PAX panels

[anagramofbrat]

Mostly for my own edification, but here are the four PAX panels I'd like to hit on Saturday:

1. A Brief History of Chip Music
   Jamspace
   Saturday, 10:00am - 11:00am
   Using the lo-bit sound chips trapped within retro videogame consoles and other vintage electronics to synthesize new forms of musical composition, chiptune artists across the globe have slowly but surely brought enthusiasm for their craft to a fever pitch. The basements of yesteryear have become stages, and the upon those stages a new breed of performer has arisen -- not to merely evoke the nostalgic timbres of Nintendo-era videogame music, but to re-define and celebrate the limitations of the machines we once called our toys. From videogame soundtracks and demoscene/cracktro hackers to the thriving underground music scenes that exist today, join chiptune journalist Zen Albatross as he expounds on the vibrant history and promising future of chip music.
   
   
2. Geek Parenting
   Merman Theatre
   Saturday, 1:00pm - 2:30pm
   How young is too young for The Hobbit? Why is LEGO Star Wars the best console game for your child? What's the best way to deal with bullying? How old should your child be before you stop letting/helping them win games against you? As a parent, how do you deal with smart phones, texting and technology in your kids' lives? These questions and many more will be discussed by writers for GeekDad.com, GeekMom.com, and geek parents in the audience. Come share your stories and advice for how to ensure our kids grow up to be geeks like us! Don't have kids? Show up and find out what may be in store for you if you ever do!
   
   Panelists include: John Booth [Geekdad.com], Matt Blum [Managing Editor, GeekDad.com], Natania Barron [Senior Editor, GeekMom.com], Corrina Lawson [Senior Editor, GeekMom.com], Dave Banks [Core Contributor, GeekDad.com], Doug Cornelius [Core Contributor, GeekDad.com]
   
   
3. Females on Female Characters
   Wyvern Theatre
   Saturday, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
   Join Susan Arendt, Senior Editor of The Escapist; Kathleen de Vere, star of LoadingReadyRun; AJ Glasser, News Editor of GamePro; Tracey John, writer for The Daily, and Trina Schwimmer, founder of GamingAngels.com as they discuss what they embrace in female fictional characters and why these attributes are important. They will identify their favorite characters and how they would like more heroines with similar attributes integrated into Geek culture. This fresh, positive approach to female characters shouldn’t be missed.
   
   Panelists include: Susan Arendt [Senior Editor, The Escapist], Kathleen De Vere [Actor, LoadingReadyRun], Tracey John [Writer, The Daily], Trina Schwimmer [Founder, GamingAngels.com], AJ Glasser [News Editor, GamePro], Tracey John, and Trina Scwhimmer
   
   
4. The "Other" Us: If We're All Gamers, Does Our Gender Matter?
   Naga Theatre
   Saturday, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
   Abbie Heppe's review of Metroid: Other M prompted a wave of backlash across the gaming community. Words like "feminist" got thrown around in comments sections of popular gaming sites as if it were the new "f" word. But what is really feminist versus what is perceived as feminist by virtue of the fact that it comes from a woman’s perspective? Using these reactions as a jumping off point, a panel of gamers, journalists, and members of the industry will look at the ways gender is treated in gaming culture at large. In our debate and discussion of Abbie's review, we'll be looking at the larger question: "As our industry becomes more progressive and, arguably, gender-blind, is geek and gamer culture regressing?"
   
   Panelists include: Alli Thresher [Community Moderator, Harmonix Music Systems, Inc], Abbie Heppe [Senior Gaming Content Producer, G4 TV], Eric Pope [Community Moderator, Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.], Yesenia Cisneros [Games Tester, Excell], Jennifer Kye [Company Blogger, Social Media Editor, Gameloft], Michael Abbot [Owner / Writer, Brainy Gamer], Arne Meyer [Senior Manager of Marketing Communications, Naughty Dog], Justin McElroy [Reviews Coordinator, Joystiq]

1 and 3 I can kinda take or leave, 2 and 4 I'm definitely going to try my darndest to get into. Not sure what all else I'll be doing, other than wandering about wide-eyed and superficially slurping up geek energy. Starting to get actually excited about going.

Comments

[sixswordsamurai.livejournal.com]

reading the description of panel 4, I think "gender blindness" is as bad a thing as being "color blind". Both Genders have a place and roles in society. Acknowledging those roles and Designing characters that represent more than just a stereotype would be better than designing everything about random homogeneous humanity, because frankly that doesn't exactly resolve the problem, as we're still a primarily patriarchal society, so all choices would skew toward the male perspective.

[anagramofbrat.livejournal.com]

I kinda like the point that was raised in-panel which runs kinda paralell to what you said up there, though I don't much agree with roles, etc. pretty much the point is that VG is still a young industry and right now what sells ARE the stereotypes, men are tough and macho and play with guns, women all have big boobs and a furry thong somehow is worth +6 armor. It is shifting very slowly as more women and minorities have entered the game industry, but it has yet to "grow up" as it were, and it's going to take time. I liked the comparison made to the movie industry, which while still being pretty puerile (Transformers franchise anyone) HAS come a long way from it's baldly racist/sexist beginnings in the last century. Which isn't to say it doesn't have quite a way to go.

I don't know, it's both hopeful (progress can and will be made) and depressing (it's gonna be slow as shit).

[athene.livejournal.com]

The answer to the first question from panel two is "There is no age too young for the Hobbit." I've already read it to my offspring and he's not even born yet.

[anagramofbrat.livejournal.com]

One of the points raised at that panel was pretty good, was that it is key not to impose your geek identity on your kids but to be supportive of whatever interests they independently develop as people. I thought of this comment specifically when the Hobbit and Harry Potter were brought up specifically in terms of being read to, specifically (and this was my experience as well) that so called "geek classics" like The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland The Wizard of Oz and Narnia aren't really appreciated by very young children as they are very talky and don't have much "action" in them and what parents tend to do instead is skip to the good parts when reading it to their bored little ones. Also kids tend to do that as well when reading to themselves - they skim or skip the longer dialog or description heavy passages to something they find interesting in the plot. So Tolkien may not be the best starting point for very young kids and something along the lines of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher may be a better entry into the genre.

What IS beneficial for young children is showing your enthusiasm for your interests, be it games or reading. As well as the act of reading TO your kids, it is important for your kids to see you reading to yourself and enjoying it. Or playing games of whatever type. If they see you doing something you clearly love, they will naturally want to share that experience with you, which is a more... I guess constructive method of geek parenting? I don't know what the right word is.

The members of the panel were all members of geekmom.com and wired.com/geekdad, you might want to check out both sites.