PRGE and CCCC Trip

I have made the journey from Spokane to many places so many times it is not new. At least once a month I have driven to Seattle or Portland for nearly two years now. The routine of it all is hard to describe. I love the journey, but recognize there is no way to describe it in a new way.

While driving, I enjoy telling stories, or writing articles in my head. On one journey a while back, I told the story of two German men standing guard at the line in World War I. One was Jewish, but that hardly seemed important to either of them. It wasn’t until the Fuhrer took power, and the camps began that it did. I followed their lives, both tragic and full of hope through the century. Each time they meet, the moment is supposed to mean the death of the other. Yet, out of friendship they help each other live. Finally, in the 90’s the old friends meet, and get to talk. They have lived through wars, and terrible peace. By the time I finished telling it to myself, I had to keep my head straight because I wanted to cry. Such a lovely story. I don’t think I had any major thoughts like that during this trip.

There were some added parts. I drove to Arlington to pick up some handtrucks for the PRGE. This added a lot of extra time for my drive. I got a speeding ticket, which was my fault. I also got stuck in traffic outside of Redmond, also my fault. My foot was on the break the entire time, but we never really stopped. It was just a really slow movement.

There were extra lanes that could be used if you paid the state money. I nicknamed it DLC lanes. For Freemium style games, the only way to really play the game is to buy items that make things easier. Those lanes were not congested with traffic, and moving quickly. Mine was barely moving. A lot of Seattle traffic control seems designed by game makers, so it seemed appropriate.

I had arranged the handtrucks from the NWPAS folks because of how useful they were for Arcade equipment. The extra time seemed worth it since it would make things easier at the show.

The drive to Portland was pretty simple. I got tired and stopped to buy some gas around Tacoma. It was pretty late, so I drank some Dr. Pepper to keep me awake.

Portland designers are very controlling. They want you to go under the speed limit, and be extra careful. Because of the turns, and weird stops you slow down. Traffic itself is slower, and more deliberate.

I got in, talked a bit with my hosts, and went to bed. The biggest thing was that one of my hosts broker her leg while falling down the stairs. She saw a spider and decided to try to parkour away. We called her new trick the 180 Holy Crap.

Because I took the metro I could only bring one handtruck at a time for the show. The first trip forward I didn’t really know what to do. I wheeled in the handtruck, stood it up at the bike section and hoped everything was legal. I discovered that they enjoyed moving during sharp turns, or quick stops.

The Portland Retro Gaming Expo was in two halls this year. There were so many vendors, and shops that the arcade and gaming area had to take one hall by itself. That is really amazing. I was told it basically doubled from last year. They had to turn down guest speaker offers.

The arcade side of things had some new arrangements. The guy in charge was giving us a lot more power in choosing out where stuff would be, and how. The game owners were in charge of fixing machines, and their own load in, and load out. We would move the machines into place, and make sure everything was working.

Part of the reason for this was all of the work last year done by just 4 people -I was one of them. And also that the guy in charge of the whole thing was otherwise occupied. He had a child due at any moment.

Placement of items was basically about what we liked and space. Big stuff was put on the end as a sort of display piece. The Atari section was made because one guy really liked Atari games. I put the shooters together because that sounded right. It was smooth, and quick. A shipment came in, and we figured out placement. Next year we will have things marked down, and easy to find.

I saw a lot of games I couldn’t wait to play. In fact, some of them I only played before opening. I will write up reviews for all those awesome games later.

There were enough people helping out that machines moved quickly, and some volunteers felt useless. That is an awesome thing. I cheered as one volunteer kept asking what was needed.

Near the middle of the day I helped with setting up NES’ for the Tetris competition. We had to switch out a few because the system itself had problems. There were easy tests, and quick work on everything. The volunteers there kept telling me their problems, and asking for advice.

There was time to shop around, and hang out with friends. The presentation by the head volunteers was nice since I could always find chairs. Seriously this was an easy set up for everything done. It was the only time I played FZero.

