Charles Martinet

Super Mario Bros: Mario, Lugi and many others!

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Charles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor. He is best known for voicing Mario in the Super Mario video game series. Martinet voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi in the Mario franchise as well. Another notable voice he's done would be the dragon Parthanax in the popular video game Skyrim. Also in 2022, the most recent Dragon Ball movie, Dragon Ball Super Super Heroes he voiced the villain Magenta.

Autograph (8 x 10): $80
Selfie: $60
8x10/Selfie Combo: $120

Samantha Kelly

Super Mario Bros: Princess Peach, Toad

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

She's been falling into boiling lava and dodging shells for the last decade. Samantha Kelly is a voice actor and radio personality who has played Princess Peach and Toad since 2007. She's been playing characters in video games since 2003, including "Sunny Day" the sports announcer in the Backyard Sports series for kids. Born in Kenya, she's lived all over the world, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Germany. She loves doing games that cross borders and taking down bad guys without messing up her hair.

Autograph (8 x 10): $40
Autograph (Premium Item): $50
Autograph (Amiibo): $80
Quotes (per every 6 Words): $20
Selfie: $40
8x10/Selfie Combo: $60
Premium Autograph/Selfie Combo: $70

Laura Faye Smith

Super Mario Bros: Princess Rosalina

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Laura Faye Smith is an LA-based voice actor, best known for voicing Princess Rosalina for Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers games (starting with Super Mario 3D World in 2013) and Noelle in Genshin Impact. She has also voiced Kana (male) for Nintendo's English cast of Fire Emblem Fates, Tamara "Meds" Malari in the ongoing sci-fi audiodrama The Sojourn, as well as numerous characters for Mad Head Games. She has done an extensive amount of commercials, dubbing, theatre, and audiobooks. She appeared as DeEtta Calvert on NBC's Grimm, and has also appeared in TNT's Leverage, Brat TV's Chicken Girls, and Investigation Discovery's Betrayed and Stranger Among Us.

Autograph (8 x 10): $40
Autograph (Premium Item): $50
Quotes (per every 6 Words): $20
Selfie: $40
8x10/Selfie Combo: $60
Premium Autograph/Selfie Combo: $70

Kenny James

Super Mario Bros: Bowser

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Kenny is best known as the voice of Bowser in the Nintendo Super Mario Bros franchise with over 35 title credits. He has been providing the voice and personality of Bowser since Super Mario Strikers in 2005. Other voice work includes Zingo, a story telling dragon for a children’s program, narration and audiobooks. While he currently lives in Dallas working in voice-over, Kenny was also a prolific theater actor performing in musicals, dramas and comedies, in the Puget Sound area.

Autograph (8 x 10): $40
Autograph (Premium Item): $50
Quotes (per every 6 Words): $20
Selfie: $40
8x10/Selfie Combo: $60
Premium Autograph/Selfie Combo: $70

Mike Vaughn

Super Mario Bros: Iggy Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Odds are high that you’ve heard Mike’s voice somewhere (extra points if you seen him on-camera), but just to be sure here’s an obnoxious list of the credits you might recognize: Iggy Koopa & Ludwig von Koopa from many Nintendo titles, Spider-man in Web of Shadows, any number of zombies from Back 4 Blood, Marvel’s What if…?, and Call of Duty: World at War. There’s also Jasper Sitwell in Marvel’s Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, various voices in games like Lost Ark, Genshin Impact, Ice Scream 2 thru 4, Final Fantasy: Type 0 and Mobius, Rise of Nightmares, or even as Maryman on GTA: San Andreas. The full list of Mike’s work can be found on IMDB, and more fun clips at mikevaughn.com!

Autograph (8 x 10): $40
Autograph (Premium Item): $50
Quotes (per every 6 Words): $20
Selfie: $40
8x10/Selfie Combo: $60
Premium Autograph/Selfie Combo: $70
Voice or Video Recording: $60

Grant Kirkhope

Voice of Donkey Kong

Composer for Golden Eye 007, Perfect Dark, Mario + Rabbids, Donkey Kong

Appearing: 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".

