Just in time for PAX, the release date has been set for Colour Bind, the unique puzzle game where gravity is determined not by mass, but by colour. Set for release through Steam and other digital distributors on September 24, Colour Bind is the pride and joy of Aussie developer Finn Morgan, who has been diligently working on the game for two years.

Check the Steam page at  http://store.steampowered.com/app/208710/.

At PAX in Seattle, the team will be wandering the floor with a full-sized Colour Bind cart, giving presentations and dishing out early beta code from the roaming demo station.

Colour Bind is a physics platform-puzzler set in an abstract world where gravity is determined not by mass, but by colour. Navigate this unique world by manipulating colour and gravity to solve each level. Beating each unique puzzle in Colour Bind will take patience, intelligence, quick reflexes and sometimes even a helping hand from a friend.

If you’re at PAX, watch for Finn and Puppy Punch Productions, who’ll give you a demo out of their full-sized Colour Bind cart/roaming demo station.

For more information visit colourbind or check out our Youtube channel, Facebook and Twitter pages.

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On August 21, 2012, Konami Digital Entertainment announced that acclaimed game designer and director Hideo Kojima will participate in a discussion surrounding the past, present and future of Metal Gear during PAX Prime 2012. Serving as moderator will be industry veteran Geoff Keighley.

The one hour introspective will focus on the history of the award winning franchise in celebration of Metal Gear’s 25th anniversary this year, and will take place on Saturday, September 1st at 1:00pm PST at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.

The event will be open to all PAX attendees. To vote for a question that may be asked during the discussion via the MGS facebook poll, please visit:www.facebook.com/mgs this week.

The originator of the stealth-action genre, the Metal Gear franchise has been around for 25 years since its debut in 1987 in Japan and subsequently in North America. Through the vision of acclaimed game designer and director Hideo Kojima, the award-winning series has been critically beloved and consistently recognized for its original game design combined with a story full of plot twists and intricate human drama.

For more information, please visit: http://www.konami.com

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The gaming rooms at PAX East 2012 and Anime Boston both featured classic games on consoles from nearly every generation of gaming. Many of the people who entered these rooms were hit with waves of nostalgia as they feasted their eyes on nearly three decades of games from all over the world. In many cases, shouts of ‘no way’ and ‘I remember this’ echoed throughout the room, not just by the doorways. Respectively, both conventions had their own look and feel to their gaming rooms and here is how they achieved the differences.

PAX East

The gaming room at PAX East featured a plethora of classic games. Included were multiple versions of the Atari gaming console, some from as the early 80′s still in functional gaming condition. The look and feel of this room was one of excited gaming, reliving the classics side by side with your friends. As expected, consoles from Nintendo, Dream Cast, Atari, Commodore 154 and Sega CD were present.

Popular games within the room included Super Smash Bros for NN64, Super Nintendo Duck Hunt, playstation’s Pa-rapper The Rapper, Ghost Pilots on Neo Geo as well as Mortal Kombat for Sega CD.

Throughout the weekend game-a-thon, festivities also included some prizes being given out to gamers who stepped up to the plate to duke it out against another similarly skilled player. Set up with chairs and tables, Gamers were constantly bombarded with games to play from nearly every table in the room. This room was full of people, even on the very last day, down to the very last hour of the PAX convention.

It is worth mentioning that though PAX East had a small size gaming room at the Boston Convention center, they did have separate platforms outside of this room for newer games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero style events. There was often a line for these gaming stages and friend often filmed entire performances with whatever electronic device they had on hand.

Anime Boston

On the other hand is the radically different feel of the gaming room at Anime Boston. Inside a huge exhibit hall on the second floor, this is one of the few rooms that felt airy, for the lack of a better term. This is because the high ceilings and loud music with a live DJ in the center of the room made it feel more like a party rather than a get together. In this room, lights were dimmer, the air was cooler and it certainly got loud. The music provided by the DJ did not drown out the sound of gamers screams and cheers however, as they bested one another at games past and present.

Up on the walls were huge projector screens of gamers playing everything from Halo to Twisted Metal. Off to one side of the large hall was an assorted row of Dance Dance Revolution, PUMP and other dance games. This also leant a more club or dance feeling to the room for which gamers enjoyed the music to go with their games.

The games that were assembled were good as well. Perhaps not as in depth with the variety of Atari’s as with PAX East but still a very good mix. Also included were a handful of Nintendo 64′s, Super Nintendo’s, Dream Casts as well.

