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factorialsotherfandoms · 5 months

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Initial thoughts on QSMP egg cookies (obviously both the system and thoughts will develop over time) (I am somewhere between a crow and a very confused rat, I am biased to certain eggs in certain ways, and I've really been enjoying stuff characters have been up to without the eggs - particularly Phil, but also Pac and Fit dungeon dates - so I was hoping the number of days needed would be reduced so the players could change without eggs to do personal lore or go exploring or building or whatever and the like. I am biased, it's not quite 7am and I was up til gone midnight before I gave up on the streams, disclaimer disclaimed):

Both the concept and the UI are adorable. Especially those happiness bars that's so cute. Can be a bit dark given they're Federation cookies, but it's still very cute.

3 cookies available a day for total of 9 cookies in principle makes it the same as before, buuut if a task is shitty or egg parents are a bit pressed for time they can split it over the week. 9 tasks (presumably) a week is better than 5 a day for 3 days in terms of CCs being able to pace themselves. Especially if there's shit day like the grappling squark day way back.

Cookies can presumably be saved week to week, which is also helpful.

Eggs not needing to be online to do the tasks helpful! Just gotta get online to eat the cookies.

I don't think tasks like "attend an event" or "visit a friend" can work on the new system and that's extremely sad. Maybe it can, but the handing in seems important. Purgatory did have the kills, buuuut going places doesn't have an easy server insides like murder does.

The half points for non-parents is really sad? I actually love babysitting streams and this is going to discourage them so hard. It's also going to cause problems if someone like Fit or Philza or BBH or Foolish ever goes away. Because that's then 6 days to keep each of their eggs alive. 18 cookies.

Limited number of cookies a week is going to cause problems. We know there's an irl meetup at the end of the year. I severely doubt there will be enough people on the server to get 60 cookies (itll be somewhere between 30 and 60, because non-parents only count for half), and I also doubt enough will have been saved up by then. Forcing someone to choose which of the other parents eggs live and die is horrific, and there is no option for them to just spend time grinding the tasks for the other eggs. Also if someone gets sick or something or their computer dies and can't stream? There's not necessarily stuff saved up to help.

Having to save up cookies means no more getting to Friday, seeing egg with no ticks, and grinding Friday-Saturday-Sunday. If you're looking after someone else's egg you now have to start Tuesday, and it's only possible if you don't have your own or you have a backlog. Which nobody does yet. Which sucks because who doesnt love to see a hundred eggies trailing after BBH (or Tazercraft as I recall happened for twitchcon France) while everyone else is at twitchcon?

Tallulah is going to discuss with the other admins her circumstances. So I'll hold speaking about her and Chayanne in terms of future stuff (and I didnt watch to the end of Phil's stream today so I dont know if he gave them the cookies or what, Tallulah did say a placeholder was in place). But also, this was a predictable problem they 100% should have accounted for in advance. Tallulah and Chayanne both having (in practice if not in lore) only one and the same caretaker who streams a limited but precisely known number of days (exactly as many as was required to keep them alive on the old system) should have been accounted for at the point of system creation. I can't see a fix which doesn't either make Phil a massive exception, or force him to put one of his kids up for adoption, and that's unhappy to me. I'm sure theyll think of something, but they should have already thought of it and implimented it before the new system was in place. Tallulah-admmin should have been able to answer Phil's questions about her parental status and how he's going to be able to provide for two eggs.

The above would be less of a problem (still a problem but less of one) without the 0.5 for non-parents rule. But it would still be a problem.

As someone between a crow and a rat, I'm going to be salty. Atm Richas only has Pac, which is fine. But I can see it getting extremely frustrating when Richas has 3 to 5 caretakers over the week all of whom can do his tasks so he can be done in a day and otherwise do fun stuff - and as before his parents can pass him around to work on their stuff - while Philza's back to doing only childcare (I'm sure his lore won't just die to it, but it's going to get pushed aside as are any of the building projects he was considering). Which was always going to happen with eggs back and isn't really a change from before, except that multi-parent eggs can be done in a day. Seeing how full Em's bar was when Phil and his eggs sang by spawn should have been fun, but it just made me feel bitter and I hate that.

Once players run the maths it's going to discourage them from taking time off when they need to, especially the single parents, and I know these are adult professionals with their own lives who can talk to people, but also theyve already proven they're shit at prioritising themselves. The Philza streaming at stupid o'clock in the morning while sick so Chayanne didn't die streams are kinda an excellent example, but also Purgatory (especially Bolas). Like that Philza stream is legendary but is frankly actually horrifying. And the admins know the players pull this shit and /are/ in a position of authority and /do/ have a level of control over not just the players' fun but their livelihoods, and they shouldn't be making it harder.

