Poll Did you enjoy the 2016 PAX West Panel? (527 votes)
The PAX Panel is over - CAH did their part, Giant Bomb did theirs - what do you think? Highlights? low lights?
The PAX Panel is over - CAH did their part, Giant Bomb did theirs - what do you think? Highlights? low lights?
For Those that missed it, you can check out the replay here: https://www.twitch.tv/pax/v/87674116
It was a strange show. I switched off during the Cards section as it was pretty painful to watch while the GB section felt like they just had to fill time around the two announcements. However these panels are always more focused on the people in the room rather than the streaming audience so it'll be interesting to see how people who were there felt about it.
I thought the GB part was pretty good but I think it's a bit of a bummer they did live Mario Party Party and it was one of the best things the site has ever done and then they don't make more of an effort to do something like that again over just a panel.
They don't have to do exactly that again, but they could do any number of things live and have them be better stuff to watch.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was more work for them and maybe they can't get CBS to spend the money. It could be complicated but I really would love more stuff like that Mario Party Party live show.
@stinger061: I've been avoiding GB Panels for a while as they tend to be mediocre content - what were the two announcements?
It was pretty weak. Pairing up with CAH was not the best idea. I feel like most people were expecting some kind of merged panel, rather than Giant Bomb being shoehorned into the last half hour or so.
The panels really haven't been the same for a while, right? I was at the PAX East one this year and it was pretty weak too.
I feel the PAX East ones are always weak, since for the past couple years all they talk about the upcoming E3 and "What even is E3 anymore." Same conversation every year where the crew thinks this E3 will be the last and E3 doesn't need to exist etc...
I sadly had to vote "didn't like it at all" even though there were MOMENTS that I laughed quite a bit (Lang out of a cake, Jeff explaining Mario Maker 3DS to Dan, Dan's GBEAST announcement at the panel)... The problem is that brevity is, IMHO, not a format to show Giant Bomb in a good light. GB sucks at brevity. Your part of the panel was....what, 30 minutes and some change? I compare that to the PAX panels that were 1:30-2hrs long, and how you guys REALLY hit your stride in those panels. I think, in all honesty, the only improvement was that there weren't any cringy questions from fans. IN THEORY, fan questions are really a great connection with the community... but in practice, it just hasn't been a strong point. Did you guys match up with CAH to justify the bigger stage? It was just...conceptually weird to see the panels together, because there was no connection thematically AT ALL. It felt like you guys were just put together because "well they are popular and need a bigger stage" but PAX didn't see fit to schedule a proper panel time for both of you individually. I'm sure that I'm probably WRONG about this armchair quarterbacking, but I just... This felt like a failed event. This isn't me shitting on the crew, or making any attacks. The format was too short to let your talents show. The format, imho, is antithetical to what makes Giant Bomb panels great.
I was not against the idea of a CAH+Giant Bomb panel.... but seeing the panel makes me against the reality of it. It wasn't a CAH+GB panel. It was a CAH panel truncated for time, followed by a warm up act of 404, followed by a GB panel that was woefully short.
I hope you guys don't take this post as a rant or as me being a shit talker- I love Giant Bomb. I just REALLY disliked the limitations of that format. I'll bring up a hypothetical (and IDK if this is what reality is for y'all when you make decisions like this so bear with me)- if the options are A: 1:30-2Hr panel in a smaller hall or B: truncated panel sharing spotlight with other group of people with little connection thematically but you get a big place for the short time you are on stage? Pick option A.
EDIT: I almost forgot the best moment of the GB portion: Jeff's introduction via VR immersion
What were the two announcements? An ER and Dan moving to NY the two?
Yes.
I thought the GB part was pretty good but I think it's a bit of a bummer they did live Mario Party Party and it was one of the best things the site has ever done and then they don't make more of an effort to do something like that again over just a panel.
They don't have to do exactly that again, but they could do any number of things live and have them be better stuff to watch.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was more work for them and maybe they can't get CBS to spend the money. It could be complicated but I really would love more stuff like that Mario Party Party live show.
I think it was said they tried to book the place again to do it the next pax and they wanted A LOT more money then what it was worth.
It was a bad idea. (They even said so.) Previous PAX panels got great at the 30 minute mark when they start running out of planned stuff to talk about and start rambling about mundane things like 40 cents.
@forteexe21: yeah, it was just weird. Giant Bomb is like the Mo Farrah (best long distance runner on earth) of podcasting. They need that distance to really show the greatness. This panel was like expecting a marathon runner to run a 100 meter dash. Just a rough fit.
The panel always worked best when it was long, it gave everyone a chance to settle into talking in front of the large audience and relax a bit. Also, as much as I love the CAH guys, their panel was really rough to watch. It would have been cool if GB and CAH could have combined and did one huge panel of goofiness instead of 2 shorter unrelated panels.
It was a cool experiment though and I'm glad they were able to get the main stage, it was awesome to see that whole place packed with people and I'm sure it was great for getting GB's name out there to some new people too.
