You might be an Arcade Addict if...

[ArtMAME]

You might be an Arcade Addict if...

...you find yourself trolling the local Craigslist and Ebay (within 250 mile radius) at least 20-30 times a day looking for arcade cabinets.

...you flip over the couch looking for change to go to the next Super Auctions.

...your non-working machines out number your working machines 3 to 1.

...you go into Dave and Busters and you don't play any of the video games there because  the arcade you have in your basement beats the pants off of D&B any day.

Any body else have any good ones?

[MustardTent]

Your cube at work is covered in paper arcade cabs.

[shardian]

...spend more time at work researching arcade stuff than actual work.

[ArtMAME]

...spend more time tinkering with arcade machines than actually playing them.

[Kaytrim]

... when your wife says me or the arcade you choose the arcade.
... the neighbor kids spend more time playing with you than playing with your own kids.
... you have your arcade parts shipped to your office instead of home so your wife doesn't see your latest acquisitions.
... you give your family arcade machines as presents so you can play when at their house.

[shorthair]

... you have your arcade parts shipped to your office instead of home so your wife doesn't see your latest acquisitions.

Na, that just means you have marital problems. The others definitely qualify, though.

[javeryh]

...you've ever turned down sex because you were on the 4th maze in Ms. Pac-man and still had all your lives and even though you could pause you were afraid of getting out of "the zone"...

[rovingmind]

you sit at work playing mame
 

    Heh, heh thats what i've been doing today even made a convert of my co-worker
thats what he's been doing also
 

[Q*Bert_OP]

...when your bedroom, garage, and dining room table are piled high with arcade parts...

[CheffoJeffo]

...you flip over the couch looking for change to go to the next Super Auctions.

I'm doing that now in prep for auction Saturday.

...your non-working machines out number your working machines 3 to 1.

It's just over 2 to 1 now ... I'll work on it though.

...you go into Dave and Busters and you don't play any of the video games there because  the arcade you have in your basement beats the pants off of D&B any day.

The local kidcade is the same way -- two games I like to play and one is always broken (the other is Arctic Thunder, which I love for some reason).

 

[rovingmind]

you carry an arcade button around in your coat pocket

You find yourself pushing said arcade button

You make sound effects while pushing said button
     (I havn't made the sound effects yet)

[CheffoJeffo]

you carry an arcade button around in your coat pocket

I carry pinballs, but I think those count too.

[RetroACTIVE]

Your cube at work has more arcade parts in it than the stuff you actually work on! 

[CheffoJeffo]

I just noticed this one in my own house ...

... you have a chest freezer in the middle of your office because the rest of the basement is full of cabinets, monitors, PCBs and other parts ...

I guess I got used to it being there as there are a pile of monitors where it is supposed to go.   

Thanks, ArtMAME ... now that's gonna bug me ... until Saturday anyway.

Cheers.

[rovingmind]

your at work and bounce between reading this and playing Hacha Mecha Fighter

[Jeff AMN]

...when you can't pass a cabinet without rotating every stick and checking every button.

[rovingmind]

you have your own token machine, and insist that everybody who wants to play uses it.

[deadkenndys1105]

You can always find the perfect spot for "just one more"
Your always finding the deal of a life time.
Your always saying this is the last one.
You said you would build "one" so you wouldn't have to buy them.  Now 5 custom builds and 7 original and 3 non working your still saying the same thing.

[ArtMAME]

...you find an arcade machine on location and instinctively look at the back to see if you can get into it and fiddle with the wiring.

[Xam]

...you've ever turned down sex because you were on the 4th maze in Ms. Pac-man and still had all your lives and even though you could pause you were afraid of getting out of "the zone"...

Does this count if the game was Tetris?

Xam

[Chris G]

... you've replaced the knobs on everything in your home with BYOAC TokenTops. 

[Rip]

... you reply to "You may be an Arcade Addict if..." threads

[Dervacumen]

You "pretend" to get your 3 year old playing a game on your cab, even though you're only playing a one player game.

OR

You insert tokens to get your 3 year old interested in the cab, and then end up showing them "how cool it is if you do it like this."

OR

You get a three year old playing a game for a while with you, and then sorta end up playing by yourself after about 30 minutes.  And that game (or those many games) end up taking a couple of hours.

[Donkey_Kong]

You make sound effects while pushing said button
     (I havn't made the sound effects yet)

Something tells me that you in fact have made the sound affects. Come on fess up!!

