Expedition Log #11 - Michigan Retro Game Expo

[00:00:12] Greetings fellow travelers, vagrants, explorers, wildlanders, and welcome to The Retro Wildlands. My name is Nomad and this is my gaming podcast where I like to share my thoughts and experiences with a video game that I've discovered or rediscovered while roaming the gaming wildlands. Thank you for joining us around the campfire my friends. On today's episode and look into

[00:00:38] the Expedition Log I wanted to do something a little different. I recently attended the first ever Michigan Retro Game Expo and I had such a memorable time I wanted to share it with everyone. What made this unique for me was that I was asked to be there as a featured guest. I hung out in Creator's Corner, participated in a couple of panels, and I found a ton of amazing loot all with my wife and kids in tow. It was an incredible experience for me personally so I

[00:01:07] wanted to share with you all a new type of expedition. Every adventure leaves something behind. Sometimes it's a game on the shelf, sometimes it's a story you can't wait to tell. And every once in a while you find yourself standing somewhere you never expected to be, wondering exactly how the road through the gaming wildlands managed to lead you there. On the weekend of August 29th, 2026, I packed up my gear, grabbed my expedition journal,

[00:01:37] and headed out on a very different kind of adventure. Over the course of the weekend, whenever something happened that I didn't want to forget, I opened that journal and wrote it down. I even asked travelers I met along the way to add their own stories to my journal, in the form of the video game that they felt was a must-play experience. So today, I want to open up the expedition journal and take you along with me, page by page,

[00:02:05] through one of the most memorable adventures this show has taken me on yet. This show has taken me on yet. Gaming Wildlands Expedition Entry 11 The first ever Michigan Retro Game Expo Location Kalamazoo, Michigan

[00:02:30] A one-day event that took place on August 29th, 2026 It has been a little over four years since I started this podcast. When I originally decided to take the

[00:03:00] leap and go on this adventure, I had no real goals or aspirations. I just wanted to create a podcast that was fun to do, allowed me to flex my creative muscles a little bit, and maybe be something someone may enjoy. More than that though, I wanted to use the show as a way to enjoy my love for video games in a new way. So off I went to create the Retro Wildlands. One of the things I really enjoyed was playing old retro games I probably wouldn't have played otherwise,

[00:03:30] and I was in awe of some of the unique experiences I had missed out on as a kid. When I took that thought a step further and looked at some of the things I hadn't partaken in yet, that's when I went to my first ever video game convention. As one would imagine, it was an incredible experience being somewhere surrounded by so many like-minded people. I've gone to at least one convention a year since.

[00:03:56] They always have this energizing effect on me, and I remember walking away from my first ever convention experience with a renewed sense of purpose when it came to the podcast. While I worked to find my footing and settle on a format I was happy with while experiencing new-to-me retro games and experiences, I started talking to and networking with a lot of different gamers. One thing I made it a point to do was to speak to different content creators,

[00:04:22] whether they made YouTube videos, made podcasts, or just had solid social media accounts. I taught myself a lot over my time as a podcaster. How to write a good script, or at least what I think is a good script, how to clean up audio, hell, even shape it into a full-on audio experience. I was thirsty for knowledge and perspective, and while much of what I do today is

[00:04:47] self-taught, working with other content creators helped me learn so much. Over time, it all helped me figure out who I wanted to be in this space, but more than that, I started setting goals for myself. At one point, I wanted to be a guest on someone else's podcast. I wanted someone to see who I was, what I brought to this medium, see the value in it, and bring me on to be part of their passion project.

[00:05:16] But instead of going to someone and asking to be part of their show, I was determined to be asked. In my mind, it didn't count if I asked permission. It would mean more to me to be approached by someone, which in my mind, implies they listened to me or interacted with me at some point and determined on their own that I was worthy. The day finally came at the end of 2022 where I was approached by Jay

[00:05:44] from the Waffling Tailors podcast to talk about my favorite video game series, Resident Evil. It was an amazing experience, as one would expect, which turned into over 25 more podcast guest appearances. Goal achieved, and I'm still eager to continue collaborating with others in this way and other ways too. Later down the road, I wanted to try out streaming. I didn't know in what capacity,

