In the hours leading up to the official opening of Penny Arcade Expo 2008 yesterday, Penny Arcade creators Jeer Holkins and Mark Krahulik have announced that the upcoming East Coast Penny Arcade Expo will be held in Boston in 2010. The event will not replace the one that already exists in Seattle, but instead be as a compliment. There will be more details as it hits.

Also discussed was the second installment for the Penny Arcade episodic series. This second episode will build on the mechanics from the first, and players will also be able to import that character from the first episode into the second one.

The official opening of Penny Arcade Expo 2008 is still a few hours away, but we were able to sit down with Penny Arcade creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik to discuss various and sundry PA-related things. Notably, they dropped the news that their next big project -- a second yearly Penny Arcade Expo set on the East Coast -- is slated to debut in Boston in 2010. The new PAX, which will complement rather than replace the existing Seattle event, is still in the planning stages, but the duo has been determined to return to the city since delivering a presentation at MIT a few years ago.

Holkins and Krahulik also talked a bit about the upcoming second episode to their adventure game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. Despite being an episodic title, the second chapter will build on the mechanics of the first -- an unusual innovation for downloadable games, and one that apparently caused a bit of trouble with Xbox Live Arcade certification. Players will be able to take their existing character from the first game and import him or her into the sequel, Suikoden-style, although this ability doesn't transfer across platforms. Gamers who chose to jump systems for the sequel needn't worry, though, as a fresh character will begin pre-rolled with enough skills and stats to complete the game. Holkins promises that the second episode will feature expanded adventure game elements as well as a more involving combat system, including classic Final Fantasy-style plot events that play out through battle. The game will "absolutely" be available by year's end; Holkins says he's simply working on finishing the dialogue for the last few conversations. "The game would probably be out already if I were a faster writer," he said.

We'll have more information on the game and on PAX in general in the coming days -- and our full interview will be available on GameVideos in a couple of weeks.

Akira_EX via 1up.com »