[rovingmind]

You make sound effects while pushing said button
     (I havn't made the sound effects yet)

Something tells me that you in fact have made the sound affects. Come on fess up!!

no really i havn't made the sound effects, at least not with the current button in my coat pocket...................  I've thought them though

[The 80s Man]

if.....every time you drive past a laundry mat you turn your head and try to check for new arcade machines and at the same time you make sure the ones you already know about are still there.

[SithMaster]

the neighbor kids spend more time playing with you than playing with your own kids.

this one worries me.

[Kaytrim]

the neighbor kids spend more time playing with you than playing with your own kids.

this one worries me.

didn't mean to sound like M. Jackson there. 

[ArtMAME]

...your good buddy for whom you built a real nice MAME cabinet last year comes over and beats all your high scores because he actually plays the thing instead of tinkering with it all the time. 

[SavannahLion]

...you walk into a building you have never been in before and know exactly where the arcade room is, right down to the floor it's on, how many cabs it's holding, and exactly how to get there.

[Anubis_au]

... you are sitting here at your desk at the end of the working day reading this list, rather than going home...

(while wishing you had an arcade button in your pocket so you could click it)

[ArtMAME]

...you come into work this morning and the first thing you do is look at this thread.

[ChadTower]

...you've had this conversation so many times you can head it off before it happens:

"Wow, that is way too cool, can you build one for me if I pay you?"
"Sure"
"Awesome, what's that usually cost, $4-500?"
"$1500"
"But you said you'd build it at cost!"
"It would probably cost $2000 to actually build"
"No way, now you're just trying to make money off me"
"Suit yourself"

...or you've actually gotten partway into a build and the person decides they don't really want to pay what they said they would... you know, the $750 they said it would be worth... now that it's approaching, they feel like paying $450 instead.

 

[SavannahLion]

... the first thing you do in the morning is look at this thread. (Just did that myself this morning.)

... you have your homepage set to an arcade related website (ie arcadecontrols.com).

... you wrote a book on the subject. 

[Anubis_au]

The last thing you do before going to bed is see if there are any updates to the threads you started / are currently watching

or

You can't logically justify to anyone why you would spend $1000 making an arcade machine, except that you really, REALLY want to make one.

[ArtMAME]

...you have about 5 old Pentium IIs or IIIs sitting around that are "reserved" for MAME cabinets.

[deadkenndys1105]

You pick your hotel based on the size of the game room and what games are there.

[rovingmind]

... you are sitting here at your desk at the end of the working day reading this list, rather than going home...

(while wishing you had an arcade button in your pocket so you could click it)

After reading this particular post first thing in the morning, you pull out said arcade button and click it just because you can.

[rovingmind]

...you have about 5 old Pentium IIs or IIIs sitting around that are "reserved" for MAME cabinets.

heh AMD k6-2 350mhz

[(+_+)]

...spend more time at work researching arcade stuff than actual work.

Bull's-eye 

I just realized, I have to quote half of these posts. I'm a confessed addict.

[Teebor]

... you are sitting here at your desk at the end of the working day reading this list, rather than going home...

(while wishing you had an arcade button in your pocket so you could click it)

Oh so true

.....You need to start wearing glasses becuase you have been playing with your joystick too much   

[rovingmind]

there is no such thing as playing with your joystick too much

[RandyT]

...every time you see a kiosk-like box with a screen in it (bridal gift registry, employment application terminal, pay phone, etc.,) you start thinking about how you would go about gutting it and attaching the proper controls


RandyT

[vrf]

...every time you see a kiosk-like box with a screen in it (bridal gift registry, employment application terminal, pay phone, etc.,) you start thinking about how you would go about gutting it and attaching the proper controls

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. Thought I was weird. (Or at least MORE weird than what I already knew about.)

There's these little kids kiosk games in a mall near my place. Boys and girls version. Something about dragon card fighting and dressing up a princess. Anyhow, these little cabs have a frackin' sweet profile. I'd love to lop off the bottom and make a portable cabinet out of one.

The pink would have to go, of course. Black or red would look nice.

Now how to get one...

[rovingmind]

...every time you see a kiosk-like box with a screen in it (bridal gift registry, employment application terminal, pay phone, etc.,) you start thinking about how you would go about gutting it and attaching the proper controls


RandyT

same goes for bartop fruit machines

[crashwg]

... you skip work to go to Fun Spot! 

[ChadTower]

I've done that.

[ArtMAME]

...you dispose of your old PC monitors by building MAME cabinets for them.

[rovingmind]

...you dispose of your old PC monitors by building MAME cabinets for them.

picking up disposed of monitors to build mame cabinets for?

