Digital Press Goes to
Classic Gaming Expo 2k3

August 9th & 10th, 2003

The versatile Digital Press booth included their new book, a trivia card game, a web cam simulcast, and this 80's living room, complete with swank couches, memorabilia, and Atari 2600 games.	It was crowded on Saturday but the spacious Expo floor left enough room for attendees to move about comfortably.	Classic Gaming Expo is reporting 1400+ guests, their biggest year ever. Digital Press was among the happy vendors =)
At one point, Twin Galaxies had over 80 entrants in a single tournament! I had a hard time prying people away from this area and I fear that many others may not have eaten during the weekend. Just kick the skeletons aside folks, and the machines are free.	Something for everyone at CGE. Here, Seth "Stickyfingers" Flynn Barkan reads some passages from his electronic gaming-relevant poetry book Blue Wizard is About to Die! Great fun.	Like the caterpillar's transformation to a lovely butterfly...
... DP's Chief Administrator Larry "retrogmr" Anderson begins this remarkable process...	... that turns him into the one and only...	... Pacri Monster!
Host Tim Snider and his lovely assistant Janice conduct the first of two Classic Video Game Jeopardy games.	The questions were difficult - so difficult in fact that two contestants scored well into the negatives in the first game.	"May I buy a vowel please?" "Sorry, that's not in this game." "May I buy a point please?" "That will be ten dollars."
Somewhere in the distance, Alex Trebek weeps.	Game two was a close battle, with Roundtable member Jim "thevideogamewiz" Combs getting inched out in Final Jeopardy!	"I'll take Paul Lynde for the block!" "Sorry, that's not in this game." "May I buy a vowel please?"
A custom "buzzer cart" designed by Paul Slocum was used. The contestants each had a paddle plugged into the system and the first to buzz in got his character up on the screen (see Pac-Man on giant display). Very cool stuff.	Look at us... "beauty and the beast". Of course, if anyone calls her a beast I'll tear their lungs out.	Don Rogers, long-time CGE staffer and Texan extraordinairre, offers his insights on the top ten Atari 2600 games of all time for the G4 network. Oddly enough, Don was wearing a thong during this interview, which should make for some great TV.
Clever photography, eh? It's almost the same picture but from the other side! Technology and art are just more of the free services we offer here at Digital Press.	DJ Shey was spinning 80's tunes between live performances. We heard Chris DeBurgh's "Don't Pay the Ferryman", Peter Shilling's "Major Tom", and John Hardie's "Break Dance 2003".	They may not ook like proper pirates, but the guys at Lost Levels certainly did bring some treasures. Frank "TheRedEye" Cifaldi showed off no fewer than 15 unreleased titles and debuted the first issue of their print 'zine.
You know the games, but we'll bet you haven't played many of them! Until CGE, that is. NES fans have been dying to play California Raisins (right). Others have been dying to forget them.	Dan Kramer had his usually unpredictable assortment of bric-a-brac from the Atari offices "back in the day". He can sure spin a tale, too. Dan's booth is definitely a place you want to stop by to hear some great old stories about the classic era at Atari.	Midway was demonstrating their upcoming compilation Midway Arcade Treasures. We're dying to get this one for our next-gen systems... over 20 classic arcade games on one disk, including a favorite of mine, Tapper. Heaven!
Q: The arcade game Thayer's Quest (shown here) was re-introduced on home consoles under what new title? A: Kingdom: The Far Reaches.	The sound of an 80's arcade... there is nothing like it. Unfortunately, the guys doing keynotes on the other side of the wall had to listen to it too. Oops... maybe CGE is getting too big for this room.	The Activision guys, including Steve Cartwright, David Crane, and Garry Kitchen are surrounded by an angry lynch mob. "Were you responsible for the NES game Super Pitfall!? WERE YOU!!?" Suddenly, the Activision guys were beamed out of the circle, and this section of the floor was belted with repeated pulse rifle fire from beyond. They really ARE special, you see.
Dave "Arcade Antics" Giarrusso discusses the intricacies of the game Major Havoc, citing the sheer vector artistry behind the game's core design... this, despite the fact that he was simply asked the way to the rest room.	The CGE Swap Meet, aka "The Desperate Search for Another $5 Video Life".	Meanwhile, in this half of the room, some major wheeling and dealing was going on. It may not look that way, but it really is.