[00:06:12] but I wanted to play games live with an audience and just talk to people. That's when the amazing indie RPG Sea of Stars sent me on that trajectory. Lindsay, also known as LL Cool Games on the YouTubes, approached me with an idea. We both wanted to play Sea of Stars, so we decided to hold each other accountable to its completion. We became accountability buddies, and the plan was to check in with each other,

[00:06:41] and we would do that by hopping onto a livestream and talk about the game together and our experiences. It was an incredible experience, which not only made that game all the more memorable, it gave me a taste for streaming. Real quick, I want to give a shoutout to YouTuber Dr. Scott from The Game Closet, who took time out of his day to jump on a call with Lindsay and I in order to help us set up our very first ever stream. Thanks Doc, I will never forget your kindness that day.

[00:07:11] Now, while I haven't streamed in a while, I did go on to do five livestreams on my own while I played through some of the original Resident Evil games. I had so much fun learning how to do it while finding fun ways to entertain those that came by to watch. Maybe I'll go back to that, streaming has been something that's been on my mind lately. But regardless, again, another one of those goals

[00:07:36] that I set out for myself was achieved. Now, there are other milestones to be had, but I think you get my point. I kept pushing myself towards the next thing. While growing the podcast by getting more downloads and expanding my audience is always something I'm passively working towards, I'm always working on the next milestone. I don't know when it was exactly, but as I continued to

[00:08:00] attend various gaming conventions, I set my next milestone. I wanted to get to a point where I would be invited to a gaming convention as a featured guest. Bonus points for taking part in a panel discussion about whatever topic made sense. The idea was the same as before. I wasn't going to ask to be featured, I wanted to be invited. I wanted the quality of my work and the quality of my character

[00:08:26] to be something that someone wanted at their show. Eventually, that day came and a different Jay approached me. This time, Jay Malone from the YouTube channel Square Pegs asked me to take part in the first ever Michigan Retro Game Expo or Merge for short. I don't remember exactly what I said in that moment, but I know it was an emphatic yes. I remember looking at Justine, my wife, a little later,

[00:08:55] and just flashing a stupid grin that seemed to last for hours. Eleven or so months later, August 29th, 2026 rolled around and the time had come. I put some thought into how I wanted my experience to be at Merge. Talking with people and promoting the podcast and all my other works was certainly something I wanted to do, but above all of that, I wanted to make sure that the people that I talked to and the people that went to the show

[00:09:24] had a great experience. Besides, I know not everyone listens to podcasts so I wanted to be as accommodating as possible so people enjoyed me, my time, and the convention itself. So I came up with the idea of utilizing my custom made Expedition Journal that was made courtesy of Channel 3 Gaming. I chronicled my time at the show but also invited people to write down the video game

[00:09:49] that they felt was a must-play experience. I was eager to see what that one game was for people and needless to say, I had some great conversations. More on that later though. So with all of that said, that's how things began and how I came to be a featured guest at Merge. Let's turn the page in my journal and head through one of the most memorable days I've ever had the

[00:10:15] pleasure of experiencing. 8AM – Arrival at the Delta Hotel's Kalamazoo Conference Center

[00:10:42] The expo opens up at 9AM for VIP ticket holders and 10AM for everyone else. I got there early to set up my spot in Creator's Corner, an area near the back of the vendor hall. It wasn't a large area, but it had a nice enough table. I brought some freshly printed business-type cards with the Retro Wildlands logo and a QR code that'll get you to our website. Justine made me up some cool stickers that I could hang out,

[00:11:09] my favorite being a sticker of a retro-looking Dee Dee, our canine expedition leader. The sticker calls him a loot goblin. The sticker is correct. There's a few others that would eventually join me in Creator's Corner. While there were a decent amount of creators present, there were only a couple that actually hung out in our little corner. First, there was Casey Huffman, also known as the 8-Bit Kid.

