Guests and Speakers – Houston Arcade Expo

ARTIST STATEMENT

Celebrating a shared love of live music, pinball, arcade gaming, and pop culture at large, my work seeks to engage viewers in novel ways and use interactivity, dimensionality, and nostalgia to blur the line between fine art and accessible fun.

I am perhaps best known as 'that 3D guy,' bringing a modern approach to what I call ‘old school 3D’ poster art with red/blue glasses. I also build three-dimensionally layered woodcut illustrations that often take a step further towards interactivity by including kinetic springs and ball-bearings or custom light shows..

Blending a modern pop illustrator's sensibility and toolkit with traditional printmaking training, my drawn work seeks to immerse and engage viewers through scenes that seem accessible and familiar on the surface, but which reveal deeper layers of story, detail, and intrigue upon closer inspection.

SOPHIE GREY.

Musical Act

SOPHIE GREY.

Musical Act

SOPHIE GREY. (the period is intentional) is taking on the world one song at a time armed with her keytar synth-ax and a propensity for writing, arranging, performing and producing her own modern electro, new wave-inspired music. SOPHIE spent this past summer taking her “Retro Electro” sound to the prestigious Isle of Wight Festival in the UK and across Europe with stops in Amsterdam and London in support of her self-produced EP “Just Another Sonic Monday (TM).” SOPHIE also toured in Ontario and New Brunswick, Canada. tapedmagazine.uk had this to say about SOPHIE’s live set: “Starting with unconditional energy and lovable aura was Sophie Grey., a fabulous performer … other-worldly. Her art has a very electronic and bubbly sound. The way her appearance complements her sound is captivating.” SOPHIE GREY. is a classically-trained pianist and keyboardist who studied piano performance at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. SOPHIE also honed her engineering and production skills by working at the renowned Village Recorder Studios. SOPHIEʼs original productions - which blend live instrumentation and sparkling electronic sounds - are informed by a deep-rooted love for synth-pop music. SOPHIE describes her sound as “Retro Electro.”

Todd Tuckey

Game Personality: TNT Amusements, You Tube Personality

Todd Tuckey

Game Personality: TNT Amusements, You Tube Personality

Todd Tuckey (guest/Panelist) Todd is the owner and President of TNT Amusements Inc.; he also runs the company’s official YouTube channel. With over 1200 YouTube video episodes and 500 hours of programming showcasing our beautiful, reconditioned Arcade machines that we sell, TNT Amusements Inc. in Southampton, PA, continues its tradition of quality and craftsmanship in its 37th year, selling over 27,000 machines to over 13,000 customers worldwide! Plus, our free LIFETIME tech support by phone or email is available 6 days a week – even in the evenings!

Barrels of Fun Factory Tour

To Be Announced!

Barrels of Fun Factory Tour

To Be Announced!

Visit our ticket page for the Barrels of Fun Factory Tour 2026 and join us for a guided tour through our cutting-edge pinball manufacturing facility. Guests will be immersed in the captivating world of pinball creation, with the opportunity to see the process up close and enjoy numerous thrilling benefits.

Radio Cult

Musical Guest

Radio Cult

Musical Guest

Great hit songs and an energetic stage show make Radio Cult FUN! Since 2005, Bambi and the boys have performed over 1,000 shows including corporate events, weddings, sorority and fraternity parties, casinos and festivals as well as in bars, concert halls and other music venues from their hometown of Atlanta, GA all the way to Los Angeles, CA and London, UK. With years of experience, a wide variety of songs, and 2 lead singers (both male and female lead vocals) Radio Cult is sure to be a crowd pleaser at any event! Depending on on your needs, Radio Cult can perform as an acoustic duo, 3-piece band, 4-piece band or 5-piece band. The members of Radio Cult LOVE to play in a band and it shows. When the band has fun, the crowd has fun and with Radio Cult the crowd really has a blast! So what are you waiting for? Check out Radio Cult today!