The biggest problem was that the guy in charge of the arcade had to leave. His new son was being born. I wondered if I had to take more charge than I had. It turned out everyone had a better idea of what they were doing than I did. It felt weird knowing I was just a minion. The year before I was the head volunteer over the arcade.

This year the folks in charge asked someone to be what was called MiniBoss. I only needed to do basic stuff, and get food vouchers.

I enjoyed lunch, and dinner at a cafe nearby. Their shake isn’t the greatest, but the burgers were good.

In fact, I went home early. At 8 PM there was nothing else to do. Last year we were going past midnight.

The next day I found out that the guys I wanted to interview had come and left before I even arrived. On the other hand, the Pong Arcade got signed by Al Alcorn. Now that is awesome. Apparently they all sat together, and chatted about old times. The graphic designer was amazed people wanted her autograph. She was part of history to us.

There were a lot of youtube stars around. I worked around them, but never really spoke to them. The one guy I do sort of follow shocked me by being somewhat short. I always pictured him as tall and lanky.

The FZero Machine was already full, as was the Prop Cycle. Luckily, there was a Crazy Taxi machine that could open up from time to time. I got food coupons regularly, and a buddy stashed food at the console station.

Even cooler, one of my all time best friends moved to the area recently, so I hung out with him while working.

There is something magical about doing a show. The convention center is just a large open room. I mean several football fields in size. Giant curtains make up the various halls. Then we come in, and make this amazing place. The guards oggled the games, and said they were coming in early to enjoy the show. Other workers just smiled every time they saw a machine from their childhood. That feels good.

Every day I showed up with another handtruck. One guy said he wondered if they were mating.

During a certain time of year, the Commanche would meet and discuss things. There would be a city out of nowhere, and then it would be gone after a month.

The same thing happened here. We made something amazing out of a giant open room. Then it was all packed up and gone.

Saturday I got to do something I always wanted to do, though not quite this way. A little girl started talking to me while I was in bed. That was the awkward part. Luckily I was awake, and wearing shorts at the time. She just kept talking, and not feeling any bother. So, I talked with her, and slowly all the girls of the house showed up.

After some talking, I showed them my picture books. I read Lars and the Clown’s Balloon, and House Geist. I even told the story of Eliza, and of the pet snake I had. They loved the pictures, and stories being told. As a children’s book writer/artist it is a dream to read to such an audience. It was awkward, and special at the same time.

The girls all drew pictures for me, and told me stories. I got hugs from them as well.

That night after working till midnight, I got onto the train, and the next stop it filled with people. There had been a Madonna concert that had just ended. There were so many people, the door jammed. They sang Midnight Train Ride. It was an odd sensation.

I was so exhausted a guy asked me about the show, and I didn’t think of a way to show him. My phone was in my hand, but I didn’t think it through.

Sunday, I went and bought stuff. The ATM’s had all run out of money except one on the other side of the building. There were other shows going on, but we think ours was the more special. Though the Native American Education Center was awesome. I admit I listened in for Navajo as best I could.

I scoured as best I could, and when I got money, most of that stuff was gone. I still found some good stuff. A History book on pinball, Castlevania for N64, and Final Fantasy Tactics for PS1. At that point a lot of the stuff was being given away.

The Tetris world championship happened, and I barely noticed it.

I can’t remember which night it was, but one night I was so tired I couldn’t figure out how to go home. I ended up chatting with a guy while playing Super Mario 3. He said I was doing good, and then I died.

The show ended, and clean up had arrived. We moved boxes, and helped with all sorts of items. The arcade stuff was moved quickly. Once again, people just left stuff on the ground. I ended up learning how to properly fold a show table cloth. There was a lot of trial and error with that.

Because of how things were set up, people moved items quickly. It was exhausting, but the work was moving quickly. In fact, we ended up finishing up early. They fed us Pizza, but at that point it was just a chance to mingle and joke around.

Monday there was basic stuff but nothing big. In fact, a lot of folks claimed forgotten items. I grabbed random stuff for the girls. I always grab stuff to leave for my hosts kids. It’s sort of a thank you from me. There were lanyards, a button, and some DVD holders. Oh, and a boot.