[00:11:35] Casey is a pro wrestler, video game collector, and overall good dude who happened to bring life-size cardboard cutouts of Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin, which were a welcome addition to Creator's Corner. Casey was joined by a nice gal named Talese – I think I'm saying that right – who I believe is also a pro wrestler. Next, Dr. Scott from the YouTube channel Game Closet posted up along with

[00:12:01] his wife Lynn and their adorable YouTuber daughter Harley, who has her own channel called Harley Fractics Hideout. It was hard for me not to get excited as I finished setting things up. The expo staff was very accommodating and I felt like an honest-to-god celebrity. I recognized some of the vendors that were setting up and had started to get to know some of them over time. Creator's Corner was set up next

[00:12:26] to Hilltop Retro Games, which was run by Kyle Martin, who is an awesome dude. Hilltop Retro is a store out in Shard in Ohio that I've been meaning to check out, so it was nice to have a chance to support Kyle and his store in this way. Lindsey from LL Cool Games would hang out in Creator's Corner on occasion as well, though she was part of the actual event staff so she was pretty busy throughout the day. While the

[00:12:51] vendors and the rest of the merge staff were setting things up, I was approached by Jay, one of the showrunners, and he had a task for me. 8.20am – A Task for the Taskmaster Have you ever heard of the television show Taskmaster? A few months ago, I certainly had not.

[00:13:22] It's a panel-style comedy game show that I believe is based in the UK. On the show, a panel of celebrities attempt to complete tasks given to them by the show's taskmaster. The taskmaster judges the contestants' ability to complete the tasks, rewarding points for things like accuracy, interpretation of the task, etc. Jay came up with the idea to have his own taskmaster

[00:13:49] panel at the expo. When Jay asked me if I wanted to participate, I happily accepted the challenge. I mean, what could go wrong? As it turns out, plenty, but it all made for some pretty good laughs. Jay sent me three tasks in the mail before the show, and he and I hopped on a video call where I attempted to perform the tasks after opening them for the first time on video. I had a lot of fun doing

[00:14:15] that, and at the show itself, there would be a larger taskmaster panel near the end of the day where it would all come together. I was nervous, yet excited for that, but what I wasn't planning on was having a task that I needed to accomplish before then. After I finished setting things up at my booth, Jay handed me a wax-sealed piece of paper and told me that I had a task to complete and it needed to be

[00:14:39] completed before the panel at the end of the day. I remember shaking my head as I took the paper from him. I mean, I should have seen this coming. I'm not going to spoil the whole Taskmaster experience since it was all recorded and should be posted somewhere on YouTube if not by the time you hear these words but soon, I would think, but I will share my convention task just to give you a little bit

[00:15:02] of a taste. When I broke the wax seal and opened up the piece of paper, a $20 bill fell out. I grabbed it and read the words on the paper. Before the panel at the end of the day, my task was to find something at the convention that I would consider to be the most Midwestern item at the show and I had

[00:15:24] to justify my choice to the Taskmaster. That was it. I remember looking at the paper for a long time and re-reading it several times. Most Midwestern thing. What does Midwestern even mean in this context? See, that's the thing about Taskmaster tasks. The answer is usually right in front of you but the fun is interpreting it and seeing other people's interpretations.

[00:15:52] I folded the paper and put it in my pocket. I still had a little bit of time before the doors opened to those who bought VIP tickets so I decided to check out some of the vendors still setting up so I could try to get some ideas. 9am. The Michigan Retro Game Expo officially opens.

[00:16:22] When the announcement came over the PA that doors were officially opening, I couldn't help but be excited. I rushed back to my booth and posted up. I watched the slow stream of people walk inside the conference center. Some had wonder in their eyes as they took it all in while others were on a mission to find that one treasure they were hoping to get their hands on. In my experience, generally, when convention goers get inside the event, the first place that they'll go is wherever the vendors are.

[00:16:53] From my own personal experience, I like getting my hands on a VIP ticket to a show if it grants me early entry. Not only is the place far less crowded for a time, it gives me a chance to see some of the better items for sale before they get scooped up by somebody else. While I felt compelled to stand my post in the event someone walked by, I knew the early crowd were mostly there for the vendors, which was fine.

