Revenge of the Nerds: UPLINK’s RETRO CON
Joseph Watkins: Da Watcher
This pandemic has decimated local gatherings, inhibited meetups at conventions and has changed pop culture to basically the computer screen in the form of Tik-Tok videos, the now created Reels on Instagram, and every form of social media known to woman and man.
However, as with any apocalypse, what emerges from the ashes are individuals who have decided not to let death and change alter their way of life. They are the true adaptors; using their intellect, their hustle and most importantly their heart to create a semblance of ‘their universe’ to ensure that they will survive, despite the darkness surrounding them. These innovators, those that are strong enough to get through anything that life throws at them, navigated through the murkiness of the unsure and succeeded. Situations such as this makes one stronger, more determined than ever. And it is here that I speak about the Nerds from Long Island Retro Gaming (LIRG) and their Innovative Gaming Convention, UPLINK. These innovators saw the world for what it was and decided to create an event in the name of Gaming Pop Culture. Having existed for some time, I was never able to attend this event physically on account of life issues; however, when I was given the opportunity to attend virtually, I couldn’t say no. I had to see what I was missing and, as such, I was very impressed by their passion, persistence and creativity that Team Uplink provided.
These avant-gardists created a two-day event using their love of Gaming and using the following applications: Accelerevents, Twitch, Discord, YouTube and PARSEC; to allow members to navigate the event.
As I traveled through this ‘virtual con’, I was amazed by the ‘retro-ness’ of it. Simple to navigate, the ease of navigation allowed me to not get lost as I chatted with moderators, panelists and patrons. As I ventured, the Bot-staff was very accommodating as they assisted supporters in their viewing choices, with courtesy and respect being the norm.
Although, there was an incident in which a patron mentioned the videos weren’t closed captioned for him, the organizers apologized for the inconvenience and offered him a full refund without any grievances. I respected that and the handling of the situation. Not every event offers refunds. Sometimes they’ll string customers along to ensure that the funds only go one way, into their pockets. In the age of COVID, loyalty, honor and respect is definitely the way to go.
As I ‘zoomed’ in and out of the chat groups and panels I started to embrace the ‘Retro-ness of the con’ as I started to see my Nintendo childhood classics in new forms.
Ah Nintendo; that Japanese video game company that made a fat round Italian plumber a superhero and turtles evil; the NES was my guiding light for the convention and my review. The realm of Nintendo and its influence on gaming has provided many gamers experiences unlike any other. These experiences has transcended generations and there isn’t anyone who hasn’t been, in some way or another, influenced by the company.
Nintendo, for me, was my ‘childhood friend’; my mechanical comrade accessory that allowed me to slay vampires or perhaps become one; allowed me to be a little blue android that waged a ‘one man war’ against renegade robots; allowed me to alter time to save a princess from the clutches of an evil renegade wizard and most importantly, master my emotions as both a ninja and a street fighter searching for the meaning of life while I save my girlfriend…..
Powered by Accelevents, one of the best aspects of theses panels was their ability to do live videos and chat with the panelists as they discussed gaming, pop culture and their businesses.
It was awesome.
GameBOYs Emergence From Obscurity
One of the ‘Modified Gameboys’
The Expo Hall started my nostalgic travel as I ventured into the realm of Gamecharger_mods. Here, I was able to look at past gaming devices and see how a group of innovators took a childhood device and through the process of ‘retromodding’ created an authentic customed device capable of playing games from the past for the future. The device mentioned is the Legendary GameBoy and is heralded as one of the greatest game playing devices of the 90s. Selling about 118 million units worldwide, the GameBoy is one of those collectibles that is still a must have to this day. Fellow YouTuber, Wulff Den, interviewed the company and to my surprise the company’s loyalty to the classic is outstanding; New designs retrofitted for today’s market, this company brought new life in an old body. Found on Etsy, the company’s design integrations flow like an art piece rather than a playable device.
Wulff Den interview with Gamechanger_Mods
The World of Ircha Gaming
Ircha Marie Sorensen & JakeJames Lugo
My next venture led me to Harstad, Norway where I had the chance to interact with gaming journalist, Jakejames Lugo as he interviewed Norway’s own, Ircha Marie Sorensen from Ircha Gaming. Ircha Gaming, known for her analysis of video games, has a major focus towards Nintendo based titles, with Nintendo Switch games being her ‘golden ticket’ reviews. During UPLINK, her topic of discussion was on a common phenomenon found in gaming: Data Loss.
Recently, she lost her data in the Animal Crossing series for the Nintendo Switch and as a result, the loss of data was equivalent to 120 Hours (5 days’ worth) of traveling, fishing, discovering and player growth. For those who are not familiar with the Animal Crossing series, recently released (2020), it became one of the highest grossing titles of all time and it also became the best “Quarantine Companion” during the pandemic.
One lesson learned from the panel: Animal Crossing, apparently, can’t be transferred. Seems Nintendo is very sensitive towards their IP…..