We went to lunch at a nice steakhouse in Eastern Portland. While there the discussion was on various hiccups, problems, and ideas there were for next year. I also found out the woman next to me helped out Sea Scouts. She wanted me to volunteer to help out. I told her I didn’t live in the area.

When I got back to the show floor, it was all done. After waiting for the last truck, I took my handtrucks and left. My buddy helped me load all three handtrucks onto the train, and then into my car. Since he was only a few stops away from mine we ended up just sitting at the train station chatting for a few hours. It was really pleasant.

I delivered my presents to my hosts and thanked them for all that they did. The next morning was a simple wake up and drive out. I made sure to deliver the handtrucks quickly, and then went over to my overnight hosts in Everett. There was a small stop at a KFC for lunch, and facebook conversation with my sister.

The rest of the day was all about relaxation and hanging out. I took random pictures with friends, and their various pets. My hosts decided to help me with my resume for a job I was going to apply for the next day. It was for an event coordinator at a museum.

The next day I drove out to the museum first. It is a really nice computer museum.

On the way there, my GPS decided to give me really bad directions. I drove into a construction site, and suddenly had to figure out the best method of removing myself from the area quickly. A few laws may have been broken, and frustrated growls given.

The museum was really cool. A few of the computers from the last 20-30 years were useable. I walked around, and enjoyed what I saw. There was a Microsoft focus at points, but that makes sense. There was also a fully working PDP-10, with mouse, and controller. The guy who runs it said he had no idea how to get Space Wars to work on it, but has been asked a few times.

After that it was a pretty direct drive to Yakima. I stopped off at Ellensburg to get gas and some food, but wasn’t there long.

The drive to Yakima has been tempting me for a few years now. Every time I see the sign, I sort of wanted to visit. There really isn’t much to the town, but it is where a lot of memories live. I can’t say they are all fond and wonderful either.

I realized when I drove into town that it was way too early. My host works midnight shift, so he was asleep. I toured various stores, and looked at stuff from back in the day. Then wound up at my host’s place. It was small, and near a busy intersection.

We grabbed some food at an old town buffet. Good food, and all I could eat. I mentioned that in Hawaii, Locals are told how many plates they can have. The ham was great, as was the chocolate milk. The price was a bit steep though.

The next day I messaged in to see what was needed for set up. This was the first big surprise of the Central City Comic Con. It turned out that the convention center wasn’t even going to let the convention folks in until 2PM Friday. I had an entire day to kill. I spent a lot of it sleeping, and watching random TV shows. Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey is still a masterpiece.

For this show, I wasn’t going to do the all day thing. This was an excuse to see friends. I did at most, 6-8 hours a day. Most shows it’s about 10-12 hours a day. Like you read earlier, it saps the mind a bit.

I showed up for my shift, and was assigned to help the Zombie Prom. Nothing was set up, so they had a dance in one of the areas, and someone decorated faces. There was also cosplay speed dating.

Then I was sent to a side part of the convention center, and told people where stuff was. I met a few celebrities, and had cool chats with all sorts of people.

The best part was taking various pictures. In fact, I went a little crazy at this con.

During the Prom tables and chairs were set up. I heard there would be an overnight set up, but did not participate.

The next day things were set up, and I walked around helping booths. I helped sell for two booths, and chatted with various others. There were folks from other shows I have done, and others that just had cool stories.

There was a problem with the bounce house, no real idea what. It started leaning, and a kid yelled that he was trapped. I got everyone out, and guarded the bounce house while waiting for it to be inspected.

I took a ton of pictures.

The next day, I took even more.

In fact, they set me next to the Comic Con Picture area. I took pictures for all sorts of people. My basic job was to tell folks where stuff in that area was.

The day ended at 6, and it was enough time to head out to home. I grabbed my stuff, and headed out. There were a few wrong turns, so I saw Toppenish. The way back was pretty dull, but thats ok. I enjoyed dull.

After two weeks I was home, and with enough strength to go to work, and deal with my speeding ticket.

I will be posting interviews and comments later on, but this is a great outline for the shows. If you want to see more pictures, check out my Facebook page here.