PAX is a major gaming conference held every year in Melbourne, Australia. Last year it was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and was attended by over 20,000 people. With a huge and growing number of attendees, there is a need for a website that can provide all the information needed for those attending the event. It is known for providing a great atmosphere for people to meet, and people are ALWAYS willing to help out. Those who have attended it will tell you how it has changed many peoples lives for the better.
PAX Australia is a popular event for Australian gamers. For a small number of attendees, it is a chance to meet other gamers, cosplayers, the up and coming games industry and talented Australian developers. The event also serves as a showcase for the Australian game industry, and so it is important that those attending do not just come to the event to look at the latest games and technology. Instead they should be doing something to help the Australian gaming community, and they can certainly do so by volunteering.
If you’re planning on going to PAX Australia this year, you may be wondering whether it’s worth it to work for free in order to attend the expo. Some of you may be thinking that you’d be better off spending money instead of working for it. But there are a number of major advantages to working for free at a convention like PAX Australia. Some of them include:
Non-Fiction Gaming reader and Sporadic-Editor (working title) ‘Hyphen’ talks about her experience as an Enforcer at PAX Prime and why she’ll be attending PAX Australia.
There are a lot of people in the exhibition hall. A fifth person has just attempted to cut in line to play Star Wars: The Old Republic, and although I’ve kept my cool on the outside, I’m feeling stabby on the inside. I’ve been line-wrangling for three hours, I’ve only had four hours of sleep, and I’ve almost lost my voice from shouting directions over the cacophony of the neighboring booths.
I am not being compensated.
And it’s fantastic.
At PAX, becoming an Enforcer is a unique experience.
Herding nerds to new places where they can geek out.
The volunteers at one of the Penny Arcade Expos are known as “Enforcers.” PAX Prime in Seattle, PAX East in Boston, and, for the first time this year, PAX Australia in Melbourne are the three PAX expos.
On the spur of the moment, I applied to be an Enforcer. My partner and I decided to visit PAX Prime in Seattle in 2011, where he was working as a developer. I was concerned that while he was out doing secret game-developer stuff, I would be left alone and frightened in the vast exposition halls as a normal visitor.
When I read the call for volunteers on the Penny Arcade website, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to meet new people while at PAX. I had no clue what it meant to be an Enforcer; maybe I got to enforce things? Maybe I was compelled to do something? Despite the fact that everything looked a little hazy, I submitted my application nonetheless. I started lurking the Enforcer boards once I was approved, attempting to find out what I had gotten myself into. I was at the Expo Hall a few months later, wearing a blue shirt, herding people and having a great time.
One of the Jokerz from the Gotham City Imposters Booth with me in the Exhibition Hall. Later, as Catwoman looked on, Batman would hit on me (not pictured).
When you join the Enforcers, you join a group of individuals who are all geeks in some way and are some of the kindest, funniest, and dirtiest people you’ll ever meet. Penny Arcade picks individuals from all walks of life and from a broad variety of geek allegiances from thousands of applications for PAX Prime.
Enforcers are a unique breed of individuals who have determined that the greatest way to enjoy PAX is to assist others in having fun. One of the most often cited statements on the Enforcer forums is that
“Rule #2 of Enforcing is: PAX is for Attendees, Not for Us.” (The underlying principle of “Don’t be a Dick” is Rule #1.)
Line Entertainment, Line Management, Main Theatre, Info Booth, and other divisions are among them. I worked in Line Management, which meant I was often in the Expo Hall, and although it was exhausting, there was a sense of camaraderie that came with being part of a massive gang of blue-shirted Enforcers who patrolled the booths, ensuring that everything ran well.
However, although Enforcing is fantastic, it isn’t included in any kind of backstage pass. Every day, Enforcers work 8-hour shifts, and they often volunteer for additional shifts if a certain department needs assistance. Enforcing is not for everyone; you must be able to spend days without sleep, remain cool when faced with stupidity, and solve problems on the go.
Enforcers don’t receive special treatment after they’re off-duty, and there are certain activities that PAX will unavoidably miss out on because they didn’t have time to line up or were on-duty at the time. After days of helping and evenings of partying, every Enforcer is tired and running on empty by the conclusion of PAX.
In a frightening lesson on what happens to line-jumpers, this dog was beheaded seconds later.
This year, I’ve applied to Enforce at PAX Australia, and I’m hoping to see several NFG readers there. Look for me in my Enforcer shirt, drunk and tired after partying in someone’s hotel room the night before, and with no voice from screaming too loudly.
I can’t fathom going to PAX in any other manner.
Visit the official website to learn more about registering to enforce at PAX Australia. More information on what will be available at PAX Australia, including MC Frontalot, can be found here, and don’t forget that it will be held in Melbourne.
PAX Australia is one of the biggest gaming conventions in Australia and is held in an enormous convention center in Melbourne. Last year, over 15,000 people attended the event, and it’s likely to be even bigger in 2016.. Read more about pax aus faq and let us know what you think.
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