I too had to skip past the Cards stuff because it was pretty bad and when the Giant Bomb part ended I was like "ah I see, they must be uploading a different, longer and better panel later"
@zombie2011: hey, the last panel with Ryan was at PAX East, and I think that may have been the best one
Honestly, I don't care for Max and don't like the idea of GB splitting time for one of these panels (as they're such a rare occurrence and there was no external meetup).
In general, when people outside of the site get involved the quality has always gone downhill for me. Panel guests are fine, but other people taking over a GB public appearance just kind of sucks. The environment was nice and it was kind of heartwarming to see them do something so large, but I'd prefer an hour+ of them just screwing around on stage.
Most of the panels are usually awful and it seems like they don't plan them at all. I had it on in the background while I was writing. Something about Shenmue is happening? That could be alright.
I've never actually been to a trade show because I'm not a big fan of massive crowds and there's never been a line that I thought was worth standing in line for.
How long are people usually standing in line to see a panel, and are you normally happy with the experience? Almost every time a trade show panel pops up in a podcast I skip it.
I kept my mouth shut during chat as I didn't want to pile on the negativity but I multitasked through the CAH panel... needless to say, I'd prefer they don't "combine" them again. As others have pointed out, it's more like the two have simply appended one show after another in a mutually exclusive format with little crossover.
And furthermore, there were some nagging production issues. Such as the slideshow/tiny screen that bled into the first third of GB's panel, and there were some audio issues where I think the band's audio were getting picked up and that was distracting.
On the plus side, no cringey "questions" from the audience where they try to be funny.
How long are people usually standing in line to see a panel, and are you normally happy with the experience?
I've been to both PAX Souths, which is a smaller show than East or West. At South, for a smaller/normal panel, you can get there anywhere from 20-45m before the panel starts and be okay, and generally, at least at the convention center South is held at, you're mostly sitting in line on a carpet floor, unless you really want to just stay standing for that long. For the more-popular GB/PAX Wrestling/404ing It/etc. panels, I generally get in line an hour before the panel to be able to sit near the front. I've never gone to any of the huge main-stage panels because they were always things I wasn't interested in (Penny Arcade, League of Legends, Twitch/Youtube, etc.), so I can't speak to those.
The first year, I was super happy with the experience. The GB Panel and 404ing It were both good, and I also went to the Royal Rumble meetup/watch party that Dan set up with Jeff/Aaron Trites/Pat Baer at a dive bar and that was a blast; I actually stayed in SA an extra day and took a shitty megabus home the next morning and it was definitely worth it.
2016 was a pretty fucking huge bummer, not only because nobody from GB went, but also because they (other than Jeff) didn't even announce that they weren't going until a few weeks before the show, for an event that attendees have to buy tickets and make hotel reservations for half a year in advance. If I remember right, I think it might've been a few weeks before Jeff's wedding, so I understand him not going, but it was still incredibly disappointing, as someone who doesn't have the opportunity to travel to either of the other shows and was basically mostly going for the GB panels and potential meetups, to feel strung along.
The 2016 show also felt smaller overall, with less high-profile games and publishers and panelists in general, so if GB decides to skip 2017 as well, it'll likely be the last PAX I go to.
I haven't like any GB panels in a while if I'm being honest. They all have a couple of really good moments here and there, but as a whole, they've been pretty meh. That's just my opinion though so it's whatever.
The CAH half seemed fine. Their type of humor isn't really my thing, but I still chuckled a bit.
I woke up just in time for the GB panel and was shocked at multiple things:
I liked the announcements but I felt the panel was far too short to justify a panel, especially in the main theatre.
I just don't think the GB pax panels have been the same since Ryan passed if you want me to be brutally honest. Jeff is great on a mic and can do adlib and improv pretty well but he's a terrible host and I don't think he controls the pacing of the shows well. Which is exactly the reason Brad hosts the bombcast these days. Jeff even realized this himself so why he is the one heading up the panels at pax I have no idea.
...and there were some audio issues where I think the band's audio were getting picked up and that was distracting.
Actually, I think that might have been Dave Lang and John Drake talking back stage while their mics were live.
Besides the material being dull, there were technical problems. The extra voices in the audio has already been mentioned. With the video, someone couldn't be bothered to switch the feed from the small window to full screen when they weren't showing anything in the big window. And then there were band members moving about, talking, and mainly just being awkwardly in every shot of the panel. It was a failure on all levels. Just learn from it and move on.
@ajamafalous: I feel the same way. I was really bummed out that they skipped PAX South back in January. It would have been nice if they made an announcement that they were not going instead not saying anything until the week before. It's funny that there is no wiki for PAX South 2016 but Marino felt compelled to make an entry for Pax Australia 2016.
