all you people are upset about someone that somewhat resembles a boothbabe....
WHAT ABOUT THE BOOTH-DUDES THERE?
There were a couple muscley guys in muscle shirts handing free shit out.
I AM TAKING OFFENSE TO THAT OUT OF SPITE!
AND I AM TAKING OFFENSE TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE IN BETTER SHAPE THAN ME!
It's harder to have booth dudes because not all girls are attracted to the same sort of thing. Honestly I didn't find any of the guys at the booths particularly attractive. In fact, I hardly noticed them unless we had a conversation. It's a lot easier to find a pretty girl who appeals to most guys than a pretty guy who appeals to most girls. It's also a lot harder for guys to be labeled boothboys because generally, a man's sexuallity is used less often than a woman's when it comes to marketing. Maybe they did exist, but its a lot harder to label them as such.
[edit] I did sense your sarcasm. This is for those that might actually feel that way.
Objects of sexuality have NO bearing or place in a gaming convention, as far as I'm concerned.
So... an entire expo devoted to Katamari and Pokemon? Because if you take out objects of sexuality...
In any case, congratulations go out to the Tenacious "Booth Babes." Not only were they hot enough for the title they actually knew how The Spoils worked.
Hey there. I was at the Spoils booth giving demos. We are not "booth babes". We just happen to be an all girls gaming team that is hired by Tenacious to teach people how to play the game. We all play and love the game and that is why we were there. I do appreciate however, the fact that you think we were cute. I am one of the biggest nerds out there ( I play D & D , spoils, munchkin, killer bunnies and I used to play magic) , I hang with a bunch of big geeky guys... and I have two kids. I am glad that you enjoyed the game. I am also glad that you had a chance to talk to some of the girls and find out that they really know what they are talking about. I actually don't like the idea of "booth babes" myself. As a girl in the gaming world I would rather not see the skimpy costumes on people (male or female) and would rather just play the game!
In any case, congratulations go out to the Tenacious "Booth Babes." Not only were they hot enough for the title they actually knew how The Spoils worked.
Hey there. I was at the Spoils booth giving demos. We are not "booth babes". We just happen to be an all girls gaming team that is hired by Tenacious to teach people how to play the game. We all play and love the game and that is why we were there. I do appreciate however, the fact that you think we were cute. I am one of the biggest nerds out there ( I play D & D , spoils, munchkin, killer bunnies and I used to play magic) , I hang with a bunch of big geeky guys... and I have two kids. I am glad that you enjoyed the game. I am also glad that you had a chance to talk to some of the girls and find out that they really know what they are talking about. I actually don't like the idea of "booth babes" myself. As a girl in the gaming world I would rather not see the skimpy costumes on people (male or female) and would rather just play the game!
Tell me where you all secretly hide.
Also I think I demo'd with you, but still, tell me.
You know, I still don't know the site where these all got uploaded too, where is that?
(If you took this, were you the other girl at the booth?)
No, I was the Asian guy who waited in line with him and some other guys on Friday... We were touring the exhibition hall soon after the place opened up.
You know, I still don't know the site where these all got uploaded too, where is that?
(If you took this, were you the other girl at the booth?)
No, I was the Asian guy who waited in line with him and some other guys on Friday... We were touring the exhibition hall soon after the place opened up.
all you people are upset about someone that somewhat resembles a boothbabe....
WHAT ABOUT THE BOOTH-DUDES THERE?
There were a couple muscley guys in muscle shirts handing free shit out.
I AM TAKING OFFENSE TO THAT OUT OF SPITE!
AND I AM TAKING OFFENSE TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE IN BETTER SHAPE THAN ME!
It's harder to have booth dudes because not all girls are attracted to the same sort of thing. Honestly I didn't find any of the guys at the booths particularly attractive. In fact, I hardly noticed them unless we had a conversation. It's a lot easier to find a pretty girl who appeals to most guys than a pretty guy who appeals to most girls. It's also a lot harder for guys to be labeled boothboys because generally, a man's sexuallity is used less often than a woman's when it comes to marketing. Maybe they did exist, but its a lot harder to label them as such.
[edit] I did sense your sarcasm. This is for those that might actually feel that way.
Objects of sexuality have NO bearing or place in a gaming convention, as far as I'm concerned.
So... an entire expo devoted to Katamari and Pokemon? Because if you take out objects of sexuality...
