Episode 411: The PAX Online Special Featuring Chris McQuinn of WashBear Studio and Travis Eriksen of Child's Play Charity!

This year has certainly been...a year. I don't think it's unfair to say we've gone through an unprecedented amount of change and adjustment over the last 6 months with little sign of things returning to "normal" any time soon. There is some light on the metaphorical horizon, though. While PAX West and PAX Aus were both cancelled this year, we are getting something in their place: PAX Online. And even though Alex and I aren't covering the show in any formal capacity, we figured talking with some people involved with it would be a great way to kick off the groundbreaking festivities. First up is game developer Chris McQuinn! Chris is one half of the creative team behind WashBear Studio and their game "Parkasaurus" has been selected as one of the titles to be featured in this year's PAX Online Indie Showcase! In other words, the PAX team reviewed over 350 indie games on Steam and picked 20 that they considered original and compelling. This year, they decided the WashBear's dinosaur tycoon management sim was worthy to be one of those 20 games. Check out the first portion of the episode as we chat with Chris about the creation of their game, the importance of listening to criticism, and how a game about dinos can seem so simple yet surprise you with its depth. Our second guest is someone more directly involved with the running of PAX Online. Travis Eriksen is the Executive Director of Child's Play Charity and also dabbles as the Chief Omegeatech at all the various PAX shows. I've rambled at length about how much I enjoy the Omegathon in the past so to get a behind the scenes look is exciting to say the least. In addition to running intense gaming contests, Travis' work with the Child's Play Charity has helped improve the lives of children and teens in over 180 children's hospitals around the world. They're going to have a big presence at PAX Online this year so be sure to check out their schedule and tune in throughout the week! We can't thank Chris and Travis enough for giving us the opportunity to chat with them right before such a huge and revolutionary show. PAX Online officially kicked off today (depending on when you're reading this) and there's a ton of fun to be had over the next week. It might not be the same as the big show in Seattle, but unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Enjoy! -Jr.