The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: yotsuya on January 12, 2015, 12:04:36 pm
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(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327798)
Polybius
A few months ago the ZapCon organizers reached out to me about getting a PC for a "Space Paranoids" cabinet they were planning to build for ZapCon. I thought it was a great idea, and I was intrigued. They ended up not needing the machine, but then the owners of Starfighters Arcade here in town asked about the same computer, as they wanted to use it to build a replica "Starfighter" cabinet from the movie for ZapCon. I said sure. In the mean time, it got my wheels spinning. I liked the whole vibe of having "Mythical Cabinets that Didn't Exist In Real Life" at the show, and it reminded me of something I had always wanted to tackle. I contacted the ZapCon organizer, and he gave me his blessing, and so I decided to go for it....
Polybius, the holy grail of arcade urban legends (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybius_(video_game))
I love the story behind it - the paranoia, the men in black, the game that drives you to the edge of insanity. There are a few sites dedicated to it, and someone even wrote a game, which will be the basis of the electronics of the cab. I'm more interested in presentation and atmosphere, though, so that's what I'm going to be hitting.
I hit up a buddy for a cab and got a gutted, converted Stern cab to use. The box had been sanded flat and painted white, and although it had some termite issues, the body was in great shape. It's a great classic shape, too, so I said yeah. I threw a PC CRT and a computer in it was be done.
So here's my initial design:
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9877413/Polybius.png)
So in the design for the cab, for the final product, I had a few design rules that decided to hold fast to:
#1. I wanted the machine to look like it's been pulled out of a warehouse after 30 years.
That means no highfaluting LCD, light up buttons, 5.1 digital sound, etc. I want to use the original T-molding, beat up (but functional) buttons and joysticks, and so on and so forth. The plan for it is to come across as an artifact. I even have a faux City of Portland Tax Sticker I'm going to put on it.
#2. I want it to have an air of mystery.
This is supposed to be a machine that drove people crazy. I want the game to look dark and ominous. It's going to be black, with sparsely stenciled sides. I want this to look like it was locked away for years from prying eyes and is now being released into the wild.
#3. I'm not above using a bit of trickery to accomplish #1 & #2.
I'd love to do some things like artificially age the artwork and painting. I want to dinge it up a bit. I'd like to add some '81 era stickers to it. I even want to add some pen-scratched graffiti to it (Stuff like "Joanie + Chachi" and "Don't play this game!!!"). The game is supposed to be confusing and disorienting - so I put color-cycling bulbs in the front coin door. Imagine looking down and seeing them red, playing, then glancing down and a minute later they are blue.
You can see in the photo that I stayed close to the original design. I wasn't able to create effective stencils, so I used vinyl on the sides. If anything, that gave it nice, sharp, crisp lines. Build photos below.
More on this later, but I need to thank my buddies Malenko, Vigo, opt2not, the late Louis Tully, Nephasth, Le Chuck, and jdbailey1206 for their feedback on this project.
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3 month build time or is it already done & this is a slow reveal?
Countdown to ZapCon 2015!
(http://www.zapcon.com/2015banner.gif)
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You have more guts than me. I can't bring myself to post anything until I'm well under way. However maybe that is why your projects get done. :cheers:
Based on your project from last year I am understandably curious. Godspeed.
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You have more guts than me. I can't bring myself to post anything until I'm well under way. However maybe that is why your projects get done. :cheers:
Based on your project from last year I am understandably curious. Godspeed.
Thanks, bro. It's going to be another one-off. I'm building it specially for ZapCon, and will be donating it to them following the show.
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Loved you Super Spacefortress Macross, can't what to see what you have in the works for this year.
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Thread for a 2015 UCA winning cabinet? :)
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It's a weecade.
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It's a weecade.
:lol
But in all seriousness. What are your plans?
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It's a 4 player weecade running a 42in G-Sync Ultraman SuperForce Lightwave XTRAVga Combo powered by a Raspberry Pi. :cheers:
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Huh...
Being Zap Con, I was sure it was going to be a Space Based build of sorts. *shrug*
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Huh...
Being Zap Con, I was sure it was going to be a Space Based build of sorts. *shrug*
Maybe Chuck and Crew will have Space Base ready for the 2016 ZapCon.
