A Media Rep’s Guide to Navigating E3: Dress to Kill
Part 1: Dress to Kill will cover what to wear and how to
accessorize…like the pro we both know you can be.
For the past three years, I’ve been attending E3 as a member
of the media for various outlets, from a college paper to my own website to
working as a writer for an indie game company, to a publicist for that same
company. To say I have a little experience would be an understatement; I’ve
been through this ringer and keep coming back. The first two years I was more
or less on my own and had to learn what to do when on my own, but this past
year, someone saw fit to give me minions to use in my yearly conquest of the
biggest video game convention of the year. Admittedly, I gave my CEO no advance
notice that I’d be going as a publicist last year, but he hasn’t complained
about my deception, so I kept going with it until he gave me the actual title
that I’d been passing off as my own. Make no mistake, if I’d fucked off or
screwed around or shed an unpleasant light on the company, then I would have
been caned…or canned in the blink of an eye. The moral of the story is that you
can call yourself whatever you please as long as you can back up that claim
with your actions. A lot of people suggest that that people dress for the job
they want, not the job they have; I’m suggesting people take that a step
further and ACT like you have the job you want rather than the job you have.
Is my way the right way for everyone? Hell no. Is it the
wrong way for everyone? Hell no. It happens to be the way that works for me
however, and I have a better idea than most as to how one should navigate E3
successfully.
Remember that show What Not to Wear? This isn’t that. This
is what to wear. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes first and foremost. Don’t
go for Chucks or worn out sneakers, go for black leather (or pleather if you’re
classy as shit) slip on or lace up low top shoes that have some kind of comfort
insert…preferably that come with the shoe so you don’t have to drop money on
them.
You’ll be walking for miles and miles each day without
realizing it…or really caring, but as a result, your feet will hurt. Get
excited, it will happen. While we’re
talking about shoes, what should any self-respecting gamer, regardless of badge
or access wear? If you want to be that guy (or girl) wearing your tattered old
Legend of Zelda shirt, go ahead; you won’t be alone. If you want to stand out
and make the right impression, leave that shirt at home or use it as PJs.
Instead of rockin that awesome game shirt, try something with a collar. Think
business casual, all day long. If, like most guys, you have no idea how to
dress yourself well or match colors to your specific skin tone, ask someone
working at your favorite upscale clothing store. It is their job to assist you
in making you look like the best possible you wearing their apparel, let them
assist you, and if need be, make the most of and abuse that assistance. Being a
big dude, I go with solid lighter/pastel colors or vertical stripes for my
button downs. That’s tricking the eye with fashion. Psychology’d. Long or short
sleeve should be your next concern, intrepid gamer. That’s a personal
preference call; I go with long sleeves and roll them up. Not everyone has the
arms for long sleeves rolled up though, if you’ve got big arms or tattoos that
can be conversation starters, go short sleeve. Same with the casual suit coat,
either wear one or don’t. It’s a personal choice again. If you’re comfortable
wearing one, rock that bad boy all day long, if you prefer having your arms
freer, don’t. Bear in mind that the casual suit jacket has pockets that can
hold things you may need throughout the day. That’s one of the only reasons I
go for the suit coat. As for pants, jeans are perfect. Make sure they are nice
jeans that look like they were hemmed to fit your unique size, better yet, get
them hemmed to fit your unique size.
Now that we got your style on point, let’s address what to
bring. Simple things first; wear a watch. Even if you don’t use it, wear one.
Choose one that suits your adult style and wear that, it’ll look good. If you
need glasses, get a new adult pair that looks as good in the board room as they
will out to dinner with your significant other. If you don’t wear glasses,
don’t wear fake ones. They make you that guy. That guy always sucks. If your
fake glasses are hipster glasses, you should get hit. End of story.
Now onto the harder stuff; if you don’t have a smartphone,
you have no business being at E3. That may sound rude, but it’s the truth. This
is an exposition based around the latest advances in technology, get with the
times. I’ve done both iPhone and Android phones and I prefer the iPhone, but
that barely matters as long as you have a smartphone. Shit, you can get a
Windows phone if you like…you may hate yourself, but that’s on you.
As for required apps, the E3 app is a no-brainer. It’s a one
stop app for everything expo related, it has a map, show info, alerts,
attending exhibitors, and plenty of other helpful things about the conference
you may not want to carry around in an E3 bag. Another must have is a voice
recorder. The iPhone comes with a serviceable one that will work well enough
for three days unless you would prefer doing QuickVoice or Voice Recorder HD.
Androids, however, do not come with one installed, but there are plenty of free
ones on the android marketplace. The reason for this is to record any meetings
or interviews so you can actually digest them after the fact without trying to
rely on your memory, which will be somewhat faulty. Another must have is a QR
reader; this will be useful beyond E3 into your everyday life. You can scan
your groceries to find out nutritional nonsense if you please. At the expo,
there will be more than enough things to scan all over the place; on the walls,
floor, ceiling, billboards, business cards, tables, chairs, t shirts…you get
the idea. You want this for the same reason as the recorder, so you can process
and digest information later on. I also like having a notepad on my smartphone,
just in case. I just used the E3 app to check the show hours to make this
point; trying to use a phone for six or seven or either hours almost straight
will murder your battery quicker than Killer Instinct will destroy you on
‘Kyle’ difficulty. If you don’t believe me, give it a shot. Bring a backup
battery and cord or a phone case with an extra battery built in. Go whichever
route you prefer with this, I didn’t want to drop $100 on an iPhone
case/battery, so I went with an extra battery and cord. One reason I rock the
suit coat, to hold the extra battery and cord. Logic’d. One app you may like to
have is Yelp. There are more than enough restaurants in the greater Los Santo…I
mean Los Angeles area that won’t abuse your wallet or stomach like food court
food will. This is an absurdly easy way to find any such place, or you can just
walk across the street to Hooters. A good maps/directions app will also help,
and can be found free on any smartphone. I use Motion X, which costs a couple
bucks, but the different voices are entertaining.
There are any numbers of apps that will make things easier
or quicker or help pass the time, but those will change with the owner of the
phone, as I’m sure you’d expect. Your video game news apps, your games, your
other time killers, your music and headphones, but those are the apps you’ll
use every day without being prompted to.
You should also bring a portfolio, just to be on the safe
side. It may be annoying to carry, but that’s what minion…I mean friends are
for. In this portfolio should be a notepad and pen (or five of your co-workers
are jackasses), your already made business cards which you’ll be handing out to
everyone and their brother as networking tools, and maybe some resumes if
you’re an over-achiever.
Join me next time for Part two: Act like a killer.
I have a Windows phone.
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