Kids of the Arcade

[deadkenndys1105]

I know its a cheese name.  I have been wondering this for some time now.  How many of use are in the younger age group.  Post your age and some info about you.

  Myself am 16 and im almost done with my first MAME cabinet.  Im not just a arcade gamer im also a classic and retro gamer.  I strongly beleave game play is more important than graphics.      Im studying game graphics and programing for my life time job.  Right now I can do basic modeling and some programing.  I am a sonic rom hacker.  I am on a small rom hacking team and if anyone know were we can get are game port onto cartages it would be nice.  When im finshed with my current game im going to be working on a arcade style game based on sonic style games with all custom chartors.

[JonnyBoy]

17, I built a portable arcade so I could take it to my friends/college.

It plugs directly into any TV via S-vid or RCA ports, loads directly into GameEx, and is still far from finished.

Here's a picture.

I am also a fan of good ole' fashioned gameplay. One of my new favorites being Dragon's Lair, and my all time favorite being the NES version of Punchout.

[horseboy]

Well boys, I am not quite in the same boat as you. I WAS 19 when discovered mame and this site. I mad a bet with my little brother that I would have my cab finished by December of that year. Well, that December past, and then 6 more did as well.

I was in college for 5 and a half years, and I was one crazy SOB. Every December I tell my brother that I meant the next December.  But even during those long years of partying hard, I never really stopped thinking about my cab. I didn't keep up everyday or anything back then, but it was rare when a month or two went by without me checking in here for the latest scoop. It was pretty crazy to see it all go from extremely limited options back then to the insanity that is BYOAC now. I remember how pumped everyone was when the IPAC and Optipacs came out.

Now, though, I am 26, and settled down a nice young lady and we made a nice young baby. I am finally about to make my monster. Back in 99 I was a youngster around here, but now I guess I am middle aged.

[AMDman13]

Well I must be an old timer, but it is nice to see you guys here! I was about 20 the first time I discovered Mame. I was jonesing one night to play Yi Ar Kung-fu and stumbled across an independant emulator just for this game.... A few days later I discovered Mame as well a Genecyst... And the rest is history... I am now 31 and finishing my first cab.... It took me awile, but when I was 20 I already had a son and was still in college which means I was broke! 

[missioncontrol]

get off my lawn... bunch of gets.........

bitter at 33.

[KillerArcades]

People tell me I look like I'm a spry young whipper-snapper of no more than 24, but, alas, I passed the tortuous 30th year this past December and just barely finished my first cab.....

[Brewser]

OK, now I am the old guy at 40.
I lived through the late 70's, early 80's coin op days. In 1979 we would walk through at least a foot of snow for about 4 miles in North Dakota with 4 quarters in our pocket just to play Asteroids. We were stupid but hooked!!! The thrill of rolling the score..Ahh the good old days.
They finally built a small arcade in town since they had an arcade distributer locally. We seemed to always have the latest games. I remember when Dragon's Lair was introduced and it was huge. We would have a line of about 20 guys all the time just to play it. I also think it was the first video game that cost $.50. We would drop cash faster on that machine then kids do now on the stuffed animal crane machines.
I always said I would own one of these games some day.........Well.....
I found out about Mame 4 years ago and couldn't believe it. To actually play the exact games I played in the early 80's at home. It took me awhile to find out about this forum and how to build a cab. Last year I finally went nuts and built my own cab and it has been exciting ever since. The kids love it since I can play PC games on it as well.
I could keep rambling on........

[Xam]

ok...at least I am not the old guy! I'm only 38! I've only been into MAME for about 7 months. I too grew up on these games and was quite foolish. I used to brag about going 6 hours on one quarter on Robotron! Ahh well...those were the days...and they will be again once my cab is complete.
I ma also quite proud that my kids (11 and 12) love the old games...they are almost more excited about the cab than I am.

Xam

[AMDman13]

Dang now this is really sad!!! I just looked at my profile and found out I'm in fact 32!! Goes to show you what married and 4 children will do to you.. Not to mention working on this project! I ordered my Betson Kortek 27" right after my B-day!! Now I need this board to tell me how old I am!!!

[Crazy_Mack]

I will be 34 in another week.

I remember the good old days when a quarter could get you a few hours of play time if you were good. Most of the modern arcade games don't have that ability anymore. I have a lot of fond memories playing Ms PacMan while waiting for the pizza to arrive at a restaraut my parents used take us to. The 80's truly rocked! 

