Parental PAX

Three years ago I visited the Penny-Arcade Expo and provided the sole parental voice there. I moderated a panel on Women in Games, I was on a panel about Gaming after the age 30 and so on.  I saw a lot of parents, but nobody was very interested in them. Last year I came and hosted my GamerDad: Gaming with Children speech and it was a rousing success. This year, I’m very happy to see such a strong showing for GamerParenting and gaming with children.

On Saturday at 2:30 you’ll find a panel called “THE GAME DEVELOPER PARENTS: Raising Our Kids On Games” that features a bunch of actual gamerparent developers. Surely an encouraging development indeed! 

Saturday at 4pm there’s a screening of Nerdcore Rising, a documentary on geeks, nerds, gamers, and the rise(?) of videogame themed hip-hop.  I was used in a teaser for this, so there’s a good chance I’m in this movie. I think I might have to see this one.

On Sunday at 3pm WhatTheyPlay’s John Davison is joining Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal and Cheryl Olsen PhD (co-author of Grand Theft Childhood) to discuss sex and violence in video games and where it’s all headed.

But, at 2:30pm on Sunday, I’ll be doing my new 5-year Anniversary/Games are Good/Gaming with Children/I’m Still Alive speech.  (Psst… my speech will be a lot more fun than the Newsweek one.)

If you’re going – see you there!

If you’re not going – wish you were there!

Wish me luck, this speech, if I’ve calculated things right, should change everything. Starting next week, we hit the ground running.

9 Responses to “Parental PAX”

  1. I *really* wish I could be there … look forward to hearing how great it all was!

  2. It’s an amazing schedule actually. Looks like the days of going to developer panels and finding only PR shills are gone. I forgot to link the Event Descriptions PDF. http://www.pennyarcadeexpo.com/PAX_2008_Descriptions.pdf

    It’s an incredible upgrade from last year.

  3. Last year I brought two ‘tweens (mine and his best friend). And while I was nervous about them running around by themselves at first, I just set up meeting times and places through out the day, and let them go. They were great and the staff was awesome. At one point my boy lost his badge, and several of the “enforcers” went out of their way to help him find it. The boys stayed up till 2 am each night, spending most of their time in the console freeplay area. They had a great time and at the end of it immediatly asked if we could buy tickets for next years PAX. Of course they are super excited to go again this year, and I am very happy to be able to share their excitement. I have to say PAX is one of the best times a gamer dad and his gamer kids can have.

    See you and your little ones there.

  4. Thinking on it, maybe I should have brought my kids this year. It’s a very special year after all, but 8 and 5 still feels way too young. How old are yours?

  5. Oh and yes, the Enforcers are a magical breed. How they get that many Internet people together and not end up with a single douchebag is way beyond my ability to understand. There’s something earnest and real about PA’s anti-humanity edge and often foul mouthed humor.

    In many ways I like to think that GamerDad and PA aren’t really that different.

  6. In many ways I like to think that GamerDad and PA aren’t really that different.

    Really? I have found the discussions here far more polite and respectful than the ones on the PA forum. Even when discussing hot button topics like politics and gay marriage, I have always felt pretty comfortable here. The PA forum seems more focused on beating others over the head with an opinion, name calling, and ad hominems.

  7. All Penny Arcade fans aren’t Enforcers, and the Penny Arcade forums are not the Enforcers forums.

    Enforcers are a specific volunteer group who helps run PAX and Child’s Play and does other random George jobs through the year. The fans, are, well, they’re the Internet. With all that that implies. 😉

    I don’t know how PRD finds them all, either. But I can tell you how awesome it really is. We’re already hard at work, and we’re having a great time at it.

    (caveat: I’m an Enforcer; have been since PAX 2006)

  8. Yeah, I’d like to group the actual attendees into that distinction. I’ve seen nothing untoward, disrespectiful or in any sense bad at the convention, the Q&As the events, the concerts, etc., As an Enforcer, am I wrong? Are there problems? My main point is how extraordinary Enforcers are. They’re Internet fans of a foul mouthed comic who, for no pay, are given the power to harrass and inconvenience other nerds but instead are SUPER helpful and surprisingly awesome.

  9. GamerDad, thanks for attending the panel and contributing!

    –Ellen Beeman

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