Courtesy of: The Pants Are Optional Topic

We’re all for having fun, but honestly it seems like every year people come up with just crazy stuff that is NEVER going to be allowable in public or in polite company.

Just because you’re at a con, that doesn’t mean the rules of everyday life are completely suspended.

Okay … wait what? Is taking off your pants at a convention really that offensive? Is it really a rule of everyday life that you can’t take your pants off in a room with a bunch of people that say it is OK to? I understand their original argument, that the BCC had policies against that sort of thing. THAT makes total sense. However, is taking off your pants NEVER allowable in public or polite company. Geez I can remember a spoiler rehearsal we did totally pantsless, and everyone there seemed to be polite. I can also remember more than one comedian who has been known to take his pants off on stage.

So, is taking off your pants really past the limit of things that a convention will allow? This is a convention that allows girls to cosplay characters that wear next to nothing. Look at the Felicia cosplayers out there. Look at the Yoko (from Gurren Lagann) cosplayers. Geebus I can’t wait to see what girls decide to cosplay Makoto from BlazBlue. So female nudity is not offensive but male nudity is? Or perhaps they are just saying that nudity is OK if it is part of a costume but otherwise isn’t OK. It sure as hell can’t be a problem with being revealing, cause boxer shorts hide way more than these costumes do. Is it simply the case that it is only OK to take off your pants if you are attractive? That’s demeaning isn’t it?

Not to mention, I can think of PLENTY of things that should be way more offensive than some geeks sitting around in their underwear. The full frontal nudity shown in the hardcore hentai in hentai panels doesn’t count as more offensive? The extreme violence shown in the mature screenings doesn’t count as more offensive? Hell, the numerous amounts of trolls and no-shows in non 18+ panels don’t count as more offensive? Also, geez I can remember topless models in a “how to draw hentai” panel, and anime burlesques that were practically strip shows, and a dozen and one masquerade skits that end with someone pantsless. When did panels become a “pants only” zone?

Honestly, I just don’t get this morality. The idea was to just have a little fun and let the audience take off their pants “cause they can” because we were put into an 18+ slot and it soon erupted into something way more. I’m sure the Otakon staff looks down on us as “trying to cause trouble” now, but really all we wanted to do was have some consensual adult pantsless fun, and as soon as we were told not to, we said OK, but I get the feeling they are getting sick of the fact that we like to make waves, and would probably prefer to stick with someone “inside the box”. God forbid we do something more interesting than the flatly delivered cookie-cutter discussion panels everyone is used to. I guess I just have to be happy that we have such a strong fan following that has been built up over these years. It’s probably the only thing that lets us act the way we do.

All bureaucratic things with Otakon aside, what do YOU guys think? Is offering people a chance to take off their pants in a panel room really that offensive? Is it any more offensive than anything else you can see at a convention? What is the fan’s opinion on an 18+ panel being “pants optional”?

This sure has snowballed. I mean geez, we were kidding from the get go anyway … probably.

What really sucks is how hard it is get across that we really are trying to be professional about all this. All we really want to know are the policies that Otakon has about panels, and we aren’t trying to troll Otakon, or cause problems. Still, I can’t help but think the couple of issues we have had this year is starting to paint us as something of an undesirable element.

Heck, it wasn’t even real, now that I think about it. It was just this far-off paradise that I probably would never get to see. The show was in California and was media only. However, I lived in New Jersey and I was just the oddball outcast kid that was slightly above the curve in terms of gaming skill. I looked at the editors and writers that got to go, all much older than me, all professional critics, and I thought “Man… if only I got a chance to see what they see. How awesome would that be?” It was something totally unreachable, a pipe dream that was a sign of what the gaming community could do. It was gamer mecca.

So now, things have changed. I’m 25 years old and I write for a living. I’ve reviewed many games, both good and bad, and have several friends in the game development industry. In all honesty, it just sorta crept up on me. I wasn’t even fully cognizant of the fact that I was living my lifelong dream to be a game reviewer until this year, when I got my golden ticket to E3. No, I’m serious, the ticked has gold trim on it. Very symbolic.

We are now about a week away from E3 and it is finally starting to hit me. I’m going to E3. I’m going to L.A. to see all the press conferences, play all the demos, and drool over the booth babes. I’m going to interview designers who are bigger than the biggest celebrity in my mind. I’ll get to talk with the creators of Mario and Zelda and Final Fantasy, and maybe if I’m lucky I can kick Peter Molyneux in the balls. How the hell did I get here?

Honestly, I’m a little stunned. When I think about it, E3 was one of my “bucket list” things. It was one of the big things I wanted to do before I died and now I’m doing it … and I’m only 25!!! It’s a closed door, invite only event and me with my raggedy ass headband will be there. Major WTF!!! When I think about it, I’ve done a lot of other Bucket List stuff too. For example, last year I performed in front of a maximum capacity crowd at Otakon. I need to start thinking bigger. Perhaps I will try to take over Japan.

Anyway, long story short … I’m very excited about E3. This is going to be life changing no matter how I look at it. I just have to cross my fingers and hope I am prepared for the honest to goodness gamer overload I’m going to encounter from day one.

Wish me luck guys!

I’ll need it.