Autograph (8 x 10): $40
Autograph (Premium Item): $50
Quotes (per every 6 Words): $20
Selfie: $40
8x10/Selfie Combo: $60
Premium Autograph/Selfie Combo: $70
Short Music Notation: $20
Long Music Notation$ $40

David Hayter

Metal Gear Solid: Solid Snake, Naked Snake

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Few video game characters are as iconic as Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake. David Hayter has achieved cult status as the voice actor of Solid Snake & Naked Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series, including the new MGS Delta: Snake Eater! Besides voice talent work he is also a screen and script writer with credits for "X-Men", "X2", "Watchmen" and many more! As a producer, he created the film "Burn" with Bryan Singer, and the pilot episode of "Lost in Oz" for Warner Bros. Television. As an actor, his credits include the lead in the sci-fi film "Guyver: Dark Hero" and the voice of Captain America on the "Spiderman" animated series. Meet David and his fellow team members at "Snake Fest 2025"!

Autograph: $50
Autograph (Funko Pop): $75
Phone Calls, Videos, Voice Recordings: $60
Selfie: $30
Autograph/Selfie Combo: $70
Autograph (Funko Pop) & Selfie Combo: $95

Debi Mae West

Metal Gear Solid: Meryl Silverbergh

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Debi is most famous for her role as Meryl Silverbergh in Metal Gear Solid! She has over 50 video game voice credits, including Tekken 5 and World of Warcraft. Outside of games, you can also frequently hear her in commercials, TV shows like Disney's 101 Dalmations, Anthony Bordaine's No Reservations, the Super Bowl Saturday Night awards show, Pro Bowl draft picks, and programming on Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, Investigation Discovery, Nickelodeon etc.

Autograph: $40
Autograph (Funko Pop): $70
Phone Calls, Videos, Voice Recordings: $80
Quotes (Small): $10
Quotes (Large): $20
Selfie: $30
Autograph/Selfie Combo: $60
Autograph (Funko Pop) & Selfie Combo: $90

Paul Eiding

Metal Gear Solid: Col Campbell

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Completing our trio of "Snake Fest 2025" guests is Paul Eiding, the voice of Col Campbell in Metal Gear Solid! Paul's portfolio is huge: he had multiple roles in Fallout 3 & 4, Diablo & II, Skyrim, Max Tennyson in Ben 10, acting roles in the TV shows Star Trek The Next Generation, Pretender, ER, Toxic Crusaders and so much more! Paul was a fan favorite last year and returns for "Snake Fest 2025"!

Richard Epcar

Mortal Kombat: Raiden; Justice League: Joker

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Powerhouse actor Richard Epcar - is one of the hardest working men in show business, having voiced over 1,200 (yes, you read that right!) characters in Games, Animation and Anime, and Live Action movies. To name just a few: Raiden in the Mortal Kombat franchise, The Joker in several projects (including Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11), Yhwach and Zangetsu in Bleach, Etemon and Myotismon in Digimon, Batou in Ghost in the Shell, Xehanort/Ansem in Kingdom Hearts, Joseph Joestar in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, Black Ghost/Skull in Cyborg 009, Akuma in Street Fighter V (replacing Dave Mallow), Daisuke Jigen in Lupin the Third, Andrall in Gormiti Nature Unleashed, and Hercules in Pluto - to name just a very few! Wow!

Jessica Straus

Street Fighter: Juri; Dishonored 2: Alexandria Hypatia; Persona: Hanako & Saki

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Legendary Jessica has over 175 voice credits to her name and loves meeting the fans! While she’s currently best known for creating the English voice of Juri Han in the Street Fighter series, you can also hear her voice on: "Dishonored 2" as Dr. Hypatia; "Infamous" as Sasha; "Hack//GU" franchise as Pi; "Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls" as Hiroko Hagakure; "Darksiders 1&2" as Lilith; "Transformers: War of Cybertron" as Slipstream; "Persona 4" as Saki & Hanako; "World of Warcraft" & "Hearthstone" games as Queen Lana'thel, Freya & many more roles, and many well known RPGs! She started her career with such memorable roles like: "Diablo 2" as Amazon; "Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun" as EVA, "Wolf's Rain" as Blue; "FLCL" as Junko Miyaji, Castlevania Symphony of the Night" as Lisa/Succubus, and many, many, more! Stop by and say hi!

