Yesika shares how one decision changed her New York Comic Con experience.
I’m a newbie when it comes to ‘comic cons.’ You might recognize me from Dorkly’s ‘People You Meet in a Convention’ infographic because I’m a living example of a clueless and awestruck fan surrounded by insane costumes like Smeagol and Daleks. I attended my first convention last year when I visited New York Comic Con. I was literally like a kid who drank too much Red Bull in a toy store.
I didn’t dress up as anything during my first time. I was nervous that I wouldn’t do it right and even though I’d seen some of the outfits from previous comic cons and on cosplay xxx sites, I didn’t trust myself. So I decided to attend a con just to see how it’s like. I marveled at all the cosplays regardless if they were simple or elaborate. So, I promised myself that I would cosplay the next time I attended comic con. I had all sorts of ideas in my head from Stormtrooper to a female version of Mass Effect’s Illusive Man.
Sadly, life got in the way and I didn’t have enough time to devote to making my cosplay outfit. I eventually decided at the very last minute that I was not going to stress myself. This is supposed to be fun. I ended up going to this year’s New York Comic Con dressed in business casualI ended up going to this year’s New York Comic Con dressed in business casual.
While I was disappointed at first, it ended up working out for me. One phone call changed everything.
I can’t divulge the whole story but I’ll mention all the important plot points. A friend of mine from the industry scheduled a meet-up during the con. I was excited to meet her since we both read each other’s works online and have only communicated via Twitter. Long story short, she needed an intern to help her out. Everything happened so fast; it took a while for my brain to catch up.
I was able to accompany her during closed press events. I was able to meet some of my peers and idols in video game journalism. Shook a lot of hands and talked about the industry and our own projects. We traded business cards. Well, they gave me theirs while I had nothing to give. I was not expecting any of this to happen at all, but I still should have been prepared.
After the interview session
I was able to snag a photo with Spartacus actor Liam McIntyre, spoke to Gale Anne Hurd who is the acclaimed producer of The Walking Dead, Terminator, and Alien franchise, and interviewed the talent behind upcoming video game Batman: Arkham Origins.
Things might have gone differently if I decided to cosplay. I would have stood out among the press like a sore thumb. There’s still a degree of professionalism journalists must observe even if it isn’t a fully formal setting.
If you needed an intern, I’m betting you’d get someone who was dressed like one as opposed to someone wearing a Princess Leia outfit. To be fair, there was one member of the press who was dressed as Elizabeth from BioShock: Infinite but she was the only one I saw. What if I had a bulky outfit? I would have inconvenienced my friend and her team.
My case was also different since I was a last minute addition. I had to look the part and convince everyone that I was really there for business reasons in order to get everything straightened out.
Anyway, I didn’t write this to make a point about how people won’t take you seriously if you decided to cosplay. This is simply a story I wanted to share about how one choice crafted an entirely different day than what I had originally planned. I thought that I wouldn’t have as much fun because I scrapped my cosplay plans, but it turns out that looking like I’m ready for a day at the office has its own share of fun as well.
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