Hooray for strawman!
Werrick on
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be rude without having their skulls split, as a general thing."
Give it up you guys. All of those "booth babes" are probably married and/or taken. Did you guys notice the ring on Natasha's finger? Just enjoy the fact that you get to touch a woman - good looking at that - for the first time in your life.
Give it up you guys. All of those "booth babes" are probably married and/or taken. Did you guys notice the ring on Natasha's finger? Just enjoy the fact that you get to touch a woman - good looking at that - for the first time in your life.
Dude, not to offend, but this is exactly the kind of jackass comment that doesn't need to be made. So please, people, resist the urge to flame and just ignore it. I beg of you.
Give it up you guys. All of those "booth babes" are probably married and/or taken. Did you guys notice the ring on Natasha's finger? Just enjoy the fact that you get to touch a woman - good looking at that - for the first time in your life.
Dude, not to offend, but this is exactly the kind of jackass comment that doesn't need to be made. So please, people, resist the urge to flame and just ignore it. I beg of you.
My fault, I don't mean to hurt your feelings.
It was my first time attending a gaming con and I thought all types of promotions, free swag, displays, "booth babes," were really entertaining.
A gun that thousands of nerds have touched in your mouth? Eww. Well here's my NSFW idea:
We're facing each other, one gun between her legs, one between mine, representing a phallus. I'm hanging my head in shame as she stands proud, as her's is sticking out further than mine.
Although I'm sure there would be a no NSFW rule there.
In any case, congratulations go out to the Tenacious "Booth Babes." Not only were they hot enough for the title they actually knew how The Spoils worked.
Hey there. I was at the Spoils booth giving demos. We are not "booth babes". We just happen to be an all girls gaming team that is hired by Tenacious to teach people how to play the game. We all play and love the game and that is why we were there. I do appreciate however, the fact that you think we were cute. I am one of the biggest nerds out there ( I play D & D , spoils, munchkin, killer bunnies and I used to play magic) , I hang with a bunch of big geeky guys... and I have two kids. I am glad that you enjoyed the game. I am also glad that you had a chance to talk to some of the girls and find out that they really know what they are talking about. I actually don't like the idea of "booth babes" myself. As a girl in the gaming world I would rather not see the skimpy costumes on people (male or female) and would rather just play the game!
I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean any offense, in fact, I put the inverted commas in because the title didn't really fit. Booth Babe implies a piece of meat who doesn't really know about the game, the Tenacious girls, whilst being good looking were also knowledgeable and I really respect that.
Hey there. I was at the Spoils booth giving demos. We are not "booth babes". We just happen to be an all girls gaming team that is hired by Tenacious to teach people how to play the game. We all play and love the game and that is why we were there. I do appreciate however, the fact that you think we were cute. I am one of the biggest nerds out there ( I play D & D , spoils, munchkin, killer bunnies and I used to play magic) , I hang with a bunch of big geeky guys... and I have two kids. I am glad that you enjoyed the game. I am also glad that you had a chance to talk to some of the girls and find out that they really know what they are talking about. I actually don't like the idea of "booth babes" myself. As a girl in the gaming world I would rather not see the skimpy costumes on people (male or female) and would rather just play the game!
This post is very 8-).
I'm a bit uncomfortable with booth babes--it's not about being puritanical or being too naive to understand that sex sells--but it's hard to feel like an equal gamer when the most visible women at the con are human advertisements, using their semi-clad bodies to get attention. I just don't think that stuff belongs at PAX. I don't think "booth boys" belong at PAX either.
It's hard to be taken seriously as a girl gamer, especially if you're into the PvP scene. I feel that booth babes tend to contribute to the image that girls in games are ornamental attention-whores. This is a bit of a sore point right now; at PAX, I played Counter Strike for the first time in years... and I sucked. I couldn't remember how to buy weapons, crouch, or plant the bomb. When I played under a feminine name, I was heckled and mocked on Saturday afternoon. When I played under a neutral name, no one commented on my lack of skill.
We don't need sex to sell us games. We're gamers--we'll buy it anyway... if the game is good. So spend that $$ on another demo station, a fun contest, or a batch of t-shirts for the unwashed masses!
Samyel on
"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity."
It's not the girl. It's a competition. The competition involving a girl is a bonus. It's like the world's smallest dungeon. Those are cool. And since this was a competition with a booth babe, I think it's cool too.
