Find All Our PAX Australia Coverage Right Here

If you’re not fortunate to be down in Melbourne for the next three days, you’re only on the convention floor for one or two or you just want to keep in touch with everything interesting at the event, then don’t worry — we’ve got you sorted.

Right here you’ll find absolutely everything we’re doing from the show floor, from interviews to news posts to photo diaries to everything in between. We’ll keep this at the top of the page so you can always find it, and it’ll be regularly updated as PAX rolls on.

Image courtesy of PAX Australia’s Facebook page

This Place Is Huge? Where Do I Go/Find Things/I’m Lost Please Help

Yeah, PAX can be a little daunting. Fortunately the venue’s a lot easier to find these days than when PAX first started (at Flemington), and there’s also bright, big maps in case you get lost.

Below you’ll see the general outline of where PAX is in relation to what’s around it, which might be helpful if you’re unfamiliar with Melbourne/the Promenade area/Australia.

You’ll be spending your time in one of three areas: the exhibition hall, which houses the vendor booths, indie games, retailers and all manner of other things; the tabletop section, which has the board games, card games, tabletop shenanigans and free-play areas; and the convention hall which houses the main theatre and most of the rooms for panels and the like.

You won’t find the maps for each of the halls on the site, but they are available through the Guidebook app which is available on every smartphone under the sun. Alternatively, you could just look below. (If you can’t read the text on the smaller booths, just click on the image and you’ll be able to blow it up to its original size.)

One small update: we’ve been informed that the Razer booth has been relocated to within the MSY booth, so keep that in mind when you’re checking the exhibitor map.

If you’re after a list of panels, tournaments and other random events, the PAX Australia website has the full schedule and a link where you can print it out. The Guidebook app will let you download everything and store it offline as well if that’s your preferred style.

Day 1

The Queue Hype Is Real: While everyone was waiting for the doors and panels to officially open, I scoured the queues and spoke to some PAX attendees to see just how real the hype was.

A Guide To Playing Board Games At PAX Australia: The tabletop and board gaming area of PAX is a large part of the convention’s heart and soul, and Adam’s guide has all the info you need to get the most out of it.

The Australian Video Games That Don’t Exist: Mark visited The Arcade in Melbourne and took a moment to enjoy a series of posters for games that were never intended to be made, the in-jokes for developers.

Video Games In VR Don’t Have To Be First-Person: “We basically looked at the Oculus guidelines and ignored every single one of them.” That’s Shannon Pickles talking about how they threw out the VR playbook, it’s worth a read.

Warren Spector Tells Gamers To “Vote With Your Feet” During Keynote Speech: The legendary designer got up and told people about what motivated him to make games — and why gamers shouldn’t be so accepting of what the industry is dishing out these days.

Watch The PAX Australia Panels Right Here: Half of PAX is the panels; if you can’t watch them live, then follow them here.

Australian Indies At PAX Are Keeping Local Multiplayer Alive: Hayley’s been through some of the indie booths at PAX and there’s a high ratio of local/couch co-op games; have a read and discover some of the new indies that should be on your radar.

DESYNC: The Game That Takes FPS And Dunks It In A Bucket Of Neon: It’s not for everyone, but it’s hard not to notice DESYNC on the show floor given the colour and it’s similarities to Bulletstorm.

Day Two

Don’t Bother Lining Up For The Fallout 4 Booth At PAX This Weekend: Hayley went to Bethesda’s booth for Fallout 4 and was left supremely disappointed, because there’s nothing shown at PAX that hasn’t already been showcased in a trailer or a livestream before. If you’re one of the many, many people excited for Fallout 4, save yourself the trouble and read her article instead.

Someone Is Creating A Kotaku Inspired Game Character At PAX Australia: Mark convinced three very clever people to create a monster/sheriff. That abomination is will be spawned before PAX finishes this year.

Scott Ludlam: The Government Should Do More To Help Australian Video Games: The Greens co-deputy leader and Senator was probably one of the biggest drawcards on the Saturday panel-wise, and he didn’t fail to disappoint. Senator Ludlam helped illuminate the image problem facing video games in Parliament, and his insights are always worth listening to.

RIP: The Indie Dream, 2008-2015: An indie developer made a coffin to show off his game that was filled with the sweetest of surprises.

Master Of Orion: A Project Of Love That Became A 4X By Committee: I was keen to check out Master of Orion as soon as I saw it announced, and what is discovered was very much faithful to the original — although it’s difficult to see what it brings to the table that’s new for the genre as a whole.

Day Three

The Weirdest Game At PAX Came From The Mind Of Four Year Old Boy: The buzz on the show floor about Inflatality has been immense, but even more interesting than the flailing balloon men is the game’s genesis.

The PAX Freeplay Area Needs A Facelift: The freeplay and tabletop areas are part and parcel of PAX, just as much as the characters and the panels are. But the freeplay section, which adjoins onto the main exhibition hall and blocks the board and card gaming area away from the rest of the PAX din, looks cold and lifeless. Why?

PAX Australia, In Pictures: I took as many photos as I could, and if you couldn’t attend PAX or you wanted to relive some of the things you saw at the event, then go and have a look!