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Kids of the Arcade
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 :P
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. :banghead: