2026 Celebrities, Speakers and Special Guests
For 2026 we have an exciting lineup of OVER 100 GUESTS and OVER 45 PANELS!
As always it's a great mix of Video Game Industy Alumni, Content Creators and Video Game Actors and Voice Talent! Stay tuned for frequent updates between now and Oct 9 when PRGE 2026 kicks off!
All our Guests listed here have been confirmed. If a Guest has an unforeseen emergency or conflict and can not appear at the event, the Portland Retro Gaming Expo will immediately update this page and announce the schedule change on social media. No ticket refunds will be given for a guest's cancellation.
Please check the cancellations section for an up-to-date list.
As much as possible, we will post any photography or autograph fees that we know of. Please note that many celebrities etc. are slated to appear all weekend long but check the individual listings! Also see notes for each individual and check frequently for updates!
Most of our guests will be doing panel presentations!
Check out the Panel Descriptions and the Panel Schedule!
Video Game Actors and Voice Talent
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Robert BelgradeCastlevania, Shenmue 1 and 2, Tekken 5, Soul BladeAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Robert Belgrade is a voice actor and musician. He is probably best known for his work as Alucard in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. (1997). He also voiced Nathaniel `Rock` Adams in Soul Blade (1997),
Pedro in Shenmue 1 (1999), Cool Z in Shenmue 2 (2001) and Joseph Schreiber in Silent Hill 4: the room (2004). He has also appeared as the narrator in a wide range of games including Tekken 5 (2004) and Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection (2005). | |
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Guy CihiSilent Hill 2Appearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Guy Cihi is an award-winning industrial designer with a business degree from Harvard University. He co-founded several EdTech companies and the Endeavour College of Natural Medicine.
Guy appears in games and films, most notably voicing James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 and Nathan Barnes in Forgotten Memories.
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William CorkerySonic The HedgehogAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday William Corkery is an actor based in San Diego. He has been doing voiceover and acting in film and theater since he was a young boy. He is best known for Tails in Sonic Heroes,
Reese Worthington from the Backyard Sports series, and Pete from his guest spot on Drake and Josh. His biggest influences are Jim Carrey, Jack Black, and Richard Horvitz.
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Scott DreierSonic The HedgehogAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Scott Dreier is an American actor and singer. He is the voice of Knuckles the Echidna in the Sonic the Hedgehog Sega video game series in such iconic games as Sonic Adventure 2,
Sonic Battle, Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Heroes. Scott is also known for his television work including Harold the Herald on Disney’s The Suite Life on Deck as well as his work on shows ICarly,
The First Family, Malcolm in the Middle, Coop and Cami Ask the World, and ABC’s The Rookie. Scott is also a singer and recording artist. His first self-titled album features a duet with TV’s
Katey Sagal (Futurama, Married with Children). Scott just released his 3rd album of holiday jazz standards simply named “Christmas”, Scott Dreier with Andy Langham.
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Ryan DrummondSonic The HedgehogAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Ryan Drummond is an actor, performer, singer, clown and is best known for his role as the original voice of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise from 1998 to 2004.
Ryan also has many on-screen credits including BAYWATCH, POINT PLEASANT, TWO GUYS A GIRL AND A PIZZA PLACE and your favorite Cheerleading movie, BRING IT ON. Ryan has also voiced countless characters in over 75 video games unrelated to SONIC. For
example, Eliot Ballade in Blue Stinger, Kevin Kertsman in Illbleed, Rick Arlen in Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned For Danger, Pizza Boy in Twisted Metal 4, Jonathan Carnahan in The Mummy, Multiple Characters in Backyard Baseball, Football, and Soccer,
and he has recently voiced the Doctor in Mafia: Definitive Edition. | |
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Michael GuinnCastlevania, Silent Hill, Ridge Racer, Time CrisisAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Michael Guinn, aka Michael G., is an actor, musician, and writer, formally trained at the University of California. He arrived in Tokyo in the late '80s, just before Sony developed the original PlayStation.
After a hit Sony Walkman commercial, Sony signed him, shortened his name to Michael G., marking the beginning of a prolific stretch in Japanese media and video games. He co-starred alongside Michiru Akiyoshi
on Club de Tokio, a popular Friday night show on J-Wave, performing under the moniker "The Famous Bartender" and improvising character voices live on air. His performances on the show led to early voice roles in arcade games. | |
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Grant KirkhopeVoice of Donkey KongComposer for Golden Eye 007, Perfect Dark, Mario + Rabbids, Donkey KongAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Grant is an Ivor Novello and World Soundtrack Award winning, BAFTA nominated Scottish composer who has created the soundtrack for video games that have sold more than 40 million copies. From "GoldenEye" to "Banjo-Kazooie",
"Viva Piñata" to "Donkey Kong", "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" to "Civilization: Beyond Earth" and "Perfect Dark" to "Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse". He’s worked on "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle", "Yooka Laylee",
"Dropzone", "Ghostbusters", "World of Warcraft: Shadowlands" and "Minecraft Dungeons". He is also the composer of the infamous "Donkey Kong Rap" from the Nintendo video game "Donkey Kong 64", which was featured in the recent "Super Mario Bros. movie".
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Thessaly LernerSilent HillAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday A voiceover talent since 1998, Thessaly Lerner is best known as the Teen Girl in The Sims 2 franchise and Lisa Garland in Silent Hill 1 and 3. Her other retro videogame credits include Violet in Cel Damage,
Psychonauts, the Urbz, Pyopop Fever, Sam and Max: The Devil’s Playground, Everquest 2 and more. Additionally, Lerner is the writer/producer/director/creator of Dreamworks TV’s animated series, Astrid
Strudelman, the Unicorn Whisperer and 5 narrative podcasts with over 4 million downloads. Lerner is also known as Rainbow Valentine, a counterculture historian/podcaster and The Ukulady, a musical
comedian/performance artist campaigning for the Downfall of Evil.
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Liz MamorskySilent Hill: Dahlia GillespieAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday International artist Liz Mamorsky voiced the iconic character Dahlia Gillespie in one of the truly greatest video games ever made: Silent Hill! Other video game voice credits include Sam & Max, A Vampyre Story, multiple Baten Kaitos games and countless The Sims releases amongst many other games! Besides her voice work Liz is a phenomenal artist with many exhibitions and collections - and some of her art event made it into the set of Star Trek: Voyager! |
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Katie O’HaganResident EvilAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Katie O’Hagan is best known for providing the voice and motion capture of Mia Winters in both RESIDENT EVIL 7: Biohazard and RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE. Most recently she has lent her voice to the Korean
MMORPG Blade & Soul as The Twilight Queen, Mirae, and Sochi. She is an accomplished film and TV actor although not always easy to spot, as she is often either covered head to toe in special effects makeup
or doing the animation voice-over. Katie is a dual citizen of Ireland and the United States, and she currently resides in Los Angeles.