It's cute, it's adorable, it solves a couple of problems the old system had while introducing massive and predictable new ones. The system doesn't seem to have been thought all the way through or the consequences actually considered which is an oversight not a maliciousness, but much like a buggy or untested video game is much harder to fix after players have gotten their hands on it than before. Much like purgatory whatever they do to fix it is still going to taste bad because the initial release was flawed. Worse, it's going to be massively different reception by different bits of the community, because it's goingto make life a easier for some ccs and harder for others: Fit's only here one more day this week, and is already worried about who can take care of Ramon - he asked Philza who wanted to but can't because he has his own eggs to manage, and I just... that was very unpleasant. Especially with Chayanne writing "we can't let him die" and Philza saying words to the effect of what do you want me to do I don't even know if I can keep both of you alive. Meanwhile Em is already 2/3s done for the week. On Monday. Which in theory means Bagi could look after Ramon, but see the 0.5 and it punishing non-parents for trying to help out!

System makes it significantly easier to keep your kid alive if you're a parent with shared custody (3 parents and you can be done in a day), a little harder for single parents (other people have to work double), and (as currently stands with no super obvious solution) extremely difficult for the single parent with multiple eggs he's the only active parent of.

TBH if a game I was playing added something like this, especially as the player had no idea of the changing rules in advance, I'd fucking leave. It's a massive red flag to me - not of ill intent or a lack of love but of a lack of forethought and such. It'd make a neat special event or whatever, but only if everyone knows and agrees in advance and only if there's not consequences to refusing.

Plot stuff being hidden from players but much like with purgatory players reeeeeally need to be given more mechanical changes info in advance. I would bet if theyd shown these rules to the players in the discord Philza would have gone "what about Tallulah" and Fit would have gone "I've got a trip what about Ramon" and BBH would have gone "hey I've had to semi-regularly solo-parent 5+ eggs because cons and stuff how do I protect them" and this would have been smoothed out. (Maybe a parent can nominate babysitter/s and said babysitter can cash out as many times as they have eggs in their care each day? Idk). But because it got shown to players on screen with these massive holes still there, people (like me) will be salty and it'll never taste good.

#fandom neg #qsmp crit #qsmp #qsmp eggs #qsmp cookies #These took like an hour and a half blegh #I wish I could think in cute instead rn

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gladiolidiaries · 1 year

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i won't get into details because i hate writing on my phone but for me it's:

> meetup and face reveal, things are a bit awkward but they're just so happy they don't even care, they're just gonna have to learn to be best friends irl now

> twitchcon, still a bit weird and hesitant but it's so new and they're finally together they can't keep away from each other they have to stay close

> antarctica, nothing much changed since twitchcon but they're learning to be in the same space and are getting better at being together, less hesitant and still shy but it's easier now

> hospital stream, it's even better now, they're less hesitant and probably had a talk, dream can't really keep his hands to himself but doesn't know what's publicly allowed yet. their either kissed or had a really good talk about everything

> christmas streams, they can be themselves in public now, and while it looks like they're pandering nobody's surprised around them so they 100% act like that irl too. they're very close and may be dating already but probably didn't put a label on it yet

> nye, they kiss, probably. hannah thought she leaked something, george was SO HAPPY you could feel it through the only pic we got, and they were apparently always next to each other. maybe not their first kiss, something must have happened during the time without sapnap

> now, they're boyfriends. the moment they decided to put a label on it dream couldn't help himself anymore and had to tell everyone, they've been best friends for so long and have such a close bond that they're already secure in their relationship, they already waited enough they don't need to wait more than that, they know they both want it to be forever

won't read all that again ignore typos lmao

I love this. Okay you made me want to write mine. (delulu warning)

October

Meet up : they're over the moon to finally be together. They have a lot of fun, they think they can be just best friends and everything would be perfect.

TwitchCon : a tension creeps in. You can feel it especially in George's behaviour in his stream. It's like he can't really look at Dream in the eyes.

Texas : George's feelings become more obvious but they still both feel very hesitant around each other. They spend time together with others a lot but not yet alone together.

November

LA : George joins Sapnap in LA for his NRG event. He could have easily stayed home but that would mean home alone with Dream.

Oklahoma : Dreamnap leave George alone. George seems a bit bored/down (karl's stream) which makes us wonder why he didn't go. Dream talks about it as if he was invited. Is something preventing him? His own feelings? Idk

December

Antarctica : they share a tent and the tension is through the roof. They haven't had the talk but both are probably now well aware of how the other feel. "He means WE".

