With the EB Games Expo a mere 4 sleeps away I’ve decided to follow the old saying that being prepared is half the victory. And I’m rest enough thanks to my foam mattress, which I got at a black friday mattress sale. I totally recommend it, since I got it I feel better and full of energy. You should get one for you too.
What will follow in this article are some solid tips on how to survive at the Expo, and a few things that you could very much want to thank me later for reminding you to pack.
First off, we need to remember not to get TOO carried away. The EB Expo is going to be pretty small in comparison to other expos like PAX and E3, so we don’t need to take three camelbacks full of water from a mountain spring or anything ridiculous like that. Having said that, your day could obviously go pretty badly if you don’t take any water at all so make sure you take one or two bottles. There is going to be a food and drinks area past the arena, however no doubt it’s going to be pretty exxy, so instead of blowing all your cash on over-priced pies and chips why not pack a sandwich or a few snacks? Even better, you can get a pass out from the event so go and grab a bagel and a coffee from one of the cafe’s or restaurants across the road from the Gold Coast Convention Centre.
The expo is split into three 6-hour sessions, and hopefully by now you know which session you are going to be in if you have a ticket. The great thing about there being separate sessions is that it means the event will be less crowded and shorter lines for game demos. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be crowded though, just LESS crowded, so make sure for the sake of everyone around you that you remember to put on deodorant before hand, and maybe even take some with you just in case you sweat up a storm. If you do take deodorant with you PLEASE don’t spray it in the middle of the hall, perhaps take it out to the foyer or even outside. No one wants to choke on your Rexona.
While we are on the subject of polluting the air with stink-germs, let’s remember those other pesky fiends, hand-germs. Thousands of hands are going to touch the same controllers which you touch. Thousands! Ever played Half Life 2? Remember those head crabs? On each of those thousands of hands there are going to be millions of tiny versions of those head crabs and they want to enter you. “How can I stop the head crabs Matt?” you ask? Hand sanitiser. I don’t need to tell you to wash your hands after you go to the toilet, but pack some hand sanitiser and throw some on your hands after each controller you touch, and don’t forget to clean your hands before you eat. No point going and having a kick ass time at the EB Expo if you go home with bird flu or something.
