Drawing a blank with a light pen

Over on the book o’ the face, a hint has been dropped that the date for OVGE 2012 will be announced soon. That’s the good news.

The bad news is… I have no idea what to do/bring this year.

It goes a little something like this: almost all of the stuff that I’d normally bring to sell… has been sold on eBay already. A lot of the DVDs, CDs and games that have come home with me from previous OVGEs have now been cast off into the ‘bay. Which is cool – I needed the money, obviously.

A lot of the hardware I’d normally dig out for the express purpose of showing off old games is presently packed up until further notice – I needed the space, obviously. To just bring the boxes to Tulsa, hook ’em up untested, and expect them to work? BEgging for trouble. (Y’all remember the OEGE show where I was still coaxing the Odyssey into working through lunchtime, don’tcha?)

The hardware I use to make cool video stuff? Down for the count at present. Awaiting new bits and pieces and a complete reinstall. There probably won’t be enough time to make something new in time for OVGE, not even just for show.

So… crap. What does this leave me? Anything?

I’m planning on having VWORP! done this year, but depending on what date OVGE falls on, it may not be done by then. If it’s a late summer date, though, it’s a real possibility. And I think I need a damn deadline to get that book finished and clear the decks to get the next one done. Otherwise, it’ll never get done. There are just too many distractions.

I’ve got an Odyssey2 I could bring. You guys know I like the Odyssey2, right? Yeah, thought so – not like it hasn’t shown up at virtually every previous OVGE. Atari Video Music could be hauled into service, I suppose, though I’m not sure what that accomplishes aside from giving whoever’s across from me a huge headache.

I’m seriously lacking inspiration here. I’m sure I’ll come up with something, but it’d be dandy to have some input from those who’ll be there. See, my involvement with “the hobby” has diminished tremendously. Video games used to be something I collected and curated and treasured; now they’re something I play in emulation, either on the PC or on the Wii, with my son – and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m still fascinated by the history of them, and always will be, but I’ve now come full circle. I’m just a player, not a collector. And I’m not sure what that does for anyone at what’s basically a collectors’ gathering.

There’s still the idea of having old Doctor Who games set up to play; not sure that really makes any sense if there’s not a book to go with ’em, especially in what’s going to end up being another “doldrums year” for the show. The thought’s occurred to do Star Trek games, but there was already a display of Trek games a couple of years ago that put anything I could’ve assembled to shame.

I know I’ve got a knack, if not exactly a reputation, for pulling something out (of my backside) at the last minute for OVGE every year. I’m just really scratching my head this time. What do you want to see?