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.
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It's a 4 player weecade running a 42in G-Sync Ultraman SuperForce Lightwave XTRAVga Combo powered by a Raspberry Pi. :cheers:
Will it play Gauntlet Legends 100%?
Not even a Gauntlet Legends PCB plays Gauntlet Legends 100%. >:D
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Huh...
Being Zap Con, I was sure it was going to be a Space Based build of sorts. *shrug*
Maybe Chuck and Crew will have Space Base ready for the 2016 ZapCon.
I'm going on the record right now that 2015 will see a playable Space Base. No caveat, no rider, no punchbacks. Playable. Space Base. Not on a screen but real motors and real holes and real balls and real spirit fingers. The whole nine yards.
Oh, and I'm super stoked for this thread as I know that Yot knows how to Bring It ON!
Bring It On - Spirit Fingers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTSkvAabm0k#ws)
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Huh...
Being Zap Con, I was sure it was going to be a Space Based build of sorts. *shrug*
Maybe Chuck and Crew will have Space Base ready for the 2016 ZapCon.
I'm going on the record right now that 2015 will see a playable Space Base. No caveat, no rider, no punchbacks. Playable. Space Base. Not on a screen but real motors and real holes and real balls and real spirit fingers. The whole nine yards.
YAY! That's worth getting excited over! :applaud: :applaud:
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I updated the first post to be more informational about the project. Here are some process photos. I took feedback from the aforementioned guys and so the look evolved somewhat. I had some ideas for electrical tricks, but I had to scrap those as I ran out of time.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327818)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327820)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327822)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327824)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327826)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327828)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327830)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327832)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327834)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327836)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327838)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327840)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327842)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327844)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327846)
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=136713.0;attach=327848)
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(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QtiHJ6eyyK0/maxresdefault.jpg)
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Mine's better.
Speaking of, after I won the award, I had a discussion with some guys about it. I told them I think my background as a BYOACer has a lot to do with it, since here we plan, design, fabricate, and create. We have an eye for doing things in a custom manner, and it shows. I take great pride in the work I do, so it's not going to leave my house until it is completely ready to go. This is where the BYOACing comes in. I'll fix broken corners. I'll repair water damage. I'll redo a whole paint job. It's what we do as a group of guys that like to roll their own. There were some cabs there that look like they came directly from being on location for 30 years.
Good example - LC and I were helping this dude take a thrashed-to-all-hell Contra cab off the back of his truck. I was in the front, Chuck was in the back. All of a sudden, as we're moving it, I hear Chuck tell the guy, "Hey, the back door is coming off your cab." Then, a second later, "Uh... it looks like the whole bottom of your cab is coming off...." :laugh2:
So take pride in the work we do, my friends. It gets recognized. Two custom cabs by a BYOACer, two awards two years in a row. :cheers:
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But have you won any awards for your endevours? >:D
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But have you won any awards for your endevours? >:D
3, bitches!
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(http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/slow_clap_citizen_kane.gif)
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What did you use for the actual software?
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What did you use for the actual software?
Someone made a Windows version of the game that is effectively creepy. Gameplay is s'allrite, but it's more about the atmosphere than anything.
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Posted on Firebird Pinball ' s FB page.
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All joking aside I am glad you didn't put the US GOV stencils on it. Love the different stickers you made for it. Very authentic cab.
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All joking aside I am glad you didn't put the US GOV stencils on it. Love the different stickers you made for it. Very authentic cab.
Thanks. All your feedback was very valuable and helped me temper it so it looked just enough like a real cab and didn't scream "LOOK, MA! I'M A PROP!"
There were these two teenage kids who came in late on Saturday and played for 30 minutes, videotaping themselves. Also, This Old Arcade (http://www.thisoldarcade.com/) shot a video at ZapCon, and they're going to end with Polybius. I also chatted with a woman shooting a video of Polybius who I'm pretty sure was a converting transgender.
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Congrats on the win! Two well deserved years in a row.
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Congrats on the win! Two well deserved years in a row.
Thanks, my friend!
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Whoa man, that cab is ridiculously cool. Great job, it looks like it's strait from 1981. And congrats on the award, well deserved.
