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Why would I not like the arcades anymore?


Keatah

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I need some advice. I absolutely love playing classic games at home and all that. But when I went into a place that had some classic arcade cabinets I didn't feel the good vibes. And I don't know why. As a matter of fact I could almost say I was repulsed and turned off. Even more so watching someone play and someone else watching them play. It wasn't the locale itself or anything.

Other than a cursory close-up inspection of the phosphor mask on the CRT to see how good or bad it was, and to observe the shimmery staticy image inherent to all CRT displays, I had zero interest in what I was looking at. Absolutely nothing.

In fact I was almost sick and more or less walked away. Maybe that sounds worse than it was. Ehh.. You get the idea. So why would that happen?

 

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Come on. Repulsed, Turned off ( I mean were you expecting to get turned on by them ) nearly sick. close inspection of the phosphor mask and to observe the shimmery sheen. watching someone play, and watching someone watching someone esle play ( pretty weird )

 

There is some serious sexual undertones going on there.

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I'll always love the ability to stand up and play, as it doesn't promote laziness. CRT looks really great to me. It seems far clearer than modern televisions, in my opinion. There are a lot of bars around that are using arcades from old as their theme! I considered going to one, but play privately in a mini arcade that my wife and I put together. Maybe there was a 'sad' vibe at the place that helped to 'repulse' you?

 

This is one of the places I might like to visit..

 

http://16-bitbar.com/columbus

 

 

Here is one of the main reasons I left modern arcades..

 

 

..I really liked games like Terminator and Operation Wolf, but I just couldn't get into Friction and a lot of the more modern games kinda seemed newfangled to me.

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Or perhaps Keatah just had a really bad or strange experience at an arcade in the past and his subconscious forced feelings of "dread" forth. Who knows. Like I said, so many factors. Barely scratched the surface as to why an arcade could be unattractive to someone (especially older) today.

 

Modern games in general

Classic games whose original leaf switch joysticks have been replaced with 8-way microswitch models and/or have LCD panels instead of CRT

Cost per play

Swiping a game card instead of dropping quarters and knowing a cabinet was drilled through/modified to mount said card swiper

Much younger kids allowed to participate than in years past

Entire atmosphere geared toward young children or tweens

Horrible music exacerbated by its loudness

Lack of true classic gaming

Noisy environment

Dirty, smelly, greasy environment and control panels

No like-minded/similarly aged friends to play games with and "show off" to

Games that don't fully function or are seriously flawed

 

...there's also room here to observe that while 1984 has passed, we're most definitely living several aspects of the failed warnings of the book. It's what some of us think about as we come away from participating in something that reminds us of our youth. How things used to be vs. how they are now. Enough to depress anyone that takes the time to think about it. ;)

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Or perhaps Keatah just had a really bad or strange experience at an arcade in the past and his subconscious forced feelings of "dread" forth.

 

Could be. My wife refuses to set foot in any arcade because of all the sexual harassment she received in arcades when young. Even modern takes on the arcade like Dave and Busters won't fix it. I'm sure there are plenty of other women who feel the same.

 

Playing arcade games at home, though, is a completely different story. We spent 2 hours cooperatively in Metal Slug a few months ago and she loved it. At least her unpleasant arcade experiences didn't ruin gaming for her :)

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I'd like to know which arcade you went to.

 

Closest arcade to me is Timeline Arcade which is an hour away. I try to get there several times a year and it's never been a bad experience.

 

If Funspot was down the street from me I'd go every week.

 

This was just a non-descript arcade at a casino. They had a bunch of Dave & Busters style games there too. It wasn't the atmosphere of the arcade or the non-video games that was unpleasant. Just the Pac-Man / Galaga combo that seems to be everywhere a classic game is needed. As a matter of fact that was the only classic game they had going. They had like several sit-down racer games and a few fighting games. But no Missile Command, Defender, Assault, or my other favorites.