[Level42]

Yes I'm in the younger age group too. I'm only 38 !

I like it when even younger people play my cab and get lost in it for hours. When they are REALLY young (f.i. 12-14) I even need to explain how Ms.Pac Man works !?!?!!? That was SO weird the first time !
Got lots of nephews and nieces that love my cab

Nice to see younger people get into this hobby !

[97thruhiker]

I'm 35 so I fall into the Atari 2600 / Intellivision / Coleovision fanboy wars of the time.  Had the 2600 and Intellivision.  The arcade was the place to be in those days and many of my stories fall in line with those who posted before me.  Played all the classics with what money I could scam off my parents.  Was always pissed off at that Ricky Schroder kid on "Silver Spoons" because he had an arcade in his house  .  Bought an NES when it first came out was in heaven.  Got away from video games in my 20's for some reason.  Picked them back up about five years ago with the Playstation 1 & 2, GBA, and PC.  Emulation brought everything full circle and I built my own cabinet (take that Ricky!).  Actually excited about the new Nintendo Wii.

[buks]

I'm 38 in August and I still vividly remember queueing up to play Space Invaders. I'd nagged my mum and dad to wait until I'd had a game (we were going for a family walk or somthing). I queued for ages, finally got to insert my 10p then GAME OVER within about 2 minutes. As we walked away my Mum said something like "What a waste of money" but I was completely hooked. I couldnt wait to go back home to tell all my mates. I seem to remember we were at some campsite in the Lake District - probably around 1978 ?


By the way, deadkenndys1105 - glad to see a young 'un into the Dead Keneedys ! I'm assuming thats were you login name comes from. I've just been out to lunch listening to DK on my mp3 player - excellent antidote to work (Take This Job and Shove It !) especially on a cold wet day in Leeds.

Buks

[emerica]

Was always pissed off at that Ricky Schroder kid on "Silver Spoons" because he had an arcade in his house  . 

Always hated that guy. Talk about wanting a play room like that. 

I'm quite young at a ripe age of 31 and I love all the classic games especially zoo keeper. I remember the local supermarket had space invaders. My older brother and I would spend hours there hile our parents food shopped. I also remember having to stand on a milk crate b/c I couldn't see the screen.

[shardian]

I am 24 and became interested in MAME from a friend a few months ago. I had known about MAME for years, but I didn't fully grasp the concept due to the fact I never considered I could put it in a real arcade cabinet. I was quite happy with my NES emulator!
I grew up in the Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat age. I almost crapped myself at the first glance of MK. Some guy walked away in disgust so I ran up to look real quick and saw Sub-Zero rip off kano's head adn spinal cord.  I remember getting EGM magazine, making a spreadsheet of all the MKII moves/fatality's/secrets and selling them to people at the arcade for $5 a pop. Too bad I blew that money in the arcade as quick as I earned it. My other fond arcade memory is the dual vs. nintendo that sat at my mom's Pizza hut. I would sit and pretend play that thing for hours! The nice thing about being in my generation is that we get to experience the classics as though they are brand new. Currently, me and the wife are thoroughly addicted to Bosconian. I don't know why other people on here don't like this game as much as others. I guess it's not as "cool" as Ms. Pacman or Galaga.

Also to note: I haven't even turned on my PSII since I have became addicited to arcade at home. Maybe I should just list it in the sell forum.

[ahofle]

Currently, me and the wife are thoroughly addicted to Bosconian. I don't know why other people on here don't like this game as much as others. I guess it's not as "cool" as Ms. Pacman or Galaga.

Bosconian is a GREAT game, probably one of the most underrated (well, unknown I should say).  I had never seen one in an arcade and only recently discovered it through emulation.  If I recall, I think it was one of the highest 'rated' games back on mame.dk back when it was around and kept track of those things.

I'm 35 and it's nice to hear younger folks around here appreciating the older games, saying "gameplay > graphics", etc.  Makes me feel less like an old man who constantly rants about how things were better 'back in the day'.   

[shardian]

I'm 35 and it's nice to hear younger folks around here appreciating the older games, saying "gameplay > graphics", etc.  Makes me feel less like an old man who constantly rants about how things were better 'back in the day'.   

hehe, even at my young age, I'm ALREADY saying "back in the day" things, and I already feel sorry for the current group of kids/teenagers. Arcades are no longer "cool", not to mention all the ones I loved are either gone, or run down badly. I never see kids out playing in town. They just sit inside and play playstation. The "treat" aspect of life is all but gone now. When I got a nintendo, it was the best thing ever! I got chills when I saw the newest game on the shelf. Now, kids look at their mom and say "Where's my X-Box 360 B#&^$". Jeez, even getting a soda pop as a kid was special.
Ok, now I'm freakin myself out. I'll shut up now. 

