Building an arcade machine has been a project on the horizon for as long as I can remember and space/money/skills have resulted in it being put off for a while now. We've now finished renovating our house though so it's time to crack on and try and get this thing built before easter! This project takes inspiration from a number of projects on here, especially those with vertically mounted screens that allow for a square viewport.
The name? 'Pong gone wrong'. I expect the name will change, and the only thing pong about it is the colour scheme!
The key considerations when designing it were;
1) Getting arcade machines in our tiny British houses is not ideal, least of all in a position where it will get the most use. Fortunately my partner enjoys gaming so this will be going in our living area (next to the kitchen!) but this requires a shallow design, height and width are less important, as long as it's well proportioned.
2) CRT is obviously out to get to the right dimensions but i'm not a lover of LCD's either. Fortunately I was able to pick up a decent Panasonic Plasma (we have one as our main TV and I love it for gaming). It's a 42" GT50 series, so not as big as some of the vertically mounted projects on here but a 50" was going to end up a bit too wide)
3) I've already picked up most of the controls, servostiks, u-trak and 6 buttons per player (SFII will get a lot of play). I've simply chosen to use the 2P Sega layout, i've used this before and find it really comfortable.
4) It will be PC based, i've already got a spare machine that i've tested the controls with using BigBox. I'm happy enough with that setup so will continue along that path.
5) I've gone for a Missile Command style marquee where it sits on the underside of the overhang with the speakers, this seems slightly more suited/proportioned to the slimline designs and allows space for components that would be difficult/impossible to fit without a marquee at all because of the hidden parts of the vertically mounted screen.
6) Colour scheme is from the pong arcade machine, we've got something akin to 'mid-century modern' decor so the veneered wood panel sides with brighter front portions will fit in just fine. It also means I don't have to paint anything, the entire thing will be veneered/laminated.
Here is my first attempt at modelling it - this isn't exactly final as some of it was eyeballed, hence a few non-parallel parts and the need for some round overs on the corners. It's been some time since i've used CAD so will refine it over the next couple of weeks.
The actual cabinet build actually won't start for another month but i'd really appreciate any feedback on the design and any recommendations.