Arcade 84

**tthurman** · February 14, 2015

I ran across this site while looking for arcade related pictures, and thought I'd share the video I found for those who haven't seen it.

Sure brings back memories

They don't make 'em like this anymore.
Almost all shopping malls had them. Usually hidden away from the heavy traffic areas where all the electronic bleeps and screaming adolescents couldn't disturb the regular shoppers. Walk down the long hallway passed the J.C. Penney's, the Hickory Farms, and even the Sunglass Hut. There was the arcade. A small room bursting with the sights, sounds and even smells of technology, innovation and entertainment. A social atmosphere where a generation of kids who grew up in the late 70's/early 80's spent their time, allowances, and hard-earned fast food paychecks.
It was a place of innovation. Each week less profitable videogames were being replaced by new games with new ideas. The videogame industry was still in its infancy and the tried-and-true game formulas of today were just being developed. Quake was slowly blasting its way into history from its humble beginnings as Berzerk. Donkey Kong was slowly climbing the evolutionary ladder to Tomb Raider. The road trip from Pole Position to Gran Turismo was just picking up speed. And still other titles like Pac-Man, Q*Bert and Tempest defied easy categorization.
Names like Atari, Williams, Midway and Namco were king. The Atari 2600, the dominant home videogame system, successfully captured much of the gameplay of the arcade titles but lacked the flashy presentation of the arcades. The best the home computer market could offer was the Commodore-64. Playstation, Game Cube and XBox were still decades away.
And there was more than just video games. Televisions hanging from the ceiling were tuned into the latest Van Halen and Michael Jackson videos. Speakers blasted the newest sounds from bands like Journey, Styx, Def Leppard and The Police. Mechanical crane games were stuffed with Bloom County toys, Pac-Man keychains, Rubik's Cubes and other icons of the era. Blue Jeans jackets stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the game controls and the only thing taller than the backlit game marquees were the hairdos.

**Tom Speirs** · February 14, 2015

Yeah, its an awesome video and I have not seen it for a while. It was a popular front end intro video back in the day.

**Adultery** · February 14, 2015

Good times. I convinced my kids so we're going on a weekend vacation this spring to relive that era in style!

http://www.gallopingghostarcade.com

**tthurman** · February 15, 2015

That will be a blast!

We're meeting some family for a few days in Biloxi here soon. The gambling scene isn't really my thing, but looks like I'll have plenty to keep me busy

**hansolo77** · February 15, 2015

Ahh the good old days. My memories of these were of me begging for money to go play, and getting turned down. Now the arcades are only in Dave & Busters or Chuck-y-Cheeses, and maybe a bowling alley if you're lucky. Theaters around here don't even have them any more. I miss the one in the mall from where I grew up, where I finally played my first arcade game "Metal Slug". Then later at a truck stop on the way to Disney World with my high school marching band there was a 3 game arcade, but they had Killer Instinct, and it was fun to watch. Good times.

**Draco1962** · February 15, 2015

Looks awesome, guys! I would love to go to either place. I miss the arcades, the ambience, everything. While I love a lot of the modern games and the emersion they bring, I often miss letting my mind fill in the missing pixels in whatever 8-bit game I am playing. In some ways, it is like the difference between reading a story and seeing it on the silver screen all laid out for you.

**Adultery** · February 15, 2015

Isn't this close to you Han?

http://theplaceretroarcade.weebly.com/

**Adultery** · February 15, 2015

And you got this gem coming to your neighborhood Drac!

http://www.jaxarcadex.com/

**Draco1962** · February 15, 2015

I missed last years but plan to go this year. It would be cool to have something more permanent. I had heard of a kickstarter that was held but fell short of getting the funding to launch a venue. Was kinda sad to hear that the owner cancelled.

**tthurman** · February 15, 2015

I found this one during today's browsing too.

Cool logo, and carpet!

**hansolo77** · February 15, 2015

Isn't this close to you Han?
http://theplaceretroarcade.weebly.com/

Sort of. I'm in Columbus, which is a little far away. If I had my own car, this would be awesome.

And you got this gem coming to your neighborhood Drac!
http://www.jaxarcadex.com/

Is that a Minecraft arcade game? Seriously?

**Draco1962** · February 15, 2015

If it is built based upon what I found on Google, it is run on a Raspberry Pi.

**Adultery** · February 15, 2015

Says here it's a regular PC inside an old Mario Bros carcass.

http://polystomper.com/minecraft-arcade-machine

You can play Minecraft in Creative Mode on a Pi though.

**GeorgeT** · February 15, 2015

I have the video as part of my GameEx theme

**Draco1962** · February 15, 2015

Pretty cool find if you are into Minecraft.

**CharlesLam** · February 15, 2015

oh the arcades were a magical place. maybe not what the rest of you guys remember as i was born in 85. so i cant relate to this video or the cheesy music along with it. but i do remember the mortal kombat, the tmnt, the simpsons, etc. good times with good memories. a place for gamers to come together and enjoy a videogame together.

**Krakerman** · February 15, 2015

I wanna go back!

**Draco1962** · February 16, 2015

Cheesy music? No way, duuuude!

**Adultery** · February 16, 2015

Steve Perry was my hero!

**tthurman** · February 16, 2015

Cheesy music? No way, duuuude!

Cool arcade though!

**RIP-Felix** · February 21, 2015

Yeah, its an awesome video and I have not seen it for a while. It was a popular front end intro video back in the day.

Interesting, I was thinking it would make a cool frontend, period. I've seen a few, but they are not well done and the movement inside them sucks. When will we get full 3D environments to create in the GE editor? Think of the custom themes then! I envision a Sketchup like modeler, GE backend, and render in something like the unreal engine.

**CharlesLam** · March 1, 2015

i remember there was at one time a front end that did a 3d model of an arcade at a mall. you had to design how big the place was, 2 or 3 floors, the jpgs of the cabinets. and you would walk to whichever game you wanted to play and it would do it. i cant remember the name of it right now. it was interesting but if you have a big collection it wasnt that great for it.

**Krakerman** · March 1, 2015

The name was 3D Arcade I believe.

**nullPointer** · March 1, 2015

Yes 3D Arcade was always an interesting project, although from a practical angle, I can't imagine that it would be very useful if you had more than a handful of ROMs. There's a ongoing project that's a modern equivalent of 3D Arcade called Anarchy Arcade, which likewise is super-interesting from a technical standpoint (Occulus Rift Ahoy!), but probably not hugely practical if you want to, uh ... actually play games.

**tthurman** · March 1, 2015

I had forgot about 3D Arcade. The machines get more realistic as it gets into it a bit.

Arcade 84

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