This is not a game

This is not a game—this is Pax East. At the Boston Expo and Convention Center, you’re welcomed into multiple worlds of fantasy and adventure: “A celebration of gaming and gaming culture,” as the convention describes itself.

Deidre Morgan ‘25, Jake Anderson, '25, Tyler Ashbrook ‘25, and the other students networking here don’t want to buy tickets to enter this world. They want to build it. The Lesley table presented two games created by students. “Getting into PAX is taking all that artistic excitement and starting to narrow it down and hone in on task,” says Deidre Morgan.

She’s not here to play. She’s here to exhibit her work. "We want to get a nice, crisp demo to bring to PAX so we can see how people really engage with it. I got to be in on the ground floor, and see how that game was going to look, along with the team.”

Tyler Ashbrook, a Game Design major explains, “We get to put our work in front of thousands of people, some really big names in the (gaming) industry. We get a chance to network ourselves and connect with other creators in the field. It’s a way to not just inspire ourselves, but also to inspire the next generation of game creators to come to Lesley and do work, hopefully under our wing.”

Jake Anderson, who already has his own company and has sold his work, emphasizes that this is a real job. “When people think of video games or games, they think of the guy sitting on the computer with Mountain Dew and Doritos. But there’s a lot more structured discipline, and there’s a lot of management that’s involved.” 

“There’s a lot of money involved if you have the right skillset,” he adds.

At PAX East you can't help but be pulled in by the energy and excitement. This is pure joy. Lesley's BFA program in Game Design is how you get here.