 Community Panel
Join Deligracy and The Sims Supply to celebrate all things The Sims.
Deligracy
The Sims Supply
6:00pm – 7:00pm: RIOT Games Presents: Becoming a Professional eSports Player
Some of the OPL’s biggest names are stopping by to talk about how you can make it to the top in OCE.
Tim “Carbon” Wendel
Simon “Swiffer” Papamarkos
Nathan “Rippi” Mott
Jake “Spawn” Tiberi
Daniel “CptStupendous” Ringland
Michael “Hingers” Hing
7:30pm – 8:30pm: It’s Okay to Draw on Board Games
The Legacy system, also known as the only good reason to play Risk more than once, is the new hotness in board gaming. We take a look at why the downright sacrilegious practice of writing on boards and ripping up cards has become so popular, spite being the most powerful motivator in naming countries and what happens when you open little packets of cards that read ‘DO NOT OPEN EVER’.
Luke Lancaster [Associate Editor, CNET]
Phoebe Wild [Reviewer, Cardboard Vault]
Jaime Lawrence [Director of Experience, Good Games]
Nathan Cocks [The Fourth Player]
Paul Houlihan [Business Director, Double Jump Communications]
9:00pm – 10:00pm: Who’s Panel Is It Anyway?
In front of a live audience, the creators of FRAMED and a panel of notable game and comic book artists will be creating a comic strip written by the audience.
With a series of blank comic panels on screen, audience members will take it in turns to describe the next step in the story, what the characters will say, and how the comic panel will look. Much like the hit game FRAMED (and its upcoming sequel, FRAMED 2), the outcome of each scene is decided by the audience, and the loose ends of the story may not be resolved!
Join the FRAMED team and an eclectic cast of creators as they host what promises to be a panel filled with great puns, nonsensical story lines, and one that blurs the lines between audience and creators. This is one impromptu event at PAX Aus that cannot be missed!
The FRAMED Team
Tristan Jones [Dark Horse Comics, Vertigo Comics, Image Comics, IDW]
Ken Wong [Mountains, Monument Valley]
Lucy Morris [IGDA, Play by Play]
10:30pm – 11:30pm: Shit Game Promotional Material Giveaway Via Trivia
As advertised.
Dan Crowd [Video Producer, GameSpot]
Jess McDonell [Producer, GameSpot]
Edmond Tran [AU Editor, GameSpot]
Saturday November 15th
10:30am – 10:30am: The Gun Lobby: Combat and Beyond
Four out of five games exhibited at E3 in 2016 used combat as their primary game mechanic. Whether it’s limitless bullet hell or duel wielded battleaxes, video games offer endless ways to murder an entire continent of people and still come out a hero. What do gamers get out of this? Is violence the answer to all our problems? How could we represent conflict and game progress in a more realistic but still satisfying way? Watch our panellists battle it out … er, so to speak.
Barbara Kerr [Writer, Independent]
Katryna Starks [Associate Lecturer, Serious Games, University of the Sunshine Coast]
Shakari Chulyin [Producer, Overcharge Studios]
Ashton McAllan [Director, Machine Spirit]
Jennifer Hazel [Director, Checkpoint]
12:00pm – 1:00pm: Why is 7/10 a Bad Score?
A review of review scores. Are they broken? How can we fix them? Or is it ‘the children who are wrong’? We’ve assembled a diverse team of well-known critics who’ll join in a revealing discussion on how scores work, and how reviewers come to the scores they do.
Edmond Tran [AU Editor, GameSpot]
Lucy O’Brien [Entertainment Editor, IGN]
Nich Richardson [Host, Good Game: SP]
David Milner [Editor, Game Informer Australia]
James O’Connor [Freelance Writer/Critic]
1:30pm – 2:30pm: The world of Dishonored 2 with Arkane Studios’ Sebastien Mitton
The GameSpot team sit down with Arkane Studios’ Art Director Sebastien Mitton to talk about the creative vision behind the highly anticipated Dishonored 2.
Sebastien Mitton [Art Director, Arkane Studios]
Edmond Tran [AU Editor, GameSpot]
Daniel Hindes [Sneaky Bastards]
3:00pm – 4:00pm: Your Best of PAX Aus 2016: Let’s Make Some #CONTENT!
Come to the GameSpot Theatre to watch Edmond, Dan, and Jess edit a Top 5 video in under an hour with the help of the audience!
Dan Crowd [Video Producer, GameSpot]
Edmond Tran [AU Editor, GameSpot]
Jess McDonell [Producer, GameSpot]
4:30pm – 5:30pm: WORLD-FIRST REVEAL: Buy Somewhere – The Next Level in Location-Based Games
Buy Somewhere is a location-based game that turns the world around you into a giant game board. Compete for the ownership of real world property: buy your house, local café or landmarks like the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in your journey to build your property empire and make your fortune!
Hear how this game, 3 years in the making, is about to deliver the world’s most advanced game environment based on location data.