[psychopanda]

I'm old enough to remember cassette tapes and used an 8-track to listen to Kiss's Destroyer...also old enough that I keep forgetting how old I am! 

Ok, if I did the match correctly, I'm 37. yeesh

I actually find it kind of cool being my age, since I grew up during the 'height' of the arcade and home computer craze. I got to see alot of cool stuff. I'm not so sure that I'd say the old games were about "gameplay over graphics", because I really love the graphics of the older games. (I know what you mean though  ) I think they had to work with the limitations at the time and did it very well. I like some of the newer games too, but am slow to hop on the console craze. I've tried some of the new games, but I still have to say my all time favorite game on consoles is Legend of Zelda on SNES. It reminds me of an expanded version of Venture which I really liked.

It's good to hear that these classic games were designed so well, that they are still fun today.

[MYX]

Was always pissed off at that Ricky Schroder kid on "Silver Spoons" because he had an arcade in his house  . 

Always hated that guy. Talk about wanting a play room like that. 

No Doubt, and the little rich bastard never played the dang things. Only grampa did.

I will be 35 this coming Sunday. There was much more left to the imagination in the older games. You played a simple game but somehow the experience was greater than just the game it's self. Asteroids was my first game. I was addicted very quickly. I did the nintendo thing and have progressed up through xbox. I play MAME more than xbox. I have not purchased (nor will I anytime soon) a 360. I like the idea of a game that is a real challenge even today that lasts just a few minutes. I few months back we bought a Centipede. I never really cared for it back in it's day. Now I look at it and am amazed how intense and addictive it is (well after about wave 3 or 4). I found mame probably about 8 years ago or so. Cant pin it down.

[fatfingers]

I'm 34 now.  And I agree with MYX about the games that last only a few minutes.  There is just something extremely aggravating and addicting about those old games -- when you died, you had to start from the beginning again and you had to beg your mom and dad for "just one more quarter -- I know I can get farther this time"!!!  In my opinion "Insert one coin to continue" was the beginning of the end...

[tetsu96]

Was always pissed off at that Ricky Schroder kid on "Silver Spoons" because he had an arcade in his house  . 

Always hated that guy. Talk about wanting a play room like that. 

I'm quite young at a ripe age of 31 and I love all the classic games especially zoo keeper. I remember the local supermarket had space invaders. My older brother and I would spend hours there hile our parents food shopped. I also remember having to stand on a milk crate b/c I couldn't see the screen.

Your parents really took their time while shopping.  You sure they didn't skip out someplace and leave you with the "babysitter"?

 

[dpz147]

This thread is a great read!! Nice idea! 

I'm 33 and still stuck in the 80's.  I remember begging for quarters (when I finally put down my Rubik's cube) and walking down to the arcade.  Unlike others on this board, a quarter only seemed to last me a couple minutes at best because I sucked at all of them, but I loved every minute of it. 
When I was a teenager I worked in a photolab in a mall (back when people actually used film) and there was an arcade right next to us.  I spent many dinner breaks in there blowing my $5.45 an hour paycheck.

I heard of MAME years ago but didn't realize it's potential until about four months ago.  Researched for a couple months and then was so impatient, I worked night and day and built my cab in about 3 weeks.  My six year old daughter loves it!

TIP: For all those guys who have a hard time with their spouse allowing time for you to play...have some kids!  When they are begging "daddy please play Donkey Kong with me" your spouse has no chose.  I love it!  Sometimes I have to suck it up and just spend some quality time with the kids. 

There will never be a console available that can match a real live MAME cab in the basement!

[CheffoJeffo]

Unlike others on this board, a quarter only seemed to last me a couple minutes at best because I sucked at all of them, but I loved every minute of it. 

You're not alone ... I truly sucked at all of my favourite games (Galaga, Joust, Asteroids) ... fortunately, it is much less painful to pay/play now that I can open the coindoor and retrieve those quarters.

Oh ... and I am 38 ...

Cheers.

