A wiki for the TerraDrive Live setting was opened on June 1st, which permitted many participants to create factions and develop the characters that they would play during the convention.

"I didn't expect players to metaphorically represent different people/places/events in PAX in the TerraDrive universe," [Technomancer CEO Tony] Hellman told [ars technica]. "They created the planets La'an, Ta'leTop, the Omega T'kon Asteroid, and the W'eaton Comet." In other words, sections of the real-world Penny Arcade Expo like the LAN gaming area and Will Wheaton's keynote will have special meaning for players of the game, with different factions vying for control of different area.

Hellman hopes to get most of the attendees involved in the game by demonstrating the rules while they wait in line for registration.

"We have to have a system where there aren't a lot of rules," Hellman explained. "My goal is to teach everyone how to play while they wait in line Thursday night and Friday. If I can teach the whole convention how to play, almost everyone will. The big barrier is when you see a bunch of people doing something that looks fun, but you don't know how to get involved."

It will be interesting to see what the response from Guiness Book will be. Two and a half decades ago, a group of friends and I inquired about setting a record for the longest game of D&D (it was during our "reckless youth" days), and were informed that role-playing was not an activity that they recognized. Perhaps this event will tell us if that has changed in the last 25 years.

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Related links: PAX - www.pennyarcadeexpo.com | TerraDrive - www.terradrive.net | TerraDrive Live Wiki - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TerraDrive_Live | Technomancer Press - www.technomancer-press.com