Nate Scheidler, the Director of Community Marketing, of the Chicago Toy and Game Group read Martin Stever's PAX comments (see 'Martin Stever on PAX') and would like to offer his point of view on the event:

I think Martin's article is reasonably accurate from an outsider's point of view.  I'd like to offer another viewpoint on PAX if I may, as someone who has attended many shows and observed PAX at a distance over the few years as it developed.

PAX is less of a convention and more about the power of community.  To weigh it as a convention is missing the true value of what Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik have created.  They aren't trying to collect gamers to come in and buy things.  They were having a party at the Seattle convention center, and everyone was invited.

Complete strangers come together over games, all day, every day.  Waiting in the Friday morning queue on the concrete floor, I played a round of "Fluxx" with a mixed group talking about what they wanted to see that day.  Dozens of inflatable balls batted around in the air in the middle of the crowd.  Behind me, two people playing games on a PSP and a Gameboy while having a conversation.  Another pair playing off against each other in Magic: The Gathering, a collectible card game.  Get in Line Games kept the crowd entertained with their lively projected display games, including trivia, voting and letter scrambles.

Throughout PAX, attendees are shepherded and assisted by the black-shirted Enforcers.  The Enforcers are over 80 highly motivated volunteers.  Where they might not have all the answers all the time, they are terrifically friendly and passionate about their role.  The success of PAX is highly based on their efforts and enthusiasm.

While there were few events on the program, I never attended an empty talk.  Every panel I attended was no less than 85% full, amounting to several hundred attendees each.  This is a far better venue to get a message across than other shows I have attended, where my seminar competed with hundreds of other lines on the schedule.

A large part of what makes the PAX community thrive is persistent value.  The webcomic Penny Arcade, posted three times weekly, creates a constant draw to the website.  People laugh.  And then they listen.  The newsfeed/blog that appears on the front page is every bit as important to me as the comic itself, and often contains something of interest to me as a game player.

Jerry and Mike also make appearances within their community, playing games at local stores and participating in other local events.  Their charity, Child's Play, has generated millions of dollars in charitable donations.  They are folk heroes of the Internet age.

The lesson to be learned by other conventions is that you can in fact build a better show with hearts than wallets, and that your attendees are not something you should take for granted on an annual basis.  Strive to provide constant value in your portals and messages, and invest in developing strong communities in the local area.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.