OEGE - April 11th in Oklahoma City

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'm not associated with the event (I haven't even signed up as a vendor as yet), but since there wasn't a post about it here, I thought I'd post the link to their site:

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/

Looks like they're trying to get things a little more organized this year, which can't hurt.

[sebastiankirchoff]

Wow, thats pretty cool. I may go, depending on if I can afford a trip there.

[namzep]

I'm sure I'll go again but I hope there are more vendors than last year (and ones more related to video gaming).

[delf]

I'll be sure to add this to my calendar. I heard that it was a letdown last year, due to circumstances beyond OEGE's control (can't recall the details). Hopfully, this year, will be a success!

Hope to see you guys there!

[Steve W]

I heard that it was a letdown last year, due to circumstances beyond OEGE's control (can't recall the details).
Well, telling the public about the event seemed beyond their control, apparently. Calling vendors up and reminding them to show up must have been beyond their control, also. Putting up a single sign to let people know where the hell the show is supposed to be held was also obviously beyond their control too.

Last year, it was just a group of us sitting around at empty vendor tables chewing the fat. Four vendors showed up; Vintage Stock, Phosphor Dot Fossils, a board game seller, and a manga/action figure seller. So we hung out with Earl at the PDF table. Out of sheer sadness I eventually bought some 3DO games from the meager selection of stuff Vintage Stock brought with them. I doubt the board game or action figure vendors made a dime there. But we all did get a lot of free Monster energy drinks out of the deal. Flack got two cases!

Last year had to be a serious learning experience for them, so I'm hoping this year it'll turn out much better. Since there's not much of a chance of it turning out worse. They'll at least try a little harder to get the public notified, and maybe they'll get in a fifth vendor! Whooo hooo! We're having fun now!

I'm hoping we can talk some folks into bringing some arcade cabs to the show, maybe get 98PaceCar to set up a game console retrospective/museum. One reason I'd like to go to these types of events is to see something that I've never seen or played before. And maybe have the opportunity to buy some stuff that I don't have in my collection. Neither of those happened at last year's show. So I'm hoping it'll be this year that they get their act together.

[delf]

I hope it turns out better this year. We don't get these kind of things in the OKC area that often. Now OVGE (http://ivorytower.emuviews.com/okge/)in Tulsa last year was AWESOME. Jesse hardesty did an excellent job organizing that show.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

One thing that does look hopeful this year is that there seems to be more of a departmental effort behind it at the school. I'm really intrigued by the idea of a show like this having the backing of a college - that has some interesting possibilities. If they can make good on getting the "legends of the industry" to show up that they talk about in their promo blurb, that'd be cool. There ARE legends of the industry in the southern midwest - the Fat Man, Richard Garriott, Larry Dixon (artist for most of the Wing Commander games and many others) - you just have to know where/how to find them, and be able to put on a good PR face to get them to show up.

Anyway, I'm hoping that the school/class being behind this show bodes well. In his defense, Drew Stone did as good a job as one guy, who's also staring down the barrel of a bunch of finals at semester's end, could hope to do. With some more shoulders to carry the load and get the word out, OEGE could really be a unique show, something different from and complementary to OVGE.

[Funk Buddy]

I'd like to go, but I'm going to be in Tulsa the 3-5 and no way I'd be able to come back for the show.

[dstone]

Hi, All,

I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know that the Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo is returning for 2009 on April 11th at Oklahoma City Community College. Vendor/Exhibitor registration packets have started making their way out. If you have not yet received a packet and would like to have a booth, be a guest speaker, or donate something, you can fill out the paperwork online (http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/Info/2009_ExhibitorInfo.pdf) or contact me via PM so I can get a packet sent to you promptly.

We have a wonderful lineup of guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds:

Designer's Panel
Len Bogner - UCO
Neal Hettinger- Century Martialarts
Jeff Price - OCU
Sarah Sears - S Designs Inc
Lindsey La Valle - PDC Productions
Toney Antonelli - OETA

Game Pipelines
P.L. Studios

Collecting Classic Arcade Games
Rob O'Hara - Author and Collector

Making Flash Games
Akram Taghavi-Burris - Oklahoma Adobe Users Group, OCCC Professor

This year will also feature a game tournament sponsored by HxC Lan Center. Tournament games include Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Mario Kart, Soul Calibur 4, Street Fighter 4, and Guitar Hero (game list subject to change, any changes will be promptly notated here).