There was also more modern gaming consoles involved with Xbox360′s in this room playing games such as Halo or Left for Dead. Perhaps owing to the slightly younger crowd that generally attends Anime Boston, a more modern console was required to hook curious gamers by the doors as they progressed into the room.

That isn’t to say though, that people didn’t gush over the Nintendo 64 while playing Super Smash Bros but the vibe here was much livelier. Intermittent line dancing would break out depending on music choice by the DJ right alongside gamers playing Raiden on the Atari or Dance Central on the big screen.

Thus, whichever room at whichever convention you happened to step into was guaranteed to entertain. A little more nostalgic than an anticipated, both rooms featured great content with a different vibe for gamers to enjoy. With a slightly more classic feel, the PAX East gaming room did not disappoint with its bevy of games.

Also not to be forgotten is the external staging area’s for Rock Band type games to be played. On the other hand the slightly more crazed and energetic Anime Boston gaming room left many wanting to dance into the morning sun as the conventions came to a close each morning at nearly 2 AM.

Image Courtesy of   pullip_junk

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The 10th year of the annual Anime Boston Convention has come to a close, and it was the con’s biggest year yet (despite the fact that PAX East was going on at exactly the same time.) For Toonari Post,  here’s what happened on the third day including some final impressions of the con overall.

The third day had even less of a crowd than Friday, but there were still a few hundred cheerful people walking around, in and out of costumes, getting their pictures taken, and buying some last-minute merch from the Dealer’s Hall and Artists’ Alley.

The Closing Ceremonies were the main draw for Sunday con-goers, and the lines started forming an hour before the auditorium doors opened at 3pm. There was a skit at the beginning with A-chan and B-kun, the con mascots, followed by a recognition of the volunteers who had been with and helped make the con for the past 10 years.

While the names and pictures of the 10-year volunteers displayed on the projectors, the Gotta Catch ‘em All song from Pokemon began playing, and partway through, everyone started to sing along. There were some guest speakers and videos and finally the Japanese and other guests came out and walked up and down the catwalk to applause.

Before the Closing Ceremonies though, we managed to steal some time in the gaming room down the hall. Here, there were eight retro consoles set up, ranging from Atari to N64. For the first time we really got to sit down and play with, and talk to, some of the other con-goers. It’s amazing how a convention can facilitate such a level of spontaneous friendship between strangers.

We sat down next to a young guy playing Tetris Attack for the SNES and started a two-player game. As we played, almost everyone that walked by us stopped and commented on the game, how it should have had a tournament at the con, how they hadn’t played it in ages but still remembered it from childhood. When we finished with ‘Bomberman,’ we moved on to the next open console.

Next up was ‘Super Bomberman.’ We spent some time and had some fun learning what the special feature of each stage was (and usually got ourselves killed in the process). Ultimately we lost to the computer each time, but we had such a good time playing with one another that it didn’t really matter. As we played, we also extolled the virtues of these old single-button games, where the focus is on strategy, without any complicated controls to get in the way of the goal.

After that, we went over to the N64, which at that moment had no game in it. Fortunately, a girl came over shortly after with a bag of her own N64 games and a group formed to play some classic 4-player games: Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, and so on. Everyone was so genial, it was like being amongst a group of my own friends.

We also managed to get to a few panels, most of them led by guests of the con, rather than staff. They were people who cared passionately about the subjects they wanted to speak about, such as the guy who led the Tokusatsu panel on Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and (briefly) kaiju such as Godzilla.

He and his friend, who came in a very detailed and convincing Kamen Rider costume, seemed to know the series as deeply and intimately as anyone could. As he spoke about the individual Super Sentai rangers, he did their poses and spoke their names in the deep, dramatic sort of Japanese you hear in those shows.

He had watched all the series, even if they weren’t subtitled, and seemed to identify more with Japan than North America when he spoke. I was also amazed at how vocal the fan-base of these series were. One of the girls in the audience began heckling him when he slighted her favorite season of Kamen Rider; and when prompted, part of the crowd would call out something in Japanese and do a gesture associated with one character or another.

For a first-time visitor to the Anime Boston convention, it sort of had a feeling of Disney World. Kids and adults would come and take pictures with their favorite mascots, visit all the attractions, then go back to the hotel at night. The only difference, though it’s a major one, is that everything at AB comes from the fans themselves. There is very little industry support, aside from the guests and occasional Funimation or Viz panel.

