I attended the Penny Arcade Expo for the first time in a decade. In the past, I would just attend things in the main theatre and spend the rest of the time playing games in the Expo Hall. This time around, I decided I wanted to mix it up.

I signed up for a tournament for the first time in my life ever. Street Fighter 6, since that’s a game I actively play. I was expecting to get washed, especially since I would be playing the game on a regular PS5 controller for the first time ever lol. But I ended up getting 4th! And I definitely feel like I had a chance at 1st if I was using my usual arcade stick/leverless. This was a nice ego boost I definitely needed.

I also decided to chase down photo ops as there were several names I recognized. This is also something I’ve never done before.

First on my list was Kazutoyo Maehiro and Hiroshi Minagawa, the talents behind both the original Final Fantasy Tactics and the upcoming remake. I was very lucky as I had decided to get in line for their panel super early because I didn’t have anything better to do. I was number 6 in line and they gave out special tickets to the first 100 in line to have a photo op with them! Super cool.

Bill Amend, the cartoonist behind one of my favorite comic strips of all time, Fox Trot. Was definitely pleased to get a photo with him. Now I want to meet Bill Watterson and Gary Larson…

Finally, I was very excited to meet Maximilian Dood. He’s the first streamer I watched regularly on Twitch nearly a decade ago and has brought a lot of joy and entertainment to my life through his streams. I’m very happy to report that he’s as down to earth and friendly as he is on stream. Despite the limited time, he and I were able to have a small and pleasant conversation. Max is just a cool dude.