Join the man known as the “Father of Adventure Games” Scott Adams, as well as David A. Rodriguez, an associate narrative director for one of today’s biggest adventure games, Diablo IV! Historian Martin Goldberg will moderate this journey exploring the differences in how early games were made compared to the games of today.TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Your voice is more than a sound you make, and no one can share that message better than actors Carolina Ravassa (Sombra in Overwatch) and Christopher Sean (Ultraman/Ken Sato in Netflix’s Ultraman: Rising). Join them as they talk about how they got their roles, as well as how to juggle personal health and well-being.TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Think you’ve got what it takes to become a voice actor? Enter the mines with the people behind the voices of Zane, Kim, and Pierce the Sheep from the Aphmau channel on YouTube! Select audience members will read scripts, and this awesome voice acting crew will provide fun feedback!TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
In this special hour-and-a-half episode, John Parrish (Jax in Mortal Kombat 3) and Lia Montelongo (Sindel in Mortal Kombat 3) join us to talk fitness! Picked to be digitized for their athleticism 30 years ago, they’ll share tips and tricks to stay in Kombat-ready shape for life! After the panel, step into the arena with John and Lia for the ultimate 45-minute Mortal Kombat Warrior Workout! As legendary characters from the iconic franchise, John and Lia bring their strength, agility, and warrior spirit to this high-energy fitness experience. John, known for his powerhouse portrayal of Jax, brings his background in strength training and athleticism to the workout. At the same time, Lia, the fierce and agile Sindel, infuses dynamic movement and flexibility, pushing you to your limits. Together, they’ll guide you through a fun, intense, and action-packed session designed to make you feel like a true Kombatant. Are you ready to train like a warrior? Join us for an unforgettable fitness experience that will test your endurance, challenge your strength, and unleash your inner fighter!TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
When Atari refused to give developers credit for their game designs, a number of programmers, including David Crane, broke away and started the first third party video game company: Activision. Widely considered to have made some of the best 2600 games, join programmers David Crane, Dan Kitchen and Garry Kitchen as they discuss with Atari historian Marty Goldberg what it was like in the early days of this revolutionary company, what they think about the company Activision has grown into today, and their return to Atari 2600 programming with Audacity Games!TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Join us for an intimate behind-the-scenes look at Stern Pinball’s latest title, Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye. Featuring lead game designer Brian Eddy, lead software designer Dwight Sullivan, lead artist Vince Proce, and script writer Zack Proce.TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Are you a fan of Mystery Science Theater-style comedy? If so, you do not want to miss this, as Jonah Ray is on hand to riff the legendarily bad Atari Jaguar infomercial “The Cave” from 1995. Are you ready for 64 bits? We doubt it, but you probably want to watch anyway.TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Jeremy Parish of Retronauts, along with Brian Clark and Kevin Bunch, are on hand to discuss the “Greatest RPG Ever!” just like they did last year with Final Fantasy VI! This year’s “Greatest RPG Ever!” is Chrono Trigger, the time-hopping, Square masterpiece that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! Don’t miss it, as they’ll explain why this time, they’re right, this is the greatest RPG ever made!Original Panel Date: April 5, 2025TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Legendary arcade designer Eugene Jarvis has been making hit after hit for arcades ever since Defender and Robotron 2084, and his games keep getting better! Last year, he talked about the new Godzilla VR experience, this year he will be joined Stephen Hack and Ray Rosario from Raw Thrills to talk about some of the great things they’re up to. The future of arcade games is bright, and they’ll tell you all about it!Original Panel Date: April 5, 2025TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