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Mine's better.
I agree. Well done sir.
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The details make this great. I love the misspelling of polybius on the instruction card. Classic. :applaud:
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Whoa man, that cab is ridiculously cool. Great job, it looks like it's strait from 1981. And congrats on the award, well deserved.
Thanks, my friend. That was the intention. I actually put brand new green t-molding on it, but once I saw it getting mentioned in New Times and other places, I really, REALLY wanted it to look like it was pulled from a warehouse, so I put the original gnarly black stuff back on.
Mine's better.
I agree. Well done sir.
One thing mine was going to have as an homage to the Simpsons was that same text stenciled on the bottom, but the guys I got feedback from wisely talked me out of it. I agree, in the end, it seems more authentic.
The details make this great. I love the misspelling of polybius on the instruction card. Classic. :applaud:
I also misspelled "reaches" on it too. Gotta make it look like an OP did it in a hurry!
P.S. The street address of "Rose City Amusements", a company I made up, is actually that of Ground Kontrol in Portland. :cheers:
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I missed this one somehow. :banghead:
I've always wanted to build a Polybius.
This one is just close enough to the pics out there to help contribute to the conspiracy theory.
Mine would be a blinding, strobing, UV reactive wonderland built with the intention of making all users feel ill.
Maybe even some subsonic, below human hearing effects to make it more unsettling.
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The brown note...
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I missed this one somehow. :banghead:
I've always wanted to build a Polybius.
This one is just close enough to the pics out there to help contribute to the conspiracy theory.
Mine would be a blinding, strobing, UV reactive wonderland built with the intention of making all users feel ill.
Maybe even some subsonic, below human hearing effects to make it more unsettling.
I just posted the thread Monday, so you didn't miss it timewise. >:D
I ran out of time, but I had some grand plans that didn't come to fruition with this one. Cosmetically, it looks like how I envisioned it, but electronically, I want to do a bit more.
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The brown note...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B84TBd8CMAAdCUP.png)
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Polybius 2020 (to be finished by 2020)
bookmarket.
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I just started reading Armada by Ernest Cline. Polybius is mentioned in detail at the start of the book. I like your cabinet better than the one described in the book. :cheers:
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Somehow I missed this. I love this Yots! Very awesome. :applaud:
Yeah check out Armada if you haven't already. :cheers:
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Thanks, guys!
Like I mentioned in the Summer of Chuff thread, it's still going strong. This photo was from a classic gaming expo last weekend!
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=145546.0;attach=334793)
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Do you have a video of game play? I have no idea how this game looks.
D
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Do you have a video of game play? I have no idea how this game looks.
D
Its been redacted by the U.S. Government. Shhhhh.
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Do you have a video of game play? I have no idea how this game looks.
D
Shoulda went to Zapcon...
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This morning I ran across this:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/5553850803.html (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/5553850803.html)
yotsuya's version is better.
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This morning I ran across this:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/5553850803.html (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/5553850803.html)
yotsuya's version is better.
Thanks, bro. :cheers:
Looks like they used a Stern cab as well.
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This morning I ran across this:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/5553850803.html (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/5553850803.html)
yotsuya's version is better.
Is it just the angle of the photo, or is the ball-top on that joystick sitting extremely low?
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Is it just the angle of the photo, or is the ball-top on that joystick sitting extremely low?
Looks like it to me too. Since it was just built as a prop, they probably weren't worried about it being very playable.
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Just read the full description. They didn't even bother getting it to run Polybius.
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Yots' cab is a million times better. I saw Delusional's youtube vid showing it off and I was blown away.
I wonder what movie they were going to use this cab in?
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Yots' cab is a million times better. I saw Delusional's youtube vid showing it off and I was blown away.
I wonder what movie they were going to use this cab in?