To be clear: K2 and Natasha are great. Gamer girls are welcome, always, at PAX.
Next year's exhibitor packet will have a section on booth promotions, and I'll be a bit more blunt in saying that PAX attendees would rather that the booth babe budget went instead to, say, another demo station or a dev's plane ticket & hotel room.
Thank you sooo much.
I find the idea of booth babes rather distasteful, and seeing them made me kind of disappointed in PAX in general, as I was under the same impression that there was a "No booth babes" policy.
I'm not hating on anyone, I'm sure the girls were awesome people, and some, like Natasha are true gamers and are just trying to support a game or company they like. But for most people I talked to it was seen as degrading, unwanted and took away from the feel of PAX.
A gun that thousands of nerds have touched in your mouth? Eww. Well here's my NSFW idea:
We're facing each other, one gun between her legs, one between mine, representing a phallus. I'm hanging my head in shame as she stands proud, as her's is sticking out further than mine.
Although I'm sure there would be a no NSFW rule there.
A gun that thousands of nerds have touched in your mouth? Eww. Well here's my NSFW idea:
We're facing each other, one gun between her legs, one between mine, representing a phallus. I'm hanging my head in shame as she stands proud, as her's is sticking out further than mine.
Although I'm sure there would be a no NSFW rule there.
While all sexual orientations are encouraged to post here, I don't think we really want transgendered fantasy scenarios to become the norm outside of a thread specifically tagged for it and NFSW/NSFA.
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
edited August 2007
Not to sound like an ass, but why is everyone so offended by a little skin? I can understand not wanting it to become E3 or Liepzig, but seriously, is America still that pent up over breasts? Lets face it, like it or not the primary gaming demographic is still 20-something males and most 20-something males enjoy looking at pretty females, sorry to put that brute force reality out there like that. I don't think there was anything wrong with the Sword of the New World "booth babe". She wasn't offensively dressed, her upper chest was covered, you could see her thighs, but so what.
Even my wife, a very strong willed and independent female with a career, agrees with me. Her words exactly: "I would rather look at that girl than a bunch of overweight gamers all day". Harsh? Maybe. Reality? Definitely. Now the Liepzig thing...that was out of control. That's not a gaming convention, it's a rap video.
So apparently the game does run on my computer. The fighting seems interesting so far, but this is the first MMO I've ever played, so I have nothing really to compare it to.
Not to sound like an ass, but why is everyone so offended by a little skin? I can understand not wanting it to become E3 or Liepzig, but seriously, is America still that pent up over breasts? Lets face it, like it or not the primary gaming demographic is still 20-something males and most 20-something males enjoy looking at pretty females, sorry to put that brute force reality out there like that. I don't think there was anything wrong with the Sword of the New World "booth babe". She wasn't offensively dressed, her upper chest was covered, you could see her thighs, but so what.
Even my wife, a very strong willed and independent female with a career, agrees with me. Her words exactly: "I would rather look at that girl than a bunch of overweight gamers all day". Harsh? Maybe. Reality? Definitely. Now the Liepzig thing...that was out of control. That's not a gaming convention, it's a rap video.
I think the core of the worry is that PAX will turn into an event in which we are paying for the pleasure of having games sold to us, with the full on sexed up marketing bimbos that accompany that. PAXers don't want to pay to be advertised to, they want to talk to the people, see the games, etc. So long as a "booth babe" can actually answer questions about the game, I don't care what she chooses to wear. ;D
It's a question of intent. Did the company put her there because she knows her stuff, or because she's got a large, scantily clad rack? It's tough to know at a glance.
(Obviously I'm talking in generalities here, and not about Natasha specifically, whom we all agree is not a "booth babe", but rather a gamer girl who happens to be a babe in a pirate outfit =D )
Houn on
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Not to sound like an ass, but why is everyone so offended by a little skin? I can understand not wanting it to become E3 or Liepzig, but seriously, is America still that pent up over breasts? Lets face it, like it or not the primary gaming demographic is still 20-something males and most 20-something males enjoy looking at pretty females, sorry to put that brute force reality out there like that. I don't think there was anything wrong with the Sword of the New World "booth babe". She wasn't offensively dressed, her upper chest was covered, you could see her thighs, but so what.