Back home in Florida : George gets sick. Dream gets drunk. Dream likes fanart of him and George kissing and tweets about kissing men. George starts feeling better and calls Quackity and Wilbur. Wilbur teases him about moving to Florida for his "friend".

The Shift : if I had to guess, I think something happened that week, before George's first stream back when he was sick. I don't think they had a talk, I think they probably just did something (kissed? idk). Can't really fully imagine how it would have happened.

Back from the hospital : I have never in my life seen George more happy than this stream. He is glowing with happiness. Something between him and Dream feels different. "I wasn't, actually"

Christmas streams : At this point it feels like something is truly happening and Sapnap seems aware to some extent. Not even gonna list everything that happened.

Christmas with Dream's family : We learn through Tina that George had a really good Christmas with them, he gets shy talking about. She doesn't pry.

NYE : They spend it together after Dream was gone for a few days. They can be seen next to each other on Hannah's story.

January

Sapnap's absence : Sapnap is gone for way longer than expected. Dream and George aren't very active on social media, alone together.

Dream's youtube video : Dream uploads a video and George likes a tweet about missing youtuber Dream. A lot of knf can be found in the video, Dream didn't mind enough to cut any of it.

The last 10 days : Bedwars with Hannah and Dream joins, tries to talk about their Christmas together and the gift his parents gave him. Bro chill my boyfriend uses this app. It takes two. Bar together. Snap kiss. LA again. Dates.

#dnf timeline

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blacclotus · 2 years

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I went 5 stages of grief two times today after all the drama on twt.

But man, I'll assure you I'll finish this dtqk project then leave this fandom. I swear, the drama changed my perception of him and I can finally understand and emphasize an anti's burning passion of hatred for him.

Like bro, I've already reached acceptance. But my mind replays the times when everyones's happy for the meetup and roasting twitchcon.

But man. I hate it here no matter how much it raised me.

So yeah, I'm halfway done with the project.

I'll probably update smth here.

#im tired #vent #ill finish the project asap

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k3rm1e · 3 years

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hiihi !! ive been loving all the stuuf yoube been wirting latley its so good :^D i ws wondering if i ciuld have some hcs ,or just a onrshot either or i dont mind, of reader geeting sick and mumza nd dadza take care of them ?? bc i lovr mr and mrs minecraft <33 liek like reader like "ahh im finr mr minecraft" and they have 102° fever Nd have a runny nose and mr minecatft is liek "mmm no i dont thnik so m8" nd yaeh !! they/them pronouns but i thnk uve benn doing that arleady - :^) anon

sickly

:^) anon my beloved;;;;; i love your brain. this could go two ways depending on whether you’re staying with phil or if you guys are online so i went with your staying with him. i also did a one shot but if you want hcs i hv no problem writing some :) i hope this is good!

cw: cursing

mumza and dadza take care of you:

it had finally happened. while covid wasn't fully over just yet, many had gotten the vaccine and conventions were opening up again. which meant two things: meetups and twitchcon. finally, you could meet some of your supporters and see your friends.

“mom, are we almost there?” your mom was driving you to the airbnb you’d be staying at with a few of the other dream smp members. at first, you assumed you’d all be staying in separate hotel rooms. but, this way, you could spend more time with friends, save money, and your mom wouldn’t have to be with you the whole time. there had already been many long conversations between philza and your mom to make sure you’d be safe staying with everyone.

“yes, sweetie. almost there. we’re just two minutes closter than when you asked earlier.” ok, sue you, maybe you were a bit excited. but really, who could blame you? making in person friends had never been easiest, so the majority of your friendship were with people online. not being able to see or meet anyone for so long had been excruciatingly painful.

within ten minutes, you had finally arrived at the airbnb. quickly jumping out you ran to the door, obnoxiously ringing the doorbell. through the door, you heard an accented voice yell out, “i’m coming, i’m coming!”. at this point you were springing up and down on your tippy-toes, ready to spring out of your skin.

the door opened and you were greeted by a very tired and annoyed looking wilbur, “hello?”.

` “WILBURRRR!!!” you were screaming in his face (unintentionally), waking him up from his drowsiness. you launched yourself in his arms, not paying attention to your mother’s bewildered expression. you quickly let go of him and shoved past him, “i’m gonna go say hi to everyone!” distantly you heard wilbur begin to talk to your mother, explaining what you guys were doing.

while running around you said hi to tommy, tubbo, ranboo, eret, fundy, niki, techno, phil and kristin. the others were either staying in another airbnb or in their own hotel rooms. after about thirty minutes, wilbur had finally stopped talking to your mom.

“yes, ma’am. i can promise you they’ll be completely safe. you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” wilbur was calmly talking with your mother, looking more and more tired by the minute.

