Where to begin? I started to going to arcade shows as a thing to do with my son and daughter. We went to the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show in 2015. This was our first. It went very badly; kids wanting to go in opposite directions, screaming tantrums, all these great pins that I could just look at while I corralled children, etc.
I swore doing this with the twinkies would probably never happen again but while my daughter's interest faded my son's increased exponentially; enough so that we went again the following year. This time it was just us two and it showed a side of my son I hadn't seen on the Saturday we were there. I spent most my time just following him around and joining when he wanted me too; I had the previous day of doing anything I wanted when I went by myself which pretty much means I parked myself in front of my favorite pin of all time; Theatre of Magic.
The little man had more energy than I could have imagined. He was mostly into the older arcade cabinets and vintage pinball. He was quite hilarious throughout the day as I remember. I was so taken with his performance that I bought us tickets for the next biggest show I could find locally; the Portland Retro Gaming Expo.
When the show rolled around in October I posted on my Facebook about our time. Here is that post:
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First off, I apologize for the length of what's to come. I simply must post it for its therapeutic value alone.
It all started with my first Portland Retro Gaming Exposition last month. My son and I braved the 4 hour slog in search of nothing more than fun, frivolity, and memories of our continuing adventure. We arrived, hopped up on Dr. Pepper, subsequently expanded bladders, pickled sausage, and a disagreement on the local mass transit situation.
The parking garage was quite empty but fears of a failed destination were quickly extinguished by one of a number of YouTube demicelebrities admonishing his cameraman.
After an uneventful badge pickup, we walked through the double doors, greeted by classic arcade, equally classic though mildly disappointing pinball, and a Tetris World Championship filled with virtuosos or savants.
Getting a feel for the joint we strolled through row upon row of flickering screens, familiar beeps and whirring, and the diverse crowd of the undeoderized.
Then it happened. There was a complex system of tables that snaked their way through roughly 17.833 repeating % of the hall. My son was drawn to, if my memory serves correctly for once, an Atari 400. For me? Well, I'll always remember the first time I gazed upon it. The Vectrex.
I consider myself a minor collector with my wheelhouse being firmly located in the early to late 80s. More of a mainstreamer, I clutched my assortment of Nintendos and Segas but I also had the pudding-pop-lovin' Texas Instruments home computer. Parsec FTW.
What do we have here? I've only heard of this thing spoken in whispers after the great collapse of '83. Within moments this machine was my new God. Vectors shifting and scaling, I couldn't get enough. I was only stopped by my starving 9 year old child. Breathe. My son was right, we had much to do this weekend. I would return.
The close of the first day was upon us. I made many visits just to stare at that lucid beacon of hope. Was I in love, lust, both? That night was one of the longest I can ever remember. Longer than that night my twins were born, huddling on a half inch padded bench, blasted with cold by an unbalanced diffuser and direct, if not, hostile nurses checking my wife's vitals. Like my son, I had returned to my 9 year old self, anxiously awaiting that jolly fat elf.
As I sit here today, I still wait, nervous. It's at the post office, signature required. Will it be like I remember? Am I overdoing this? Is it still Godlike or is it a false prophet. The story and the adventure continue.
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Well it was a good time. More to come on that Vectrex later.
We were now committed to going to anything I could find within driving distance; next stop NWPA round 3, just this last weekend. Again, another good time on Saturday and Sunday. My son with social anxiety was asking if he could go off by himself, talking to people, volunteering to pull raffle tickets, and joking loudly in a crowded closing ceremony It was another surprise that reminded of what is possible with my son.
This Saturday will be the smaller Seattle Retro Gaming Expo. I'm not expecting a whole lot so we'll see what happens. Could be more surprises.
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