PAX West 2025 Retrospective
Back home after presenting Diorama Break at PAX West; the show was a big success, launching us from complete unknowns to almost 1000 wishlists on Steam! To celebrate our new followers, I thought I’d write up a quick retrospective while the trip is still fresh in my mind, for those curious about what something like this looks like from the developer’s POV.
The City
I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get to my hotel from the airport in just under an hour using Seattle’s light rail system. Coverage and frequency could be better, but the trains and stations felt pleasant and clean by North American standards. I get the sense that this system has spent what little resources it’s been given into hitting a decent standard for travelers (specifically, those staying in the city proper), which makes sense.
As is typical in NA though, things rapidly deteriorate once you get away from the city center. I went to a wrap party held at a venue about 40 minutes away, thankfully was still able to get there by train but the 15 minute walk between the station and the restaurant was along a gigantic stroad and has got to be one of the creepiest I’ve ever taken.
Google maps also lied to me about when the trains would stop running, which was fun to discover after having walked back to the station at 1AM…
The architecture was somewhat more interesting than average, though nothing breathtaking or too out of the norm for NA. Density in the city center felt like the densest parts of my home city Montreal, but over a noticeably wider area. Good, but it didn’t really blow me away like New York did. Roads were an interesting mix of very wide (three car lanes + bus lane) and quite narrow (enough to cross in two strides; I felt safe ignoring the traffic light).
The People
One thing I always notice visiting America is how willing total strangers on the street are to randomly say things to you or even strike up a conversation. It’s a surprising fact, since as much as people like to say Canada isn’t all that different I’ve almost never had that happen here. I’d say I’m somewhat indifferent to this over my usual status quo, it can be a fun diversion but sometimes you don’t really have the energy for it. Related to this, though this seems like more of a west coast thing: the front-facing service workers I met almost all either projected a sense that they wanted to kill me or that they are utterly jazzed to be talking to me1. Both vibes are somewhat uncomfortable, but likely just because I’m used to a more “genial yet straightforward and curt” attitude.
Another thing that stood out: in discussions, I was struck by how desperate people2 seemed to maintain social harmony, or, more accurately, a mutual sense that no one was offended or hurt by anything done or said by anyone3. The most notable example was when mentioning to a group that I did not drink alcohol, all three people I was talking to visibly sprang to offer me a laundry list of reasons why that was completely fine in their eyes. When I asked them why they and others seemed to do things like that, one put forth the idea that it was due to people wanting to foster unity despite the area’s cosmopolitanism. Coming from a fairly cosmopolitan city myself, this explanation seemed lacking, though maybe it’s just a skill issue on our part. The same person claimed it was a mixed blessing though, since in his experience many would act familiar to the point where it seemed they wanted to pursue friendship, yet cancel plans and refuse to ever follow up later.
The Food
Was ok. The state of American takeout food always feels perfectly congruent with the litany of health crises the country is experiencing4. I did have some nice thai food, and the hotel I was staying at had okay-ish vegan pizza next door. Tried some salty ice cream; novel, but not something I’m likely to do again. I’ll admit I did not have the time or money to try anything top rated, so don’t take this as criticism of the best Seattle has to offer.
The Expo
I wish I could say the actual experience of exhibiting was fun, but the build wasn’t exactly finished when we were due to start5, so the first three days ended up very stressful and very sleepless (advice to my past self: don’t underestimate how long it will take to complete the demo by more than half, you fool, you moron6). The last two days were fortunately less stressful thanks to a more stable build, but as usual for these sorts of events, marred by exhaustion. I didn’t even get to try Kirby Air Riders7…
We were also only two (huge, huge thanks to Rowan, one of the artists on the game, for flying down and helping out), which is pushing it; three feels like the minimum needed to not have someone crippled by exhaustion on the last day (again, huge, huge thanks to Rowan). Important advice: get shoes optimized for standing. I brought two pairs, my normal shoes for the trip and a pair of Hokas for the actual expo. Sit down frequently, especially if you’re in pain; don’t try to push through it. Rest properly at the end of every day.
Still, through it all, it was an incredible relief to see the very (dare I say it, overwhelmingly) positive reaction to the game. With how many unorthodox choices I made in the writing and game design, it was immensely gratifying to me to have people praise them directly, and the rest of the team were all stoked to receive so many compliments on the game’s visuals and music. And all this despite how much content was missing from the demo we showed8! I can’t wait to put the completed demo out and show you guys what we can really pull off.
And beyond just compliments, it’s nice to have finally created something that people cared enough about to give, uh, constructive feedback on (some of it valuable, even!). We even got recommended some games to learn from (hadn’t heard of Phantom Brigade, but I’ll definitely be stealing tastefully adopting some UI ideas from that game).
Everything went smoothly with the event staff and organizers, no complaints there. Though I’ll say, it must feel vaguely infantilizing for the attendees to have the enforcers form a human wall at the end of every day and sweep through the convention like a wave, bright flashing lights and all. I got the sense though that this was more a teambulding exercise for the staff rather than something deemed strictly necessary.
Also had some great booth neighbours; was pleasant to talk to an out-of-province Canadian dev about the various things, especially the programs and services available to them, both public and private.
Wrap-up
With everything over and done with, it’s important to recover properly. For that and no other reason, I’ll be taking the next couple days to rest, then it’s back to the grind. Enjoy Silksong everyone!
Though in both cases, I got the distinct sense that I was someone to be Handled. Probably fair, given what these people likely have to deal with.
I don’t want to generalize too much here, this probably just applies to “Nerdy Seattleites”
“You’re good” seems a common response to apologies to minor mistakes. As someone used to “it’s ok/fine” this is quite notable in a way that’s difficult to put my finger on. I think it’s because the latter only communicates a fact about the world, so the former comes across as jarringly personal in comparison.
Yet another thing that surprisingly differs so much from Quebec. I think it’s probably due to much more liberal use of cooking oil.
To give you an idea, all of the audio was implemented in-game the night before the show.
I blame Antonblast. I still have no idea how we (just 4 people at the time) were able to put together that kickstarter demo in just 4 months.
You guys don’t understand, he has maximum pink.
I swear, every missing interaction and UI glitch felt like a gut punch… wasn’t exactly helping my mood…