“alright. thank you.” your mother called you over. “come give me a hug and say bye!” slowly dragging your limbs over, you let her hug you. behind you you could hear wilbur and phil laughing at you.

“bye mom…” she was holding onto you tightly, petting down your hair.

“oh, sweetie, i love you so much. i’m so happy you found something you're passionate about and made so many lovely friends while doing so.” as much as you loved your mom, the small snickers behind you were getting quite embarrassing. you could hear that tommy had joined in on the laughing.

“... i love you too, mom. can you let go now?” you tried pulling back, but all she did was pull you closer.

“oh, but i just don’t wanna let you go. i love you so much, you know that right?”

“i know, mom. i love you too. but you’ve gotta get home and i have to unpack and get ready for meeting with fans tomorrow.” you finally got her to pull away, “i love you mom, okay? thank you for letting me do this.”

“oh, i love you too, sweetie.” and with that, your mom left. after watching her pull out of the driveway and down the street, you whipped around.

“not. a. single. word.” you stared dead in the boy’s eyes, seeing just how much wilbur was about to burst out laughing.

“what? personally, i think it’s very sweet.” tommy was smiling, purposely pissing you off. “so sweet, how much your mom loves you.”

“shut your fucking mouth, tommy.” you stared deadpan at him and began walking inside and over to the kitchen.

“what? i didn’t say anything wrong! i was just simply commenting on your very, very sweet relationship with your mother.”

kristin moved forward to talk to you, “for what it’s worth, i do thing you hae a very sweet relationship with your mom.”

“thank you. you’re the only good one in this house, kristin minecraft.” with that she laughed, and you all continued on with your evening. after staying up late watching old youtube videos, you all went to bed. in the morning you would have your first day of three at twitchcon, meeting fans and other creators alike.

for around 10 hours, you stood in booths signing fanart, prints, notebooks, and the like. meeting so many different people was eye opening, just learning who supported you. at the end of the day everyone went to a restaurant to eat dinner after so long.

“this food… is so… fucking good.”

“agreed.” you and the rest of the so-called ‘bench trio’ were eating at what wilbur had deemed the ‘kiddy table’. after eating so much food you were all tired. the rest of your friends had already left, walking back to the airbnb. when it was finally time to leave the restaurant, it was pouring rain.

“WHY IS THE RAIN SO COLD IT’S LITERALLY SUMMER”

after running home you had gone to sleep while the others had changed and taken showers. after sleeping for around ten hours, you had finally woken up. frankly, you felt like dogshit. you could barely breathe out of your stuffy nose and your head felt like it had been shoved full of wet cotton balls.

instead of staying in bed, you got up and tried to get ready. on the way downstairs to get food and see who was making so much noise, you fell face first down the stairs. “owwwww…”

hearing a ruckus, phil and kristin left the kitchen, where they were making pancakes. “holy shit! are you alright, mate?”

pushing phil over, kristin walked over to you, “obviously they’re not okay phil! the poor kid is lying on the floor.”

slowly getting up, you try to reassure both of them that you’re okay. “no, no, no, don’t worry. i am perfectly okay.” while you don’t know exactly how you sound, based on the expression on phil’s face, you don't think you sound very good.

“uh, yeah, how about no. you sound like you’ve draken a whale bottle of vodka.” phil walked over to you and grabbed you by the arm, trying to hold you up.

“i’m fineeee”

“no, your fucking not. you’re burning up.” phil looked at you, angrily. “you need to go to bed.”

“but i don’t wannaaaaa. i feel fineeee.” you felt like crying, for absolutely no reason. with that, you passed out on the floor.

phil and kristin somehow managed to get you back up the stairs and into bed. once you were safely in your room, with no risk of cracking your skull open, phil took your temperature. “mate, your temperature is at nearly 102°. you’re lucky i don’t take you to a hospital.” he started at you, disapprovingly.

“i’m sorryyyyy dadza. are you mad at me?” in your deluded state you pouted at him, like a child.

“no, i’m not mad at you. just disappointed. you should’ve known not to do that. you’re old enough to know when you’re sick.” he stared at you with a disapproving look.

“but that’s even worseeeeee” you felt like balling your eyes out. out of embarrassment, you tried to hide under your blanket. “can you tell mumza i’m sorry for worrying her?”

above you, you heard phil laugh. “it’s not that big a deal, kid. i’m just upset. you could’ve seriously hurt yourself. i was worried.”

“you were worried about me? awwwww, i love you too dadza.” you moved your head out of the blankets, smiling at him with dried tears and sweat on your face.

“yeah, yeah. now shut up and go to bed.”

kristin walked in, hearing what he said. “phil, don’t bully the kid. they already feel like shit.” out of the corner of your eye, you saw her look over to phil and smile at him.

