If I could re-create the arcades I remember and love, here's what I'd need:
-A beat-up payphone on the wall in the back corner. A phonebook holder with no phonebook.
-A change machine with a dollar bill slot that rejects 1 out of 2 bills.
-A cardboard standup of an arcade attendant/change monkey. Make sure he looks bored.
-Block out all the windows. Put some can lights on a dimmer in the celing. Don't turn the dimmer up.
-Gum in the carpet. Dark carpet.
-Graffitti. Not great big spraypaint stuff, just magic marker and knife work.
-A poster of a door in the back, opening on tiny room full of broken games & a fat guy watching a B&W TV.
-Signs everywhere prohibiting smoking, loitering, food, beverages, fighting, gambling, etc.
-Ciggarette butts, empty soda cups, empty candy bar wrappers.
-A trash can with a plastic lid that swings back so you can drop the trash in. So full the lid won't swing.
-The change monkey should be standing right next to the garbage can.