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Mike PollockSonic The HedgehogAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Mike Pollock has been the voice of Dr. Eggman in the Sonic the Hedgehog video games since 2003. He’s also been heard in Ultimate Muscle:The Kinnikuman Legacy, Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, Pokémon, and Berserk,
as Sir Hardin Thicke on Howard Stern’s Master Tape Theater, and in commercials for IHOP, Hooters and Pepsi.
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Paula RhodesResident EvilAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Paula has been honored to bring a wide range of characters to life including villains in the Resident Evil franchise, two of Barbie's sisters, Polly Pocket's BFF, a kooky crone on Disney's Bunk'd, Kid Constantine
for Justice League Action, Wendy Darling in the series The New Adventures of Peter & Wendy, and 100+ others. She's also an award-winning director, writer, creator of 2 tiny humans, and founding member of the 5'2" & Under Club.
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Maggie RobertsonResident Evil Village, Baldur's Gate 3, and many more!Appearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Award-winning actress Maggie Robertson took the gaming world by storm with her voice and motion capture performance portraying the iconic villain and fan favorite, Lady Dimitrescu, in Capcom's RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE (2021).
With a performance that was lauded by fans and critics alike, Maggie became an overnight sensation and the subject of press interviews, fan art, memes and even thirst tweets. Maggie found herself at the center of the awards arena
in the gaming and voice industries and the recipient of a BAFTA Game Awards nomination for best "Performer In A Supporting Role". Her award wins include "Best Performance", The Game Awards, "Best Performer", The Golden Joystick
Awards, "Outstanding Video Game Character", SOVAS Voice Arts Awards, "Best Acting In A Game" from the NY Video Game Critics Circle's NY Game Awards and "Outstanding Achievement In Character" from The DICE Awards. |
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Jeff SchineResident EvilAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Jeff has been an on-camera and voice actor for over 2 decades…with over 100 credits spanning film, television, commercial, animation, and video games. Of his many projects as a VA, he is best known for his role in
"Marvels Avengers" as Capt. America, Javier Garcia in Tell Tales “The Walking Dead” and Chris Redfield in “Resident Evil: Village.” Jeff and his wife have one daughter together.
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Nicole TompkinsResident Evil, Poppy PlaytimeAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Nicole Tompkins is a Texas-born actress whose work includes theater, film, voice over, video games and television. Best known for starring as the iconic Jill Valentine, Nicole lent her voice and full performance capture to bring the role to
life in Capcom's remake of the fan favorite game Resident Evil 3. Nicole reprises her role voicing Jill Valentine in the upcoming RESIDENT EVIL: DEATH ISLAND CGI film from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releasing Summer 2023. In 2022,
Nicole performed two notable roles in Resident Evil Village playing both Daniela Dimitrescu and Elena, as well as Jack’O Valentine and Aria in Guilty Gear: Strive and Silga in Sony Interactive's Horizon Forbidden West. Most recently, she
performed a leading role, Sarah Baker, in Keoken’s Deliver Us Mars which released in February 2023. She can also be seen this year in Genshin Impact and Tactics Ogre: Reborn. Other past roles include Idril of Gondor in the critically
acclaimed video game Middle Earth: Shadow of War; Older Scarlett in season five of the hit FX show “American Horror Story” alongside Chloe Sevingey and Wes Bentley; and leading roles in feature films OPENING NIGHT with director Jack
Henry Robbins, AMITYVILLE TERROR, DARKNESS IN TENEMENT 45, and ANTRUM: THE DEADLIEST FILM EVER MADE.
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Jeffrey WeissmanBack To The Future 2 & 3, Pale Rider, Saved By The Bell, Johnny DangerouslyAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Jeffrey Weissman (born October 2, 1958) is an American actor. He has appeared in dozens of motion pictures and TV shows, most notably as George McFly in Back to the Future Part II and III and as Teddy Conway in Pale Rider.
He has guest starred spots on Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Max Headroom, Dallas, The Man Show, and with Dick Van Dyke on Diagnosis: Murder and as Screech's Guru on Saved by the Bell. | |
Video Game Industry Alumni
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Ken AllenSierra On-Line: Composer for King's Quest and Space QuestAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Ken Allen began writing music at age 11 and went on to score over 30 video games, including Sierra classics like King’s Quest, and Space Quest. MobyGames.com credits Ken on more than 60 titles for music, design, sound, production, and writing. His work has earned awards such as Puzzle Game of the Year for Atari’s Zapper, Expansion Pack of the Year for RollerCoaster Tycoon, and Nintendo Magazine’s Best Sound Design for Interplay’s Star Trek: Starship Bridge Simulator. More recently, his music and sound design came full circle in SpaceVenture with the original creators of Space Quest. Today, Ken designs games for DraftKings online casino while continuing to compose on two yet to be announced projects, proving that even in real life, every quest needs a soundtrack. |
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Nolan BushnellCo-Founder of AtariAppearing: Saturday ONLY The Portland Retro Gaming Expo is honored to welcome one of the founding fathers of the global video game industry.
In 1972, Nolan Bushnell created an industry when he co-founded Atari and gave the world
Pong, the first blockbuster video game. Today his design credo—that games should be
“easy to learn and difficult to master”—is inspiring a new generation of developers. A prolific
entrepreneur, Bushnell has started more than 20 companies, including Chuck E. Cheese’s
Pizza Time Theater; Catalyst Technologies, the first Silicon Valley incubator; Etak, the first
in-car navigation system; and uWink, the first touchscreen ordering, entertainment and
check-out system at restaurant tables. In the process, he pioneered many of the workplace
innovations that have made Silicon Valley a long-standing magnet for creative talent.
Bushnell was the first and only person ever to hire Steve Jobs, which he details in his and
co-author Gene Stone’s 2013 book, Finding the Next Steve Jobs. In October 2023 he
released his second book, Shaping the Future of Education, which he co-wrote with Dr.