Even my wife, a very strong willed and independent female with a career, agrees with me. Her words exactly: "I would rather look at that girl than a bunch of overweight gamers all day". Harsh? Maybe. Reality? Definitely. Now the Liepzig thing...that was out of control. That's not a gaming convention, it's a rap video.
I think the core of the worry is that PAX will turn into an event in which we are paying for the pleasure of having games sold to us, with the full on sexed up marketing bimbos that accompany that. PAXers don't want to pay to be advertised to, they want to talk to the people, see the games, etc. So long as a "booth babe" can actually answer questions about the game, I don't care what she chooses to wear. ;D
It's a question of intent. Did the company put her there because she knows her stuff, or because she's got a large, scantily clad rack? It's tough to know at a glance.
(Obviously I'm talking in generalities here, and not about Natasha specifically, whom we all agree is not a "booth babe", but rather a gamer girl who happens to be a babe in a pirate outfit =D )
I can respect that, but I've seen several comments in here that bordered on out and out offense because someone had the audacity to show a little skin. I to would prefer these woman knew what they were talking about and I to would prefer that it didn't become Leipzig or E3, but lets not go overboard here. There is still nothing wrong with cute girls as your demo/booth people, I'm sorry. I will never agree that there is anything wrong with that. If they happen to be dressed in such a way that it catches my eye, and they happen to know their product and they aren't being outwardly lewd, I really don't see the issue.
I played Granado Espada (aka Sword of the New World) for a couple of weeks with my guild, then we got bored because the leveling slowed down and there wasn't anything new to do. I would have stayed if my guild did though, because it wasn't that bad of a grind if you had friends to play with.
The guy at the booth was quite surprised and delighted when I mentioned I played the game on the Orpesia server. He said something like "you play OUR game? Really?" and then he gave me a T-shirt.
Not to sound like an ass, but why is everyone so offended by a little skin? I can understand not wanting it to become E3 or Liepzig, but seriously, is America still that pent up over breasts? Lets face it, like it or not the primary gaming demographic is still 20-something males and most 20-something males enjoy looking at pretty females, sorry to put that brute force reality out there like that. I don't think there was anything wrong with the Sword of the New World "booth babe". She wasn't offensively dressed, her upper chest was covered, you could see her thighs, but so what.
Even my wife, a very strong willed and independent female with a career, agrees with me. Her words exactly: "I would rather look at that girl than a bunch of overweight gamers all day". Harsh? Maybe. Reality? Definitely. Now the Liepzig thing...that was out of control. That's not a gaming convention, it's a rap video.
I think the core of the worry is that PAX will turn into an event in which we are paying for the pleasure of having games sold to us, with the full on sexed up marketing bimbos that accompany that. PAXers don't want to pay to be advertised to, they want to talk to the people, see the games, etc. So long as a "booth babe" can actually answer questions about the game, I don't care what she chooses to wear. ;D
It's a question of intent. Did the company put her there because she knows her stuff, or because she's got a large, scantily clad rack? It's tough to know at a glance.
(Obviously I'm talking in generalities here, and not about Natasha specifically, whom we all agree is not a "booth babe", but rather a gamer girl who happens to be a babe in a pirate outfit =D )
I can respect that, but I've seen several comments in here that bordered on out and out offense because someone had the audacity to show a little skin. I to would prefer these woman knew what they were talking about and I to would prefer that it didn't become Leipzig or E3, but lets not go overboard here. There is still nothing wrong with cute girls as your demo/booth people, I'm sorry. I will never agree that there is anything wrong with that. If they happen to be dressed in such a way that it catches my eye, and they happen to know their product and they aren't being outwardly lewd, I really don't see the issue.
Personally I was completely offended. One of the reasons I liked PAX so much was the fact that it wasn't about mainstream advertisement, it was about gamers and our community. Now I agree that there is nothing wrong with having cute girls as your employees, especially if they know their stuff, the Spoils girls for example were knowledgeable, helpful and wearing the same thing all the male employees were, a simple T-shirt. However Natasha (Again, no offense to her directly, she seems very nice ^.^) was plain and simple a booth babe. She was placed there and paid to be eye candy, and I found it to be QUITE offensive on several different levels.
As I said before, it just really saddened me to think PAX may be turning into another E3.
I found it to be QUITE offensive on several different levels.
Well I guess we all can't be the cute 20-year old model -- some of us have to be the overweight parent that wears Mom Jeans.