[00:17:19] I shared a lot of smiles and curt nods as the early birds made their way around the vendor hall. One of the things I wish I would have made more time for was getting to talk to all of the vendors there. At conventions like this, while video games are usually the most common thing you'll find, some vendors peddle some interesting things. For example, New Metal Repairs was on hand with a wide

[00:17:44] selection of custom consoles and handhelds. And when I say custom, I mean it. They showed me some incredible handhelds like a Game Boy Advance with an updated screen and a metal body that felt incredible in my hands. They also had a Switch Lite that they modified with an OLED screen and a port so it could be docked. They also had a custom purple PS2 Slim complete with HDMI port, which I am convinced if

[00:18:13] Justine saw it, we probably would have bought one. There was also a neat booth near Creator's Corner that housed Wixie's Wonders. I believe the gal's name there was Jennifer and she had a bunch of purses and pouches with unique gaming and pop culture style art. Cameron, my stepdaughter, eventually grabbed something from there and I have to say I was almost a little jealous. She showed me the artwork on her

[00:18:40] bag and it was incredible. Now we'd be here forever if I went down a list of all the vendors, but I do have to give special shoutouts to Pixel Perfect Video Games, RGB, the Retro Games Boutique, Game Pawn, and the Goblin Boss Trading Company which was selling a vast variety of hot sauces, which I of course bought. Gaming conventions can be somewhat overwhelming. I'd like to think I'm pretty attuned to the different

[00:19:09] games that I'm interested in and I have a decent feel for the value of some things, but to the uninitiated it can certainly be a lot. If you ever go to a convention like Merge, I highly recommend just bringing with you a wad of cash that you're willing to spend on things and go nuts. Seriously, you never know what you'll find. And if you're new to the scene and your gut is telling you that something's probably a little bit more expensive than it should be, I will say go with your gut.

[00:19:37] Now, while video games are the most common thing, there's so much more that can pop up at places like this. And even if you have no interest in purchasing anything, you may get some joy just seeing all the retro stuff and taking a trip down nostalgia lane. I got my hands on a decent amount of stuff, which you can check out on our social media pages if you're interested. But to give you a taste, I added to my PSP

[00:20:01] collection, found a rare horror game for the PS2 that I've been looking for, and I found some neat coasters modeled after the covers of some of my favorite original PlayStation games. I did have one not-so-great experience that I feel compelled to mention, though. I'm not going to name the vendor because I'm not interested in calling them out specifically and I honestly don't remember

[00:20:25] who they are anyway, but I went to pay for a DS game that I've been looking for and I handed it to the person along with the exact amount of cash needed, in this case $30, as notated by the $30 sticker on the game's fine. The person who took the game and my money actually stopped, took their phone out, went to pricecharting.com and proceeded to tell me that I needed to pay $35 since the average

[00:20:54] asking price of this specific game had gone up recently. I know, I was just as shocked as you are. Those of us who collect games know that the used game market can fluctuate, it's just kind of how it goes. But as a consumer, that game was marked for $30 and that's what I was expecting to pay. Changing the price to something higher at the point of transaction was pretty crappy.

[00:21:22] But I bring this up to say, 1. If you're selling video games and have a sticker on your game, your customer will expect to pay that price. If you have to change prices to meet the used market prices, sure, do that. But never, NEVER at the point of transaction. And 2. I want people to feel okay with telling someone no if that ever happens to any of you.

[00:21:48] The used video game market can be intimidating to those not in the know or unsure what resources to check pricing on, but I've always operated under one cardinal rule. I will only ever pay what I personally feel a game is worth to me. It's done me well so far as my physical game collection hits 783 unique physical games after my looting of the Michigan Retro Game Expo.

[00:22:16] I am never going to have enough time to play all these. 10 AM. The Michigan Retro Game Expo welcomes general admission. At this point, the proverbial floodgates opened. I sped back to Creator's Corner to post up and see who I could meet.

[00:22:45] People are generally in good spirits during a gaming convention, but everyone seemed especially excited today. I saw a ton of smiles from all sorts of people as they walked around the vendor hall. Outside of everything being sold, Merge had some other attractions. There were a few indie game developers on hand showing off their games, though I never got around to checking those out, so major shame on me. In another area of the conference center, there was a free-to-play area where Brian from BD Retro

[00:23:15] Mods had a plethora of retro game systems set up for folks to enjoy. There was also an area for board and card games that I didn't hang out in too much. Oh, and there was also a Dungeons & Dragons area set up as well, where Summer Rawson from Rawson's Realms was hosting live D&D sessions. Oh man, D&D. That's something I wish I could make more time to get into. But who knows, maybe it'll be something I do at some point.