Leah Hanes. |
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Josiah ColbornGame CreatorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Josiah Colborn is Creative Lead at Turning Wheel Games. Raised on TTRPGs and retro home computers, Josiah got started at a young age making custom levels for Dandy, Dungeon Master and Doom II. Now he's been making games professionally for over 20 years. He worked with Gas Powered Games, Undead Labs, and Harebrained Schemes (and more) in art, design, and leadership roles. On the side, Josiah kept pursuing his own ideas, building a complete tabletop roleplaying system, and moonlighting for years with Turning Wheel to make Barony what it is today. Now living the indie dream, he remains passionate about bringing experiences to videogames which only yet live in our imaginations! |
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Lori and Corey ColeSierra On-Line: Developers of Quest For GloryAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Lori and Corey Cole (aka The Coles) met over a D&D table at a science fiction convention. Ten years later, they started making role-playing adventure games for Sierra On-Line. Their award-winning titles include five Quest for Glory games, Castle of Dr. Brain, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales, and Shannara. They’re now indie developers, as Transolar Games, with recent releases Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, and Summer Daze: Tilly’s Tale. They’re currently developing Summer Daze: Ifeyo’s Adventure, with two other narrative and puzzle games in the pipeline. When they aren’t developing games, they’re probably playing them. |
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David CraneAtari and ActivisionAppearing: Saturday and Sunday
The legendary David Crane joins the 2025 Portland Retro Gaming Expo! David designed and programmed many Atari 2600
classics like Pitfall!, Freeway, Decathlon and many more. He also co-founded software giant Activision, later worked
at Absolute and created games for the NES and Super NES. |
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Michael CranfordCreator of "The Bard's Tale"Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Legendary Michael Cranford created the popular "The Bard's Tale" on the Apple II and the follow-up "The Bard's Tale II - The Destiny Knight" - both of which got ported to tons of other systems. After almost 40 years Michael created the long awaited classic 8-Bit RPG game "Shadow Snare" for the Commodore 64 and will showcase, playtest and panel-present this at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo. |
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Mark CroweSpace Quest series, SpaceVentureAppearing: Sunday Hey, ChatGPT… generate a brief bio for game industry veteran Mark Crowe that covers the high points of his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, starting with Sierra On-Line in 1983 to the present. Include a blurb about those old Space Quest games,
but don’t focus on that too much. And skip the bit about the upcoming Guys From Andromeda crowd-funded adventure game SpaceVenture taking way too damn long. Oh, and make it funny. |
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Joe DecuirAtari Hard and Software EngineerAppearing: Saturday and Sunday As the lead system engineer legendary Joe Decuir was instrumental in bringing the Atari 2600 to life. He also wrote some of the first programs for that system before moving on to Atari 8-Bit computers, the Amiga computer and eventually Bluetooth! Joe has supported the Portland Retro Gaming Expo for many years and we're glad to have him back! |
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Flint DilleGame Designer, ScreenwriterAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Flint Dille is a writer and game designer whose work spans tabletop games, role-playing games, video games, and augmented reality. He began in tabletop and gamebooks with classics such as Sagard the Barbarian series with Gary Gygax,Buck Rogers: Battle for the 25th Century, DragonStrike, Wildspace, Terror T.R.A.X., and A Line in the Sand, he helped shape the early years of interactive storytelling. He later worked on pioneering CD-ROM experiences with Audio Interactive before contributing to games including The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Dead to Rights, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Transformers, Ingress, and Pokémon GO. Flint continues to design new tabletop games—including Bottle Shock: The Wine Game and What Are You Thinking? — while developing films, RPGs, and other interactive worlds. His career has been driven by a fascination with how games can tell unforgettable stories. |
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Tyler DrinkardSpaceVenture, A Rum Case in FogtownAppearing: Sunday Tyler Drinkard knew that he wanted to be a game developer ever since he first played Space Quest III in the mid-90s. Along with a successful career programming for corporations, he's been able to assist Mark, Scott, and Chris during the programming and development of SpaceVenture, the spiritual successor to the Space Quest series. He is currently helping with other projects in the adventure game community, including the new FMV game, A Rum Case in Fogtown. |
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Tom duBoisVideo game artist (Konami)Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Tom duBois is a celebrated American illustrator whose iconic cover art helped define the visual identity of Konami’s classic video games during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His dynamic, action-packed illustrations brought
titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, Contra III: The Alien Wars, and Super Castlevania IV to life. Working often as an uncredited freelancer, duBois created some of the most memorable and culturally
impactful artwork in video game history. His signature style blends bold color palettes, dramatic lighting, and exaggerated perspective, capturing the energy, narrative, and intensity of each game. His cover art played a
defining role in the Western branding of Konami, influencing the first impressions of countless players and contributing to the lasting success of these franchises. In 2019, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds commissioned him for
the album cover of Ghosteen, introducing his style to a new generation of fans. |
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Mike EdwardsGame Designer, Programmer, Founder of BRAM Inc.Appearing: Saturday and Sunday In the early 1980s, the home computer boom opened the door for a wave of small, independent software studios. Among them was BRAM Inc. of Seattle, founded by Mike Edwards and a close friend with a shared mission: create unique,
action‑packed games built around the joy of two‑player play. Their debut title, Attack at EP‑CYG‑4, outperformed expectations and set the stage for Mike’s breakout hit, Zombies - a pioneering 3D top‑down dungeon crawler that pushed the limits of the era’s hardware.
The game caught the attention of Dan Daglow at Electronic Arts, who was so impressed that EA acquired the game and released an enhanced version under the title Realm of Impossibility, earning widespread acclaim. |
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Al EufrasioVideo Game Historian, AuthorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Acting on a job tip, he was interviewed and hired by Sierra On-Line in 1994. Since then, he has worked for numerous Seattle-area game developers – Humongous Entertainment, Amaze Entertainment, and Microsoft to name just a few – and remotely for Lori and Corey Cole's Transolar Games. Published games with a credit to Al include King's Quest 7, Space Quest 6, Torin's Passage, Leisure Suit Larry: Love For Sail, Magic School Bus edutainment titles, Digimon Rumble Arena 2, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Hero-U. |
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Ed FriesProgrammer, Vice President at MicrosoftAppearing: Sunday Ed Fries fell in love with video games as a teen and after an early career of programming games and screensavers he ended up working for Microsoft.