The Lost of 120 Hours of Data from Animal Crossing: Ircha Gaming
Live Your 8-Bit Dreams: NESmaker
NESmaker Designers: Austin McKinley & Joe Granato
Growing up, Nintendo was my guiding light for all things video games. My NES collection was legendary as I had some of the classics: Super Mario Bros 1-3, Contra, Double Dragon 2, Mega Man 2, Punch Out, even the classic Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, to name a few. One game that always brought me joy was TMNT II: The Arcade Game. Fighting as Michelangelo, I would imagine myself swinging my nunchakus around on a skateboard, fighting the foot clan with precision and speed. But, there were times that I would ask myself, ‘could I make a video game or I wish I could improve on this title?’ Well, for 2020 it happened: the NESmaker.
Developers of the platform, Austin McKinley and Joe Granato, shared their knowledge in regard to gaming and how their platform allows novice designers to journey into the world of game design. With Nintendo’s influence always expanding to all ages and cultures, game designing is now easier than ever.
Dedicated to the craft, these developers showed their love for the Nintendo community by having their annual ‘Byte-Off’ Awards where students of the NESmaker, from novices to experts, have one month to develop an 8-bit game and submit it for game play.
These developers never grew up and that is what makes this company an almost fairytale. Their love for the NES has expanded into a community of Discord members, IG groups and Facebook followers that allow each other to swap code knowledge and discuss game design in all its forms.
NESmaker, as with most of the NES games is a hit. Respect to these innovators for their creative insight.
NESmaker: Byte Awards by Austin McKinley and Joe Granato
SNESDrunk
There are some panels that will change your life and this panel was f’-ing one of them! SNESDrunk or I would like to call it…..Super Nintendo’s Demi-God of Awesomeness!!
Honestly, he was the most humble, laid-back and one of the coolest panelist I’ve ever met and as I listened to his knowledge of the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), his awareness was only matched by his vast library of SNES games in the background.
Literally, a man, a mic, a drink and his quick to the point reviews of SNES video games; It was straight truth, no chaser and for that reason alone, respect is given to him. During his UPLINK panel, he expressed the truth in regard to starting up your own YouTube channel or BLOG. Believe him or not, his facts were essential and needed; especially for a crowded environment when you’re trying to be number one in your content area:
SNESDrunk
“I started with 0 views and 0 subscribers…..I’m up to 175,000 subscribers now and it stills blows my mind, because I can still remember…..it feels like it happened overnight…..I was out of a job, I failed every other creative thing…..
…..I used to make music…write…and none of it gained any type of audience….
…..I’m not gonna sit here and say, that I got the ‘algorithm figured out’ or any of that nonsense……
….I just kept making videos…and I made a video about Chrono Trigger and then…4300 views, 43 subscribers….. I’m like, ‘What happened, What happened?’……what made that video?….and the reason that video did so well is because I was already part of a group of people that shared stuff, shared articles, shared news……I started posting in 2009 and I knew these people, so I recommended stuff…… and when they saw my video, they knew me…….” -SNES Drunk
And that right there was the ‘magic algorithm’ needed for 2020: Respect and Support. In order to be a leader in your content, you first need to put in the ‘sweat equity’ and visit the various groups, chats and channels that specialize in their own content or content similar to yours. ‘Paying Dues’ is what some call it. Being a social media content creator is hard enough, but if you don’t acknowledge those who came before you and give them the respect they deserve, you, yourself could crumble before you even start….
Final Thoughts….
For 2020, Virtual Cons have become the go to hub for new insights in pop culture. With upcoming releases and the creation of various communities that specialize in gaming, comics, manga and anime’; These virtual groups are now becoming the lifeblood of the 2020 pop culture scene and these communities are growing stronger and stronger.
One important factor in creating an awesome Virtual Con is specialization and that is the key component in ensuring that these events become memorable to the point that attendees will go back again and again; even when life returns to normal.
LIRG followed their hearts in gaming and did just that. These innovators’ focus on the nostalgia and the modern aspects of gaming allowed UPLINK to be an authentic weekend experience that allowed viewers to become kids again, while incorporating newcomers to experience the reason why respecting the classics is important in gaming, especially the NES. Taking a futuristic step in ‘virtual conning’, they added to the live person experience thanks to the company ACCELEVENTS.
UPLINK was an awesome experience that took the relics of the past, made them fun again, and said, ‘….if you thought that was awesome back in the day, check this out…..!!!’
At first, I was like WTF?!, but then something happened, I started to see my past gaming experiences highlighted in future form. The NERD DEMIGODs of Long Island created an experience unlike any other and found that seminal branch on the tree of pop culture: Retro Gaming. Both new and old, this convention respectfully, created an ecosystem that focused on all aspects of gaming to ensure that the past is never forgotten.
This is the con that gamers need and I hope they continue to go above and beyond for those who love the past and still play video games, for the future.
UPLINK: Long Island Retro Gaming, I salute the great effort!!! You succeeded in the age of COVID to create a successful con and for that, you have my ultimate respect.
LONG LIVE GAMING!!!!
