Hi, everyone. Last week we announced our Guild Wars 2 First Anniversary Bash, which takes place at the Renaissance Hotel on Saturday, August 31 during PAX Prime weekend.

That’s not all we’ve got going on that weekend! A number of ArenaNet staffers will speak on different panels at PAX Dev and over the weekend at PAX Prime.

Head over to the PAX Dev and PAX websites for the full schedule and check for any changes at the con.

Hope to see you there!

PAX Dev Panels

Wednesday, August 28 at 2:30pm in Grand III

Shipping is hard, but shipping every two weeks is crazy. In this session, ArenaNet’s tools engineers discuss the implementation of ArenaNet’s feature-based development model that allows the studio to ship large code and content patches into a live MMO every two weeks.

Featuring ArenaNet Tools Engineers Francis Crick and Mike Popoloski.

Thursday, August 29 at 2:45pm in Fifth Avenue Room

Building a community can be a big challenge for the indie developer or start up studio. Come join this panel for a lively conversation focusing on the positive and negative aspects of managing a small studio community.

Featuring ArenaNet Community Coordinator Donna “Danicia” Prior.

Thursday, August 29 at 4:00pm in Cascade Ballroom

Games are getting bigger and story is becoming a driving force in the game experience. A panel of experts from several different MMORPGs will take the audience through the ins and outs of developing a world, a story, and hundreds of characters for a triple-A title. Panelists from the games Marvel Heroes, Tera, Guild Wars, and Wildstar will explain it all.

Featuring ArenaNet Lore and Continuity Designer Jeff Grubb

PAX PRIME Panels

Friday, August 30 at 4:30pm in Raven Theater

Ever wonder why some games come to your local retailer sounding as natural as your neighbor, while others read like bad kung fu movies? Our panel of editors, translators, and programmers will pull back the wrapper of “localization” and show just how many different challenges there are to convert a game’s text from one language to another.

Featuring ArenaNet Assistant Editor Eve Walter.

Friday, August 30 at 8:00pm in Pegasus Theatre

Disney’s Aladdin isn’t just an incredible film, but a defining moment in the great 16-bit wars as well. Hop a carpet and fly over to witness two teams of gaming aficionados debate to death the merits of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis versions of this Walt Disney masterpiece. It’s bound to be barbaric, but hey, it’s video games.

Featuring ArenaNet UI Designer Kate Welch.

Friday, August 30 at 10pm in the Wolfman Theatre

If you’re spending more than 5 hours a week playing video games, gaming could be your career! Join us as leading game journalists, community managers, publicists, marketers, devs, pro gamers and studio executives share how they got their lucky break, the fun stuff that makes up their work day, and why Nerf guns are so essential when night falls.

Featuring ArenaNet Lead Writer Bobby Stein.

Saturday, August 31 at 10:30am in Wolfman Theatre.

As demand increases for characters as diverse as the new player base, the games industry struggles to catch up. Writers and designers feel pressured to craft fresh, compelling stories that speak to a wider audience, but are often challenged by personal blind spots, professional culture, and business demands. Our panel of veteran writers and designers will look beyond blame and gender swapping to share their experiences-good, bad, and hilarious-of trying to break free from clichéd thinking.

Featuring ArenaNet North American Community Team Lead Regina Buenaobra and Game Designer Matthew Moore.

Saturday, August 31 at 11:30am in Raven Theatre

Our panelists will give you tips on creating tabletop game groups, finding public game meetups, and enjoying gaming conventions as a newbie. Want to be a better organizer? We’ll work with you to build positiveness to your current groups, how to find new players, and how to encourage their participation.

Featuring ArenaNet Community Coordinator Donna “Danicia” Prior.

Saturday, August 31 at 2:30pm in Raven Theatre

Whether creating a multi-session campaign for a table-top roleplaying game or writing a branching storyline for a video game, crafting interactive narratives can be a difficult task. Join our panelists as they discuss applying classic storytelling archetypes in an interactive environment, using creative problem-solving to deal with unexpected player choices, and creating interactive narrative structures for digital games.

Featuring ArenaNet Content Designer Lena Chappelle

Saturday, August 31 at 3:30pm in Unicorn Theatre

Game companies are acknowledging that they have a role to play in stamping out in-game harassment and abuse. Join us as we discuss how to design for a more welcoming community, learn about the community-shaping initiatives that developers are working on, and examine what we really know about ‘trolling.’

Featuring ArenaNet UI Designer Kate Welch.

Sunday, September 1 at 2:00pm in Unicorn Theatre

Let’s move beyond gamer culture. Women are amazing roleplayers, strategists, creators, and game designers. Join us for a lively panel to discuss issues and excellence in tabletop gaming, with forays into miniatures wargaming, LARPing, board/card game culture, and creating your own inclusive game groups!

Featuring ArenaNet Community Coordinator Donna “Danicia” Prior.

Monday, September 2 at 11:30am in Raven Theatre

On the 5th anniversary of the first PAX Prank we decide to finally draw back the curtain and show you what goes into this little piece of improv entertainment. What’s that? Yes the PAX Prank has been around for over five years. Join the folks behind Bad Horsing, The Lando Society, and Aperture Safety; and learn more about the community that formed around them.

Featuring ArenaNet Community Special Operations Mark Katzbach.