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SEE • SHARE • CONNECT
PRESENTATION HALL SCHEDULE
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ACP, Vista, Rana & Indus: Startup Stories (1978–83)
Christopher McDivit | Early ACP Employee
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 5:00:00 PM UTC
In this talk, I’ll take you back to the early days of ACP—when scrappy engineering, big personalities, and a little bit of chaos helped shape the personal-computing world. We’ll explore ACP’s evolution from TTL-based designs to CPU-driven systems, along with a few fun (and very real) stories from the trenches.
From there, the story branches into the connected histories of Vista Computer, Rana Systems, and Indus Systems—all tied together by a small, determined group of people who helped launch (and sometimes outgrow) these companies. Expect a behind-the-scenes look at how these startups formed, what fueled their rise, and what ultimately led to their dissolution.
And yes—there’ll be some delightfully nerdy bonus material too: early floppy copy-protection schemes, the clever tricks behind them, and the cat-and-mouse games they sparked.
Modern Computing: A 1974–Global Journey
Douglas Westfall | The Paragon Agency, Publishers
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 6:00:00 PM UTC
A panoply of business computing from 1973 and how it changed the world along with the U.S. in Business, Finance, Sales and Retail establishments.
Cybermania ’94: The First Game Awards
Andrew Zucker | formerly of Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 7:00:00 PM UTC
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, entertainment attorney Andrew “Andy” Zucker found himself at the dawn of a new era that had no name, no rules and no laws. The Internet was a Wild West, a Final Frontier. With a legal background in intellectual property, television licensing and rights associated with the music business, Andy recognized the need for similar protections online. Inspired by his love of computer games and desire to integrate “multimedia” into Hollywood, he founded the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences in 1991. Through AIAS, Andy established the world’s first international video conference, pioneered the first agreement for a Hollywood movie star to lend his likeness to digital media (Mickey Rooney: A Great Day at the Races. 1993, Philips Interactive Media CD-I), and produced the first televised award show for software and video games (Cybermania '94: The Ultimate Gamers Awards, TBS), followed by the first-ever live-streamed award show (Cybermania 1995, Bravo TV). He was also an early proponent for software music licensing, publishing an article in Billboard Magazine in 1992 called, "Think About Interactive Music Rights Now." Join Andy as he takes us through the early days of a movement that would change the world.
To learn more, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Interactive_Arts_%26_Sciences
Cybermania 1994 may be viewed in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af9M8llS9JA
State of FujiNet
Thomas Cherryhomes | Firmware Developer of FujiNet
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 9:00:00 PM UTC
FujiNet has become a mature project. There has been expansive development in software across all the current platforms, as well as a new RS-232 platform for MS-DOS machines, and more platforms are coming. Now we need to stabilize the platform by adding a regression testing framework, and fill in lots of documentation.
https://fujinet.online
How The Golden Age of Adventure Games Were Built
Ralph Caraveo | Software Engineer
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 10:00:00 PM UTC
This talk will offer of a peek into how the adventure games were built by legendary companies from the likes of Sierra Online (King's Quest, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and more) and LucasArts (Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island and more) and provide some technical insight into how the systems, programming, design-docs, graphics and animations were used to create the best era of adventure games from this time. This talk should appeal to both technical and non-technical folks and the presentation will be a multimedia experience.
Graphic Design Software & Tools for Microcomputers
Froyo Tam | Senior Designer, CARI co-founder, PepsiCo
Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 11:00:00 PM UTC
A look at the evolution of digital typography, fonts, and design tools, from microcomputers to workstations.
https://cari.institute
https://froyotam.info
INTERCAL Compiler Restoration and the Importance of Preserving Ephemera
Sean Haas | Advent of Computing
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 12:00:00 AM UTC
INTERCAL was the first esoteric programming language; a joke language that serves as a cutting commentary on the state of programming in the 1970s. It's much beloved and much bemoaned, but its original compiler was lost to time. That is, until recently. Last year I was part of an effort to uncover and restore that gem of a compiler. Join me as I recount the saga, suffer through some wild source code, and discuss the importance of preservation and annoying emails.
https://adventofcomputing.com
VCF SoCal Retro Game Show
Hosts: Levi Maaia & John Riney III
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 2:15:00 AM UTC
Back this year is the VCF SoCal Retro Game Show!
This will be AFTER the Exhibit, Vendor and Consignment Halls close for the day on Saturday, so that exhibitors & vendors can join in on the fun, too.
Plus, we'll have Audience Participation! With a mobile phone / internet connected device, the audience will be able to access a free website and join in the fun of answering game show questions.
The Stop Bits in Concert
Action Retro, The Taylor and Amy Show, and Veronica Explains
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 3:30:00 AM UTC
RetroTube's faculty band, consisting of Action Retro, The Taylor and Amy Show, and Veronica Explains will rock your socks off with epic songs about immersive topics such as the 6502 instruction set and putting Linux on increasingly absurd things.
https://www.thestopbits.net
*The festival would like to share that Austin Ribbon Microphones is a proud sponsor of VCF SoCal 2026 and is providing all of the needed sound equipment & gear for the band! Thank You to Rick at Austin Ribbon Microphones & The Hot Holder for all his festival support!
https://www.austinmics.com
Sea Stories from the Carrier Landing Computer
Steve Botts | Retired Principal Engineer, Qualcomm
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 5:00:00 PM UTC
Some stories of how we worked with the Univac 1219 Computer, on land and at sea, from 1983-1987. It was already a 20-year old vintage computer in the 1980s. I have some pictures and artifacts to show as well!
Digital Archaeology - AD&D Treasure of Tarmin, Part 2: Claude is My Copilot
Sean Harrington | Aquarius+ Evangelist
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 6:00:00 PM UTC
The next chapter in one nerd’s quest to decrypt, disassemble, and decompile THE “Killer App” for the Mattel Aquarius Computer, and how AI was tapped to further unlock the secrets of Tom Loughry’s 43 year old masterpiece.
Watch Part 1 from the VCF West 2025 talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlt08zwiG7U
Epic Kludges That Saved the Day
Bill Fisher | Founder, Quicksilver Software Inc
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 7:00:00 PM UTC
Real-world software development is messy, ugly, and far from perfect. In the earliest days, programmers were forced to use dark magic to get games out on time or increase performance. Learn about some of these epic kludges from one of the necromancers of the First Age of Video Games as he reveals secrets hidden in his games such as B-17 Bomber and Star Trek: Starfleet Command.
https://quicksilver.com/blog/
Resurrecting the Computer Museum of America: A Partnership Between Two Universities
Jim Trageser | Former Advisory Board President, Computer Museum of America
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 9:00:00 PM UTC
Forty years after it's founding in San Diego, and 15 years after it folded, a unique partnership between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University is cataloguing the vast collection of the Computer Museum of America.
Game Development Technology - Then and Now
Blue Sky Rangers | Intellivision Programmers
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 10:00:00 PM UTC
Hear how first generation video game developers were able to conquer the creative world of game development with stone flints, bone grinders, and antler mallets held together with birch tar, and how they compare to today's tools.
Porting Commodore 64 Chipmusic to Arcade Hardware
Mike Dean
Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 11:00:00 PM UTC
Please Note:
Purchase of festival admission includes access to the Presentation Hall. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Festival Admission does not guarantee an available seat for any presentation or event.
Exhibitors, vendors, speakers, presentations, panels, shows, performances, and other festival activities are subject to change or cancellation. Schedules, dates, and participant lists may be updated at any time due to participant circumstances, festival operational needs, or other factors. All ticket sales are final, and no refunds will be issued due to program or schedule changes.
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