Your "offended" stance at ideal human physiques used as marketing rings completely hollow since you are 400+ hours deep into a game that has idealized female physiques used as your in-game avatars . Does she ruin your little fantasy about yourself? Take too much of the male attention away from your otherwise female-free existence?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but as gaming becomes more mainstream, so will your hegemony on male attention.
She definitely stood out, but I didn't see an issue with it. Then again, I just don't get worked up over things like that. In fact, I went over and congratulated her on her forum post. I felt a little badly that she had to defend herself.
I also congratulated the Frag Dolls as they battled off this same kind of attack when they first started 4 years ago (or whenever).
BrokenAngel, I can appreciate where you're coming from... gaming is not about sex (though it can be a component at times, just like it can with movies)... and I like to think you just don't want PAX to become sex saturated. I agree with that stance, if it is indeed what you're saying. Natasha might have gone right to the edge of that line, but I think we're still in fair territory. She was in costume, knows about the game, was part of a contest (not just standing around) and generally seemed like a nice person.
I did see a bunch of muscle bound hunky mens over by the army booths. And there was a green painted orc/troll looking guy with absolutely no shirt on over at another booth playing some kind of card game I think. These don't seem to have caused much uproar. [Edit: I'm now seeing pictures of this guy with a leather-ish shirt on. I'm now forced to wonder if I just fantasized about him without his shirt on... and what that means about me.]
I think we can all agree that the Leipzig video shows what we all don't want to see (at PAX). But I would say we're far enough away from that right now and I believe Mike, Khoo and G&T would never let it get there.
I found it to be QUITE offensive on several different levels.
Well I guess we all can't be the cute 20-year old model -- some of us have to be the overweight parent that wears Mom Jeans.
Your "offended" stance at ideal human physiques used as marketing rings completely hollow since you are 400+ hours deep into a game that has idealized female physiques used as your in-game avatars . Does she ruin your little fantasy about yourself? Take too much of the male attention away from your otherwise female-free existence?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but as gaming becomes more mainstream, so will your hegemony on male attention.
Wow... you sure showed me ;P
Like I said, I didn't mind her being cute in the least (Which she really was ^.^) and if she were just a random cosplayer at the con I would have adored the outfit. My beef is with the company using sex to sell things that have nothing to do with sex.
But way to be an insulting ass about it. Fortunately, I'm quite happy with myself and don't care what some troll on the forums has to say about me. But in future might I ask that you try and be more kind please? Some girls have very low self esteem due to the very "sex marketing" we are talking about.
She was dressed as a character from the game and could actually answer questions about the game.
Last time I checked boothbabes were bimbos dressed in very little clothes (bikinis, short-shorts, lowcut shirts, etc) who stood around as eyecandy and handed out swag.
Or did you people never attend an E3?
I found it to be QUITE offensive on several different levels.
Well I guess we all can't be the cute 20-year old model -- some of us have to be the overweight parent that wears Mom Jeans.
Your "offended" stance at ideal human physiques used as marketing rings completely hollow since you are 400+ hours deep into a game that has idealized female physiques used as your in-game avatars . Does she ruin your little fantasy about yourself? Take too much of the male attention away from your otherwise female-free existence?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but as gaming becomes more mainstream, so will your hegemony on male attention.
Wow... you sure showed me ;P
Like I said, I didn't mind her being cute in the least (Which she really was ^.^) and if she were just a random cosplayer at the con I would have adored the outfit. My beef is with the company using sex to sell things that have nothing to do with sex.
But way to be an insulting ass about it. Fortunately, I'm quite happy with myself and don't care what some troll on the forums has to say about me. But in future might I ask that you try and be more kind please? Some girls have very low self esteem due to the very "sex marketing" we are talking about.
Sorry for coming off as an ass (which I *am*, I'll be the first to admit). But you come off as a complete hypocrite. Games like these obviously have a ton to do with sex if they cause women to fashion idealized avatars for themselves (which you have, for example) in order to meet the male fantasy standard, and help them get "the attention they so rightly deserve". Too bad IRL is different.
BTW, what are YOU selling here? I see that you've got a lot of male friends on Myspace --- I'm pretty sure only one of them can be your husband, right?
If you really thought the way that you claim to believe, then you wouldn't be purchasing and so avidly portraying yourself as a lustful sex object as you play these games. Is your problem with Natasha that she actually IS a lustful sex object? I'm still honestly curious why she is "offensive on several different levels"... can you explain?