“i’m not doing anything, swear on my life!” he put his hands up in defense of himself, making you laugh.

turning away from him, she directed her next question towards you. “how you feeling, kid? took quite a tumble there.” she smiled at you and ushed your hair out of your face.

“i’m sorry for worrying youuuuuu. i love you, mumza. promise.”

laughing, she leaned down to kiss you on the head. “love you too, kid. now, want me to sit with you and we can all watch some netflix or something?”

you silently nodded and the two of them joined you on the bed, not caring very much if they got sick. after not even an hour, you all passed out.

a few hours later, everyone returned back from the convention. let’s just say wilbur now had some very valuable blackmail.

hope you like it! this was so wholesome i- wfowcsjvri

i want parents like dadza and mumza now

#:^) anon #mcyt x reader #philza x reader #mumza x reader #is that a tag?#idk

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heavenslastcrush · 5 years

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CONVENTION SURVIVAL GUIDE: Prepping for PAX East, Twitch Con, and beyond!!

It’s the end of March, and convention season is upon us! But, before the madness and non-stop hustle begins, I wanted to make sure that all convention goers were equipped with some key tips and tricks of the trade so that you can get the most our of your convention experience.

This article will focus specifically on PAX East, but the tips can universally be applied to any convention. Additionally, all of these tips come with the assumption that you’ve already purchased your convention tickets and booked travel and lodging in advance.

Here we go!

BEFORE THE CONVENTION

GET CONNECTED!

Conventions are a whirlwind, and you want to be armed with as much information as you can from the onset to ensure that you complete and accomplish everything that you want to at the event. The great news is, there are tons of helpful resources out there to help you get connected and keep you as up-to-date and informed as possible!

Download PAX App

The PAX App really is your one-stop shop for all things PAX-related. It includes a schedule of events as well as a list of exhibitors, and allows you to mark which ones you are interested in to create your very own schedule and to-do list directly within the app. There are also maps of the convention center, information about shuttle routes and times, and other useful information on safety and security at the event. I HIGHLY recommend downloading this and utilizing it before and during the event.

Follow Relevant PAX Accounts on Twitter

The PAX App is awesome in terms of a 1000ft overview of all things PAX-related. But, Twitter will be your best friend when it comes to minute-by-minute updates, and surrounding happenings not directly connected to the convention itself. If there are any studios, vendors, developers, streamers, etc. that you are hoping to run into at PAX, be sure that you are following them on Twitter. Here are a few accounts that I recommend (linked for your convenience):

@Official_PAX

@PAX_lines

@PAXEastNews

@PaxParties

Check Forums

Another great source of information are PAX, gaming, & industry-related forums, or Discords. Smaller communities, independent studios, and even larger studios that didn’t necessarily want to pony-up cash for a more organized event may still have meet-ups or parties happening in the evening. Spend some time trolling around on these forums and in your favorite Discord community groups to see what’s happening.

Connect with Streamers, Friends, & Anyone Else You are Hoping to Meet

CONVENTIONS ARE CRAZY. CONVENTIONS ARE CRAZY. CONVENTIONS ARE CRAZY. If there is a streamer you want to meet, a friend that you know is going, or an industry representative you want to introduce yourself to, BE SURE you are connecting with them prior to the event and creating a plan for 1) where to meet them, and 2) how to get in touch. Even with these great intentions, the plans still might not work out, because again — conventions are crazy — but, reaching out before the event will drastically increase your chances of making a meetup happen.

PACK FOR THE EVENT

Packing for a convention can be a bit tricky. Most people are gone from their hotels/AirBnb/wherever they are sleeping for 12-16 hours at a time, and there can be wild temperature changes between the overall weather, and what it feels like in the convention center hall. I’ll be breaking this packing section down into 5 parts — Health, Convenience/Entertainment, Clothing, Business, & General Necessities/Other

BRING YOUR BADGE(S)!!!

This isn’t a category, but this should be the FIRST thing you pack! Trust me, the last thing you want to do is deal with the headache and hassle of having to get a replacement badge the day-of, and for some conventions, obtaining a replacement may not even be an option. Whatever you do, DON’T FORGET YOUR BADGES.

Health

Health may seem like a weird category to be classifying as part of an overall packing list, but it’s arguably one of the most important. Remember, you’re at these conventions for 8-12 hours per day, sometimes for up to 4 days. During that time, you are literally coming in contact with thousands of people, and touching electronics that are being handled by tens-of-thousands of people. That’s a breeding ground for germs. The PAX-flu, and the TwitchCon-flu? Those are real things, and there’s a reason — because people don’t prepare in advance and take care of their health during these events.