There he led the team that created and released the original Xbox and brought the killer-app HALO franchise to Microsoft. As vice president of game publishing,
he was also responsible for the acquisition of Bungie, Ensemble Studios and Rare. In 2010 Ed returned to his roots and programmed Halo 2600 for the Atari 2600 console. |
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Dave GilbertSierraAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Dave Gilbert has been interested in adventure games ever since 1986, when his mother made the mistake of buying him a copy of Infocom’s Wishbringer. Fifteen years later, he discovered the Adventure Game Studio engine and began making his own. In 2006, he decided that making games was too much fun to do anything else for a living, and formed Wadjet Eye Games to do just that. In the (gulp) 20 years since, Wadjet Eye has developed and published over 20 games including Old Skies, the Blackwell series, Gemini Rue, Unavowed, and the newly released Nighthawks. |
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Bruce and Laura GottliebStirring Dragon GamesAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Bruce and Laura Gottlieb are the founders of Stirring Dragon Games, an independent game studio focused on making adventure and role playing games with classical retro roots. If Origin Systems and Sierra Online had a baby... it would be Stirring Dragon Games. Bruce is a game industry veteran with 30yrs experience. Before going independent, he worked for companies including Rocket Science, Radical Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Konami. Laura Gottlieb is the cofounder and Game Director of Stirring Dragon Games, currently creating the retro 8-bit RPG Unknown Realm. As a lifelong gamer, she's passionate about crafting imaginative experiences that awaken creativity and reconnect gamers with the joy of classic play. |
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Neal GrandstaffSierra On-Line: Composer for King's Quest and Space QuestAppearing: Saturday and Sunday From 1992–1995, Neal created award-winning music, orchestration, and sound design for Sierra Online in Oakhurst, California, contributing to titles such as Space Quest 6, Rama, King’s Quest 7, Gabriel Knight, and more. In 1995–1996, he returned to the Northwest to work with Sierra’s sister company Dynamix, producing music for simulation games (Herc Force, Earth Siege, Red Baron, Trophy Bass) and additional work on Rama. From 1996–2014, Neal served on Oregon State University’s music faculty, teaching guitar, jazz studies, and improvisation. He launched Guitar Mechanics, his own teaching method (originally published in 1977), which became the basis for OSU’s online guitar program—the first of its kind nationwide. During this period, he also performed widely with groups such as The Wondertones, Django Bango, The Willie Phillips Project, and The Rubes, opening for acts including Reba McEntire, Dwight Yoakam, and Kenny Rogers. |
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Chris HuelsbeckComposter, MusicianAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Chris Huelsbeck is a legendary composer best known for his groundbreaking music in classic video games from the 1980s and 1990s. His iconic soundtracks for titles like Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, and R-Type helped define the audio identity of the 8- and 16‑bit eras. With a career spanning more than three decades, Huelsbeck’s innovative melodies and technical mastery of early sound hardware have earned him a devoted global following. He continues to compose, perform, and remaster his work for modern audiences, keeping the spirit of retro gaming alive. His music remains a touchstone for fans who grew up with the golden age of home computing and consoles. We’re thrilled to welcome him to this year’s Portland Retro Gaming Expo! |
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Dan KitchenActivision and Absolute EntertainmentAppearing: Saturday and Sunday And where there is Garry, brother and fellow legend Dan Kitchen cannot be far. Dan has developed and produced a whopping 240+ games on 25 platforms! From the early Activision days working on the Atari 2600, then the GameBoy, various SEGA and Nintendo consoles, to Xbox & Xbox 360 and PC and Apple devices - there is hardly a platform Dan hasn't worked on! And Dan is still actively developing games today! |
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Garry KitchenActivision and Absolute EntertainmentAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Speaking of legends... Garry Kitchen's second game for the Atari 2600 was Coleco's mega-seller port of Donkey Kong and he has created many hits since! Working for Activision he continued with the Atari 2600 and then the Commodore 64, before switching to the Nintendo Entertainment System. After co-founding Absolute Entertainment he created more NES and Super NES hits and is still active in game development! |
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Paul KormanRoberta Vaughan’s Retro Adventures, Strummer GamesAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Paul Korman is a lifelong adventure gamer who grew up playing Sierra games with his dad and now plays them with his son. He is the founder of Strummer Games and the solo creator of The Phantom Fellows, an award-winning point-and-click adventure released in 2024, for which he handled the writing, programming, pixel art, and music. He is currently at work on both a sequel and a spin-off to The Phantom Fellows. Since 2018, Paul has co-hosted The Classic Gamers Guild Podcast with Anna Vigue, an adventure-game podcast devoted to digging into how the genre works, and why it works. He is also part of Roberta Vaughan’s Retro Adventures, where he serves as coordinator. |
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Al LoweNintendo: VP of Marketing CommunicationsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Al Lowe is a legendary pioneer in the world of computer adventure games, working in many capacities with Sierra On-Line from 1982–1998. He is best known for creating the cult classic and genre-defining
"Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards" and its five equally successful successors. And he also created
titles like "Freddy Pharkas", "Frontier Pharmacist", "Torin’s Passage", and many more! |
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Josh MandelSierra On-Line: Designer of King's QuestAppearing: Saturday and Sunday After many years in the early-to-mid ‘80s as a headlining comic, Josh Mandel became an advertising copywriter by day, and a computer gaming journalist and beta tester at night. His first full-time job in the industry was at Sierra On-Line, where he designed Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist and Space Quest VI and crafted story, text, and/or music for over twenty other games from King’s Quest 1-SCI to Leisure Suit Larry 6. He was also the voice of King Graham in King’s Quest 5, 6, and multiple KQ fangames, and did voice or on-camera work for many other Sierra games, including Phantasmagoria, Space Quest IV, Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra and Jones in the Fast Lane. Post-Sierra, he designed the award-winning Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon for Legend Entertainment, His design and dialogue work has also appeared in games from Sir-Tech (Jagged Alliance 2 and add-ons), Broderbund (Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?), Sega (as Director of Game Design), Vicarious Visions (The Wild Thornberrys, Blue’s Clues), Dynamix, Donruss, Microsoft, and more. He also teamed up with his ex-Sierra friends: Al Lowe, for Leisure Suit Larry-Reloaded, Corey and Lori Cole, for Hero U: Rogue to Redemption, and the Two Guys from Andromeda for SpaceVenture. |
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Don MunsilSierra On-Line: Torin's Passage, Leisure Suit Larry: Love For Sail, King's Quest 8Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Don Munsil is a big ol' nerd who worked as a programmer and/or designer at Sierra On-Line on Torin's Passage, Leisure Suit Larry: Love For Sail, and just a teensy bit on King's Quest 8. Don designed Sucker Punch's first game, Rocket: Robot On Wheels. Don then worked for many years at Microsoft on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, including several years on the digital video team. Don is the co-author of the Spears & Munsil Video Benchmark, a series of Blu-Ray discs for calibration and evaluation of video equipment. Currently, Don co-owns MouseSavers.com, the internet guide to saving money on Disney and other theme parks. Don's hobbies include stereoscopic photography, arguing with the mysterious voices in his head, and writing about himself in the third person. |
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David OghiaVectrex Mini CreatorAppearing: Saturday and Sunday David Oghia is a retro-gaming collector and enthusiast with a passion for preserving and celebrating classic gaming hardware. While his interests span many vintage systems, he has focused particularly on the Vectrex over
the past decade following his collaboration with Julien, who has owned the Vectrex trademark for more than twenty years. Inspired by the success of mini retro consoles and by the enduring appeal of the Vectrex, Oghia led the
creation of the Vectrex Mini, a fully functional, scaled-down recreation of the original console that was successfully funded on Kickstarter. The Vectrex Mini was a hit at the 2025 Portland Retro Gaming Expo and will return for 2026. |
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Sean ParkerCreator of FOGTOWN (FMV Game Revival)Appearing: Saturday to Sunday Sean Parker is the creator of Fogtown, a mystery-comedy video game and TV series both featuring real puppetry and innovative 3D worlds. His upcoming game, A Rum Case in Fogtown, aims to be part of an FMV game revival movement with bitingly funny Sherlockian satire for ages 9 to 99 — and will be the first video game made with footage of real puppets in nearly 30 years. Sean is a major fan of point-and-click adventure games and also writes for Adventure Game Hotspot. |
