Booth Babes

When Corvus Belli (CB)announced they would have a cosplayer at their booth at GenCon, the internet reacted – badly.

Almost immediately people began voicing their concerns that CB was selling sex and denigrating their brand and those associated with it all in the name of driving booth traffic. The idea of a booth babe was so infuriating people were pledging they wouldn't visit the booth or abandon the game completely.

But then some additional information came to light. This woman, Tabitha Lyons, is a prop designer and semi-professional cosplayer. CB had come to her company to design and manufacture props and when she saw the look of the game she fell in love with the character designs. She is designing, building, and attending GenCon all on her own dime.

Does this change anything?

I’m not a subject expert on cosplay, but I do know that those who do it as a hobby (and more and more as a profession) do it for a number of reasons: They enjoy researching the topic, making the costume, play acting for the crowd, and expressing their enthusiasm for their subject matter and most do this with their own hard-earned money.

(Enthusiast, paid actress, both?) 

This differs from a “booth babe” in that the babe is there for a paycheck, self-promotion, and typically has little to no interest or knowledge of the subject matter. But because the booth babe is paid to be enthusiastic and friendly it can be difficult for a third party to separate the two. Introducing moralistic outcry on the skimpiness of the costume only further muddles the issue.

(Only one of these people is a booth babe... can you guess which one?)

Several questions can be asked:

•           Would it be different if this young woman was wandering the convention floor instead of standing at a booth?
•           Would it be different if CB hadn't announced her being there?
•           Would it be different if she was taking a paycheck?
•           What if she wasn't pretty?
•           What if she wore more (or less) clothes?

-          How much does she need to know to be considered a “fan” and who gets to decide that divide?

I think the most important question to ask is this: Does this help or hurt the game?

Personally I only see this helping the game. She has a number of followers who are now learning about Infinity. A person in costume will garner more attention at the convention. And even the furor roiling in the game forums by players will only attract more attention by people wanting to see what garners such passion in an often jaded hobby.

This, of course, is my opinion, but feel free to tell us what you think below.