I wouldn’t necessarily call them tips, but as someone who has gone to E3 numerous times, both as an attendee and as an exhibitor, I can tell you a couple of things that will make your E3 a bit more manageable and fun.

Wear Comfortable Footwear

The most important thing I can tell you is to wear comfortable shoes.  With any convention/expo/show/festival, the key to having the best possible experience is to wear the most comfortable shoes possible.  You will be doing a lot of walking and standing, so much so, you’ll understand the difference between standing on thick carpeting vs. thin on the showroom floor.  If you get gel sole inserts, even better. This is not the time to be breaking out the new shoes, or wearing the type of footwear reserved for formal events, that is, unless you are in management, but even still, may want to bring an extra pair of shoes if you’re in the latter situation.  You’re feet will be killing you by the end of the day, and considering that E3 has extended the show hours this year, you’re feet will definitely take a beating.

Time Management

As it is pretty much standard, especially with the more popular booths, you are going to be spending most of your time waiting/standing in line.  Depending upon what your goal is for E3, you may want to spend some time to plan out what booths you want to hit up before each day. I highly recommend downloading the E3 app to help you out.  If you are planning to try to go to Nintendo’s booth, you’re going to spend half your day waiting in line unless your get to the venue early before doors open.  Even if you’re in line early, prepare to make a mad dash for booth, being careful not to get run over by the other people.  Similarly, last year, a lot of the more popular games had long wait times to even demo the game, so also expect to spend an hour or two in line for the AAA titles. Although I’m not 100% sure, based on past experience, if you want to check out Sony’s booth, I also recommend that you download the PlayStation app that they have available during events so that you can schedule appointments to check out some of the more popular games.

Watch What You Say or Do

Assume there are eyes and ears everywhere.  Don’t talk shit, or say anything too harshly negative where you are blatantly shitting on any game, because you never know who’s around to hear or see you.  I’ve heard of an instance where someone called a certain game garbage, only to have them discover that the creator and the team of said game was within listening distance of this individual. This goes doubly for anyone in the industry; you’ll already know that it is a community where everyone pretty much knows each other, and the last thing you want to do is mark yourself as that person that disrespects other people’s work.  Similarly, while at parties or events, don’t get too hammered to the point where you draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Though it’s good to have fun, you don’t want to have too much fun where you could jeopardize potential business relationships by acting a fool.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

In closing, I would like to state that personal hygiene is a must.  One of the biggest complaints from last year was of the smells that permeated throughout the showroom floor, so I’m making a personal plea: Take a shower, and use soap, preferably daily.  No amount of Axe body spray can mask up the funk of sweat and body odor. Also, make sure your clothes are washed as well.

These are some things that you should know before attending E3 this year; to you other E3 veterans, what other tips can you give to people who have never attended?  Feel free to leave your suggestions on social media and tag us @AkuparaGames.