Liz Mamorsky

Silent Hill: Dahlia Gillespie

Appearing: 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. 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!

Katy Townsend

Fallout 4, Arcane LOL, Mass Effect

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

From Fallout 4 (Voice of Cait) and Mass Effect Andromeda (Voice of Dr. Suvi Anwar) to Arcane League of Legends (Voice of Maddie) and Call of Duty (voice of Charly) - Katy Townsend has voiced many quirky and memorable characters! She has done plenty of work on Nickelodeon and Netflix as well!

David Eddings

Borderlands: Claptrap; Bendy and the Ink Machine: Joey Drew

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

David Eddings is the voice of the iconic Claptrap mascot in Borderlands and Borderlands 2. He also has credits for Sin, Postal 2: Paradise Lost, Postal 4: No Regrets, Poker Night 2, and others. Besides voice acting, he worked for Gearbox and co-founded Rooster Teeth Games.

Victoria Morsell

Sierra On-Line: Actress in Phantasmagoria

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

FMV Actress Victoria Morsell left her mark on one of the most iconic and bestselling horror games of all time: "Phantasmagoria". Playing the lead role required months of 12-hour days but the result was a phenomenal (and controversial) FMV game that reset expectations for adventure games for mature audiences.

Paul Morgan Stetler

Sierra On-Line: Actor in Phantasmagoria 2

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Paul Morgan Stetler is an American actor best known for his compelling portrayal of Curtis Craig, the troubled protagonist of Sierra On-Line’s cult classic "Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh." His many other theater, TV and film acting credits include such classics as Pleasantville and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Brian Glynn

Mortal Kombat: Shao Khan (Mo-Cap)

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Brian Glynn is the actor and bodybuilder who brought alive the scariest final boss ever to appear in Mortal Kombat - Shao Khan! Shao Khan is widely recognized as one of the genre-defining villains and as re-appeared in multiple Mortal Kombat iterations.

William C. Stephens

Mortal Kombat: Jax; Exoprimal: Lorenzo

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

William Christopher Stephens has been playing video games since they were cartridges and was working at EB Games when the original FF VII was released. Being an only child, marrying his love for video games, D&D, animation and acting came naturally, which has lead him to voice an ever growing roster of A-list characters, which include Rude in Final Fantasy VIi Remake & Rebirth, Jax in MK11, Maine in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Walker in Back 4 Blood, Guan Yu - Dynasty Warriors:Origins and multiple characters in various Capcom titles.

Peter Jessop

Resident Evil: Albert Wesker; Fallout 4: Paladin Danse

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

With over 70 movie and TV acting and voice credits Peter Jessop has done many very memorable characters. You will find him in games like Resident Evil where he voiced Albert Wesker, Fallout 4 (Paladin Danse), Halo Wars, Mass Effect, Gears of War 3 and many many more! He has also done narrations for multiple documentaries and loves to interact with the fans!

Michael Cranford

Creator 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 more design and programming work he left the industry to pursue an academic career. Almost thirty years later, Michael came full circle when he was asked to assist with the development of "The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep".

Al Lowe

Sierra On-Line: Designer of Leisure Suit Larry

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Al Lowe is a 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 legendary and genre-defining "Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards" but he also created titles like "Freddy Pharkas", "Frontier Pharmacist", "Torin’s Passage", and many more!

Lori and Corey Cole

Sierra On-Line: Developers of Quest For Glory

Appearing: 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.

Josh Mandel

Sierra On-Line: Designer of King's Quest

Appearing: 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.