1. Hand Sanitizer

Keep this with you at all times. Use it after shaking hands, or handling any electronics, merch, or cash.

2. Vitamin C

There are a lot of skeptics out there about the benefits of Vitamin C, but this is something I swear by. Convention or not, anytime I’m traveling, I begin loading up on the Vitamin C about 2 days before I leave for my trip, take it throughout the duration of my trip, and continue taking it for about 2 days after I return home. The extra boost to my immune system prevents me from getting sick.

3. Refillable Water Bottle & Snacks

As mentioned, these conventions are a complete whirlwind. When I was at TwitchCon in October 2018, I remember going a straight 30 hours without eating anything because I was hopping from one forum, panel, meeting, or demo to the next. The air in the convention center is super dry, and its easy to wear yourself out bouncing from event to event. Hydration and adequate nutrition are going to be key for keeping your energy levels up. You can definitely purchase beverages and snacks at the convention if you don’t want to worry about packing more than you absolutely need to. However, you’re going to be hard pressed to find healthy food options at any convention center. So, if eating healthy is important to you, or you’re not into a potato-chips, hotdogs, chicken tenders, and burgers-only kind of diet, be sure to bring fruit, nuts, or other small bites with you.

Convenience/Entertainment

This section will detail things that will make your life easier/happier if you pack these things. But won’t be the end of the world if you don’t.

1. Cash

In today’s world of technology, MOST places will accept credit cards. However, you’ll make your life a lot easier if you have a little bit of cash on hand incase you run into the odd vendor that doesn’t accept card, if you’re looking to breeze your way through a line (it’s typically a lot easier to get through check-out if you are paying in cash), or to make splitting a bill easier (for those strange friends that still haven’t downloaded Venmo).

2. External Battery Charger/Power Bank

There are outlets scattered throughout the convention center, typically near the restrooms, however, you probably don’t want to spend your time being tethered to a wall, and you definitely don’t want to be caught with a dead camera if you spot your favorite streamer or an amazing cosplay. Having an external power bank will keep your electronics with all the juice you need throughout the day.

3. WiFi hotspot

I’m just going to say it — cell service is virtually non-existent at these convention centers. And, while there is often free wifi, it tends to be pretty spotty and molasses-level slow since thousands of people are all trying to use it at once. If connectivity is important to you, consider bringing your own WiFi hotspot.

4. Any Electronics you want, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CORDS/CABLES!!

Cell Phone

Camera

Controller

Nintendo Switch

Many gamers elect to bring a portable gaming device (separate from their cell phones) because there is often downtime at these events when you are waiting for a panel to start, or when you are waiting in line to test a game (or get into the convention center). Having a switch with you might make these annoying lines and wait times a bit more bearable.

Laptop

Clothing

In terms of clothing, COMFORT IS KEY!! You’re going to be on your feet all day, in an extremely crowded space. You don’t want your feet to give out on you, be super sweaty or freezing cold, or be fussing with your clothes instead of enjoying the event. I recommend checking the weather forecast before you head to the event to make sure you prepare as best as possible.

1. Comfortable Footwear

At TwitchCon there was a day where I wore 6-inch wedges for 12 hours. By the end of the night, I couldn’t feel my feet, bend them back into a flattened state, or sleep because they were throbbing so much. Never again. Be smarter than me. Wear comfortable shoes.

2. Comfortable LAYERS of Clothes

These layers are totally going to depend on the outside temperature of the city of your convention. For PAX East 2019, it’s going to be COLD outside. However, inside the convention center there might be sections where it is absurdly hot, and others where its a bit chilly. Plan to layer t-shirts, jackets, and heavier coats as needed based on temperature.

SPECIFIC TO PAX EAST: There is usually a coat-check at the convention center, but if you want to deal with one less line you can opt to not wear a heavier coat, and just stick with a hoodie/sweatshirt over normal clothes. If you go this route, I would recommend 1) taking an Uber/shuttle that will bring you door to door from your lodging to the event, and 2) arriving at a non-peak time to avoid entry lines. If you don’t do these two things, you will freeze. You have been warned.

3. Evening Attire

If after-parties are your thing at these conventions, you may want to consider bringing a separate outfit or two for these specific events. There may be themed-parties (so check the forums!) that you have to bring certain clothes for. Or, you may just want to look a little nicer after-hours.

Ladies, a LBD (little black dress); or a nice pair of jeans and a cute blouse will usually suffice.

Gentlemen, consider bringing a button down and a pair of shoes that aren’t sneakers or sandals (some bars/clubs won’t let you in with this time of footwear).