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Dan PolicarComposerAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Grammy-nominated musician Dan Policar delivers bold, immersive scores for video games, tv, film, and big brand advertising. His work is built on emotional storytelling, blending non-traditional techniques with tried-and-true methods. He has composed music for major titles including Empire of Sin (Romero Games), The Crimson Diamond (Julia Minamata), and the upcoming Ifeyo's Adventure (Transolar Games) and Mystery House (Guillotine Games). Over his career, Dan has had the opportunity to collaborate with legendary developers including Ken and Roberta Williams, and Brenda and John Romero. |
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George A. SangerSierra On-Line: Composer for Wing Commander and Zombies Ate My NeighborsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Internationally known as The Fat Man, George Alistair Sanger’s influence is hard to overestimate. Through his work, his writings, the founding of think-tanks, organizations and communities, this "legendary game audio guru’s" fingerprints are all over much of what it means today to create game audio or listen to a game. He’s been at it since Thin Ice for Intellivision in 1983. Games he worked on include Loom, Wing Commander I and II, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, Pajama Sam III, Maniac Mansion, The 7th Guest I and II and Oddword Soulstorm. He wrote the first general MIDI soundtrack for a game, the first direct-to-MIDI live recording of musicians, the first Redbook soundtrack included with a game as a separate disc, the first music for a game that was considered a "work of art," and the first soundtrack that was considered a selling point for the game. Sanger established and managed the team that made the sound system for the Augmented Reality device, Magic Leap One. He likes songwriting and meaningful dialog with earnest people. He doesn’t like the word "hate," and he knows it would be slightly funnier if he said that he hates the word hate. He also speaks of himself in third person in this bio. You will know him by the invisible rhinestones. The Fat Man Adventure Guide: All the Things on Hyperfollow. |
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Mark and Debbie SeibertSierra On-Line: Composer for King's Quest and Quest For GloryAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Mark and Debbie Seibert toured together as husband and wife nationally with the band Omega Sunrise, recording 2 albums and charting a number of local and regional hits. In the summer of ’87 Mark was hired at Sierra On-Line where he spent 14 years in various roles including musician, arranger, composer, music director, producer, designer, and executive producer. He worked on dozens of titles including hits like King’s Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory, Phantasmagoria, Leisure Suit Larry, and many others. In 2002, Mark and his family moved to the Baltimore area, where he worked for a company doing game simulations for NASA for the International Space Station. In 2005, he joined an EA subcontractor and worked on games like Lord of the Rings and Command and Conquer. In 2009, Mark retired from the video game industry, earned a Master’s degree in Education, and began teaching at a local private school. Mark started a small Indy record label named KirKat Music in 2015. They have released 5 albums since inception, including the artists and bands JAGB, Heidi Raduano, Favored, and It Could Happen, all of which are available on on-line music outlets. . |
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Jay SmithVectrex CreatorAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Jay Smith is an American engineer, inventor, and product designer best known for creating the Microvision handheld system and the Vectrex home console. Through his work with Western Technologies, he developed innovative
concepts and products for many major companies, including Mattel, Milton Bradley, Kenner, and Nintendo. Released in 1979, the Microvision was the first handheld gaming system to use interchangeable cartridges, while the
Vectrex, released in 1982, became a cult classic thanks to its unique self-contained vector display and arcade-style visuals. |
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Gary SpinradAudio Professional: Sierra Online, Microprose, 343 Industries, Nightdive StudiosAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Gary worked at Sierra Online for 5 years as composer and sound designer for original music and immersive soundscapes. This included SWAT 3, Leisure Suit Larry's Casino, and Phantasmagoria II. After Sierra Online he moved on to Microprose as audio director for Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes on the Xbox, before moving to Activision for multiple Call of Duty titles. After many more titles, including VR games, Gary worked on Halo Infinite for 343 Industries and then System Shock reboot for Nightdive Studios. Gary joins our massive Sierra reunion as a last minute addition, welcome! |
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Ted TahquechiAtari, Accolade, and Mattel Toys: DesignerAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Ted Tahquechi is a well-known figure in the video game industry, known for his work in the videogame industry during the 1980s and 1990s. His contributions have left an indelible mark on the development of classic video games, releasing 35 titles for major platforms such as PC, Jaguar, Lynx, PlayStation, 5200, and 7800 while working for Atari, Accolade, and Mattel Toys. With a career spanning over several decades, Ted has become a well-known name among retro gaming enthusiasts. Ted’s dedication to the craft didn’t stop with game design and project management. Throughout his career, he lent his creativity in sound design, voice acting, and music creation to many of the titles he and others managed. He loves to speak at retro gaming conferences, where he has shared his insights on the industry’s evolution, the challenges and rewards of early game development, and the importance of creativity in the field. His presentations often delve into the technical innovations and limitations of the time, as well as the collaborative efforts required to bring a game from concept to reality. Today, Ted continues to engage with the gaming community, sharing his experiences and knowledge with a new generation of developers. His contributions to the industry, particularly during its formative years, have earned him a place among the pioneers of video game development. |
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Faran ThomasonAtari, Nintendo, SEGA: Producer and DesignerAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Faran Thomason is an award-winning toy and video game industry veteran. A lifelong gamer and game developer, with a career spanning multiple genres and platforms, including casual games, sports, MMO, real-time strategy, action/adventure, and first-person shooters. He has also crafted a variety of board games and electronic games. Faran has worked at a who's who of legendary game companies, including Atari, Nintendo and Sega! Notable projects include Cybermorph, Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales, Warlocked, and Rtype DX. Recently, Faran was featured in Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and Bubsy: The Purrfect Collection and collaborated on the development of high-end gaming collectibles, such as Jinx/Powder’s Wind-Up Monkey Bomb from Arcane on Netflix and the Homeworld 3 Collector’s Edition. On the retro side, he recently launched Lore Lords Gladiators for the Atari 2600, with Stephen Mitchell. |
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Gail TildenNintendo: VP of Marketing CommunicationsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Gail Tilden joined Nintendo of America in 1983 as Manager of Marketing Communications, where she oversaw brand identity, advertising, public relations and events for the 1985 launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Pokémon franchise in 1996! She later founded the publishing group, responsible for Nintendo Power magazine and the Nintendo.com website, and directed the introduction of Pokémon outside of Japan as VP of Brand Management. She left Nintendo in 2007 and is now happily retired in the Seattle area. |
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Jim VessellaElectronic ArtsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Jim Vessella has been a Producer for over 20 years, having shipped over a dozen major titles across iconic franchises including Command & Conquer, The Lord of the Rings, The Sims, and Star Wars. In recent years, Jim has also been a driving force in Electronic Arts’ game preservation efforts, focused on the digitization of archival assets, releasing source code to the community, and bringing classic titles to modern audiences. At the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, he’ll take attendees behind the scenes of his preservation work, showcase some of the lost treasures which have now been recovered, and reveal some upcoming restored games to offer a glimpse at what may be next for EA’s growing library of available classic titles |
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Grayson WendellDirector, ProgrammerAppearing: Saturday and Sunday
After last year's successful Nintendo programming presentation we had to bring him back!
Join director and programmer Grayson Wendell to learn about the technical and programming aspects of various Nintendo consoles. Fun, informative and completely free of charge for PRGE attendees!
Plenty of Q&A breaks to get your questions answered and to discuss related technical topics. |
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Content Creators, Authors, Journalists Etc.
