Preparation sometimes gives way to compromise at show time, and unfortunately last-minute changes are more common than not. Every client has individual ideas and expectations of what is needed in a booth babe, but these ideas are rarely put to paper. Developers and publishers spend exhaustive amounts of resources preparing their games for a show only to compromise first impressions by having their game presented by someone who is clueless about their masterpiece.
The Seeds of a Business I recall wondering what was wrong with my agent before my first E3 gig as a booth babe. At least once a week she would ask me if I was still planning on flying out to LA. She couldn’t understand why I would want to “work as a local” when the entire job barely covered my trip expenses. What she didn’t realize is that I wanted to be there so badly that I would have paid her to be able to work the show. In those days, the conventions were not as widely available for public viewing as they are now, so I jumped at the chance to be there in person. At this first glimpse into the industry, I worked the Nintendo: Legend of Zelda booth. I went on my big 30-minute lunch break and excitedly told some of the other booth babes that I actually met Miyamoto! They were completely unimpressed and didn’t even know who he was. I thought it a terrible waste to fill these prime promo modeling positions at the gaming conventions with girls who make noobs look like pros. Thus the seeds of Charisma+2 were planted.
Beautiful Gamers Although it was initially hard to convince developers that attendees actually cared about whether the booth babes knew about games, it has finally been revealed that it is indeed a very cool addition not easily forgotten. Actually, developers didn’t realize how much better it is to have game-savvy models until recently. For instance, at the most recent GDC, Katie Engel asked me to get some Charisma+2 hostesses for the Valve party. She was terribly frightened that they would be like the (non-gamer) girls from previous years. She knew the Charisma+2 models were attractive gamers, but she was still concerned that they would bunch together talking rather than mingling and serving drinks. I assured her that my models
would be far more interested in talking to the people who actually worked on their favorite games than to each other. Further, I assured her that they would want to work hard if for no other reason than to make a positive impression that they were industrious and not just another pretty face. As I looked over the party that night, I saw these beautiful, smart young ladies literally breaking a sweat, busting butt to make sure everything ran smoothly so the Valve executives and guests could enjoy their evening. Katie said later that Valve could not have been more pleased. As for the guests, I get stopped and complimented on the Charisma+2 models every time I am out. It’s rare to have a hostess who can talk intelligently about rigging, quest givers, and great GUIs. To have models who are able to talk about such things from personal experience is almost unthinkable. Though I had the idea for Charisma+2 when I first worked for Nintendo in ’05, most of the girls I knew who might be able to do promotional modeling were not yet 18 at the time. I had to do some preliminary groundwork and testing first anyway. The initial challenge in ‘07 was finding gamer girls attractive enough for the developers to hire. Luckily I had become acquainted with enough of them to get things started. So I had pretty girls, but some of them had not even worn heels before. Even fewer knew how to put on glamorous make-up or talk to people without using a keyboard. Fortunately, I had been modeling since I was 13, so I was prepared to teach them to succeed. gamesauce • Fall 2010 55