4. All the bits and bobs…

This includes all of the other things that you may want to have with you, that may not apply to everyone, but are commonly overlooked items:

Socks

Underwear

Bras

Pajamas

Gym Clothes

Cosplay Outfits

Gloves

Hat

Sunglasses

Business

If you’re a streamer, content creator, developer, or any industry-related person at PAX (or want to be!) then this section applies to you. If you are just there to chill, have fun, and play awesome games, you can probably skip this one. ;-)

1. Business Cards

BRING ‘EM. USE ‘EM. They are a powerful networking tool. Just make sure you make a genuine connection with a person before handing them your card.

2. Giveaways

Slightly more specific to streamers/content creators: You may elect to bring giveaways for people that you meet from your community. Common items include personalized buttons or stickers, or merch.

General Necessities/Other

This is literally anything else that you may want to have on hand with you. It will be totally specific to your individual needs.

1. DEODORANT

Please, for the love of all that is good, BRING AND WEAR DEODORANT. Your fellow gamers and the entire world will thank you. (And if you’ve never been to a convention before/don’t understand what this means, trust me, your nose will very soon.)

2. Toiletries

This can include shampoo, conditioner, face wash, moisturizer, lotion, etc. Some of these may be provided as amenities, but if you want your own, or if you are staying at an AirBnB, you will want to pack your own.

3. Curling Iron/Straightener

4. Medications/Other Vitamins/Supplements

5. Make-up/Make-Up Removing Wipes

CREATE A PLAN

Create a schedule of where you want to be/who you want to meet with

A lot will likely happen throughout the course of the convention that will throw this plan off, but its better to go in prepared. These conventions are big, crazy, and messy. So, if you don’t have a plan, there’s a chance that you end up bouncing around for 2-4 days and don’t get anything accomplished that you wanted to.

SCHEDULE BREAKS. You are human (I think). You need to eat, drink, use the bathroom, rest your feet. You don’t want to be so fatigued you can’t get out of bed the second day, so schedule breaks as you are creating your perfect plan.

Decide what’s in your day-bag

Your day-bag is going to be different than everything that was on the prior packing list. These are the essentials that you want to have on hand with you during the event. Make a list with the intent that it should prevent you from having to go back to the hotel mid-event. These day-bags are going to be super specific to you. (Ex. If you are cosplaying, you may want to bring a change of clothes to have on hand. If you’re streaming, you might need your entire IRL backpack in addition to your normal day-bag.)

Here is what I keep in my day-bag:

Badge(s)Cong

Hand Sanitizer

Phone

Travel Charger & Cord

Camera & Backup Battery

Business Cards

Pen

I take notes on my phone, but still keep a pen on hand incase I need to sign a credit card receipt, want to sign up for a giveaway, or want to make a note on a flyer I’ve collected.

Chapstick or Lip Gloss

Wallet (Cash, Credit Cards, ID)

DURING CONVENTION

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the convention! Now what??

Follow Your Plan, but Be FLEXIBLE.

Getting connected in advance and creating the plan is incredibly important in helping to ensure you maximize your experience and do everything you want. However, a ton of things are going to happen that are going to impede your ability to stick to this schedule 100%. Lines may take forever. Panels may get cancelled or start late. Friends may cancel on you. You might make new friends and create plans with them, causing you to cancel on a prior commitment.

Anything that happens is A-OK!! Use your plan more as a guideline, and remain as patient and flexible as you can!

Take Notes During Forums and Chats

You are going to be meeting so many people and trying so many things over the course of the convention, it will fly by. Within this whirlwind of craziness, be sure you are taking notes during panel discussions, or as you are experiencing fun things/meeting great people. Is there an indie game you loved playing the demo for? Write it down. Are you a streamer that met another streamer and you want to collab with them in the future? Make a note of who they were, what you discussed, and a reminder to follow up with them and get a stream planned after the event.

Even if you are 100% in the moment when you are having these conversations, you’ll want to reference these notes later. Especially if you want to tell someone else about them (like your best friend that couldn’t make it to PAX last minute, or your community if you are a streamer!).

Take Care of Yourself

Seriously. You have to take care of yourself during this event. It’s exhausting, and there are a lot of people.

1. Consider Bringing Snacks & a Water Bottle in your Day Bag

This will help you manage your energy levels and prevent you from getting hangry.

2. TAKE BREAKS

If you haven’t completely ignored my advice up until now, breaks should be a part of your schedule. But, if you didn’t, or if you realize you’ve been going 8 hours and haven’t taken a sip of water… maybe do that before you pass out. Breaks are important. Take them.

3. Use the Buddy System

If you are traveling with friends, make sure you know where your friends are and vice versa.