 

 

Lots of factors to consider why you might not like arcades today, not the least of which, you're all growed up now! :lol:

 

A possibility, but I love playing them at home even if for short amounts of time.

 

 

 

I'll always love the ability to stand up and play, as it doesn't promote laziness. CRT looks really great to me. It seems far clearer than modern televisions, in my opinion. There are a lot of bars around that are using arcades from old as their theme! I considered going to one, but play privately in a mini arcade that my wife and I put together. Maybe there was a 'sad' vibe at the place that helped to 'repulse' you?

 

This is one of the places I might like to visit..

 

http://16-bitbar.com/columbus

 

 

Here is one of the main reasons I left modern arcades..

 

 

..I really liked games like Terminator and Operation Wolf, but I just couldn't get into Friction and a lot of the more modern games kinda seemed newfangled to me.

 

I rather dislike FPS shooters that have gone beyond Doom, Duke3D, Quake, Hexen, Heretic.. Anything later and the rehashing got to be too much.

 

I strongly prefer the consistency of the LCD, despite having been raised on CRT in the classic years. Not to mention that no adjustments are needed once you get your LCDs set up.

 

I don't think there was a vibe at the locale, or that the locale itself was bad. I'd only been there a once or twice before. And the first time was rather recent.

 

The machine itself was depressing. Granted I don't like Pac-Man because I was never good enough to get past the 2nd or 3rd level. That's not a revelation to me. And I'm indifferent toward Galaga - it's nice to play, or not.

 

My wife isn't a big arcade goer either, but that's because she thinks time can be better spent elsewhere. She thinks she's grown beyond mindless videogames but will play them from time to time. Like she won't get into the finer points of a game where you're checking for hints online and reading strategy guides. Nor would she know the point value of a flipper in Tempest - but I would. And I would know the best angle to blast them at, too.

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Could be. My wife refuses to set foot in any arcade because of all the sexual harassment she received in arcades when young. Even modern takes on the arcade like Dave and Busters won't fix it. I'm sure there are plenty of other women who feel the same.

 

Playing arcade games at home, though, is a completely different story. We spent 2 hours cooperatively in Metal Slug a few months ago and she loved it. At least her unpleasant arcade experiences didn't ruin gaming for her :)

 

My wife would be the same way. She dislikes even D&B to a certain extent and won't really go there. I had problems getting her to go to the Underground Retrocade too.

 

 

Or perhaps Keatah just had a really bad or strange experience at an arcade in the past and his subconscious forced feelings of "dread" forth. Who knows. Like I said, so many factors. Barely scratched the surface as to why an arcade could be unattractive to someone (especially older) today.

 

Modern games in general

Classic games whose original leaf switch joysticks have been replaced with 8-way microswitch models and/or have LCD panels instead of CRT

Cost per play

Swiping a game card instead of dropping quarters and knowing a cabinet was drilled through/modified to mount said card swiper

Much younger kids allowed to participate than in years past

Entire atmosphere geared toward young children or tweens

Horrible music exacerbated by its loudness

Lack of true classic gaming

Noisy environment

Dirty, smelly, greasy environment and control panels

No like-minded/similarly aged friends to play games with and "show off" to

Games that don't fully function or are seriously flawed

 

...there's also room here to observe that while 1984 has passed, we're most definitely living several aspects of the failed warnings of the book. It's what some of us think about as we come away from participating in something that reminds us of our youth. How things used to be vs. how they are now. Enough to depress anyone that takes the time to think about it. ;)

 

Yeh man I don't know yet, I'll figure it out. It's true I (or anyone would) dislike many of those points.

 

Years ago I enjoyed the arcade environment - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/235187-what-did-you-like-about-the-arcade-environment-back-in-the-day/?p=3180087

 

..which is why I was caught off-guard and started this thread here.

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The closest arcade to me is the Coliseum.