Atarimatt

Musical Guest

Atarimatt

Musical Guest

Composing on two Atari 2600 game systems, the results serve as good introductions to the world of 8-bit electronic music.His hummable squarewave melodies and rhythms fit together like a successful round of Tetris- perfectly even,but full of color.Despite his instrumentation, Atarimatt proves to be a songwriter with enough pop sensibility to keep his music from being relegated to a mere novelty.

USS Zavala: NCC-74709

Star Trek Fan Club

USS Zavala: NCC-74709

Star Trek Fan Club

Starfleet Region 3’s best ship, the USS Zavala: NCC-74709. We are a Star Trek science fiction fan club focused primarily in the Houston/Galveston area and a proud member of STARFLEET International.

Dan Kitchen

Activision Game Designer

Dan Kitchen

Activision Game Designer

Dan Kitchen – As passionate game player and veteran Activision Game Designer, Dan Kitchen is credited with producing over 240 commercially released games across 15 game platforms. During his career Dan is renowned for designing such Atari 2600 classics as CRACKPOTS™, GHOSTBUSTERS™, TOMCAT: THE F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATOR™, CROSSBOW™ and KUNG-FU MASTER™. Dan has recently released CASEY'S GOLD!™ for the Atari 2600 which has been received with rave reviews.

Garry Kitchen

toy/video game designer

Garry Kitchen

toy/video game designer

Garry Kitchen – Garry Kitchen is a renowned toy/video game designer. Kitchen’s hit games include Donkey Kong (Atari), Keystone Kapers, GameMaker (1985), and Bart (Simpson) vs. the Space Mutants. Garry’s awards include Designer of the Year, Video Game of the Year, and SPA Excellence in Software. His work is highlighted in many documentaries, including World 1-1, Atari: Game Over, Batteries Not Included, The Artists, and Unlocked: The World of Games, Revealed. Kitchen serves on the Advisory Board of the National Video Game Museum.

David Crane

Activision Video game designer

David Crane

Activision Video game designer

David Crane – David Crane is one of the most successful designers of entertainment software in the world. His award winning video games, led by Pitfall!™, Ghostbusters™, A Boy and His Blob™, and Amazing Tennis™ are acknowledged as some of the most innovative and popular in the interactive entertainment industry.“ – Classic Gaming Expo “Crane helped define Activision’s earlier efforts with games like Pitfall!, Decathlon, Ghostbusters (a particularly great effort considering most licensed games — especially in the earlier days of the industry — were terrible to the point of almost causing it to cave in on itself) and Little Computer People (arguably the first modern digital pet).” — IGN

Brett Weiss

Game Author

Brett Weiss

Game Author

Brett Weiss has been a gamer since 1975 and a professional gaming writer since 1997. He’s the author of 14 books, including The NES Omnibus, The SNES Omnibus, The 100 Greatest Console Video Games series, and the newly published Retro Pop Culture A to Z Vol. 2: From Activision to Zelda. With his Classic Home Video Games series, he wrote the world’s first complete guides to numerous video game consoles, from the Intellivision to the Genesis. He also wrote the world’s first and only encyclopedia about the rock band KISS. Weiss has appeared in gaming documentaries and has had articles published in countless magazines and newspapers, including Game Informer, Fangoria, Filmfax, The Comics Buyer’s Guide, Old School Gamer Magazine, and AntiqueWeek, where he has a column called “The Pop Culture Collective.” On YouTube, he’s the host of Tales from a Retro Gamer, which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/@BrettWeissRetroGamer

Sun flowers for tofu

Cosplayer

Sun flowers for tofu

Cosplayer

Sunflowersfortofu is a Houston, Texas–based veteran cosplayer with a passion for bringing characters from anime, video games, and pop culture to life. She enjoys all aspects of cosplay, from crafting and upcycling materials to thrifting creative costume pieces. When she’s not in costume, she loves inspiring others through her creativity and occasionally shares the hobby with her children, who enjoy crafting and cosplaying alongside her.