[00:23:44] I didn't meet Summer formally until much later in the show, but Summer's energy was infectious. I would not be surprised if we linked up for some sort of collaboration in the near future. Oh, and one more thing to mention. Channel 3 was on site hosting several gaming tournaments as well. The only bad thing was they were posted up in the Delta Hotel itself, but luckily, I was a very short walk from the convention center to the hotel.

[00:24:13] Dan Tucker was on hand to run the events, and he did a fantastic job. And I have to say, Dan gives good hugs. Not sure if anyone knows this about me, but I am a hugger. Maybe it's the Italian in me, I don't know. But Dan surpassed my hugging expectations. Now, if all of this wasn't enough for a first expo, there were also several panel discussions

[00:24:38] that you could attend. There was one panel led by Gary from Rock Solid Productions that taught people how to maintain the retro games. Another panel with cosplayer Maddie Chase was designed around leveling up your cosplays. But there was also one at noon that was focused on content creation, which I happily volunteered for when a call came out for panel speakers.

[00:25:01] Not gonna lie, I was very stoked for this panel discussion. I've sat and watched several panel discussions at various conventions, but I always wanted to be the one on the panel itself to talk about whatever. More than that, I was really excited for this panel because I would be the sole podcaster, and I was eager to share my podcasting journey up to that point with anybody that was interested.

[00:25:27] Until that time came, however, I largely spent the next two hours hanging out in my little corner of the world. I felt obligated to hang around Creator's Corner to make sure everyone that came within smiling distance of me received either a curt nod, a random compliment, or a solid high-five. As a convention goer myself, I loved when people were just kind to me, so I wanted to do that for others so merge could

[00:25:52] become a memorable experience for them. But selfishly, of course, I wanted to see if I could net any new listeners to my show. As a way to do that, I'd ask people that came up to me if they listened to podcasts at all. If they did or were mildly into podcasts, I would go full-on into peddling my wares and tell them about the show, handing them one of my new shiny business cards complete with high-tech QR

[00:26:16] code taking them to the website, and it was all really fun. I really enjoyed sharing my hobby with people because, as long-time listeners know, I am very, very proud of what I do and the quality of my work here. Anyone who paid even half attention to me got a ton of that passion thrown their way. One of the other things I did was the whole asking people if they would be so kind as to write down

[00:26:42] their must-play game in my expedition journal. I asked everyone I talked to if they would do that, regardless of whether or not they were in a podcast. It was a fun way to just talk to people, and it was very fun seeing what everyone wrote down. While there were a pile of entries, some of them just stuck out to me because of how much passion people had with their selections. I remember the

[00:27:06] gal who talked to me at length about where in the world is Carmen Sandiego, and the guy who swore by Earthworm Jim 2. Someone else went on and on about Simpsons Hit and Run, and somebody else talked to me about how Super Mario Bros. 3 got them through their childhood. While I love talking about my podcast, I think this was one of my favorite parts of the whole experience. I'm going to create a tradition

[00:27:33] out of this, I think, and I want to continue to do this if I'm ever brought back to more conventions. If you happen to be listening to this right now, and you were one of those people that stood there and told me about your must-play gaming experience, seriously, thank you so much for sharing that with me. And a huge thank you for checking out the podcast because if you're hearing my words right now, you found me. And I am so glad that you are here.

[00:28:03] 12 PM. Content Creator Panel Discussion At some point during the show, I developed this irrational fear that no one would want to take time to check out the content creator's discussion, and I would be speaking to an empty room. Thankfully, that was not the case. The room itself that was used for the discussion wasn't too big.

