Saturday, June 24th 2023: 11:00am - 7:00pm at Anvil Centre
Quick Links Menu:
Vendor Hall and Artist Alley: Main Floor
A wide array of dealers selling video games, from local and out-of-town shops, flea market vendors, and independant collections, with a range of old & new games for both the budget conscious deal hunters to the collectors looking for their super rare favourites.
A variety of artists will also be on hand with various video game themed creations of all types and styles.
Unique collectibles, crazy deals, weird oddities, & much more.
(11:00am - 7:00pm)
Free-Play Gaming: Third Floor Theatre & Fourth Floor
Plenty of video games from a variety of retro consoles, modern compilations of retro favourites, and a selection of popular older games. A wide selection of games that are easy to pick up and play, single and multi-player classics to fit every taste.
Now with MANY MORE GAME STATIONS upstairs, as well as classic computer displays outside of the theatre from our friends at the Chilliwack Retro-Computing Club.
(11:00am - 7:00pm)
Musical Performances + : Third Floor - Main Theatre
| Time | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |
Chip Music Showcase
|
Watch as local musicians perform original music using vintage computer/gaming systems and other tools of related lineage! First, bit.umen will kick things off with an ambient yet crunchy set using a Game Boy hooked up to a Rock Band 3 guitar and a variety of other vintage handheld gadgets and effects pedals. Then, let Pongball -- prolific game composer -- draw you gently into her lush, SNES-style sound-worlds full of intricacy and wonder. |
| 1:15 |
Shane Steward
|
Shane Steward has been playing music and video games for the bulk of his life, and in the past year finally decided to meld the two things he loved most together. He has written several albums of original music, as well as, an additional handful dedicated to covers. |
| 2:00 |
20SIX Hundred
|
Heavily influenced by sci-fi and horror movies, classic video games and synthesizer music of the 80’s, 20SIX Hundred incorporates a retro flavor to his dark Synthwave sounds from a future long forgotten. |
| 3:00 |
Battle of the Rock Bands
|
Battle of the Rock Bands is a video game/comedy event like NO OTHER!! Do you and your friends have what it takes? Sign up as a band to perform a track from Rockband 4, and do your best to win over the audience and our panel of guest judges. Groups will score based on their accuracy, stage presence and presentation. At the end, a band is deemed the winner of the battle, but the true winner is the audience, for having witnessed such a great show. Applications open at BonusStage.ca |
| 3:45 |
Costume Contest
|
Show off your finest gaming-themed cosplay costumes on our main stage as our host Kevin Free and our team of judges determine your fate, and the fate of our prizes. |
| 4:00 |
Balkan Bleeps
|
Chiptune and VGM veteran Nikola Whallon throws together a new project of "Balkan Chiptune" music, showcasing groovy traditional folk tunes and multi-instrumental prowess. |
| 5:00 |
The Koopa Troopas
|
Somewhat new to the scene, the Vancouver-based Koopa Troopas are sure to rock the stage with their unique style and familiar melodies. |
| 6:00 |
The Wavebirds
|
The Wavebirds are Vancouver's premiere geeky ska-punk band! Their upbeat original songs carry nerdy references on a beat you can dance to, mixed with a couple of crowd-pleasing covers. It's a show for everyone! |
Panels: Fourth Floor
| Time | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | Game Collecting Q&A with John Hancock
Panel Room 1 
|
John is a longtime collector of video games. As one of the original organizers of the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, John went on to establish a YouTube channel where he uploads weekly content that covers everything from Atari to Xbox. He loves to share his passion about video games with others. |
| 12:30 | Fiddledo presents: The Video Game Music Challenge
Panel Room 2 
|
Quick, do you think you know what game that song is from? Are you ready for the ultimate Video Game Music Challenge? Three rounds, nine panelists chosen from the audience, but only one winner. Test your video game know-how and listen closely because you could be crowned the winner of Fiddledo's Video Game Music Challenge. Host Kaisyn Vega (aka Fiddledo) is best known for adding lyrics to video game music, but her expertise in video game music goes as far as back as the early 2010s where she helped with internet radio stations such as Radio Nintendo, Radio Whirlwind, and Radio SEGA. |
| 1:30 | Improv Antiques Roadshow with The Fictionals
Panel Room 1 
|
Dust off those retro games and vintage collectible treasures! The Fictionals are live at VRGE to tell you all about your hidden treasures in the Improv Antiques Roadshow! Our gaming historians will tell you all about your rare finds and hidden treasures, then use them to inspire the comedy scenes! What will we discover this time? It's up to you! |
| 2:00 | Demoscene - Computer art from another continent.
Panel Room 2 
|
Demoscene, an audiovisual computer art subculture, was born in 80s on 8-bit computers and is still thriving. Why people continue to make demos for Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and other retro platforms and what makes retro demoscene so special? |
| 3:00 | Fandom Trivia presents the Question Block Quiz!
Panel Room 1 
|
Test your Video Game knowledge with Fandom Trivia at Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo! Bring your friends and join hosts Jeff and Daniel for the QUESTION BLOCK QUIZ, a fun and interactive trivia panel exploring the history of gaming. There are prizes to win and fun to be had at the Anvil Centre - come on down! |
| 3:30 | Why Does [Insert Console Here] Sound Like That?
Panel Room 2 
|
What actually makes an NES sound different from an SNES, Sega Genesis, or a Commodore 64? Why can't a Game Boy play a 5-minute .WAV? A panel of experienced composers / chip musicians will detail the evolving technological and budgetary limitations that shaped each platform's sound - plus some of the stranger work-arounds, like expansion audio chips and newer songwriting techniques. |
| 4:30 | Retro Gaming Jeopardy
Panel Room 1 
|
A game of Jeopardy with a retro gaming theme where contestants choose an answer from the board and have to respond in the form of a question. The contents of the boards will be about games and consoles that were released from 1962 to 2007. The contestant that ends with the most money* will win a prize. Smart phone with Internet comnnection required to play. *No real money awarded. |
| 5:00 | Bedrooms and BASIC: The 80s British Home Computing Scene
Panel Room 2 
|
We're all familiar with the story of the 1980s North American video game crash and revival, but in Britain a very different scene was emerging - one that barely even noticed, before going on to influence the industry in ways you may not realise. Come learn about a world of bedroom hacking, eccentric inventors, modding and TV software broadcasts from a genuine 80s-born British PC geek. |
Tournaments: Fourth Floor
| Time | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 | Super Smash Bros 64
Tournament Room 1 
|
The smash that started it all, back again for another around. |
| 12:00 | Mario Kart Double Dash
Tournament Room 1 
|
More Mario Kart action with the Gamecube version returning again this year. |
| 12:30 | Tetris
Tournament Room 2 
|
BOOM! Tetris for Vancouver. Classic NES block stacking on Type A game mode. Roll on down to battle for dominance or just see how you stack up. Top 8 will go neck and neck until a champion is crowned. |
| 1:30 | Street Fighter 2
Tournament Room 2 
|
Street Fighter 2 returns!!! Choose your original world warrior and sharpen your OG button-mashing skills. |
| 2:30 | Mario Kart 64
Tournament Room 1 
|
The evolution of Mario Kart that re-defined the genre. |
| 3:30 | Super Smash Bros Melee
Tournament Room 1 
|
A fan favourite Smash Bros for both the casual and hardcore player to enjoy. |
| 4:00 | Dr. Mario
Tournament Room 2 
|
The pill popping classic returns... but who will claim the top spot this year? |
| 5:30 | Goldeneye 007
Tournament Room 1 
|
Old-school multiplayer FPS that helped define the genre with a multitude of modes to enjoy. |