Nick Griffiths [Founder, Game Designer, Buy Somewhere]
Geoff Mortimer [Co-Founder, Technical Director, Buy Somewhere]
James Milenkovic [Senior Producer, Buy Somewhere]
Michael Tomkins [Art Director, Buy Somewhere]
6:00pm – 7:00pm: The Psychology of Magic the Gathering: Playing Positively
Do you love, or are you curious about the world’s most popular trading card game, Magic the Gathering? And have you ever wondered why it’s so popular? Come along to our panel, where a researcher, a psychologist, a Magic judge, and a game marketer explore the psychology behind MtG. We’ll talk about the neuropsychology of play, supporting positive play experiences for all players, creating inclusive and welcoming communities, and why players love the game. We hope to see you at #PAXPsychMtG!
Lauren Clinnick [Managing Director, Lumi Consulting]
Jane Cocks [Researcher of psychology, games, & stories, University of the Sunshine Coast]
Adam Sims [Psychologist, game player, family guy, Adam Sims Psychology]
Tomas Daniel [Tournament Organiser, Level 2 Judge, The Winning Agenda]
7:30pm – 8:30pm: Game Development Explained with Sock Puppets
You did not read that the wrong way, don’t worry! This panel is exactly what it says it is! A stage show explaining what your favourite creatives are doing to make games in the form of sock puppet theatre! There will be acting, narrating and all the quirks, joys and weird bits there is to learn about game development. Also socks.
Jennifer Scheurle [Game Designer, Flat Earth Games]
Emilie Poissenot [Lead Game Designer, Firemonkeys]
9:00pm – 10:00pm: The Cost is Correct! PAX Game Show Trivia
Similar to, yet legally distinct from CBS game show property “The Price is Right,” this trivia night will test your gaming knowledge in a vicious Thunderdome of wits and free stuff. Can you showcase your knowledge under pressure? Are you higher or lower than your foes? Will you win a new car? The car might be a lie, but there are prizes in the offing, so grab a team and come on down!
Claire Reilly [Senior Editor, CNET]
10:30pm – 11:30pm: Invitation to Luuuuuurve
Whether dating in the real world horrifies you, or you’ve always wanted to try your hand at making sweet, sweet love to a boat, the weird and wonderful world of dating sims is for you. Join us on an veritable tunnel of love through the wildest romances the genre has to offer—and help us as we embark on a journey of digital love.
Michelle Star [Senior Associate Editor, CNET]
Katie Gall [Lumi Consulting]
Shell Osborne
Elizabeth DeLoria
Sunday November 6th
10:30am – 11:30am: Geek Trash or Treasure? Finding Collectibles with Real Value
Which games, trinkets and ‘collectors editions’ become genuinely collectible? Does keeping things in the packet really matter? What are some things you might have lurking in your closet that are worth a fortune? Our panel of retro and collectibles experts answer all.
Seamus Byrne [Editor, CNET]
Stacey Borg [Technical Wizard, Weird & Retro]
Alex Boz [Editor-in-Chief, AusRetroGamer]
Noel Wheatley [Community Manager / Mad Collector, Bethesda]
12:00pm – 1:00pm: The Medical MythBusters Take On Games!
Have you ever wondered what would really happen if Mario ate every mushroom he came across? Or if you jumped off a 200ft building Assassin’s Creed style? Don’t even get us started on Surgeon Simulator.
Join a team of actual doctors as they explore the medical madness that occurs in video games. From Kirby to Kratos, we’ll find out what would really happen to our favourite game heroes if they were subject to our pesky human limitations.
Dr Jennifer Hazel [Doctor, CheckPoint]
Dr Nadia Kausae [Doctor, Doctor]
Dr Andy Huang [Doctor, Doctor], Dr Anna Quirk [Doctor, Doctor]
Dr Shelley Xia [Doctor, Doctor]
1:30pm – 2:30pm: The CCCP: Character Concept Creation Panel
A character artist, a writer, a designer, a voice actor—how do these workers unite to create memorable game characters? Some of the gaming industry’s leading professionals talk about what goes into bringing a character to life, and what’s more, with your help, they’re going to try to make one in an hour.
Luke Lancaster [Associate Editor, CNET]
Leonie Yue [(Illustrator, Mighty Games]
Georgia Van Cuylenburg [Voice Actor, Starbreeze Studios]
Trent Kusters [Director & Co-Founder, League of Geeks]
Davey Wreden [Designer, Galactic Cafe]
3:00pm – 4:00pm: Avatar Customisation: The Game!
Sometimes just making characters is the best part of a game. We discuss what we love and hate about character customisation. When do games get it wrong? When do they get it just right? Why do we love tweaking characters to within an inch of never actually starting the game itself? We discuss as Big Head Mode’s Ben and Carlo recreate audience suggestions using avatar creation tools from games you love!
Jess McDonell [Producer, GameSpot]
Ben O’Brien [Comedian and Host, Big Head Mode]
Carlo Ritchie [Comedian and Host, Big Head Mode]
Emilie Poissenot [Co-Director, Burning Glass Creative]
4:30pm – 5:30pm: X-wings and TIE-ins
A brief history of very bad (and some not so bad) Star Wars games. If the prequels taught us anything, it’s that the thing you love will bring you nothing but pain, disappointment and very outdated computer graphics. So it goes for the dozens of Star Wars licensed games to have graced our screens. A group of lifelong Star Wars fans relive some of the lowest points with game footage, trailers and nostalgic defence of bad opinions.
Luke Lancaster [Associate Editor, CNET]
Alanah Pearce [Editor, IGN]
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