The cumulative effect is that Anime Boston is much more a “community” than big industry conventions like PAX. You may come for the first time wondering what you’ll find–what do you do at an anime convention, watch videos all day?–, and realize you’ve found a community. This is especially true if you’re in high school and have a hard time making friends there. The con is a place where it’s hard for anyone to take themselves too seriously, and the barriers between people come down.

Whether you are into tabletop games like D&D and Magic: The Gathering, or video games, or cosplay, or steampunk, or dancing, or anything else geeky, there is a community at Anime Boston waiting to welcome you like an old friend.

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Continuing our Battle of the Boston Conventions, we’ve covered the food, hotels, crowds and transportation to and from conventions but need to get down to the nitty gritty details. Management and content are two of the most important factors at a convention — it takes a steady hand from the management to keep the show running smoothly. Without a doubt, these two items are the details that make or break a convention.

Management

Anime Boston was run by a dedicated staff of people as well as a steady stream of volunteers. Many of the staffers have been there for a decade or longer. The volunteers and security staff work very hard to ensure a smooth transition between panel rooms and answer questions very helpfully. The visual and audio personnel are also very knowledgeable about the current systems at the Hynes Convention Center. It should be noted that many of them are on the younger side, early twenties.

Part of the Reed Exhibitions Network, PAX East is a Convention on a whole other scale from Anime Boston and it shows in how it is run. Bigger and more streamlined, there is a formula of sorts to Reed Expo’s work, a flavor that they possess for the lack of a better phrase. In many cases, not only are the security people here strict and professional but friendly as well. Aisles are not only numbered for fans to find booths and for friend to find each other but the industry support from Reed Expo ensures that no matter the panel or the event, attendee’s will have fun.

Winner: PAX East

Content

PAX East was a gaming convention of fairly epic proportion. Not only was a live taping of G4TV’s X-Play done there, but there were all kinds of goodies and free swag for fans. From the free gear bags at Magic The Gathering to the Dance Central 2 on stage prizes, this was a convention that focused on games and games only.

Smaller game developers got to strut their stuff right alongside the big dogs in the gaming industry as they presented their games, many of them strategy games that have won awards or were soon getting ready for full launches.

Industry support is a huge and critical element in the gaming industry and so many of the top game developers also shelled out cash to maintain real estate space on the show room floor. It showed in the towering structures from developers such as UbiSoft, 2K Games and Microsoft that they meant business.

In the other hand Anime Boston had many panels run not by industry professionals but by budding entrepreneurs or loyal fans making a statement about their favorite Anime. There were few and far between professionally held industry panels and those that did take place were often packed out the door of their respective rooms.

In terms of sheer versatility however, Anime Boston had a slice of the pie for everyone. Whether you were a steampunker fanatic, an Anime nerd, a Gaming geek or a cosplay role player, you felt right at home at Anime Boston.

Both conventions featured a dealer room but more often than not, the dealer room at Anime Boston was a bigger success for fans. With plushies, dresses, music, movies, posters, manga, toys and food; this room was regarded as a highlight of the convention for its variety. The dealer room at Anime Boston also had classic gaming consoles for sale, old classic games as far back as the Atari as well as newer fresh out of the factory gaming joysticks.

Both Conventions also featured gaming rooms with classic gaming consoles available for players all the way into the late evening hours so both deserve credit for running an excellent game room. Hats off to Anime Boston for having a better console gaming room than PAX East since Anime Boston’s game room also had DDR, PUMP, Dance Central and a live DJ.

Anime Boston was hurt by the loss of Bandai in North America as well as loss of other industry support. PAX East suffered from a smaller dealer room and a vastly smaller game room but won points for its better established table top gaming section. Pax East also lacked the versatility that Anime Boston provided in spades and didn’t necessarily feel as comfortable.

Anime Boston felt like coming home to that favorite meal where friends and family welcomed you with open arms while PAX East felt like the carnival that just arrived in town to put on a show and then leaves later in the week. It’s two varying experiences and hard to judge but in the end there must be a winner.

Winner: PAX East

By a small margin, the content presented at PAX East was more professional and less prone to errors or crowd displeasure. Pax East won mostly because what it lacked in general variety it provided for in gaming content so high in quality that Anime Boston could not hope to match it.