Posts
So... an entire expo devoted to Katamari and Pokemon? Because if you take out objects of sexuality...
And on your left, you'll see the TMI part of the thread, ladies and gentlemen... ;D
Also I think I demo'd with you, but still, tell me.
This guy had a great idea. Had to take one shot with his camera, one with mine. Taking pictures with two cameras at once is rather... Difficult.
Awwwwwkward...
HAH KAZUO!
You know, I still don't know the site where these all got uploaded too, where is that?
(If you took this, were you the other girl at the booth?)
No, I was the Asian guy who waited in line with him and some other guys on Friday... We were touring the exhibition hall soon after the place opened up.
Ah. Bummer you don't know then.
Hooray for strawman!
-Robert E. Howard
Tower of the Elephant
Dude, not to offend, but this is exactly the kind of jackass comment that doesn't need to be made. So please, people, resist the urge to flame and just ignore it. I beg of you.
I WIN
EDIT: onenightinbangkok dude, hi
hahahaha.
hey what was your name dude? I totally forgot.
PM me or come on IRC or something and say hello
My fault, I don't mean to hurt your feelings.
It was my first time attending a gaming con and I thought all types of promotions, free swag, displays, "booth babes," were really entertaining.
http://www.myspace.com/Shaukdotdj
I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean any offense, in fact, I put the inverted commas in because the title didn't really fit. Booth Babe implies a piece of meat who doesn't really know about the game, the Tenacious girls, whilst being good looking were also knowledgeable and I really respect that.
Even though I look kind of weirdly crazed in the picture, I did enjoy the slap fight we shared.
This post is very 8-).
I'm a bit uncomfortable with booth babes--it's not about being puritanical or being too naive to understand that sex sells--but it's hard to feel like an equal gamer when the most visible women at the con are human advertisements, using their semi-clad bodies to get attention. I just don't think that stuff belongs at PAX. I don't think "booth boys" belong at PAX either.
It's hard to be taken seriously as a girl gamer, especially if you're into the PvP scene. I feel that booth babes tend to contribute to the image that girls in games are ornamental attention-whores. This is a bit of a sore point right now; at PAX, I played Counter Strike for the first time in years... and I sucked. I couldn't remember how to buy weapons, crouch, or plant the bomb. When I played under a feminine name, I was heckled and mocked on Saturday afternoon. When I played under a neutral name, no one commented on my lack of skill.
We don't need sex to sell us games. We're gamers--we'll buy it anyway... if the game is good. So spend that $$ on another demo station, a fun contest, or a batch of t-shirts for the unwashed masses!
Must find my way there... Mmmm....
Thank you sooo much.
I find the idea of booth babes rather distasteful, and seeing them made me kind of disappointed in PAX in general, as I was under the same impression that there was a "No booth babes" policy.
I'm not hating on anyone, I'm sure the girls were awesome people, and some, like Natasha are true gamers and are just trying to support a game or company they like. But for most people I talked to it was seen as degrading, unwanted and took away from the feel of PAX.
Please... PLEASE don't let PAX become E3
what the fuck why would you post that seriously
While all sexual orientations are encouraged to post here, I don't think we really want transgendered fantasy scenarios to become the norm outside of a thread specifically tagged for it and NFSW/NSFA.
猿も木から落ちる
We were hired by Tenacious to teach people how to play the game BECAUSE we just happen to be an all girls gaming team that is.
-Fixed
Fixed.
Alright... this is pretty hilarious.
-Robert E. Howard
Tower of the Elephant
Couldn't find a perfect replica of the outfit.
Even my wife, a very strong willed and independent female with a career, agrees with me. Her words exactly: "I would rather look at that girl than a bunch of overweight gamers all day". Harsh? Maybe. Reality? Definitely. Now the Liepzig thing...that was out of control. That's not a gaming convention, it's a rap video.
I think the core of the worry is that PAX will turn into an event in which we are paying for the pleasure of having games sold to us, with the full on sexed up marketing bimbos that accompany that. PAXers don't want to pay to be advertised to, they want to talk to the people, see the games, etc. So long as a "booth babe" can actually answer questions about the game, I don't care what she chooses to wear. ;D
It's a question of intent. Did the company put her there because she knows her stuff, or because she's got a large, scantily clad rack? It's tough to know at a glance.