[00:28:33] I think there were chairs there for about maybe 24 people with some standing room in the back. The room overall was pretty full, so that was awesome. The panel was moderated by John, aka Biddy Kong, on the YouTubes. John is very knowledgeable about video editing and YouTube in general, so he was a great choice to lead the discussion. I was only joined by one other content creator, and that was Chris Carlson,

[00:29:02] formerly known as Game Dad. Chris was one of the organizers of Merge, so it was cool that he was able to take time out of his duties to hang out with folks for a while. Oh, and Chris also gives good hugs. The focus of the panel was on content creation, obviously, but more so about giving people some direction if they wanted to start content creation for themselves. With Chris and John's

[00:29:26] focus on creating videos for YouTube, I filled in the podcast aspect of content creation, though I was able to speak to making videos and stuff like that as well, even just on the few that I've done so far. I'm certainly no expert, but I enjoyed giving my perspective and answering questions as they popped up from time to time. I especially enjoyed talking about the origins of the Retro Wildlands podcast and how I went from talking about the idea of a podcast and turning it into something just by

[00:29:55] getting started, and just figuring things out on my own through research and a bunch of trial and error. Everyone in the audience seemed really engaged, and many of them were either already creating content of some kind or were looking to start. That right there, dear listener, is the key. Just start. Stop thinking about it and just go do it. Even if you have no plan right away. That is the one thing

[00:30:22] that we made it a point to emphasize during the entire panel. As the panel went on, John and Chris went a little deeper into the abyss that is the YouTube algorithm. They talked about how some videos get more views than others because of timing and other factors such as watch hours and the like. They did go pretty deep at times, but it was all useful information. It's funny though, now that I think about it. While John and Chris gave some good advice on how you could potentially get a video some

[00:30:52] visibility through the algorithm, I realized how passive I personally am about my own content. I think that's the most important thing, and I made it a point to call that out during the panel at times. But instead of working an algorithm, I found over the last several years that I just find joy in making things that I'm proud of. I may not have a ton of subscribers or followers, but the few that I do

[00:31:17] have I know found me through my hard work and genuine love for the hobby. I think that's the most important thing, and I made it a point to call that out during the panel at times. Whatever content you make, whether it's a podcast, YouTube videos, live streams, or you're just posting photos on Instagram, do it for you and do it because you want to do it. If you're out there chasing money or trying to tame an ever-changing algorithm, you run the risk of losing sight of

[00:31:46] yourself and what's important to you as a person. There is nothing worth being something that you're not, regardless of the rewards. At least that's how I see it. So yeah, it was a very fun panel discussion. I wish we had more time, and I wish I could have talked more about some of the behind the scenes stuff that I personally go through, but I had a great time for my very first panel, and I hope I get

[00:32:10] to partake in more in the future. 1.37 PM – Taskmaster task completed Thanks to the combined efforts of Justine, Cameron, and my stepson Landon, I found two items that I was

[00:32:37] going to use for the task I needed to complete for the Taskmaster panel at the end of the day. I'm not going to spoil it here, but when it comes to the most Midwestern thing at the show, I was pretty happy with what I found. Speaking of the wife and kids, I am so glad that they had a good time. I think giving them a small list of games that I was on the hunt for certainly helped a lot too. It's actually because of them that I found half the

[00:33:03] stuff that I brought home. But more than that, it was fun hunting around for things with them. Cameron isn't much of a gamer really, but she has interest and seems to like it when I talk to her about a unique game. She's more into anime and reading manga right now, which is super cool. She recently watched the Devil May Cry animated series on Netflix and got really excited when I

[00:33:27] told her that I own Devil May Cry on the PS2. I would love to watch her play that sometime. As we roamed the vendor hall, sometimes her or Landon would find something interesting, and I was able to pull from my vast reaches of my nerd brain to either explain the thing or connect it to something else. Landon still likes Pokemon cards, which is something he tends to get at most shows we

[00:33:51] go to. Cameron got a small statue of an anime character I didn't recognize, but it looked really cool. While all of us walked out of the convention with a fair amount of stuff, the conversations and moments that we shared in and out of the convention were the true treasures for me. What's more, everyone on the convention's staff treated us like an extended family. I don't know if I'll ever be able to put into words how much that meant to us.

