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Purpose of the marquee? Can you do away with it?
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philby85:

--- Quote from: ChadTower on May 17, 2007, 03:34:51 pm ---
Everybody needs Galaga.

--- End quote ---


Never a truer word was spoken ;) Surely thats a basis for a religion. ( no offence)


cheers

Philby
hbm*rais:
A lowboy is a nice way to pack a descent sized screen in a very small form-factor that is not "toyish". I think it's hard to get a better screen size / cabinet size relation without going for an LCD.

As for the marquee, yes, it's mostly a aesthetic/nostalgic thing. But that doesn't mean that you should ignore it. As lowboys generally (not your case) don't have sideart, the marquee is what defines it. Having different marquees and changing them from time to time may be a way to keep your cabinet fresh. Maybe now you're into classics, but next month you'll be more into fighters or shmups... Your cab may change with you  ;).

On a more practical note... While the marquee itself may not have any practical reason on a home arcade, the space it creates with the inner side walls of the cabinet helps to isolate your peripheral  vision a bit, it makes the game more absorbing, you get less distracted by what's around you. It also provides, in my opinion, a better place to mount the speakers. The sound is right in your face, much more connected to the game.

As for the Urban Arcade, I'm sorry, I think it's a horrible design. The main thing I don't like about it is the angle of the screen/glass. If you're going to have such a low angle, why not just make it horizontal and have yourself a nice little one sided cocktail? At least you'd have some place to rest your beer  ;). You could probably keep the screen turned toward you and make just the glass horizontal.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for new and non traditional designs, It's just that that one doesn't cut it for me. If I were you, I'd either go with the traditional and proven lowboy (thanks for mentioning mine, BTW) or would come up with my own thing, based on critical approach of various designs. I'm pretty sure you can come up with something a lot better than the UA.



--- Quote from: Anubis_au on May 17, 2007, 01:08:27 am ---Hi again

I was doing some research on cabinet shapes etc for a small form-factor cabinet. The front-runner and current plan is to build a cabinet based on an Aussie lowboy, like what Holdennut and hbm*rais both built:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54567.0
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=28763.0

But in my research wanderings, I've also discovered an Aussie company that builds arcade machines that is of their own unique design.

http://www.blacklight.com.au/urban/cabs.html

The biggest thing that stands out is that these machines don't have a marquee at the top, so they mount the speakers at the front.

For some reason, I like this design. Its very clean. Except it doesn't have a marquee. But since I plan on Knievel side neons with a MAME logo, everyone will still know that my machine was a MAME box. So, strictly speaking, I wouldn't need a marquee at the top announcing what it was.

So, does the marquee have a purpose other than (traditionally) advertising what game it is playing? Is it functional in terms of shielding the screen from overhead lights and glare etc?

What do people think of the Blacklight marquee-less design?

--- End quote ---
spacies:

MUST...............HAVE.....................MARQUEE.

When I was a teenager running excitedly around the inside of a new Arcade Parlour, thats what I was looking at. MARQUEES!

Because the machines were usually crammed together thats the only way to distinguish one from another.

Only on the odd occasion, a new release machine would be standing alone with visible sideart.

That Oz deign is ugly IMO.
And it looks like a home slap up job.

Sorry.


TOK:
I concur with Spacies on this one. The Urban machine looks unfinished. No One NBA's Jaleco cab is much cooler looking and a similar size.
Anubis_au:

--- Quote from: vidmouse on May 17, 2007, 10:00:10 am ---For me, this was one of the benefits of going w/ a more traditional design, and in playing I can say it definitely made a difference for me in terms of game immersion, b/c the speakers are up there right close to your head. 

--- End quote ---

That's why I asked... I was also wondering if the proximity of the speakers to the head made for a more immersive gaming experience.


--- Quote from: GAtekwriter on May 17, 2007, 11:50:41 am ---It looks like you're bending you'd be bending your head downwards at a large angle, doesn't it?

--- End quote ---

I don't know what angle the screen is in the blacklight cab, but if I did a topless it would be the same angle as a lowboy, which is comfortable.


--- Quote from: hbm*rais on May 17, 2007, 05:07:16 pm ---While the marquee itself may not have any practical reason on a home arcade, the space it creates with the inner side walls of the cabinet helps to isolate your peripheral  vision a bit, it makes the game more absorbing, you get less distracted by what's around you. It also provides, in my opinion, a better place to mount the speakers. The sound is right in your face, much more connected to the game.

--- End quote ---

You make a good point with the peripheral vision thing... see, there might be more to the marquee than simply holding a sign.

It seems everyone is inclined towards a marquee either for authenticity's sake and / or to help make the gaming experience more immersive...


--- Quote from: hbm*rais on May 17, 2007, 05:07:16 pm ---If I were you, I'd either go with the traditional and proven lowboy (thanks for mentioning mine, BTW)

--- End quote ---

Credit where credit's due... you made an awesome cab, one definately worth following.
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