Ken Allen

Sierra On-Line: Composer for King's Quest and Space Quest

Appearing: 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.

Neal Grandstaff

Sierra On-Line: Composer for King's Quest and Space Quest

Appearing: 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.

Mark Seibert

Sierra On-Line: Composer for King's Quest and Quest For Glory

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Mark Seibert started playing guitar with garage bands and church groups at the age of 12. His love for music led him to study music at California State University Fresno where he earned a BA in music, studying classical guitar and composition. From ’83 through ’86 he and his wife Debbie toured nationally with the band Omega Sunrise, recording 2 albums and charting a number of local and regional hits around the country. From ’86 through ’88 he worked as a studio musician and jingle writer, as well as the worship director for the Fresno Vineyard. In the summer of ’87 he 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, Police Quest, Quest for Glory, Phantasmagoria, Leisure Suit Larry, and many others. In 2002 as Sierra Entertainment shut their doors, Mark and his family moved to the Baltimore area where he worked for a company that was 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 2015 he started a small Indy record label named KirKat Music.

George A. Sanger

Sierra On-Line: Composer for Wing Commander and Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Appearing: 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.

Gail Tilden

Nintendo: Marketing Communications

Appearing: 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). 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.

Bruce Lowry

Nintendo: VP of Sales

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

As Nintendo of America's then-Vice President of Sales, Bruce Lowry led the team that got the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) into stores during the crucial 1985 New York test market launch. His long management career in the video game industry also included time at Sega, Nintendo UK, GameTek, and Summitsoft.

Lance Barr

Nintendo: Product Design & Brand Director

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Lance Barr is the former Product Design and Brand Director at Nintendo of America. In his nearly 40-year tenure, Barr was responsible for the look and feel of many classic products, including both the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Super NES with its ergonomic and iconic SNES controller, as well as multiple other systems, controllers and accessories.

Ralph D’Amato

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Producer

Appearing: Saturday

Ralph D’Amato started in production on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise where he was a producer on the first eight titles. One of the soundtracks he helped produce for the franchise won the first ever MTV Video Music Award for Video Game Soundtrack. Ralph became the Director of New Media for Tony Hawk Incorporated where he created one of the most-visited Action Sports websites on the internet, ShredOrDie.com. Recently Ralph produced his first film, the award-winning, full-length documentary Pretending I’m a Superman - The Tony Hawk Video Game Story, (THPSfilm.com), that tells the story of how skateboarding went mainstream. Ralph is currently the Director of Production for a video game startup called Playgig and hopes to continue his success in the video game industry.

Nolan Nelson

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Character Artist

Appearing: Saturday

Nolan Nelson has been working in the video games industry for over 20 years. He started his career in Video games as a Character Artist working on WCW "Mayhem" a wrestling game for PS1/N64. He later landed his dream Job at Neversoft Entertainment to work on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, where he grew his career from Character Artist to Art Director. He also had the privilege of helping to build the THPS Soundtrack. Nolan worked on nine THPS games including 2, 3, 4, THUG, THUG 2, American Wasteland, Project 8 and Proving Ground. He also worked on several Guitar Heroes including 3, World Tour, 5, Metallica, Band Hero and Warriors of Rock as well as Spider-Man PS1 and a COD NX1 prototype. He has continued his career working on Epic Skater 1 and 2, LEGO Hidden Side, Nickelodeon Kart Racers , NBA Ball Stars, Hotel Transylvania and a few other unreleased tiles . Nolan currently works for Playgig as an Art Director.

Chris Rausch

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Designer

Appearing: Saturday

Chris Raush is a 30+ year industry veteran. He Started at Virgin Interactive in 1993, before leaving to join Neversoft as one of the original developers of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise. He worked on game design, level design, and music, among others. Eventually, Chris left Neversoft and co-founded SuperVillain Studios — working with partners like Disney, Microsoft, and Sony. Currently Chris is the Studio Director for Nicalis, overseeing design and production for numerous projects, and involved in non-gaming projects like a VR experience for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia!

