Here's the tentative speaker schedule for Saturday
11:30 AM
Help Design a Wizard Mode for Ghostbusters
Dwight Sullivan
Dwight is currently a lead software engineer and senior game developer for Stern Pinball. He has worked to help design and develop pinball machines for over 20 years, starting in 1989 with the game Riverboat Gambler. He was part of the driving force behind many games like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones, and Ghostbusters to name a few.
12:45 PM
Jersey Jack Pinball: Making Pinball Great Again
Butch Peel
Find out what's happening these days at JJP and get a few tips on how to play their latest release: The Hobbit.
2:00 PM
Arcade First Game Development in 2016
Christopher Cruz
Christopher Cruz, Art Director for SKYCURSER, a brand new arcade exclusive arcade game will lead a discussion about the go-to-market strategy of building “arcade first” games in a world where it’s increasingly difficult for independent developers to stand out in the ocean of console, pc and mobile games. Sub topics will include how to build user interfaces for arcade gamers and operators, the psychology of arcade game design, and producing modern artwork for obsolete technology.
2:45 PM
Exidy Panel
Larry Hutcherson, Nick Ilyin, Ken Nicholson
California Extreme is proud to present the first ever Exidy panel! Exidy had a prolific output of games through the 1970s and 80s that today, perhaps more than ever, still garner the respect of the arcade community. Iconic titles included Venture, Mouse Trap, Crossbow, and Cheyenne. Other rarer and even some controversial titles include Star Fire, Chiller, Death Race, the one-of-a-kind Teeter Torture, and Top Secret. Join some of the original members of the Exidy development team including Larry Hutcherson who was both the first and last employee at the company (Mouse Trap, Pepper II, Crossbow, and many others), Ken Nicholson (Exidy gun games), and Nick Ilyin (Crossbow and Cheyenne) as they discuss their days at Exidy and share the trials and tribulations of this unique company. The never-before-told stories from the panel members should be entertaining as well as a valuable contribution to arcade game history.
4:15 PM
Vid Kidz Reunion
Larry DeMar & Eugene Jarvis
California Extreme is extremely pleased to have on hand the original “VID KIDZ”, Mr. Eugene Jarvis and Mr. Larry DeMar! The VID KIDZ are legends and then some to arcade gamers having been the main force behind the iconic and ground breaking Williams titles Defender, Robotron, and Stargate. To call these games legendary is perhaps too mild as countless titles that have come since can trace their inspirations back to these games. Both of these luminaries continue to be active in the game industry to this day. Please join us for what promises to be a very lively panel as these gentlemen discuss their experiences both back in the “Fast and Furious” early days of the arcade business and their current endeavors.
5:45 PM
Game Show Game Show
Dan Amrich, Bowen Kerins, Owen Rubin
Big money, big prizes, I love it! Well, someone will walk away with a nice plaque anyway! Contestants will be selected from the audience to play games, with the champions meeting in a grand final for the title. Come out and play, it's your chance to lose on jeopardy, baby!
Films
7:15 PM
MAN vs SNAKE
Andrew Seklir
If you ever played the game 'Snake' on your early model Nokia cellphone, then you're familiar with 'Nibbler,' the original 'snake' game. MAN VS SNAKE tells the story of Tim McVey who, in 1984, on a single quarter (and over 44 hours of non-stop play) was the first person in history to score over one billion points on a video game. 25 years later, rumors of a higher score surface online, attributed to Italian kickboxing champion Enrico Zanetti. This calls into question everything Tim McVey has believed for decades and forces him to make a decision: either set a new world record, or risk losing his legacy forever.
9:00 PM
The Lost Arcade documentary
Kurt P. Vincent
Chinatown Fair opened as a penny arcade on Mott Street in 1944. Over the decades,the legendary gathering place, known for its tic-tac-toe playing chicken, became an institution, surviving turf wars between rival gangs, rising rents and the explosive growth of home gaming systems like Xbox and Playstation that shuttered all other arcades in the city. But as the neighborhood gentrified, this haven for a diverse community faced its strongest challenge, inspiring its biggest devotees to next-level greatness.
