PAX 2008 is quickly approaching, and here at Gamervision we’re making sure all of our plans are finalized, appointments and interviews are booked, and everyone is ready to go. Personally, I’ve got my own secret agenda for the Expo, and I don’t really care what anyone says about it. There are going to be a lot of important people there, people that I really need to meet—whether they like it or not.

While my co-workers may be checking out cosplay contents and gaming competitions, I’ll be following the people on this list… from five or ten steps back, of course. Here’s my list of the top people, places, and things I plan to stalk at PAX.

Wil Wheaton

Why Wil Wheaton? Why not? In addition to being adorable, Wil Wheaton is a funny, funny man and an avid gamer. Also, anyone who starts off a keynote “My name is Wil Wheaton and Jack Thompson can suck my balls” is a winner in my book. What more could you want? I mean, his wife probably won’t be thrilled about the whole stalking thing, but I’m harmless, really. I just want to admire him from afar. That’s not too creepy, is it?

Sackboy



Look at that face. Who wouldn’t want to stalk this guy? He’s adorable. Also, as the potential new mascot for Sony, he could make for a very important stalking victim contact. Really, once LittleBigPlanet comes out, Sackboy and I are going to be spending a lot of time together anyway (although he may not know it yet). We might as well get started now.

Gabe and Tycho



People keep telling me that the creators of Penny Arcade, as well as the fine convention at which I will be doing all my stalking, don’t actually look like their webcomic counterparts; they apparently don’t even have the same names. Well, I refuse to believe it! I’m keeping my eye out for a dark-haired guy in a Pac-Man shirt. Then I’m going to have an intellectual discussion with Tycho about… like… stuff and junk.

Local Coffee Shops



This one may not seem important to some of you, but my body requires a lot of coffee to keep it running. On a normal work day, I’ll drink three or four cups before I leave the house, and then I get to work and keep chugging it till lunchtime. At PAX I’ll probably be working longer days and sleeping less, so coffee will be absolutely imperative. Believe me, you do not want to be in the same convention center as me if I have not had enough coffee.

Ron Gilbert



Some of you may be wondering who this is, and why he’s on this list. Ron Gilbert has been involved with a lot of well-known video games and currently works for Hothead Games; in fact, his most recent project was Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. However, to me he will always be remembered as the guy who gave the world a wonderful gift: Maniac Mansion. Not only was he the game’s designer, he created the SCUMM engine, which was subsequently used in almost every LucasArts point-and-click adventure game of the late 1980s and into the 1990s. A feat like that definitely earns him a place in video game history, but the fact that he made my favorite game makes him stalker-worthy. I can’t wait.

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