With over 24 million copies sold over six games, the gritty world of Devil May Cry has been capturing the minds of gamers for over 20 years. Join Dan Southworth, Reuben Langdon, Faye Kingslee and Brian Hanford as they reminisce about their experiences creating the emotion (and actual motions) that drives this award winning game series forward.Original Panel Date: April 5, 2025TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Recently, the gaming world was stunned to hear that a new Portal game was about to be unveiled and that game… is a pinball machine?! That’s right, Multimorphic, the company behind awesome games like the Princess Bride and Weird Al has unveiled their next pinball machine, and it’s PORTAL! Join designer Josh Kugler to explore how this game came together. Original Panel Date: April 5, 2025TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Join podcast host Jason Gares as he interviews the Co-owner of the Midwest Gaming Classic Dan Loosen, and Entertainment Director Matt Isbill about some of the exciting things that happened at the 2025 convention.TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/attend/WHEN: April 24-26, 2026WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Podcast host Jason Gares interviews Co-owner of the Midwest Gaming Classic Dan Loosen and Entertainment Director Matt Isbill about some of the exciting things happening at the 2025 convention.TICKETS: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/WHEN: April 4-6, 2025WHERE: Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Philo Barnhart was an animator for the games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, and he teamed up with artist Charles D. Moisant on Family Day for Drawing with Philo. From Dirk the Daring and Ace to Ariel the Mermaid and Much More! Philo is perhaps best known for other projects he helped animate - The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under, The Secret of NIMH, Happily Ever After, An American Tail, and special effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture! Philo is joined by Charles, a comic book artist, writer, and the creative director of Silver Phoenix Entertainment where the two worked together on new projects!Original Panel Dates: Sunday, April 9, 2017© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
When Nintendo decided to run an updated version of their Nintendo World Championship in 2015, Tim Hanson and Chris Bidwell won the right to represent the Midwest in the competition! Tim and Chris will share stories about winning their respective regional tournaments, share tips on how to achieve high scores on NWC Remix and relive the drama of the finals at E3 in Los Angeles.Original Panel Dates: Saturday, April 8, 2017© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
In the first panel presentation, join the guys behind the YouTube gaming channels Grimsie42, Retro Games Vinyl and Beer, The Old Ass Retro Gamer, and The Game Grinder as they discuss how they got into YouTubing, their thoughts on gaming, and take questions form the audience! Then in the second presentation, join Tyler Stacheki & Mike Ryan as they discuss how they make the Cen64 emulator fast without compromising on accuracy. Original Panel Dates: Saturday, April 8, 2017 & Sunday, April 9, 2107© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Ed Fries covers the history of the game business from the beginning up until the present and mixes in his own involvement at various points including when he led the team to launch the original Xbox. Find out what Ed was doing in 2017, including improving diversity in the game business, video games as works of art, and the importance of documenting the story of the businessOriginal Panel Date: Saturday, April 8, 2017© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Retronauts regulars Bob Mackey and Jeremy Parish break down the history of Namco’s grisly Splatterhouse series with the help of no less than two Splatterhouse world-record competitors: Caitlin Oliver and Kevin Bunch in this splatter-riffic panel.Original Panel Date: Saturday, April 8, 2017© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
This podcast episode is about Galloping Ghost Productions and how its owner Doc Mack helped develop and release two original arcade games.Not only was Galloping Ghost Arcade, along with Doc Mack at the 2017 Midwest Gaming Classic, but Galloping Ghost Productions was at the show as well with their arcade game Dark Presence... and there will be some exciting things with it, including the chance to learn more about this awesome one of a kind fighting style game during this presentation!Brian Colin has been in the arcade scene for many years and is responsible for some iconic games including Rampage, Arch Rivals, Xenophobe, and Pigskin 621 AD. Now, together with Galloping Ghost Productions, Brian will be discussing The Spectre Files: DEATHSTALKER. Unreleased in 1985, find out what is going on with this game... today!Original Panel Date: Saturday, April 8, 2017© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.
Let's travel back in time to the year 2017 when Gary Stern of STERN Pinball discusses how the hobby/business was at the time, the release of the then-new Aerosmith pinball machine, and the release of their new LCD screen for future pinball machines.Original Panel Date: Saturday, April 8, 2017© Jason C. Gares, Dan Loosen, 249 Studios & the Midwest Gaming Classic. All Rights Reserved.