Maggie Robertson

Resident Evil Village, Baldur's Gate 3, and many more!

Appearing: 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.
Maggie stars in the multi-award winning Dungeons and Dragons based RPG BALDUR'S GATE 3. She provided the voice and performance capture for fan fave, Orin The Red, one of the game's main villains, opposite J.K. Simmons and Jason Isaacs. The three comprise the game's evil triumvirate. Maggie received her MA in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music & the Dramatic Art (LAMDA), joining the ranks of other notable alumni like Benedict Cumberbatch, David Oyelowo, Brian Cox, Ruth Wilson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and John Lithgow. After graduating, Maggie moved to Los Angeles and has been acting in film, television and games since then.

Autographs: $50 each
Photo (selfie) at table: $40 each
Autograph/Selfie Combo: $80
Phone calls, videos, and voice recordings: $80 each

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".

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 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!

Michael Guinn

Castlevania, Silent Hill, Ridge Racer, Time Crisis

Appearing: 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.
Having voiced dozens of video games, he's perhaps best known as Harry Mason in Silent Hill (1999) and Dracula in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997). He also played the narrator in Tobal 2 (1997), the knife-wielding villain Sherudo Garo in Time Crisis (1995), and the announcer in Ridge Racer (1995) - the first PlayStation game released in the U.S.

Robert Belgrade

Castlevania, Shenmue 1 and 2, Tekken 5, Soul Blade

Appearing: 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).
With two dozen games under his belt, Robert is still quite active in the industry. More recently he voiced the character of Orlok Dracule in Koji Igarashi`s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019) and multiple roles in the popular game Lunacid (2023).

Nolan Bushnell

Co-Founder of Atari

Appearing: 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.
He is currently chairman of ExoDexa, a gamified education company, and an advisor to companies in the gaming and eSports spaces. Additionally, he sits on several boards, focusing on games, robotics and other advanced tech. A true icon of the digital revolution, Bushnell was named one of “50 People Who Changed America” by Newsweek. A biopic about Bushnell, tentatively titled “Atari,” was acquired by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company and is in pre-production.
Nolan appears only on Saturday!

Ed Fries

Programmer, Vice President at Microsoft

Appearing: Saturday and 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.
Join Ed as he celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Xbox and HALO and talks about the history and origins of these properties.

Chris Huelsbeck

Composter, Musician

Appearing: 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!

Jay Smith

Vectrex Creator

Appearing: 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.
Beyond the video game industry, Smith earned a strong professional reputation as a creative genius in the toy industry, developing groundbreaking concepts and technologies for some of the world's leading toy and entertainment companies. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his ability to combine engineering innovation with imaginative product design, helping to shape numerous successful consumer products.
Today, he remains a respected figure among both retro-gaming enthusiasts and product-development professionals, often sharing insights into innovation, invention, and the engineering challenges behind his pioneering creations. Jay is teaming up with David Oghia, the creator of the Vectrex Mini console, to talk about "The Past, the Present and the Future of the Vectrex.

David Oghia

Vectrex Mini Creator

Appearing: 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.
In addition to the Vectrex Mini project, David actively supports the retro-gaming community through his passion for collecting, preserving, and sharing knowledge about classic gaming systems. His work helps keep interest in the Vectrex alive while introducing a new generation of players to one of the most unique consoles ever created.
David is teaming up with Jay Smith, the father of the Vectrex, to talk about "The Past, the Present and the Future of the Vectrex.

Mike Edwards

Game 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.
Join Mike Edwards as he revisits the Wild West days of early home‑computer game development in the Pacific Northwest, sharing stories from a time when creativity, experimentation, and a whole lot of improvisation shaped the future of gaming.

G To The Next Level

SEGA Historian, Content Creator

Appearing: 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!
Visit G To The Next Level on YouTube!