[ArtMAME]

...you walk into your garage, and turn right back around because there is no room to work on anything, then go straight to your PC and surf Ebay looking for more project machines.

[ahofle]

...you don't giggle when seeing phrases like "joystick stiffness", "shaft length", "button plugs", "frosted translucent replacement balls", etc.

[deadkenndys1105]

You go to a local arcade and only spend 3 bucks and you were there a few hour and played the full time.  <-- Just got back home.

[Luigi]

...you buy that generic cab with a PCB you already have at Ebay...not because you need it but because it is just 30 minutes of driving! 

[rovingmind]

you spend 7 hours of your work day at this forum or looking at arcade stuff on ebay

[deadkenndys1105]

This is for the guys that are my age.

You teacher is the first to know ether what game your getting next or what your plans are for the next build because of your notes.

[shardian]

you spend 7 hours of your work day at this forum or looking at arcade stuff on ebay

You know, several of us have talked with saint, and is able and willing to temporarily ban you so you can get projects done. I haven't used this service yet, but I might be soon.

[ArtMAME]

... you can recite all the quotes from Gauntlet, and you can make up new ones using the correct annunciation...

For example:

"VALKIRIE needs FOOD...BADLY..."

or

"VALKIRIE will trade SEXUAL FAVORS for FOOD..."

[ArtMAME]

...you think the Valkyrie from the Gauntlet sideart is HOT...

[ArtMAME]

...you think the Valkyrie from the Gauntlet sideart is HOT...

Anybody else???

Please don't tell me I am the only one who thinks that...

[rovingmind]

Your not the only one,  she is definitely a hottie

[rovingmind]

golden axe, heh heh

[Level42]

....you just had a visit from your bank's mortgage advisor to talk about extending your mortgage to build a concrete and brick "garage" in your garden to make a game room and workplace in it......

...you re feeling miserable because you are tailing your "white whale" and the seller is NOT contacting you back as he promissed...

...you get complaints from your wife because you go to bed and take your Centipede PCB with you to check it for track faults...

...you get annoyed because you ordered a CPO and payed for it and there's no sign on when it's ever going to be shipped, despite the fact the seller is contantly in mail contact (come on Rich....)

...you rent a car, drive over 4 hours and stary over at a motel at Weir's beach while being on holiday with your uncle and aunt, just to visit Fun Spot...

...you drive 3 hours to someone you only know through the internet, to visit his game room, play his games, but most of all TALK ARCADE (next sunday, can't wait Darth Nuno !!!)...

[ArtMAME]

golden axe, heh heh

OH YEAH!!! 

Just checked her out on MAME...

mmmmmm...CHEESECAKE...

[AMDman13]

You walk in to your city's last arcade with a tape measure in your pocket rather than pocket change.

[deadkenndys1105]

You walk in to your city's last arcade with a tape measure in your pocket rather than pocket change.

I have done that one once or twice.  I love the look on some peoples faces.

[modessitt]

You tell people you got some "new videos" and they ask, "Did you get Pulp Fiction?"

[ArtMAME]

You walk in to your city's last arcade with a tape measure in your pocket rather than pocket change.

I have done that one once or twice.  I love the look on some peoples faces.

I did that back in the 80s... I still have the drawings for a Kangaroo and a Robotron cabinet that I did.  You see, I lived in Panama where arcade cabinets were mostly generic... When my family would vacation in the US, I would make my pilgrimiges to the arcades, and on some occasions, I drew up some plans for some machines because I had just taken a mechanical drafting course in 7th grade.

I actually had a carpenter in Panama build me a full-sized arcade cabinet from the plans, then I stuck my Sony 13" TV (which I still have and still works) and hooked up my Atari 800 to it so I could play games on it... I basically held the crappy original Atari joystick on the CP with my left hand, and moved the joystick with my other hand... Never did device a good mounting scheme for that darn joystick... my engineering skills were somewhat limited back then...

But hey, we have come a long way since then...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54556.msg534997#msg534997

[Crowquill]

You just ate dinner off of your Ms Pac cocktail.
You appreciate the gameplay of Gal's Panic
You lie awake at night wondering what joystick is best.
You lie awake at night wondering what trackball is best...and how you should interface it
You know what a "kick harness" is
You see the significance of games designed by Technos, Irem, and Toaplan.

[ArtMAME]

You HATED 80's music when it came out... but now you LOVE it!!! 