 

Most of the crap there is redemption games. It's not all that bad - I like playing the basketball game, my daughter likes skeeball and my son likes the driving games. They have a multicade cabinet that never works - that's the only classic gaming you'll find in the phucking place. I put $25 on the swipe card and 1/2 hour later all their points are used up. We make it out there a few times a year and oddly enough it's always when I suggest going - they never ask to go.

 

The one hour drive to Timeline Arcade isn't all that bad. I pay $25 for all day play and camp out there all day to get my money's worth. He has games from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. I wish he would get the harder to find titles from the late 70s and early 80s like Space Fury and Space Encounters. I'm not fond of the multi-board cabinets like the Williams multi in a Joust cabinet. That's just me - I would prefer to play Defender on an authentic Defender cabinet.

 

Anyway, for your time here is a picture of someone stepping in gum

not-again-4e8bae080c060_hires.jpg

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I rarely even notice arcade machines anymore unless they truly stand out. Most places have the same old Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga that's played out and it's the last thing I want to experience. I would definitely do a double-take if I ran across say... a Tron cabinet and I always spot a Pin-Bot or High-Speed machine. Outside of that... unless it's a machine that I fondly remember and haven't had any recent reincarnations tossed in my face from the likes of XBLA or whatnot, it doesn't phase me.

 

I am going to the Midwest Gaming Classic in Wisconsin in a few weeks though and I do that ever year... and I look forward to seeing all the different cabinets and retro consoles to play. If you walk through the MGC and feel repulsed then maybe you're just not a gamer after all ;-)

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was this a casual visit sort of driving by & stopped in , or was it sort of a special visit where you had to make or change plans to arrive?

 

could be a number of things that "put you off" the carpet , the lighting the layout of machines the music or ambient sound. you might have just been hungry & body was telling you to visit elsewhere, did you show up after work & when arrived just "crashed"

 

did you go it alone or were you with someone.

 

first visit to particular place or been there before.

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That sounds odd, as one thing I miss from the arcade is the sounds and the ambiance. People playing and enjoying games around me usually inspires me to play the games more. Now, I don't get as obsessed with the games as I did when I was a kid, but I still like playing them. There is an arcade near me, but I often don't go there because the guy is always trying to get me to work on his EM machines when I really just want to enjoy what is there. As much as I like having my arcade games here at home, there are definitely days when I would love to just have a place to go enjoy them and not have to deal with maintaining and moving the heavy suckers around myself!

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I find that things that differ from the arcades that I used to like give me a sort of sick feeling.

 

These include:

- Overly bright arcade environments

- Music that doesn't fit the classic era

- Coin-ops that I really don't like and ones that are from long after the era that I recall from my youth).

- And as someone else mentioned, coin-ops that are in a state of disrepair.

 

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with modern arcades messing with my 'image' of what an arcade should be. Anything that falls short of that is bound to disappoint. And maybe disappointment is at the root of what you're feeling. kind of like your unconscious mind telling you that you're standing in a bastardization of an arcade and not a 'real' arcade. As in, "how could they?!"

 

Your mention of the multi-game or combo-machines is something I can certainly relate to. My first reaction is "Nice idea". My second reaction is "But it isn't the real thing. It's an emulated re-release." There's a feeling of a lack of authenticity and a sense that a modern stand-in is subbing for the game(s) you remember from your childhood. Kind of like seeing a re-make of a classic car in front of a cell phone booth when you were expecting to see the real classic car in front of a 50s diner.

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I find that things that differ from the arcades that I used to like give me a sort of sick feeling.

 

These include:

- Overly bright arcade environments

- Music that doesn't fit the classic era

- Coin-ops that I really don't like and ones that are from long after the era that I recall from my youth).

 

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with modern arcades messing with my 'image' of what an arcade should be. Anything that falls short of that is bound to disappoint. And maybe disappointment is at the root of what you're feeling. kind of like your unconscious mind telling you that you're standing in a bastardization of an arcade and not a 'real' arcade. As in, "how could they?!"