I will update this post with a list of vendors/exhibitors as they start coming in.

For more information, please visit our website at http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress


Thank you all for your support and hope to see you there!

[neist]

Even if last year was a bit lackluster, I'm still willing to give it a go.

Nearly established events typically aren't that glamorous anyway. Gotta support it so it grows. :)

[dstone]

Update on the game tournaments:

The following titles will be available: Street Fighter IV, Soul Calibur IV, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and Mario Kart Wii.
Although general entry to the expo is free, there will be a $1.00 charge per tournament if one desires to enter. Half of the proceeds will go to the Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org).
Once again, special thanks to HxC Lan Center (www.hxclancenter.com/) for sponsoring the game tournaments.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Tournament Rules (www.okgamers.com/pdf/ssbb-rules.pdf)
Soul Calibur IV Tournament Rules (www.okgamers.com/pdf/sc4-rules.pdf)

Just a reminder, registration for exhibitors and vendors ends March 27. If you have been expecting a registration packet and have not received one yet, please get with me immediately.

[dstone]

Exhibitor/Vendor registration has been extended to April 3rd.
Space is limited, don't wait until the last minute to sign up!

We now offer the ability to register over the web:
Click here for Booth registration. (oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/exhibitors-info/exhibitor-regestration/)
Click here for Speaker registration. (oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/exhibitors-info/speak-at-oege/)

OEGE is proud to be sponsored by the following organizations:
AlterNative Media
Best Buy
Computer Arts and Technology Society
Game Equals Life
Hardcore Lan Center
J-Darling
OKGamers.com
Okie AUG
Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma Creativity

We would like to announce that the following groups have booth space reserved at this time:
Best Buy
Creative Oklahoma
Game Equals Life
J-Darling
Metro Tech
New World Comics
Okie AUG
Oklahoma City Community College
Rob O'Hara
plus more on the way!

I would like to send out a special thank you to all those that are making this possible!

[8bitgamer]

I've decided to go this convention. After talking to the organizer, I'm convinced that it will be much better than last year. More vendors, more attendees, more events, more fun. Hope to talk to Rob, Earl, Pacecar, Steve W, and any others of you who can make it.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I've sent in my vendor form, and I'm burning DVDs like crazy, so I'm definitely planning on being there. I'll have both volumes of the Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD, as well as the "Brown Box" double-pack, and several copies of the CGE DVD box set on hand too. Hopefully a good time will be had by all, though I'm a little daunted at the prospect of having to provide my own hyper-caffienated energy drinks this year - those were a life saver in '08. :drinking:

[Steve W]

I'm not sure if I can make it, since my boss wants to take that day off. Even so, there's no classic game vendors or anything there. Hopefully everyone will bring in some stuff to sell or trade, because I hate to go to a retro convention and leave empty-handed.

[8bitgamer]

Even so, there's no classic game vendors or anything there. Hopefully everyone will bring in some stuff to sell or trade, because I hate to go to a retro convention and leave empty-handed.

That's one potential drawback so far--the lack of classic game vendors. I'll have some old games for sale at my table, and so will my brother-in-law, but I'd like to see more. People bringing things to trade is a cool idea.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'm seriously thinking about bringing some stuff to sell or trade - the usual suspects, 2600, 5200, maybe some Colecovision, Intellivision and Atari 8-bit stuff, maybe even something daring like PS1 & PS2 stuff that I don't mind parting with.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

If it encourages anyone to come to the show, here's a rough look at what I'm bringing for sale/trade bait:

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/q2-09/oegegames1.jpg

A big box of 2600 stuff, including some rarities and relatively-rare stuff; I can tell you at the very least that there's an Atari Video Cube in here, and some other goodies.

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/q2-09/oegegames2.jpg

Lots of Colecovision, 5200, Atari 8-bit, C64 and Channel F stuff, including Mr. Do's Castle, Illusions, Miner 2049er and quite a few others...

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/q2-09/oegegames3.jpg

...and some boxed goodness too.

