If you’ve never heard of Classic Games Fest before, and if you live in or near Austin, Texas, you should probably know that it might be just the sort of convention an Ultima fan would feel naturally at home in:

Classic Game Fest (CGF), one of the largest classic video game conventions in the country, returns to the Palmer Event Center in Austin, Texas on July 30-31, 2016. Wristbands for the retro gaming expo are on sale now…Classic Game Fest will celebrate its 9th annual convention on July 30 – 31, 2016 at the Palmer Event Center in Austin, Texas. CGF will feature a 45,000 square foot vendor and event hall to showcase and celebrate classic and retro video games. Free play arcades and game consoles, gaming tournaments, video game vendors, artists, musical performances, special guests, and much more are planned for the convention.

One of those special guests — a keynote speaker, as it happens — is none other than Warren Spector:

Classic Game Fest is incredibly proud to announce our keynote speaker for this year’s CGF – legendary game designer, Warren Spector!  Mr. Spector will speak about the Austin, TX game development scene with his talk, “Austin Game Development: How We Got Here” – from the earliest tabletop game days to the emergence and proliferation of digital game studios of today.

Warren Spector has been attached to some of the most high profile and influential games of the last 30 years, and we are honored to have him preside the biggest Classic Game Fest yet!

Spector started in tabletop game design, working with the likes of TSR and Steve Jackson games, before moving into the electronic side of game development in 1989.  Working for Electronic Arts, Origin, Eidos, Looking Glass Studios, Junction Point Studios, and more, Spector created some giant gaming franchises – Deus Ex, System Shock, Ultima Underworld, Thief, Epic Mickey, and more.  If you have played video games in the last 30 years, you’ve either played a game he helped design, or played a game influenced by his creations.  Spector recently revealed that he is back in game development and working on the highly anticipated System Shock 3 as studio director for OtherSide Entertainment.

OtherSide Entertainment, for their part, are also listed as one of the exhibitors at the convention. Weekend passes are still just $25 USD, which is an absurdly reasonable price. So if you’ll be in the Austin area at the end of July, might I suggest checking this one out?

Oh, and if you want to warm yourself up for what Spector’s keynote might be about, you could do worse than check out his speech from the 2016 PC Gaming Show:

(Hat tip: Infinitron Dragon)