[00:34:23] 1.54pm – A random merged staff member saves the day. One thing I've noticed about myself anytime I'm at a gaming convention is that I do not take care of myself very well. I'm always wanting to move around, hop from booth to booth, and rarely do I sit

[00:34:49] and rest or fill myself with food or water. This even extends to times I have my family with me. I usually have to wait for one of them to mention that they're hungry for me to register that I should probably eat something as well. I don't know what it is, but I allow everything going on around me to just consume my state of mind. I mean, it's mainly because I'm having a great time and I want to

[00:35:14] maximize that time, but at Merge, I took this mentality to a slight extreme. I wanted to talk to everyone. I wanted to meet every vendor. I wanted to network with all the new people. I wanted to find the best deals. It was a lot. I remember standing at the table in Creator's Corner and out of nowhere, a yellow-shirted Merge staff member came up to me and handed me a cold bottle of water. Once I took it,

[00:35:44] he dashed away. I looked down at the water bottle and when I did, the haze of everything faded and I remember smiling. As I took a hearty swig from the bottle, I realized I needed to take a freaking break. I'd been on my feet all day up to that point, moving around constantly, and when the cool water hit my stomach, it gurgled, notifying me that I was also hungry. Not too long after that,

[00:36:11] Justine and Cameron came by the table with some chicken fingers and fries from one of the food vendors. It was perfect timing. The reason this moment was memorable for me was for two reasons. First, I was floored by the kindness of that random Merge staff member. I later found out that someone had seen Justine somewhere in the vendor hall and got her a bottle of water too. I know it was a very small

[00:36:38] gesture, but that's VIP treatment as far as I'm concerned. I appreciated being checked on like that and I double appreciated that they made it a point to find my wife. That was A plus support. The second reason this was memorable for me was the interaction reminded me that conventions can actually be tiring and if you, dear listener, ever go to one and spend any length of time there,

[00:37:03] do not overdo it. Take your time, take breaks, and enjoy yourself. And besides, taking a break is a great way to take stock of what you've seen so far and even go through all the loot that you've accumulated at that point. I know that's what I did. But while I was rummaging through all of my loot, I had a horrific thought. I do not have any more shelf space for any of the games that I bought.

[00:37:33] Eh, whatever, that's a tomorrow problem. 4.15 PM. The Taskmaster Panel. Have you ever laughed so hard for such a length of time that your body physically hurts after a while? That was the

[00:38:03] taskmaster panel. At least that's what it was for me. Dr. Scott from the Game Closet, Lindsey from L.O. Cool Games, Summer Rawson from Rawson's Realms, and myself were the four victims. I mean contestants on the Taskmaster Panel with Jay Malone running the show. Although at some point before the actual panel, I figured out that Jay was not the actual Taskmaster that was going to be judging our

[00:38:29] tasks. That honor was going to John Riggs. John Riggs is a YouTuber that I discovered several years ago and his channel is full of retro gaming goodness. Outside of the YouTube space, Riggs is a radio DJ, and I'm pretty sure he's a pro wrestling ring announcer as well. Very, very nice guy who's always kind to me when I talk to him, so I was excited to figure out that he was going to be the Taskmaster at the panel.

[00:38:57] Fun fact, I figured out he was going to be the guy a few hours earlier when John just casually mentioned to me that he was going to be at the panel and he had a dapper suit that he was going to wear. I thought that was strange because I was pretty positive he wasn't one of the contestants so it clicked. He is the Taskmaster. The Taskmaster panel was recorded, so I'm assuming it's going to pop up in some capacity at some point. So again, I'm not going to go into much detail here.

[00:39:27] But as one of the last major things I did at Merge, this was one of the most memorable for me. As I was sitting in front of the room embarrassing myself, it really hit me where I was in that moment. At one point, time slowed down and I remember looking around the room at everything. Everyone in the audience had a huge smile on their faces. My fellow contestants and I were laughing

[00:39:54] while Jay showed off one of my pre-recorded tasks and I watched John Riggs do his absolute best to hold back laughter as he judged me. My wife and stepkids were in the audience having a blast too, and it sounds really weird to say, but I felt complete in that moment. My heart was truly full. As everyone laughed at the big screen at the back of the room where I was struggling to complete one

[00:40:21] of my tasks in comedic fashion, I truly felt lucky. Dare I say, I truly felt blessed. I started the Retro Wildlands as a passion project, having no real goals outside of trying something new with a hobby that I enjoyed. That blind leap opened so many doors and brought into my life so many amazing people. I've always struggled with bouts of imposter syndrome where I often wonder

[00:40:48] if I truly belong in this space. I'm just a 42-year-old guy with a sarcastic sense of humor and a love for video games who tries to sound entertaining. But after being a part of the entire Michigan Retro Game Expo from the very beginning to the very end, I finally feel like I truly belong. I'm sure someone listening is probably shaking their head going, no, no, no, you've always belonged.