You guys sure you're not gonna make it? ;)

[8bitgamer]

I'll bring as much stuff as I can. I've got some semi-rare Atari 2600 carts, a bunch of semi-rare Genesis carts, a stack of factory sealed PGA European Tours (N64), and an assortment of other things modern and classic. I'll have my book for sale as well.

And there's no telling what my brother-in-law will bring. He's moving and looking to get rid of some stuff.

Plus, the convention is free, there's a Street Fighter IV tournament, and Flack is giving a talk on collecting arcade games. What's not to like?

[98PaceCar]

I'll probably be bringing a few boxes of stuff as well. The only notable thing I may bring is a nice TG-16 with a turbobooster, multitap, and a bunch of games. Outside of that, it's whatever has landed in my trade boxes, so will most likely be a mixed bag.

PDF, I call dibs on the boxed 5200 stuff!

[dstone]

We are proud to announce that Chick-Fil-A is now a sponsor of OEGE.

We would also like to add the following groups to those with booth space reserved:
AlterNative Media
Brett Weiss
Cactus Jack's Family Fun Center
Chick-Fil-A
Phosphor Dot Fossils

Once again, many thanks to all who have signed up and will see you a week from Saturday!

[Steve W]

Well, looks like my boss cleared me Saturday off so I can go. I'll probably end up leaving early because I'll probably have to work at 6am Sunday morning. That means no checking out Flack's arcade! That sucks.

[namzep]

I'll be bringing my trade tub and, hopefully, will have my lot of famicoms in. There are 14 or 15 doubles from it for trade.

[namzep]

I'm now not 100% sure if I'll make it or not. I hope to and, if I do, I really want to trade for that Masters of the Universe boxed game (and probably some of the 2600 stuff, as well).

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

All packed up here. See you guys in the morning! :D

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Since the car's loaded, I can pretty much tell you what I'm bringing:

Sale items - heaps of games for sale from my collection (most of them at ridiculously affordable prices), and plenty of those delicious, nutritious PDF and CGE DVDs. Complete price list will be available at my table.

Display items - Magnavox Odyssey and Nintendo Famicom, both hooked up and ready to play, along with their original packaging on display.

Hope to see plenty of folks there!

[Steve W]

heaps of games for sale from my collection (most of them at ridiculously affordable prices)
I hope I get to those Colecovision games first...

[dstone]

For those coming to the Expo, we highly recommend parking in Lot D and using Entrance 6 to the building. Exhibitors should use the same lot and entrance, as this provides the shortest distance from unloading a vehicle to your space.

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/files/2009/03/occc_outside-300x247.jpg (oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/Info/occc-map.jpg)

If you choose to park elsewhere, we highly recommend finding your way to the main entrance; signs will be posted instructing you to the Student Union rooms.

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/files/2009/03/occc_inside-300x247.jpg (oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/Info/occc-map2.jpg)

(click images for larger, detailed versions)
Recommended parking areas and event locations are highlighted in red.

See you tomorrow!

[neist]

Good to see the turnout this year was MUCH better than last.

I enjoyed the show overall. :)

[8bitgamer]

Yeah, it was nice to see a good crowd at the expo. The tournaments were really well attended, and I sold a lot of games. Few seemed to be interested in books, though, which I thought was a little odd considering the educational slant of the show.

Overall, I had a great time. It was cool to see Flack, Pacecar, and Earl (among others).

[Steve W]

I don't think Flack's books did all that well, and maybe neither did Earl's DVDs. I think the people attending the show were college age teens to early 20s, and weren't all that interested in the history of games. They clustered around the Best Buy booth's modern games and the assorted game tournaments. It was us old farts that were buying the books and DVDs, those of us who actually lived through gaming history.

I had a lot of fun, but I feel really wiped out after driving to Oklahoma City and back in one day, especially in thunderstorms on the way back. Won't have any problem falling asleep tonight!

[Flack]

I sold six books in all, two copies of Commodork (http://www.robohara.com/Commodork) and four copies of Invading Spaces (http://www.robohara.com/InvadingSpaces).

The show was much improved over last year's. I think it may some day be a fairly big show for game developers. There were only three people there selling games: PDF, 98Pacecar, and Brett Weiss, so the focus wasn't really on buying or selling games.