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James AsmusWriter: Rick & Morty, Survival Street, Marvel, DC, ImageAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Award-winning comic writer James Asmus has a huge portfolio of credits, including the popular Rick & Morty, Survival Street (Dark Horse), and multiple Marvel (X-Men, Deadpool etc.), IDW (Transformers), Image (Thief of Thieves) and DC franchises. Plus he wrote multiple stage plays and works as an actor and comedian. |
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Cameron BasquiatCollege Professor, Video Game HistorianAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Cameron Basquiat is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, NV). His research interests include the intersection of Gaming and Popular Culture. He's excited to bring an academic lens to the everlasting phenomenon of Tecmo Super Bowl and examine one of his favorite video games of all time. This will be a lively, fun and engaging presentation illustrating the value of an analytical framework to our shared passion of videogames. |
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Jeff BondAuthorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Jeff Bond is a freelance writer and author living in Southern California. He is the co-author with Kyle Newman of Star Trek: The Original Voyages: A Visual History and Star Trek: The Next Generations: A Visual History; co-author with Gene Kozicki of Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Inside the Art and Visual Effects and Cowboy Bebop: Making the Netflix Series. He is also author of The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, The Art of Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline, The Music of Star Trek, The World of the Orville, Narcos: The Art and Making of the Show, The Crow: The Definitive History and co-author with Joe Fordham of Planet of the Apes: The Evolution of the Legend. He witnessed the moon landing and his first episode of Star Trek on the same weekend in 1969. |
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Ryan BurgerPublisher of Old School Gamer MagazineAppearing: Saturday morning Ryan Burger, the publisher of Old School Gamer, comes from a background of publishing for the last 20+ years in the mobile disc jockey industry. A full-time teacher in Perry, Iowa, where he teaches computers, game programming, and more, he has always been a gamer. He started out with his Intellivision and then his Genesis, always getting the less popular systems because he liked the better ones, and now collects arcade machines and home consoles with an affinity for Atari. His other passion, retro computers, started out with the TI99/4a and moved into the Apple II arena. |
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Gary ButterfieldWatch Out For Fireballs! PodcastAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Gary Butterfield is one of co-hosts of the Watch Out for Fireballs! podcast that covers video games from every era, from retro to newer releases, indie to AAA. Each week they dive deep into a game's mechanics and narrative to figure out what works and what doesn't. Gary and and co-host Kaye Ross have delivered many fantastic panels at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo and we are glad to have them back! |
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Frank CifaldiVideo Game History FoundationAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Frank Cifaldi is the founder and Executive Director at the Video Game History Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity dedicated to celebrating, teaching, and preserving the history of games. The VGHF's free-to-everyone Digital Archive opened in 2025, and has already impacted over 100,000 researchers and curiosity-seekers around the world. Frank joins us for our 40th Nintendo Entertainment System celebration, together with multiple Nintendo of America alumni. |
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Pat ContriPat the NES PunkAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Pat Contri is a game historian, collector, and online content producer best known for Pat the NES Punk, Flea Market Madness, the Completely Unnecessary Podcast, and The Video Game Years. He has produced Nintendo guidebooks for the NES, SNES, and N64. Pat Contri celebrates 15 years of being a retro gaming YouTuber! Pat will discuss his history of being a retro gaming "influencer," talk about his projects and the new N64 book, do a Q&A, and maybe have a surprise or two, including the "famous" Play the Punk Challenge! |
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Gabe DurhamAuthor, PublisherAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Gabe Durham is the founding editor and publisher of Boss Fight Books, a press for nonfiction documentary-style books about classic games. He's also the author of the books on Majora's Mask and Bible Adventures. Come by the Boss Fight table and say hi! |
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Heather FrylingRoberta Vaughan’s Retro AdventuresAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Heather Fryling is a lifelong gamer and the executive director of Roberta Vaughan’s Retro Adventures. In the long lost time of 1991, Heather met Roberta at Forks Elementary School where Heather was the new kid from out of town. Heather and Roberta bonded over a shared love of nerdy things, and once Roberta’s dad, Al, loaned Heather a copy of Quest for Glory (EGA) to play on her own at home, it was all over. Heather was in for life. You can typically find Heather walking her dog, planning museum hijinks, coding, or playing the Greater Seattle Area Retro Gamers’ game of the month. |
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G To The Next LevelSEGA Historian, Content CreatorAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Can you believe it? Sonic the hedgehog turns 35 this year! And joining the Portland Retro Gaming Expo to celebrate this special anniversary
with us is content creator G To The Next Level - SEGA and Sonic fan extraordinaire!
Join G to learn more about the origins, lesser-known iterations and fun facts of your favorite hedgehog! |
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Daniel GreenbergVideo Game Academic, Winterion Game StudiosAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday A passionate video game academic, Daniel is a professor of Computer Game Design at George Mason University, writes and edits for Pat Contri’s Ultimate Nintendo series of guidebooks, helps create museum exhibits as the Program Director of RVRA, produces the IONGAMING web series of academic panel lectures and Let’s Plays, founded Winterion Game Studios, and is the first Patreon supporter of the Video Game History Foundation. He is also a husband, father, root beer aficionado, hockey player, Twitch streamer, and supporter of reforestation efforts in the Mid-Atlantic. |
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Tama HeroPokémon Content CreatorAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Tama Hero is a prominent video game content creator and commentator specializing in deep-dive essays analyzing the Pokémon RPGs! She is a super prominent figure in the Pokémon fan community, known for her long-standing YouTube career, her energetic and enthusiastic style, creative content, and interactive engagement with fans. Meet her at PRGE where she joins our Pokémon Anniversary celebration, together with other Pokémon-related guests! |
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Darren HupkePixels and PolygonsAppearing: Saturday to Sunday
Darren Hupke runs Pixels and Polygons, the umbrella for his podcast and published works. A lifelong and avid gamer,
Darren first put down his controller to create his book series 32 Bit Library that dissected and discussed the
PlayStation’s library in book form a few years ago. Since then, four volumes have been released, and his monthly
Retro Game Zine and weekly podcast Pixels and Polygons complement those books. |
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Tristan IbarraVideo Game Historian, AuthorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Tristan Ibarra is a video game historian, published author, graphic designer, and longtime collector with more than 30 years in the hobby. He is the author of The Video Game Console Collector’s Field Guide, The Video Game Collector’s Field Guide, and a new book debuting at PRGE. Tristan is the Senior Layout Designer for Old School Gamer Magazine and also works as a freelance graphic designer, advertising content creator, and video editor. |
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Yasmina KetitaAuthor, Creator for Rue Morgue, The Rewind ZoneAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Yasmina Ketita is a columnist and series host of The Rewind Zone for Rue Morgue Magazine, a contributor for Terror Vision, Canadian International Pictures, Arrow and Synapse Films, a film programmer at Toronto's Paradise Theatre and Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, and an avid VHS collector. Yasmina will be hosting a presentation on the history of VHS board games! |
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Chris KohlerDigital Eclipse: Editorial DirectorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Chris Kohler is Editorial Director of Digital Eclipse, overseeing the creation of "interactive documentary" aspects of games like Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, Tetris Forever, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, The Making of Karateka, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, Worms Armageddon - Anniversary Edition, Blizzard Arcade Collection, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. A lifelong lover of game collecting and history, he was the founding editor of Game|Life at WIRED magazine, and is the author of books such as Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, Retro Gaming Hacks, and Final Fantasy V (Boss Fight Books). |