(Obviously I'm talking in generalities here, and not about Natasha specifically, whom we all agree is not a "booth babe", but rather a gamer girl who happens to be a babe in a pirate outfit =D )
I can respect that, but I've seen several comments in here that bordered on out and out offense because someone had the audacity to show a little skin. I to would prefer these woman knew what they were talking about and I to would prefer that it didn't become Leipzig or E3, but lets not go overboard here. There is still nothing wrong with cute girls as your demo/booth people, I'm sorry. I will never agree that there is anything wrong with that. If they happen to be dressed in such a way that it catches my eye, and they happen to know their product and they aren't being outwardly lewd, I really don't see the issue.
The guy at the booth was quite surprised and delighted when I mentioned I played the game on the Orpesia server. He said something like "you play OUR game? Really?" and then he gave me a T-shirt.
Personally I was completely offended. One of the reasons I liked PAX so much was the fact that it wasn't about mainstream advertisement, it was about gamers and our community. Now I agree that there is nothing wrong with having cute girls as your employees, especially if they know their stuff, the Spoils girls for example were knowledgeable, helpful and wearing the same thing all the male employees were, a simple T-shirt. However Natasha (Again, no offense to her directly, she seems very nice ^.^) was plain and simple a booth babe. She was placed there and paid to be eye candy, and I found it to be QUITE offensive on several different levels.
As I said before, it just really saddened me to think PAX may be turning into another E3.
Well I guess we all can't be the cute 20-year old model -- some of us have to be the overweight parent that wears Mom Jeans.
Your "offended" stance at ideal human physiques used as marketing rings completely hollow since you are 400+ hours deep into a game that has idealized female physiques used as your in-game avatars . Does she ruin your little fantasy about yourself? Take too much of the male attention away from your otherwise female-free existence?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but as gaming becomes more mainstream, so will your hegemony on male attention.
I also congratulated the Frag Dolls as they battled off this same kind of attack when they first started 4 years ago (or whenever).
BrokenAngel, I can appreciate where you're coming from... gaming is not about sex (though it can be a component at times, just like it can with movies)... and I like to think you just don't want PAX to become sex saturated. I agree with that stance, if it is indeed what you're saying. Natasha might have gone right to the edge of that line, but I think we're still in fair territory. She was in costume, knows about the game, was part of a contest (not just standing around) and generally seemed like a nice person.
I did see a bunch of muscle bound hunky mens over by the army booths. And there was a green painted orc/troll looking guy with absolutely no shirt on over at another booth playing some kind of card game I think. These don't seem to have caused much uproar. [Edit: I'm now seeing pictures of this guy with a leather-ish shirt on. I'm now forced to wonder if I just fantasized about him without his shirt on... and what that means about me.]
I think we can all agree that the Leipzig video shows what we all don't want to see (at PAX). But I would say we're far enough away from that right now and I believe Mike, Khoo and G&T would never let it get there.
Unless they were horny.
Wow... you sure showed me ;P
Like I said, I didn't mind her being cute in the least (Which she really was ^.^) and if she were just a random cosplayer at the con I would have adored the outfit. My beef is with the company using sex to sell things that have nothing to do with sex.
But way to be an insulting ass about it. Fortunately, I'm quite happy with myself and don't care what some troll on the forums has to say about me. But in future might I ask that you try and be more kind please? Some girls have very low self esteem due to the very "sex marketing" we are talking about.
She was dressed as a character from the game and could actually answer questions about the game.
Last time I checked boothbabes were bimbos dressed in very little clothes (bikinis, short-shorts, lowcut shirts, etc) who stood around as eyecandy and handed out swag.
Or did you people never attend an E3?
Sorry for coming off as an ass (which I *am*, I'll be the first to admit). But you come off as a complete hypocrite. Games like these obviously have a ton to do with sex if they cause women to fashion idealized avatars for themselves (which you have, for example) in order to meet the male fantasy standard, and help them get "the attention they so rightly deserve". Too bad IRL is different.
BTW, what are YOU selling here? I see that you've got a lot of male friends on Myspace --- I'm pretty sure only one of them can be your husband, right?
If you really thought the way that you claim to believe, then you wouldn't be purchasing and so avidly portraying yourself as a lustful sex object as you play these games. Is your problem with Natasha that she actually IS a lustful sex object? I'm still honestly curious why she is "offensive on several different levels"... can you explain?