15k views! Never would have thought! I need to do a follow up when I return to Zapcon next year! :applaud:
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0WyA8SksdY#)
DeL
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Two-year update -
So a couple of weeks ago, I got an email from someone who said they were a CNN producer who wanted to interview me about this project for a web series they're doing on different aspects of video games. At first, I was thinking, yeah right, and then I saw that he had gotten my information from one of the zapcon organizers. He also cited the video I did with DeL, so I knew he had done his research. I did some asking around and found out that he was legit, so I told them sure. Yesterday, they flew into town and came out to my game room to shoot an interview with me about the process behind creating the cabinet. We also shot some b-roll footage of me doing various things in the game room, like working on a machine and repair. My JAMMA tester, The Troubleshooter II, featured pretty prominently it as well. We talked about the urban legend, the reaction the cabinet has gotten at ZapCon and StarFighters arcade, and some other little things. Today I'm going to a studio to shoot a commercial for the episode.
It was a lot of fun. I will keep you guys posted when the series is done. There's some pretty cool things in it, they're really going for stories that haven't been told yet. He told me it should be sometime in July.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170516/23d0c466d09cdac36e1161a2850cd81e.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170516/74f346e3958946ccd2c955ed5ed45eed.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170516/71ab934e29059f0b5ea4f68e0c573217.jpg)
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Sometimes cool stuff happens to good people. :cheers:
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:woot
This is so cool!
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That's rad! Can't think of a better representative for our hobby. You're like the perfect mix of respectable and down-to-earthy, plus you have all your teeth. I'm looking forward to totally doing a, "Hey, I know that guy!"
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plus you have all your teeth.
This. Hopefully he managed to keep his t-shirt pulled down over his stomach.
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That's rad! Can't think of a better representative for our hobby. You're like the perfect mix of respectable and down-to-earthy, plus you have all your teeth. I'm looking forward to totally doing a, "Hey, I know that guy!"
I totally agree. This is really cool Yots! Can't wait to see it.
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plus you have all your teeth.
This. Hopefully he managed to keep his t-shirt pulled down over his stomach.
Speaking of shirts, Mexican, where's my ZapCon shirt unboxing video??
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Thanks, guys. I will post more from the commercial shoot tonight.
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Nice, I had no idea when we made this video that it would blow up to almost 30k views!
Hey, was the CNN guy's name Joel Rampello? I got an inquiry a few months back in the comments section of my video asking about the cab for a short film. I pointed him in the Zapcon direction for more info.
DeL
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Awesome news Yots! :applaud:
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:applaud:
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Very cool. I was thinking about this project when i read the review of the new PS4 game. :applaud:
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Nice, I had no idea when we made this video that it would blow up to almost 30k views!
Hey, was the CNN guy's name Joel Rampello? I got an inquiry a few months back in the comments section of my video asking about the cab for a short film. I pointed him in the Zapcon direction for more info.
DeL
These guys were from NYC.
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Is this kind of like porn where you 'can get your money' after they get all the shots?
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Next time, get half up front.
:lol
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Is this kind of like porn where you 'can get your money' after they get all the shots?
I do it for the love of classic gaming, pendejo.
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Awesomeness. I'll say this about Polybius, a friend of mine loves it. He just goes all zen when he plays it, says it's almost a meditation for him.
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Pictures from the commercial shoot. This was a lot of fun.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170517/bf21c9f8739ebfa49f54fff585a319a6.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170517/0a43138d54c72e93dcd3ef85a71ebdf6.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170517/12876bd2c0dffde434b97c516b48e3ca.jpg)
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Man, that lighting. That fog.
All this shot needs is laser beams bouncing off a disco ball, Pixelhugger, and Ond. :applaud:
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Imaginary rep for Laythe!
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I am excited to see this when it's aired!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I was going to offer my b-roll footage from Zapcon, but looks like they've got it covered!
Nice!
DeL
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For CNN's next segment they are going to do a piece on wine barrel arcade cabinets...
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Remember that video thing I did on Polybius? It finally came out:
http://www.watchable.com/playlists/zyznMwaE4VnN/videos/184029?AppId=Watchable&ShareFrom=Email&DeviceId=ce6a7f76-2ec1-4e13-9c39-01fd7391d30a
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Cool Vid. :)
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sadly can't view the video here in the UK, gets blocked :(
"The video you're trying to watch cannot be viewed in your current country or location."
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Bummer. Let me see if I can get a downloadable version.
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So cool Yots... that was more funny than I thought it was going to be. Great job!
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Dudeface! That was awesome!!!
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Thanks, it was a lot of fun to do!