With demos, free prizes, game play videos and other assorted gaming bonuses, PAX East just plainly felt like the more adult convention to attend. Anime Boston was an excellent jack of all trades that provided a fabulously entertaining experience but felt like it still had some kinks to iron out. Pax East was a well oiled machine for the most part and that feeling translated into a more streamlined experience for fans.

Overall Winner: Pax East

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In a not so distant land in the great city of Boston, the first full weekend of April heralded the return of two great conventions in the New England Area. Both Anime Boston and PAX East were held from April 6th through the 8th, generating what was sure to be a huge amount of economic income for the great city of Boston.

An anime and gaming fans dream weekend, there were some that could not stand the allure of two simultaneous conventions and therefore attended both. At around the same price and in relative distance to food, hotels and transportation, what is a fan to do when faced with the challenge of deciding which event to attend. A variety of factors contributed to which convention many of the Convention goers wanted to attend, some of which were small differences that made a huge impact upon the conventions attendance rate.

Transportation

Anime Boston was held within the Hynes Convention Center, which geographically was located much further than Boston’s South Station transit hub. In contrast, PAX East was located a literal stone throw across the Fort Point Channel from South Station, making transportation that much more convenient for PAX attendees.

Logan airport is minutely closer to PAX East but a cab ride is required for both PAX and Anime Boston. Trains were also available that traveled right past the convention center but traveling with luggage on a public train is not advised.

Winner: PAX East

Hotels and Motels

Both conventions, due to being a short distance of about 3 miles apart, shared many of the same hotels. Many of the downtown area hotels were booked solid through the entire weekend, especially those closest to the convention centers and with cheaper deals. For those looking for cheap hotels, looking away from the Hynes Convention center was a smart strategy since the surrounding areas were considered more trendy and expensive with hotels such as the Hilton Back Bay, The Mandarin Oriental as well as the Sheraton already attached to the convention.

The hotels surrounding the Boston Convention Center aren’t all that different either unfortunately since it’s close to waterfront property as well as downtown, theatre and financial districts. Research is required for the savvy traveler to find a good deal on hotels but for easy access to some of the best hotels in town the area near the Hynes can’t be beat.

Winner: Anime Boston

Food

Continuing the trend from the hotels, the food surrounding both conventions is good but equally expensive in some cases. Convention goers can expect to have a variety of food available with food west of the Hynes convention center being on average, cheaper.

Another area that is right between the two convention centers for cheaper food would be Chinatown and the financial district and so it’s really more about finding the right places, doing the research to save money where desired. For a more trendy and upscale eating experience, head towards the food around Anime Boston and the Hynes convention center, even the people at PAX East will tell you that.

Winner: Anime Boston

Crowds

Both conventions were huge events taking place with tens of thousands of people in attendance. Badges were sold out for the first two days of most events on top of an early sell out on the 3 day badges. The feeling though, was that even on Sunday, the slowest day for both conventions, PAX East still felt more crowded as well as more exciting than Anime Boston did on Saturday, Anime Boston’s most crowded day.

However, the numbers themselves do not lie. Historically, Anime Boston has about 20,000 people in attendance for its 200,000 Sq Ft. event space, if you include the registration center inside the Sheraton Hotel. Then consider that historically, PAX East usually has more than 30,000 attendees for its nearly 600,000 Sq Ft. event space at the Boston Convention Center.

These numbers are only accurate in that this is generally the total allotted number of passes sold, not the total number of times a person attended. That number is the turnstile number, for which a single person with a 3 day pass is counted 3 times. AnimeBoston’s posted turnstile number is a tabulated 53,007 total attendees for the entire 3 days while PAX East’s number is likely 70,000+ turnstile.

It becomes clear that Anime Boston was more crowded because Cosplayers, decked out in full anime costumes with large wings or swords, stopped foot traffic because people kept taking pictures of them. Far more line inducing at PAX East were the demos, pre-orders, convention and game exclusives but that didn’t seem as bad considering the Boston Convention center is nearly 3 times bigger than the Hynes convention Center.

Winner: Pax East

Price

At about 30-35 dollars depending on the day in which you went, as well as how early your ordered your pass, both conventions are the same price. Saturday is generally the biggest day with the most people who have time to attend and so it accordingly costs more. If you were lucky enough to snag an advanced 3 day pass your savings were that much greater!

Winner: TIE

Part 2 in the Battle of the Boston Convention wraps up both the management and the content of both conventions, yielding a winner by a narrow margin.

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