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Tim LapetinoAtari, AuthorAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Tim Lapetino is an award-winning creative director, writer, and geek culture historian. For nearly 25 years he has helped brands tell compelling stories through design and creativity, while connecting deeply to their passionate fans. He is the author of the best-selling book, Art of Atari, and co-author of Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon. His work has been featured in more than a dozen books and magazines, and has drawn worldwide press coverage, including The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Wired, Forbes, IGN, Polygon, SyFy Wire, MAXIM, Kotaku, and more. His books have been published in five languages. (He also owns a super rare environmental Discs of Tron arcade cabinet!) |
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Ernest de LeonPhysical Media & Digital Rights Advocate, Podcast Producer, Founder of 210 RetroAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Ernest de Leon is the founder of 210 Retro, a San Antonio-based retro gaming and vintage merchandise brand, and a longtime fixture on the gaming convention circuit. He is the Executive Producer and co-host of The Final Fantasy Files, a video podcast available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Ernest has emceed side stages at gaming conventions, spoken at Midwest Gaming Classic on the importance of physical media, and brings the perspective of the community builder — the person connecting collectors, creators, and fans to the physical games and culture they love. |
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Bob MackeyThe Retronauts PodcastAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Bob Mackey is a PRGE fan favorite with the Retronauts Podcast (together with Jeremy Parish). That original classic gaming podcasts continues its endless quest to explore the history of video games, one game at a time. They chronicle the creations that have paved the way for today's hits. From forgotten black-and-white arcade machines to modern-day remakes, Retronauts spans more than four decades of vintage gaming greatness! |
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Marcus MeraColossal Cave 3DAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Working with Ken and Roberta Williams has been the greatest adventure of all time. He had the opportunity to work alongside them on Colossal Cave 3D as an artist and producer, as well as in marketing and business development, helping bring to life the game that originally inspired them and ultimately brought them back to game development. Today, through Guillotine Games, Marcus is continuing that spirit with Mystery House 3D, a new commercial revival inspired by the legacy of the original Mystery House, expanding its core concept into a modern 3D horror and action-adventure experience. He is proud to help introduce the history of these pioneering games to new audiences while creating something new for the future. |
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Jason MicalWriterAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Jason Mical is a writer by day, when he crafts the perfect words for his advertising clients, and a writer by night, when he writes fiction, history, and tabletop RPGs. His writing career began in middle school when he submitted his first short story to a contest. (He didn't win.) As an adult his published credits include work for Star Wars: Force and Destiny, The Expanse RPG, Eclipse Phase, Delta Green, and Disney's Lorcana TCG. He also contributed mission design and in-game text to the Making History expansion for Kerbal Space Program. His beloved fan-made Fallout PnP RPG is still played by fans more than two decades after its release. His first novel, A Fistful of Coffins, is available on Amazon.com. |
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James MooreVideo Game HistorianAppearing: Saturday to Sunday James Moore is an NES collector, historian, and expert on variants and oddities in the NES library. He runs thelegendofnes.com, a free resource for collectors that documents everything there is to know about NES collecting. |
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Kyle NewmanDungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, Lore & LegendsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Kyle Newman is a Hugo-nominated, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker who has directed numerous feature films including the Star Wars-fueled comedy Fanboys starring Kristen Bell and Seth Rogen, the action-comedy Barely Lethal starring Samuel L. Jackson and
Hailee Steinfeld for A24 Films, and Lionsgate/Prime Video’s esports comedy 1UP starring Ruby Rose and co-directed the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons Documentary exploring the game's storied history for Hasbro Studios. |
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OneShortEyeContent CreatorAppearing: Saturday and Sunday OneShortEye creates YouTube videos about classic adventure games. Starting out with speedrun histories and explanations, he has branched out into deep dive video essays about games like Conquests of the Longbow, Dagger of Amon Ra, and Gabriel Knight 3. Adventure games have been marinating in his brain since childhood, and he'll keep talking about them until they leave. |
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Jeremy ParishVideo Game Journalist, RetronautsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Jeremy is a former games journalist (1UP, USgamer, IGN) and the other half of The Retronauts - the original classic gaming podcast that continues its endless quest to explore the history of video games, one game at a time. Join hosts Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey each week as they team up with a host of expert guests to chronicle the creations that have paved the way for today's hits. From forgotten black-and-white arcade machines to modern-day remakes, Retronauts spans more than four decades of vintage gaming greatness! |
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Cade PetersonWExecutive Producer on Legends of Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-LineAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Cade Peterson is an Executive Producer on Legends of Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-Line, an upcoming feature documentary from the team behind the Prime Video docuseries Gamebreakers. The film chronicles Ken and Roberta Williams and the rise of Sierra On-Line's landmark adventure game catalog, including King's Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory and many more. He has spent over 17 years in the video game industry across a range of roles, most recently having led indie studio MidBoss, where he produced and promoted games that bring greater representation to the medium. |
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Jon PetersonDungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, Lore & LegendsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Jon Peterson studies the history of wargames and role-playing games. He is the author of Playing at the World (2012, revised edition 2024/5), The Elusive Shift (2020), and Game Wizards (2021). He also co-authored the Hugo Award finalist Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana (2018), the New York Times bestseller Heroes’ Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook (2020), as well as Heroes’ Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse (2023), Lore & Legends (2023), and the Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons (2024). He furthermore contributes to academic anthologies on games and a variety of online periodicals. |
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Chris PopeLifelong Sierra Nerd, Programmer, Voice ActorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Chris Pope (sometimes referred to as “SpacePope”) is a lifelong Sierra nerd, best known in the adventure game community for working with Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy (The Two Guys From Andromeda) on the long-awaited Space Quest spiritual successor SpaceVenture. He works day to day with Mark and other team members as a co-partner and developer. Chris co-designed and developed Cluck Yegger in Escape From the Planet of the Poultroids with Mark Crowe, where he also did the programming and some voice acting for the game. He is also the voice of the “SpacePope” in SpaceVenture. Back in the early 2000s, Chris received some notoriety for breaking the arcade Pac-Man Turbo world record. Some may also know him for his podcasting network, “The Tech Jives Network,” from years back. |
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Troels PleimertSierra On-Line: ModeratorAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Troels' bio: While he is perhaps best known for ruining people's fond childhood memories with his caustic YouTube videos, the Space Quest Historian is also a musician. Well... he's a drummer. So that marginally qualifies him to helm a panel of actual musicians and composers. He has been making YouTube videos and hosting podcasts about adventure games for over a decade, and has also released several music albums of reorchestrated game soundtracks with his band, Error 47. YouTube: https://youtube.com/spacequesthistorian. |
