PAX Aus 2024 is less than a month away (holy shit, I've got to start packing!), and the PAX AUS team have released the panel schedule for the weekend so we can mark out which panels we're planning on seeing over the frantic three days. Last year, I didn't get a good chance to plan my schedule, which, in hindsight, was a big rookie mistake. This year, I'm going to make sure that I don't make the same mistake and, by proxy, maybe one of you will be able to avoid my mistake as well… highly unlikely, I know, but if the dating game has taught me anything, unlikely isn't impossible.
On that cheery note of cautious optimism mixed with abject cynicism, I'm going to walk you through the main panels I'm going to check out as a sort of Couch Soup Guide to PAX Aus 2024 Panels. It's like the Lonely Planet except on a much smaller scale… please don't sue us, Lonely Planet. You can check out the full panel list here.
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Storytime with Julian Wilton, Creative Director of Massive Monster
The perfect way to ease your way into the hustle and bustle of PAX Aus is with the Storytime panel. This year's storytime speaker is the creative director of the development studio behind the smash hit Cult of Lamb, Julian Wilton. As someone who hasn't heard a lot about this guy, I'm excited to listen to his stories as an indie developer.
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Civilization VII Developer Meet and Greet
If you knew me, it would be fair to say that I have an addiction to the Civilization franchise. I wiled away many hours and weekends trying to build up various civilisations from a single city to a global superpower without getting nuked by Ghandi. The recent announcement of Civilization VII has me positively giddy to meet with the developers of this new game and pepper them with questions until either my anxiety kicks in or the heat death of the universe… or, more likely, 4:30 pm.
The perfect way to round off the first day of PAX Aus 2024 is with a little trip to Middle Earth via a fireside chat with the Wētā Workshop boys. Getting to look at some pretty art and listen to Lord of the Rings lore before dinner wraps up on the first day of PAX Aus 2024.
11:00 am - 12:00 pm: Penny Arcade Make-A-Strip
Now, here's a big panel of the weekend, the Penny Arcade one! Until last year, I had forgotten that Penny Arcade a) existed and b) is still doing their thing after a quarter of a century. Sitting down and watching their panel was a spur-of-a-moment whim and ended up being one of my favourite parts of the weekend. I'm excited to see the process behind a "Make-A-Strip" panel and how it'll play out, so I'm going to be sure to make it to this panel.
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Making Music in the Games Industry
A lot of elements go into making a good game. For me, I feel that writing and narrative direction have a major hand in it, but I have to concede that music influences my reaction to games a lot more than I give them credit for (looking at you Journey). As an enjoyer of music who owns an electric guitar and amp with a significant layer of dust sitting in my closet as I write this, I'm envious of musicians and am interested to see how the composing process differs from the normal music industry to the games industry.
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Sea Shanties You Say? Yahaarghh!
It's sea shanties and sinking piss late into the night; I mean, that's really all I need to say, isn't it?
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm: One Shot Wonders | Writing D&D 5e One-Shot adventures
As a recent Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) convert, I still don't understand a lot of the rules and different editions of the game. I pretty much just roll up and stumble my way along in the game, just like in life, which… I don't want to delve into the psychology of that statement yet. This panel's going to help me build up my knowledge, so I hopefully won't be as much of an idiot in this stuff.
I like to leave Sunday free mostly in order to make sure I can play all the great indie games that'll be on display and to try and get some PAX merch from the store when the lines aren't ridiculous.
Are any of these panels tickling your fancy? If so, let me know in the comments section below. For all things PAX Aus 2024, be sure to keep your eyes locked on Couch Soup.