Darren Thorne

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Level Artist

Appearing: Saturday

Darren was born and raised in Alaska and started pursuing a degree in graphic design there, but finished college in New Mexico. He got his start in the games industry at American Laser Games in Albuquerque as an intern in the summer between his junior and senior years, where he continued working until after graduation. During his years in the video game industry, Darren worked at ALG, Novalogic, Digital Dialect, and eventually Neversoft. After working on the final Tony Hawk game in 2007, he left the industry to try new things. Nowadays he spends summers working on a log cabin in Alaska, and during the rest of the year, resides in California where he plays tennis, fixes an old house, and practices photography.

David Crane

Atari and Activision

Appearing: Saturday

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.
A long-time fan favorite, we're happy to have him back at the show, along with his Activision colleagues Garry and Dan Kitchen!

Garry Kitchen

Activision and Absolute Entertainment

Appearing: Saturday

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!

Dan Kitchen

Activision and Absolute Entertainment

Appearing: Saturday

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!

Joe Decuir

Atari Hard and Software Engineer

Appearing: 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!

Dion Olsthoorn

Atari 2600 Programmer

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Dion Olsthoorn, a software engineer from the Netherlands, discovered his passion for programming at age 15 when he received his first computer - a Commodore 64. Captivated by its possibilities, he wrote his first games in BASIC, sparking a lifelong fascination with game development. A seasoned Atari 2600 programmer, his latest project is the official port of the iconic puzzle-platformer Lode Runner.

Bruce and Laura Gottlieb

Stirring Dragon Games

Appearing: 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 is a lifelong gamer with a background in business development and marketing. Their passion is creating unique games that awaken your imagination and invite you to become co-creators in the adventure.

Ric Neil

Eletronic Arts: Producer for the Madden NFL Series

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

With over three decades of experience at leading companies like Microsoft, Glu, Electronic Arts, Disney, Konami, Outfit7, Amazon, AMD, and Unity, Ric has left an indelible mark on the gaming world. His leadership roles include spearheading the EA-Madden NFL franchise, NFL Fever, developing titles like Amazon-The Grand Tour Game at Amazon Game Studios and Amazon AWS. Ric's expertise spans game development, business development, design, strategic partnerships, and team leadership at every level, making him a sought-after voice in the industry.

Mark Subotnick

Eletronic Arts: Producer for the Madden NFL Series

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Mark Subotnick started 1993 as Tester at SEGA and after 30 game credits and roles like producer, director at Microsoft & Intel he is now head of Studios at ProbablyMonsters. With over 32 years in the industry Mark has a ton of fun stories and anecdotes - join him & buddy Ric Neil as they talk about all things Madden!

Keith Sink

Microsoft: Developer and Engineer

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Learn about the crazy history of the world's most famous (or infamous?) paperclip with Microsoft Office 97 Technical Editor and Tech Industry Veteran Keith Sink. How did "Clippit" (typically referred to as "Clippy") get started, what went wrong, and Clippy wants to know if you would like help with that! Who knows, there might even be a photo opportunity with Clippy itself! And Clippy wants to know if you would like help with that, too!

Faran Thomason

Atari, Nintendo, SEGA: Producer and Designer

Appearing: 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.

James "Purple" Hampton

Lucasfilm Games, Atari, Leapfrog: Producer, Designer

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

James “Purple” Hampton is a video game maker who began his career as a Playtester at Lucasfilm Games; working on 'Monkey Island' 1& 2, and the first 'Star Wars' game on Nintendo. As a Producer at Atari, he oversaw the release of 'Gordo 106' and 'Malibu Volleyball' for the handheld Lynx and then led the design and production of 'Alien vs Predator' for the Jaguar console. James went onto LeapFrog, designing and producing award-winning educational game titles based on the Pixar movies 'Ratatouille' and 'Wall-E' for the handheld Leapster. James currently enjoys life in Eugene Oregon.

