California Extreme Speaker Schedule

California Extreme Speaker Schedule

California Extreme is proud to announce their speaker schedule for their annual event.

4:00 PM & 7:00 PM Saturday, 12:00 Noon Sunday "How to Play Pinball" - Clinic with pinball champs Bowen Kerins and Jim Belsito. Learn the tricks and techniques - straight from the wizards themselves! Note, these seminars will be held in the lobby!

Noon Saturday The Making of Robotron - Eugene Jarvis
Eugene Jarvis is well-known to classic video arcade gamers as part of the "Vid Kidz" team who developed some of the most popular arcade games of all time, including ever-popular favorites such as Defender, Robotron, and the Cruis'n driving series. He has also had a hand in software and sound development for such classic pinballs as High Speed, F-14 Tomcat, and Firepower. Eugene continues to be very active in the arcade field creating many modern games including Target Terror and The Fast and the Furious as part of his own studio, Raw Thrills, Inc.

1:00 PM Saturday Atari Panel - Al Alcorn, Eugene Jarvis, Steve Ritchie, Ed Rotberg, Owen Rubin
Legends of the pinball and video game industry meet up in what is sure to be a lively discussion. These are the people who have created the games we all love - hear them discuss the stories behind the creation of those games.

2:30 PM Saturday The return of Video Game Expert Panel!
Join a panel of classic video game experts as they offer a variety of tips, tricks, and strategies on some of your favorite video games. These guys have been playing the classics and honing their skills for over 2 decades now. Several classics will be discussed including Tempest, Centipede, Frogger, Moon Patrol, Pengo, Indiana Jones, and even some not as well-known (but still fun) classics such Tutankham and The Glob. What secrets might they reveal to help you improve your scores? Join them to find out!

4:00 PM Saturday Artists Group - Jean Baudin, Ed Cassell, Dan Fontes, and Kevin Tiell
Arcades, their environment, and the games they contain have been a big influence on popular culture. See and hear how these artists have taken that influence and turned it into expression of their own.

5:00 PM Saturday "Playland-Not-at-the-Beach" - Richard Tuck
Several decades ago California had a bevy of seaside amusement parks stretching from San Diego to San Francisco. Today only the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk exists. The most beloved park in Northern California was Whitney's Playland at the Beach which lasted from 1928 to 1972.

6:00 PM Saturday "The Future of Pinball" Documentary: Meet the Director Greg Maletic and Greg Dunlap
In 1998 pinball was dying, thanks to a saturated market and shrinking player base. Williams, the world's largest pinball manufacturer, was considering abandoning the game in favor of the more lucrative video slot machine business. "The Future of Pinball" is a documentary that tells the story of "Pinball 2000," a clever attempt at resuscitating pinball that failed just at the moment a lot of people thought it might succeed. A "Soul of a New Machine" for the pinball world, "The Future of Pinball" is a compendium of interviews with legends of the pinball industry, photos, and films of the best games the industry has produced.

9:00 PM Saturday "Mechanical Monsters" - Ken and TJ
Get a peek at the guts of some of the odd mechanical machines at the show to see what makes 'em tick, click, buzz, bang, sing, and clang. If you have a machine you would like to open up and discuss, let us know and we'll be happy to include your knowledge in the presentation. Meet up in the lobby to join this group.

2:30 PM Sunday "Atari Film Festival" – Scott Evans.
The Atari Film Festival returns with fresh footage unearthed from the archives featuring some great commercials, game test footage, and the height of fashion sensibilities!