[rovingmind]

You HATED 80's music when it came out... but now you LOVE it!!! 

you actually remember girls in the arcade wearing those shorts

[ArtMAME]

You HATED 80's music when it came out... but now you LOVE it!!! 

you actually remember girls in the arcade wearing those shorts

How about those skimpy little halter tops...

[rovingmind]

You HATED 80's music when it came out... but now you LOVE it!!! 

you actually remember girls in the arcade wearing those shorts

How about those skimpy little halter tops...

The skimpy little halter tops were much better than the shoulderpad sweaters

[(+_+)]

You walk in to your city's last arcade with a tape measure in your pocket rather than pocket change.

I have done that one once or twice.  I love the look on some peoples faces.

LOL, I did that as well and felt out of place doing it.

For a while there, every time I'd go out to the Movie theatre, I'd tell my friend or family members to hold on a sec. I just want to take a look at something and do the head nod gesture toward the arcade. They understood and knew that it wasn't even to play a game. It was to spec out some cab build detail or something.

[u_rebelscum]

A little dated now, but happened when I was a teenager:

You worked weekends to get "quarter money."

You stopped going to your local 7-11 when it stopped having arcade games.

While playing at your local 7-11 (before above), you don't even turn your head from your game to look out the window when somebody says, "Dude, I think you bike is being stolen." ...

... until you get to a break between levels.

Standing outside the 7-11 after your bike was stolen, you aren't sure what you're more pissed at: losing your bike, or losing the two lives you had left when you ran outside after looking between levels when it was too late anyway. 

[rovingmind]

you take apart a cabinet your restoring for somebody else in order to measure it and record its dimensions for posterity (and fellow arcade addicts)

[SavannahLion]

While playing at your local 7-11 (before above), you don't even turn your head from your game to look out the window when somebody says, "Dude, I think you bike is being stolen." ...

I think I knew the kid who took that bike.

[mailman3028]

You live in a small house with no room for cabinets, and yet there is a primal rage cab smack in the middle of the living room, and hopefully a nice gauntlet next to it soon....

Back a few years...you risk losing your most excellent job at Burge King by giving the local arcade attendant free food in exchange for the use of his master key for a couple hours, ah now that was sweet!

[FrizzleFried]

...you are seriously considering moving because the area you live in has a total of maybe 10 enthusiasts total and there are rarely any damn cabinets for sale on craigslist.

[sphetr2]

...you wear shirts with the logos of emulators on them...

...you are seriously considering moving because the area you live in has a total of maybe 10 enthusiasts total and there are rarely any damn cabinets for sale on craigslist.

Heh. Yeah, speaking of that, I just realized how lucky I am to live near Tampa. There is a Tampa arcade collectors forum!

[AMDman13]

Your Mame Cabinet resides in your Masterbed room! Still can't believe my wife let me do that!

[AlanS17]

... you can't finish one arcade project before starting another.
... you start to document your progres, but always get too caught up in the construction.
... you're never REALLY done with a project.
... you're wondering what you can part with to make rom for that new machine.
... you're able to justify owning a gas-guzzling, full-size truck in a busy metropolitan area.
... you get the Super Auctions newsletter delivered to your house so you never miss it.
... your garage sale includes "arcade machines" in the newspaper ad. (Gotta make room for the new ones.)
... you've stared at a CRT's convergence ring, wondering if your gloves really are thick enough to grab it while it's live.
... the question "build or convert" actually means something to you.
... you've drawn up plans for a flashy $2000 machine and ended up building a $500 one.
... you can't park your truck in the garage because it's got 12 machines (7 of which don't work).
... you've got more PCB's than cabinets.
... the size of your home (apartment, house, etc.) is partially governed by how many cabs fit into it.

[modessitt]

...you are seriously considering moving because the area you live in has a total of maybe 10 enthusiasts total and there are rarely any damn cabinets for sale on craigslist.

...you are seriously considering moving because the area you live in has a total of about 200 enthusiasts who snatch up every cheap cab on Craigslist before you can even hit reply, and the only cabs you have a chance to get are completely working and priced at close to retail, which does no good for a tech on a budget.

[AlanS17]

...you are seriously considering moving because the area you live in has a total of maybe 10 enthusiasts total and there are rarely any damn cabinets for sale on craigslist.

...you are seriously considering moving because the area you live in has a total of about 200 enthusiasts who snatch up every cheap cab on Craigslist before you can even hit reply, and the only cabs you have a chance to get are completely working and priced at close to retail, which does no good for a tech on a budget.

I'm guessing from your picture that you're in Austin? If you don't mind the drive to Dallas, I can hook you up.

[deadkenndys1105]

Your games are right next to your bed so you can grab that quick game in before school/work.

