Burnie Burns To Open PAX Aus 2017

Kicking off PAX Aus 2017 will be the creator of Red vs Blue and founder of Rooster Teeth, Burnie Burns. The machinima pioneer will deliver the “Storytime” opening keynote, usually the biggest talk alongside other main attractions such as the Omegathon.

It’s an interesting choice compared to recent years, which have opted for names directly associated with making or publishing games, such as Warren Spector and Major Nelson. Burns could have some interesting things to say about the early days of machinima, but given how well documented this is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he uses the opportunity for something a little different.

I asked the global content director of PAX what we could expect from the keynote:

Burnie has such an amazing history, from the early days of Red vs Blue to the influential empire that is Rooster Teeth today. I’m honestly super excited he’s keen to share his story at PAX Aus this year, I’m sure it’ll be both heartfelt and entertaining!

Pretty standard, not much to be gleaned from that, but that’s Gabby Boreland for you.

Rooster Teeth also tends to have a very dedicated following, but there are many who never ventured into the Roosterverse, so I’m wondering if there will be an attempt to be more accommodating to everyone. If you’re one of those who has never seen the early days of gaming videos, you can check out Red vs Blue here:

I feel like it’s been given a bit of a facelift since the old days… I don’t remember those snazzy intros. Machinima has come a long way since then, and tools like Source Filmmaker give creators so much more power these days. But back in 2003, merely having videos meant for gamers was a huge thing. Hence Pure Pwnage, The Guild, and Red vs Blue.

Find out more about this year’s PAX Aus here.