[Brewser]

I'm 35 and it's nice to hear younger folks around here appreciating the older games, saying "gameplay > graphics", etc.  Makes me feel less like an old man who constantly rants about how things were better 'back in the day'.   

hehe, even at my young age, I'm ALREADY saying "back in the day" things, and I already feel sorry for the current group of kids/teenagers. Arcades are no longer "cool", not to mention all the ones I loved are either gone, or run down badly. I never see kids out playing in town. They just sit inside and play playstation. The "treat" aspect of life is all but gone now. When I got a nintendo, it was the best thing ever! I got chills when I saw the newest game on the shelf. Now, kids look at their mom and say "Where's my X-Box 360 B#&^$". Jeez, even getting a soda pop as a kid was special.
Ok, now I'm freakin myself out. I'll shut up now. 

So true. Going to the arcade with your buddies used to be a social outing. There were always girls hanging out so life was good

[Chaos]

Back in the 80's I had my dream job. I worked at the corner arcade (a converted bank)
I remember getting the bank vault painted in theme for the arrival of "The Black Knight"

Great memories.
BTW I'm the new old guy......42


Gar

[NoOne=NBA=]

I'm 40, and have been doing the BYOAC thing since 1979, or 1980.


My early projects were:

Atari 2600
Asteroids controller (My first project--also used for Joust, Space Invaders, and other similar button games)
Video pinball controller (with flipper buttons, and nudge buttons)
Dual-stick control for Activision's Robot Tank (ala Battlezone)
Button box for Activision's Decathlon (joystick control sucked)

Complete control system for Activision's Space Shuttle (that game was the greatest achievement in 2600 history)
This one required the massacre of an entire 2600--BUT was worth every penny invested, and was done at a time when they were still on the market.
That game used alot of the on-console switches (Color/BW, Difficulty Switches, etc...) to control in-game functions, all of which had to be remoted.

Colecovision
Space Fury controller (modification of the above Asteroids controller, to allow it to work with both systems)

Atari 7800
Dual-stick Robotron controller, using 2600 sticks

Radio Shack TRS-80
Adapter box to allow use of Atari 2600 joysticks, in place of the analog sticks that shipped with it.


I'm sure there were some others that have been lost to time and age, but that's what I can remember at this point.

[WaRpEd]

Glad I'm not the only "old" man here I'm 42 and I grew up In the heady 80's days of Donkey Kong , Asteroids and Battlezone which I still love to play.
I discovered Mame about 4 years ago and built my first control panel because playing on a keyboard sux.
I'm on my third scratch built cabinet and as soon as I have money again I'll finish it.
My son and I play when he comes over (He's 21) and it's a good way to spend time together.

[danny_galaga]

good to see some young uns getting interested. and appreciating the game play over graphincs...

(",)

now get off my lawn. go annoy stingray...

[Level42]

Hah, well we're not the oldest classic gamers around by far. I'm just reading an article in the Dutch Playboy, written by the chief editor who was at Hugh Hefner's mansion. Of course most is about the almost naked ladies, but he also mentions that "it was fantastic playing Donkey Kong on a vintage arcade machine in Hugh's Game Room"....

I bet Hefner is around the 70 ?
I wonder what other machines are in that room. Strip Poker

[Hockeyboy]

I guess I'm one of the 40's crowd too...going to turn 41 in about 2.5 months...grew up blowing all my allowance and measly pay at arcades as soon as I was old enough to drive to them...favorite games were Moon Patrol, Donkey Kong, Pacman, Ms. Pacman and then Dragon's Lair (which I never was able to finish), Space Ace, and Cliffhanger.

I first learned about MAME several years ago and loaded it on my home computer and have been enjoying what I could get off the 'net for years now. I have plans to build my first cab AFTER we move into our brand-new house that is almost finished (wife says with the huge basement and 3-car garage she'll LET me finally build one).

Still hoping that once I start a-building I can beg and plead for continued help on these forums...I know quite a bit about electronics and woodworking, just not an expert on monitors or how to get it all running/connected once it's built. 

[dpz147]

I guess I'm one of the 40's crowd too...going to turn 41 in about 2.5 months...

You look a little older than that in your picture! 

Sorry...I couldn't resist.

[danny_galaga]

Hah, well we're not the oldest classic gamers around by far. I'm just reading an article in the Dutch Playboy, written by the chief editor who was at Hugh Hefner's mansion. Of course most is about the almost naked ladies, but he also mentions that "it was fantastic playing Donkey Kong on a vintage arcade machine in Hugh's Game Room"....