If you happen to be traveling alone (which is totally fine, it’s my personal favorite way to travel!) be sure that someone (a parent, friend, spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, manager… someone) knows where you will be, where you’ll be staying, and when you plan to check in with them throughout the event.

Check in with your buddy when you are supposed to.

4. Meet People Openly, but Exercise Caution

I want to believe that everyone in the world is 100% good and that we could all just drink butterfly tea, sit around a campfire and sing kum-ba-ya. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, and even someone that you may “know” may not always have the best intentions.

If you make plans to meet with somebody outside of the convention, meet them in a public location. Be cautious sharing your lodging details with strangers. And, don’t feel pressured to accept anything (drinks, food, gifts, etc) from anybody.

5. Monitor Your Intake of Indulgences

I’m not here to tell you how to live your life or spend your extracurricular time. That being said, if you are opting to indulge in alcohol or any other type of substance, be very careful not to over-indulge. You don’t want to feel like the walking dead at the convention the next morning, or have to stay in bed because you overdid it the night before.

If you are drinking, monitor your drinks. Never leave your drink unattended, and be cautious accepting drinks from strangers.

Remember that there are a lot of people at these conventions so if you are there for business to any extent, be mindful that someone that you may be looking to do business with could see you. Impressions are everything, even after hours.

Be Kind and Courteous to Everyone you Meet

Something that always amazes me at these conventions is how kind everyone is. If you accidentally bump into someone, they will most likely apologize to you. It’s almost as if being at the convention magically transports everyone to Canada and we just don’t know it.

That being said, not every single part of these conventions is going to be fun and there are a lot of potential triggers for grouchy behavior: from long lines, people cancelling plans, no toilet paper in the bathroom, no cell phone service, losing your friend for the 85th time in an hour, getting hangry because you skipped breakfast and lunch.

If you’ve followed the rest of this guide, you’ll probably mitigate most of these. However, even if you are the teensiest-tiniest bit grouchy, still remember to be kind and courteous. You never know who you are going to meet, so always put your best face forward. And, everyone is really just there to have a good time, so if you put out positive, high-frequency energy (even if you’re not 100% feeling it), it’ll likely bounce back to you and get you to the place where you DO 100% feel it.

If You’re a Streamer/Content Creator/There on Business — Save All of your Receipts

You can deduct the full cost of any travel and lodging (planes, trains, ubers, buses, taxis, etc) and 50% of the cost of meals if you are attending the convention for business

Have Fun!! Try New Things!! Meet New People!! GO CRUSH IT!!

‘nuff said.

AFTER CONVENTION

“OMG! OMG! OMG! That was awesome! What a great experience! Can’t wait to do it again next year!” Slow down there, cowboy… before we start planning the next convention, be sure to round out and FULLY maximize this years experience.

Relish in the Moment

You just had an amazing experience that thousands of other people would have dreamed of. What a blessing! Be mindful of everything you just did (and potentially accomplished). Journal about it. Tell your communities about it. Tell your family about it.

Going back to school/work/whatever you were doing before might feel like a bit of a let-down after the high of these conventions, so by being really mindful of the experience, you can transport yourself back to this feeling incase the Monday-morning blues start to hit afterwards.

Follow-Up with People

If you were there at all for business, or even if you were just there to enjoy the event, you probably made a dozen or more really great contacts (industry-wise, friend-wise or both). Send a note to all of them. Thank them for meeting them. Get a follow-up connect on the calendar if it makes sense. Foster and maintain these relationships.

Consider not reaching out to business contacts THE VERY NEXT DAY you get back from the convention. Particularly for developers, social media managers, marketing/sponsorship managers, etc. they are going to have a massive inbox to cleanout due to being away from the event. If you give them a few days to a week, then when you do send the email, it is more likely to be at the top of their inbox, rather than a massive pile right after.

Connection makes the world go round. So follow-up.

Make Some More Plans

What are you going to do with this amazing experience now that it has concluded? Make a plan.

What people do you need to continue to follow up with intermittently? Make a schedule.

What games were you excited to play? When do they launch? When will you start playing them?

When is the next gathering/industry event/convention that you want to attend? Do you need to book your tickets?

If you’re a content creator: Are you planning to share this experience with your community? How?

If you’ve stuck around this long to make it all the way through this guide, you deserve some sort of medal…. or honor… or “Achievement Unlocked!” pop-up notification.

But with all that being said, the #1 tip or piece of advice that I can give to you guys, is to just make this experience entirely your OWN. Take the tips from this guide that you want to and feel suit you, and disregard whatever doesn’t make sense.

Do what works best for, YOU, you good-lookin’ superstar.

Good luck, and go crush it!

xoxo,

Heaven

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