[00:41:15] I know. That's what imposter syndrome does though. But I think I'm finally over it. Amidst the laughter, amidst the high fives and the hugs, I truly feel that I belong. I'm sure I'm sure I'm not going to be the best. If you're listening to this ever felt that way or feel that way now, I urge you to continue to be your most authentic selves. And I encourage you to do that in all the

[00:41:43] things that you do. You will find those that value that authenticity and they will find you. I can promise you that. 6pm. The Michigan Retro Game Expo comes to a close. For now. All good things eventually end, and at 6pm the expo was officially over.

[00:42:14] Those that were still in the conference center eventually worked their way out, and I could see clusters of yellow-shirted staff members high-fiving and hugging. I remember smiling big at one point as Jay came up to me, thanking me for being part of the experience. The glow in Jay's eyes at that moment was something that I'll never forget. There was one part triumph, one part exhaustion, and one part gratitude in his eyes, and all of that

[00:42:41] came out in a bear hug that left me smiling. I was never involved in the actual planning of the show, but from what I picked up from those that worked the event, it was clear to me that putting this all together was no small feat. But as I looked around at the conference center recalling everything that had happened leading up to the event and during it, I felt a sense of pride. Not for myself,

[00:43:05] but for Jay, his wife Meredith, Chris, Lindsey, and everybody else that worked to make this event happen. It's one thing for someone to dream about something, but it's another to go out and work to see that dream realized. Seeing things like this come together and being lucky enough to be a part of them gives me the drive that I need to keep pushing forward in my own endeavors. The first ever Michigan Retro Game Expo will be something that I'll never forget.

[00:43:35] My best friend once told me that great passions can change the world. Someone on the outside may only see this as quote, just a video game convention, but everyone's passion for this event didn't just give people something fun to do for a day, it reminded us that great passions can truly change everything. And I cannot wait to see what happens next year.

[00:44:20] And with that, we close the book on our 11th entry into the expedition log, my friends. This has been the Retro Wildlands Expedition Log number 11, the inaugural 2026 Michigan Retro Game Expo. Thank you very much for tuning into the show today. This was a fun little aside for me, so I hope you all found this to be entertaining.

[00:44:47] I continue to be excited for what lay ahead, so stay tuned for more adventures inside and outside the games. Now, before we put out the campfire and head our separate ways, don't forget to give The Retro Wildlands a follow on social media and make sure you subscribe to the show as well. Our website, theretrowildlands.com, is also the place you want to be for the latest content as well as our growing catalog of podcast episode and blog entries.

[00:45:16] You can sign up for a free account on our website, which will give you the ability to leave comments on pretty much everything, and it's a great way to interact with me, the show, and the community. The Retro Wildlands is also part of the SuperPod Network, home of some other awesome video game podcasts and other gaming content, and you can check all of that out and more by heading over to superpodnetwork.com. Thank you all again for hanging out with me today.

[00:45:43] Coming up next, it is well past time I get the podcast back on track. Now that Merge is behind me, I'm hoping to get back to my routine of episodes again. I still owe you all an episode covering my experience with the 2019 Link's Awakening remake on the Switch, and I am still committed to talking about Call of Duty Black Ops. I'm also working on some more written game reviews, so I'm hoping to get back on track with all of that too.

[00:46:09] It has been a fun yet very chaotic year for me, and I continue to be thankful to all of you. Whether this is your first episode or you've been with the Expedition for a while now, all of this is just so much more fun when you are able to join us. I hope to see you again soon as my adventures into the gaming wildlands continue. We still have so much ground to cover, and I cannot wait to see where we go next.

[00:46:37] Until then, my friends, my name is Nomad, and you can find me… Roaming the Retro Wildlands.