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Jon ReddickGenXGrownUpAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Jon Reddick is part of the GenXGrownUp channel: The late 1970s to the early 1990s were the coolest time to grow up! We had emerging technology like home computers, video games, the first digital games plus amazing music, awesome movies and pop culture! Meet the GenX'ers behind the popular GenXGrownUp channel and find out how these guys grew older but refused to give up their love of everything Generation X. Jon is joined by George Sumpter as they team up for a new panel! |
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Cassandra ReederAuthor: The Geeky ChefAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Cassandra Reeder is the creator of The Geeky Chef, which she launched in 2008 as one of the early blogs dedicated to recreating food and drinks from games, films, television, and other pop-culture properties. Her work on the blog led to a series of cookbooks, including The Geeky Chef Cookbook and The Geeky Bartender Drinks. She has also worked with game developers including Blizzard, Bethesda, and BioWare, developing recipes for official gaming cookbooks and cocktail books including Mass Effect: The Official Cocktail Book, Starfield: The Official Cookbook, and Fallout: The Official Drinks Book. |
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John RiggsRigg'd GamesAppearing: Saturday and Sunday John Riggs runs the popular Rigg'd Games YouTube channel. His tutorials on how to edit and modify NES games for beginners all the way to advanced modders are awesome and a huge hit! He also frequently covers how to troubleshoot and fix broken video games. This year he talks about how to publish video games - without knowing how to write actual code! Join him at PRGE! |
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Brian RiggsbeeAuthor, PublisherAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Brian Riggsbee is the founder of Retro Game Books, a former game developer, and human with bad knees. Brian lives in San Francisco with his wife and son. |
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Kaye RossWatch Out For Fireballs! PodcastAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Kaye Ross is one of co-hosts of the Watch Out for Fireballs! podcast that covers video games from every era, from retro to newer releases, indie to AAA. Each week they dive deep into a game's mechanics and narrative to figure out what works and what doesn't. Kaye and and co-host Gary Butterfield have delivered many fantastic panels at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo and we are glad to have them back! |
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Jackie StargroveSierra On-Line: Moderator for FMV PanelAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Jackie Stargrove does too much. An active writer, presenter, panel moderator, and occasional guest programmer in the Austin, TX film scene with Hyperreal Film Club and Alamo Drafthouse, they also contribute an entertainment column to California’s Hanford Sentinel newspaper, as well as any other freelance work that will have them. A lifelong gamer with a respectable retro collection, Jackie is something of a historian for underloved genres such as FMV and licensed video games, with several projects on those topics in the works. Jackie is the lead vocalist for Error 47, a collective that reimagines video game music (especially late 80s/early 90s PC titles) in a more industrial rock style. Jackie is also an actor, trivia host, karaoke DJ, and generally just fun at parties. |
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Andrea SubissatiExecutive Editor of Rue Morgue magazineAppearing: Saturday to Sunday Andrea is the Executive Editor of Rue Morgue magazine and host of Rue Morgue TV. Her masters thesis on the social impact of zombie cinema was published under the title When There’s No More Room In Hell: The Sociology of the Living Dead. Since then, she has been published in The Undead and Theology (2012), The Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul (2015) Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television (2017) and Scared Sacred: Idolatry, Religion and Worship in the Horror Film (2020). In addition to writing, she is co-host and producer of the award-winning Faculty of Horror Podcast with Alexandra West. and has appeared in the horror documentary Why Horror? (2014), CTV’s Pop Life, Banger TV‘s Locked Horns and Hollywood Suite’s A Year In Film. |
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Alessio SummerfieldMetal Gear Monday PodcastAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Alessio is an Atlanta-based award-winning filmmaker, writer, podcaster, and bedroom musician with over 250 credits to his name in film and television. Alessio’s fingerprints can be found all over History Channel’s “The Food That Built America”, Netflix’s “Unlocked”, and National Geographic’s “Extraordinary Birder”. |
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George SumpterGenXGrownUpAppearing: Saturday and Sunday George Sumpter is part of the GenXGrownUp channel: The late 1970s to the early 1990s were the coolest time to grow up! We had emerging technology like home computers, video games, the first digital games plus amazing music, awesome movies and pop culture! Meet the GenX'ers behind the popular GenXGrownUp channel and find out how these guys grew older but refused to give up their love of everything Generation X. Jon is joined by Jon Reddick as they team up for a new panel! |
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Two Girls One ShipVideo Games and RomanceAppearing: Saturday and Sunday How does your video game bae stack up against the rest? Jennasis and Virvada love video games and romance, and this is a panel dedicated to analyzing all that video game relationships have to offer. They talk about specific games, favorite love interests, where video game romance started, where it's headed, and everything in between. A fan favorite returns to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo! |
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Anna VigueRoberta Vaughan’s Retro AdventuresAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Lilliana (or Lilli, if you’re feeling it) is a Seattle, WA author and podcaster, which means she has trouble deciding whether talking or writing exhausts her more. When she isn’t musing about Metal Gear (or One Piece, but that’s beside the point…seriously, ask her about One Piece), she can be found being terminally online and deciding her next great plot beat. Her novels “Unyielding” and “Rebellion” are available now, with her next book “Parallax” targeting a 2027 release. |
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Brett WeissAuthor, Video Game HistorianAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Anna Vigue is the Promotions and Marketing Lead for Roberta Vaughan’s Retro Adventures, where she supports exhibits, convention programming, fundraising, partnerships, interviews, and community outreach. A lifelong adventure gamer and collector of classic PC big-box games, Anna co-hosts The Classic Gamers Guild Podcast with Paul Korman. She has been active in the wider Classic Gamers Guild community since 2017, helping connect fans, independent developers, and gaming historians. |
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Steve WiebeThe King of Kong, Author, MusicianAppearing: Saturday morning Competitive Donkey Kong player Steve Wiebe is a two-time Donkey Kong world champion, starred in the movie "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters", is a musician and teaches math at Redmond High School in WA State. Steve joins the Portland Retro Gaming Expo for a special presenation on Sunday morning with Ryan Burger of Old School Gamer Magazine. |
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Michael WitwerDungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, Lore & LegendsAppearing: Saturday and Sunday Michael Witwer is a New York Times bestselling author known for the Hugo-nominated Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, the critically acclaimed Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons, and the bestselling Heroes’ Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook. His most recent works include Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary, Dungeons & Dragons: Lore & Legends, Heroes’ Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse, and his award-winning debut fantasy novel, Vivian Van Tassel and the Secret of Midnight Lake. He also stars on the eOne/Lionsgate cooking show Heroes' Feast, based on his book of the same name. Michael holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and resides in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, two daughters, and two sons. |
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Lilliana WrightMetal Gear Monday PodcastAppearing: Friday, Saturday and Sunday Lilliana (or Lilli, if you’re feeling it) is a Seattle, WA author and podcaster, which means she has trouble deciding whether talking or writing exhausts her more. When she isn’t musing about Metal Gear (or One Piece, but that’s beside the point…seriously, ask her about One Piece), she can be found being terminally online and deciding her next great plot beat. Her novels “Unyielding” and “Rebellion” are available now, with her next book “Parallax” targeting a 2027 release. |
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Cancellations
All of our guests and celebrities are professionals with busy schedules and emergencies, health events and scheduling conflicts do occasionally happen. Please accept our apologies and we will continue to do our best to bring you exciting talent! We will post any cancellations as soon as we become aware of them in this section here.
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Paul QuinnSierra, Content CreatorAppearing: CANCELLED
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