I regret not talking to the guys the year before. I saw them hanging out at the Iron Galaxy booth and I didn't have the nerve to approach them. I thought I might get the second chance to see them again this year and I was wrong. As a consolation prize, I got over my anxiety and talked to Dave Lang and Matt Kessler. They let me take a picture with them individually. I have to say that they are the coolest.
I already bought my pass for Pax South 2017. Regardless if Giant Bomb staff is going or not. I understand but it kind of bugs that some video game press would only come to Texas if it was held in Austin. If you decide to go Pax South, we should meet up. I should keep trying to persuade people to come to San Antonio, Texas.
It was way too short. Comparing to older PAX panels, this was by far the worst.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what, but there was something missing. It should have been like an big Bombcast, a preview for all the GotY stuff.
@hunkulese: They've been pretty open about not planning these panels for a long time.
There hasn't been a great PAX panel in a while now. The longer ones are better because it allows them to fuck around and let Jeff go off about Shenmue or something.
No. There was some minor chuckle moments but overall it was pretty flat. I watched the archived version the day after and I started to skip forward a few seconds at times just to get past some segments faster, and then the show was over.
The whole GB show was like the intro and outro to a normal length GB panel. No meat whatsoever. So it's just a mild humor and announcement show now, I guess.
The Cards show just wasn't my taste of humor but I can't fault it for that. Cards Against Humaity is wildly popular so they should probably stick with what they're doing.
I've been avoiding watching it since the last thing I want to watch is something with Max Temkin and I'm generally surprised people continue to associate with him honestly (and no, I will not expand upon this). But hearing that the two panels are kinda distinct makes me actually more interested in watching the GB part? I'll get to it eventually, I guess.
I've not watched the Giantbomb bit yet, will wait for the Drew upload. I had a quick look at then skipped the Cards Against Humanity bit because it's super lame (the game I mean, I assume the panel is the same).
the true tragedy of this pannel is that there was no cross over between cards and gb. We instead got a better than ussual cards pannel followed by a worse than ussual gb pannel. I hope that if they do this again that they have more interplay between cards and gb.
@nicolenomicon: Just so you know, he ends up in a small part of the GB panel.
I didn't really enjoy it at all. Like others have said here, I don't really like the personality of Max but I still think it would've been better for it to be some sort of CAHxGB big panel with everyone at once instead of what this was, which was 50% of the content that both parties would bring to a normal length panel but cut in half because they had to share the stage.
After it was over my girlfriend asked "So what was the point in that?" and my answer was "I don't really know."
I thought the Cards part was OK, I actually liked the 404ing it part the most, and thought the GB part was kind of weak. I feel like it usually takes the GB panels a while to spin up, and we never got past the 'what have you seen at the show' portion before the wrestling promo was happening. It's easier to get away with not planning anything when you've got a couple of hours to get into a groove, so with the time constraint they really suffered a lot. There were a lot of announcements which was fun, but the general panel banter fell flat. It also didn't help that whoever was running the livestream was not doing a good job of managing the screen positioning/layout.
I get that this was the thing that springboarded them onto the main stage, and they did fill out the room, but all three parts of the panel suffered from their hurried pace.
I watched the whole panel and left extremely disappointed. CaH has gone downhill in my opinion, not interested in what they are doing anymore, seriously.....cactus. That's not funny. Don't know why I didn't skip it to be honest, all I was there for was GB.
Thought it would pick up when CaH ended, but, nope still no GB. Random middle panel that ends up playing a couple of videos and ultimately goes nowhere, what a waste of time.
Finally GB take the stage. The VR entrance was dumb and I loved it, I though it would kick off something great! Unfortunately not. The short time they had was nowhere near long enough in my opinion. GB are great when they ramble on past what you'd expect, it allows the guys to settle in to what they are doing and really brings out their character. Only takeaway was the two announcements, and while I liked both, I don't feel they needed a panel just to announce them.
I've enjoyed GB panels in the past and found them entertaining. This seemed like they were shoehorned in on the end because CaH couldn't find enough "jokes" to fill the whole event on their own. If they really wanted to commit to CaHxGB they should have had one huge panel where they all play off each other, it could have led to something a bit more entertaining. As it stands both halves had too little time to do anything worthwhile.
I voted for the last option, thought my feelings aren't that extreme. I agree with the people who have said that it was short, and GB couldn't hit their stride, there were some funny moments though!
I enjoyed both CAH's part and GB's part but was expecting it all to be equal parts CAH and GB, with maybe a mix of the two somewhere in the middle, but in the end it felt like a CAH panel with GB at the end to fill in some remaining time. The only reason I watched the CAH panel was to watch Giant Bomb next and that part felt extremely short and with not much substance other than filler to reveal the announcements. The panels are one of the few opportunities where we can see the whole crew interacting together and it feels like they never take advantage of that.
The random 404 panel in the middle was unnecessary as well. It wasn't bad and it had some nice parts, but that wasn't the time nor the place for it.
The intro with Jeff in VR was amazing though. Dave "business socks" Lang coming out of a cake and fake-reporter Max were cool as well.
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