I bet Hefner is around the 70 ?
I wonder what other machines are in that room. Strip Poker

                                                               

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/06/earlyshow/series/main706917.shtml?source=RSS&attr=GameCore_706917

                                                                 

[horseboy]

Hah, well we're not the oldest classic gamers around by far. I'm just reading an article in the Dutch Playboy, written by the chief editor who was at Hugh Hefner's mansion. Of course most is about the almost naked ladies, but he also mentions that "it was fantastic playing Donkey Kong on a vintage arcade machine in Hugh's Game Room"....

I bet Hefner is around the 70 ?
I wonder what other machines are in that room. Strip Poker

He turned 80 a few weeks back.

[emerica]

Your parents really took their time while shopping.  You sure they didn't skip out someplace and leave you with the "babysitter"?

 

Perhaps they did...that would explain everything.

[Xam]

Unlike others on this board, a quarter only seemed to last me a couple minutes at best because I sucked at all of them, but I loved every minute of it. 

You're not alone ... I truly sucked at all of my favourite games (Galaga, Joust, Asteroids) ... fortunately, it is much less painful to pay/play now that I can open the coindoor and retrieve those quarters.

Oh ... and I am 38 ...

Cheers.

LOL! Oh...I suck at most games I like...but there were a few that I was able to master. And you are correct...there is nothing better than playing them...even when you suck!

Xam

[JONTHEBOMB]

I'm 18 years old and loving every minute of it.  I envy you guys that got to live during the height of the arcades.  I have probably been messing with Mame for almost two years now.  I'm still working on my cabinet which hopefully will get completed in the summer.  This fall I will be attending the University of Minnesota, Twin Cites to get a 4-year computer science degree.  Eventually I hope to go into the game industry as a programmer.

[Glaine]

I'm 21, I own a Mame'd Roadblasters machine and a dedicated Neo-Geo 4-slot. Been a huge emulator fan for a long time and had a controller in my hand since birth (had a TRS-80!). I am hooked on this forum because it is generally right-on and informative.

[MPTech]

I think I win!!  I'm 47 and just built a cabinet for my 14 year old daughter and 17 year old son!  (actually, I think I like it more than they do!))

I must say, I'm impressed with the 16 & 18 year olds that are building cabinets, nice accomplishment!

I've really enjoyed this site since discovering it about 10 months ago!
A good friend at work suggested buying a couple of old / gutted cabs from an arcade place and building MAME machines, after doing some research for this project, I discovered this sight and we ended up building 2 from scratch, much better than anything we could have re-habbed!

btw, I remember working part-time in college (computer major) and saving my money to buy an Atari-2600 and a Texas Instruements Personal Computer (I can't remember what it was called, but I gave it to another guy at work a couple years ago, he COLLECTS them)!  I bought a dedicated cassette drive to save my programs on!  (I wish we could of bought a stick of RAM!!!!)
We played MissleCommand and Frogger on the Atari till we had blisters!!!
My mom's favorite game was always PacMan (she hated using buttons).
My folks just visited us from Florida last week and when I showed her the cabinet and Ms. PacMan, she was HOOKED AGAIN!!  She hadn't played it in probably 20 years!  But she kept hitting the credits and logged a good half hour of play time.
Brought a huge smile to my face, seeing my 66 year old mother (grandma) playing Ms. PacMan.

Cool Cool Cool  

THANKS GUYS!

[yalborap]

As a mere 14 year old, I wasn't exactly around in the golden days of arcade goodness. This is rather saddening, but it's not like I can fix it without a time machine(and a good one, too. Not one of those cheap ones that can only go as far back as the moment they started working), so I've gotten used to it.

I'm a big fan of arcade games nonetheless, and while my options are limited(no one else to play them with), I still enjoy what's really playable quite a bit.

The cabinet setup I've had in my mind is in itself rather strange, actually. The whole setup revolves around using an xbox, and taking advantage of all the features one gets in a modded one.

[Level42]

Hah, well we're not the oldest classic gamers around by far. I'm just reading an article in the Dutch Playboy, written by the chief editor who was at Hugh Hefner's mansion. Of course most is about the almost naked ladies, but he also mentions that "it was fantastic playing Donkey Kong on a vintage arcade machine in Hugh's Game Room"....

I bet Hefner is around the 70 ?
I wonder what other machines are in that room. Strip Poker

He turned 80 a few weeks back.

Ow my god.......we ARE getting old !