[ArtMAME]

... you get the Super Auctions newsletter delivered to your house so you never miss it.

You get a call from Fred with Super Auctions a few weeks before they come to town, however, you already know about it.

[modessitt]

I'm guessing from your picture that you're in Austin? If you don't mind the drive to Dallas, I can hook you up.

Yes, I am.  I check the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio CL's as well and rarely see anything cheap enough to warrant the gas usage to go get it, let alone ever find anyone who is willing to hold it the 3-4 hours it would take me to get there.

But if you got stuff you think I might be interested in, let me know.  If not me, I know quite a few people down here who are always looking for stuff....

[Q*Bert_OP]

This is for the guys that are my age.

You teacher is the first to know ether what game your getting next or what your plans are for the next build because of your notes.

Thank god....I thought I was the only one that did this...

[bfauska]

... you've drawn up plans for a flashy $2000 machine and ended up building a $500 one.

Or the opposite, you've drawn up plans for a $500 machine and it turned into a flashy $2000 machine... And you want to do it again.  Not me yet, but it doesn't seem unrealistic.

[rovingmind]

Get up in the middle of the night to give the baby medecine, then check the forums instead of going back to bed

[WaRpEd]

Posted by: rovingmind  Posted on: Today at 06:45:39 AM 
Insert Quote 
Get up in the middle of the night to give the baby medecine, then check the forums instead of going back to bed
 
You forgot to feed your arcade machine with quarters hopefully after you feed the baby.
If you feed the baby quarters there's no help for you.

[ArtMAME]

...you think the Valkyrie from the Gauntlet sideart is HOT...

Anybody else???

Please don't tell me I am the only one who thinks that...

Your not the only one,  she is definitely a hottie

...ah, what a relief... for a moment I thought I was weirdo or something... good to know I am normal...

[ArtMAME]

...you have just caught a contact buzz  from the Goof Off you used to strip the old paint from the cabinet you are currently restoring...

[deadkenndys1105]

Your under 21 but you can get in to any of the local bars because they know you wont be wasting your money on drinks when it could be going into the game room.

[ArtMAME]

...you go and stay with distant relatives that you have not seen in years when a Super Auctions comes to their town.

[bfauska]

The dimensions of the panels you need to cut for your cabinet have been in your back pocket every day for the last two weeks... just in case you get a moment at work to cut them out.

[rovingmind]

Posted by: rovingmind  Posted on: Today at 06:45:39 AM 
Insert Quote 
Get up in the middle of the night to give the baby medecine, then check the forums instead of going back to bed
 
You forgot to feed your arcade machine with quarters hopefully after you feed the baby.
If you feed the baby quarters there's no help for you.

the baby sits on your lap reading the forums

[Q*Bert_OP]

...if you calculate the prices of arcade ad-ons in terms of how many value-meals you have to give up...

[knave]

...you keep weighing how much trouble you'd get in for "just one more cab..." versis how much of a good deal it is.

[Chris G]

You're on vacation, still log into this board, and even vote on a Yes/No poll which you don't understand because you've missed so many threads... 

[shardian]

the baby sits on your lap reading the forums

Hehe. Yep. I also was taught how to hold the baby and reach the shift buttons for pinmame at the same time. Guess who taught me...

My wife!!! 

[rovingmind]

the baby sits on your lap reading the forums

Hehe. Yep. I also was taught how to hold the baby and reach the shift buttons for pinmame at the same time. Guess who taught me...

My wife!!! 

And did the baby also get mad when you didn't change the page fast enough or stopped to fully read one?

[shardian]

the baby sits on your lap reading the forums

Hehe. Yep. I also was taught how to hold the baby and reach the shift buttons for pinmame at the same time. Guess who taught me...

My wife!!! 

And did the baby also get mad when you didn't change the page fast enough or stopped to fully read one?

I pat her back to calm her, and I have to be really quick when changing pages or she notices my hand is gone.

[danny_galaga]

you pick up on a friday and on saturday morning you show her your web page dedicated to your cab...

[rovingmind]

the baby sits on your lap reading the forums

Hehe. Yep. I also was taught how to hold the baby and reach the shift buttons for pinmame at the same time. Guess who taught me...

My wife!!! 

And did the baby also get mad when you didn't change the page fast enough or stopped to fully read one?

I pat her back to calm her, and I have to be really quick when changing pages or she notices my hand is gone.

if you want to see something really funny find a pocoyo video online and play it for her their are a few but the KEEP GOING one with the skipping rope gets the most reaction