OVGE, the annual Tulsa video game convention, looks like it’s going to be held in June this year rather than the fall, and of course I’ll be there unless that horrible dirigible accident with my name on it finally happens. But what should I bring?
In years past, I’ve brought everything from vintage video game-inspired toys and collectibles, to obscure systems like the Odyssey2 and Atari Video Music set up for anyone to play (usually with rare games and/or controllers on hand), to historic machines like the Magnavox Odyssey (first home video game system ever made) or the Famicom (the original Japanese version of the NES). Last year I did a Tron theme to tie in with the movie. I always have stuff for sale – old games, DVDs, soundtrack CDs, my home-made video game history DVDs, the shirt off my back, the usual.
But what should I do this year? Last year I’d hoped to debut VWORP!1 at the show, along with a number of Doctor Who-related computer games, but neither the theme nor the book came together in time (I’m still struggling with that – it’s damned hard to write a book when you’ve got a preschooler who wants to throw and catch a ball with you). The Tron theme was a last minute (and I do mean last minute) replacement.
So I thought I’d see if you folks, who actually show up for the thing, have any suggestions or requests. Is there a system or an item I’ve brought in the past that you want to see again? Should I just rent a table and put Burchuss in the middle of it with a sign that says “get well soon”? Should I paint a large cardboard box as a Colecovision and walk around wearing it as a costume, asking folks if they want to look in my cartridge slot?*
At the moment, with less than four months to come up with something (though an official announcement has yet to be made), I’m drawing a complete blank. I’m open to suggestions. If you like, check out these retrospectives of past shows to jog your memory: 2004, 2006, 2009. I’ve gone almost every year (I think 2008 was the exception, since I was Mr. Mom full-time), and some years I’ve been so exhausted before even heading out to Tulsa that I forgot to take a camera (see also: 2005, 2010).
* not really gonna happen, but hey, if you plug the right thing into me, I’ll play Atari 2600 games too! Wait, what?!?
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