There was a lot of diversity in the tables, so I don't think anyone liked everything, but almost everyone liked something.

[neist]

There was a lot of diversity in the tables, so I don't think anyone liked everything, but almost everyone liked something.

I think that's a fairly safe assumption.

There was actually some fairly nifty stuff at some of the booths. PDF had a Famicom set up. It was the first time I've actually had hands-on with one. Not that they are overly rare, but I just never had a reason to get one. Pretty neat!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I moved a heap of games, including very nearly my entire NES collection, and a decent chunk of 2600 and 5200 stuff. Only sold about two copies of each DVD or DVD set though. I had a few tech issues, which were exacerbated by the fact that I got there so late that I started setting up 10 minutes prior to the show - I lost the first hour and a half or so to getting my display set up, and didn't have anything set out to sell yet (partially because if I was selling and setting up at the same time, I doubt I would've been at my best doing either one).

Huge thanks to SteveW for being my right-hand-man on very short notice - my usual sidekick was absent for this one, and while I kept on trying to tell myself that I could swing a solo display just this once...I couldn't. I almost had to bring my now-highly-mobile toddler with me too, though he went to stay with his aunt and uncle and their daughter for Friday night and Saturday instead. Thank goodness: I really got to missing him around lunchtime, because Saturday is our day to just goof off and bum around together, but I can't imagine having to do all the setup and watch him at the same time, never mind him having to make it through the whole show.

There is indeed an educational slant to OEGE, but it's not one that's focused on history, which hit both Brett and myself this year. And that's not saying anything bad about OCCC's computer arts program - the history of video games just isn't something that's a part of very many game design programs. I have my own opinions on whether or not that needs to change - not least of which is making sure that some budding game designer's totally new and fresh idea isn't accidentally "borrowed" from something that was on the VCS before they were born - but I'm also not privy to the logistics of these courses in a college setting. I know that Bill Kunkel and Michael Thomasson have both taught such courses, so they'd be the ones to ask. (And not every younger attendee was disinterested either - dstone for one bought a pretty good pile of games from me, and numerous others were transfixed by the two consoles I brought.)

One of my issues was the testy death, on the show floor, of one of the color TVs I've been using for years for these get-togethers. This one has accompanied me since the 2003 OKGE (OVGE) show, so I felt a little bit betrayed by my equipment (especially since it would've been showing the demo loop of the DVDs I was selling to the side of my booth where all the merchandise was - that might just have made a difference). I also hadn't done any endurance testing on my Famicom, and hadn't used its monitor in some time either; both of them got glitchier and glitchier as the day went on, and repeatedly needed to be powered down and back up. But both drew quite a crowd. I set up one of my video cameras with an extremely wide-angle lens pointing up at where anyone playing the Odyssey would be standing, and started recording anytime someone showed up and had a go. I captured some extremely humorous responses and I'll edit together a montage at some point; it may be ancient history, but people still think it's fun nearly four decades later.

This reminded me a lot of the 2003 OKGE - maybe not gangbusters business, but a lot of conversations and a lot of "OMG, I remember playing this way back when!" from parents and older-than-20-something passers-by. Since I was flying solo so much of this year's show, I honestly didn't make it to many of the booths: Brett Weiss came to my booth to sell me a copy of his book. LOL (Hey, he delivers!) I also didn't make it to any of the presentations either. I kinda regret that, but I had my own little corner of the room to run.

Overall, a much better show this year, but curiously that didn't translate to better sales. Then again, it's hard to get a handle on how much stuff folks in the hobby, or on the fringes of the hobby, are buying right now. I did better than break even on the trip, however, so I'm not writing it off as a loss.

By the way, if anybody's interested, strangely enough I have plentiful copies of PDF Level 2, PDF 1, CGE 2K7 and the PDF two-in-one on hand here (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/level-2-dvd/)!

[8bitgamer]

IBrett Weiss came to my booth to sell me a copy of his book. LOL (Hey, he delivers!)

You didn't think I was going to shell out actual cash for your DVD set did you? ;)

Seriously, thanks for the trade--I look forward to watching the Brown Box Bundle.