 

Something like that. I also got to thinking that why should I be wasting time in this new place when I could be out doing something more interesting. I got these games at home.

 

 

Was this the game you inspected, Keatah?

 

attachicon.gif5149984_f496.jpg

 

Nope. It was the Pac-Man / Galaga combo. But I see your point!

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I liked arcades when the games were better than anything I had at home. Seems like most of the newer games these days that I might care about playing look worse than what I have on my aging Xbox 360. Back in the 1980s, Putt-Putt was full of the latest and greatest arcade games and a whole section of a wall was filled with new pinball games. Now a lot of the games in Putt-Putt and places similar to Putt-Putt are cheesy gambling-ish junk and Disney wannabe kiddie crap. If you're lucky, they'll have one or two classic arcade games that are covered in dust and greasy fingerprints, but you might get a disease or a respiratory tract infection if you go near them, so it's better to walk away. :D

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Yes. Many a-times we'd go to the arcade play some new game like Pole Position or Liberator or I Robot. And we'd come home and try to recreate those same graphics on the Apple II, in Applesoft Basic. Ohh how miserably we failed! So yes, that is part of it, too. The arcades had better sound and graphics in comparison to our 8-bit systems and cartridge-consoles. Today this isn't true anymore. I'd even say state of the art arcade machines have devolved. Why? Development cost vs return and the home systems.

 

And sorry to say, I think I have more fun playing some of those mechanical games than strict videogames as we know them. That I know is because of mame and the perfect environment for gaming at home. No germs, always working, cool A/C in the summer, the wife to bring be food and beer while I sit on my ass.. That sort of thing. And especially knowing I put some effort into building my home arcade. A lot of positives for gaming at home.

 

The last time I felt I played a state of the art arcade game which pushed the limits of the then-contemporary technology was probably Assault and S.T.U.N. Runner. Maybe a few others, RoadBlasters? But nothing past the 1992 timeframe. I got tired of the effort I put into games for what I was getting back - nothing. Soon the price of games and getting to the arcade (no longer dependent on mom for rides) was getting to be too much.

 

From 1979-1984 I chased graphics and sound and ohh so wanted that stuff at home.

 

From 1985-1988 I got good enough to start finishing some games, like Road Blasters and Assault and Blasteroids.

 

The last time I did traditional arcade gaming was at Galaxy World and the last game I played there was Super Space Invaders, this was around 1991-1992'ish. My 486 was more important, and transferring my data from the Apple II to that 486 was even more more important!

 

Then I never went to an arcade until recently these past few years, like D&B, CEC, UR, and soon enough 257. But I don't go there to relive the past. That is not really doable with the music that is popular today, the games being old and some in disrepair, the same friends are no longer here - most croaked. Cards instead of coins. No "special" experience that can only be had *there*.

 

And the lights scream at me too loudly, too brightly. Arcades as we experienced them in the 80's were dark and musty. Some like a certain one PPA even had O2 pumped in. The smell of particle board, paint, CRT Ozone.. Booming sound. Low ceilings. Its not done right today.

 

All these things add up! You just don't put a mult-game cabinet in a room and get an instant arcade.

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Arcades today suck. There's one right around the corner from me. It's pretty big and there are a lot of games, but none appeal to me. Half of them are shooting games...zombie attack, airport cops, Rambo-type jungle M-16 shooters. And they're all a frigging dollar to play! Most of the other games are the sit down and drive a car/motorctcle/boat deals, and they're all a buck too! Even my kids are mostly "meh". There's one "classic", a Ms Pac-Man/Galaga cab. It's pretty cool playing that on one quarter for like half an hour, but that's about the extent of the excitement.

Probably the replused/sick thing is realizing YOU'RE OLDER and stuff you enjoyed as a teen just doesn't do it for you anymore.

Drink heavily, stay at home and play whatever classic stuff you have. Works for me.

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