Ted Tahquechi

Atari, Accolade, and Mattel Toys: Designer

Appearing: 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.

Andrea Subissati

Rue Morgue Magazine, Faculty of Horror Podcast

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Andrea Subissati is an award-winning writer, podcaster and content creator. Just don’t say her name five times in a mirror. In 2010, her master's 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). Andrea joined the staff of Rue Morgue magazine in 2014 and became Executive Editor in 2017. In addition to writing, she is co-host and producer of the award-winning Faculty of Horror Podcast with Alexandra West. She hosts Rue Morgue TV 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. Andrea stalks the streets of Toronto, Ontario, with her undead Pomeranian, Dante.

Frank Cifaldi

Video Game History Foundation

Appearing: 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.

Brett Weiss

Video Game Historian

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

Gaming historian Brett Weiss has been a professional writer since 1997. He’s the author of 13 books, mostly about the NES, Super NES, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Sega Genesis, and other retro games and gaming consoles. His latest book is The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1988-1998. He's also got a YouTube show, Tales from a Retro Gamer, and has been in various gaming documentaries. Weiss has written countless articles for numerous publications, including Game Informer, Fangoria, Filmfax, the Comics Buyer's Guide, and Old School Gamer, among many others. Weiss also has a national column in AntiqueWeek called The Pop Culture Collective.

Pat Contri

Pat the NES Punk

Appearing: 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!

Jeremy Parish

Video Game Journalist, Retronauts

Appearing: 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!

John Riggs

Rigg'd Games

Appearing: 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!

Two Girls One Ship

Video Games and Romance

Appearing: 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!

OtterlyNoah

YouTube Content Creator

Appearing: Saturday and Sunday

OtterlyNoah is a YouTube Partner who analyzes your favorite video games, movies and TV shows from a deeper, often psychological lens. A fan favorite, we are glad to have him back at this year's show!
OtterlyNoah will look at the vast history of how video games have represented mental health, from American McGee's Alice to Hellblade - be prepared for some enlightening insights!

Cooper, Abbey, Cody and Josh

Video Game Store Owners

Appearing: Friday to Sunday

Cooper and Abbey own Double Jump Video Games in Vancouver, Washington, Cody is co-owner of Pink Gorilla Games in Seattle, Washington, and Las Vegas, Nevada, and Josh owns Stupid Geeks Inc in Lake Stevens, Washington. Double Jump Video Games is most active on YouTube where they upload game store vlogs multiple times a week, showcasing things going on at the store. Cody can most often be found streaming on Twitch while working at Pink Gorilla Games, repairing consoles and controllers, or exploring Seattle or Las Vegas. Josh is often working tirelessly at Stupid Geeks Inc, providing an amazing shopping experience for trading cards and video games alike!

Cassandra Reeder

Author: The Geeky Chef

Appearing: Saturday to Sunday

Join gaming cookbook author Cassandra Reeder (The Geeky Chef) for a deep dive into some of the most iconic foods in video game history. From suspicious stews to pixelated pastries, she and co-conspirator James Asmus will explore the potions, snacks, and consumables that stuck with us long after we put down the controller. Along the way, they’ll chat about what makes these foods so memorable, how they function in their games, and how they’ve inspired real-life recipes and recreations.

James Asmus

Writer: Rick & Morty, Survival Street, Marvel, DC, Image

Appearing: 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.

Sean Parker

Sierra On-Line: Creator 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.

Jackie Stargrove

Sierra On-Line: Moderator for FMV Panel

Appearing: 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.

Troels Pleimert

Sierra On-Line: Moderator for Composers Panel

Appearing: 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.

Darren Hupke

Pixels and Polygons

Appearing: 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.
Darren's LinkTree

Chris Kohler

Digital Eclipse: Editorial Director

Appearing: 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).

Bob Mackey

The Retronauts Podcast

Appearing: 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!

Gary Butterfield

Watch Out For Fireballs! Podcast

Appearing: 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!