question about 1983 arcade????

[jipp]

hey guys.  i watched a movie a few days ago called joystick made around 1983.   now this movie is cheesy but made me laugh.  at any rate there is a scene in the movie where they settle arguments in what they call the "arena"
what the arena is basically a mini stage in the arcade which was built in a warehouse, not sure why they did not just use a real arcade id imagine it would of been cheaper.  they probably waste a lot of money making movies laughs.  at any rate, the arena has two large arcade monitors. and two large joysticks.  this is what got me thinking.  A,

what was the largest arcade monitor available in 1983?  these are rather large..  as they have them on a wall for the whole arcade to see.  
way bigger than anything in a cab of the time.  

the joysticks they used were like 5 feet tall with a ball top the size of a bowling ball with i think 4 arcade buttons 2 on each side or maybe 3 on one side and 2 on the other, not sure what there logic was.

what do you think they used for micro switches.. ?  im thinking they would just use regular leaf switches of the time..  but man, with all that weight from the long joysticks i dunno.

now i think about it, the joysticks probably did not work and were props.. but the monitors were real.

so what was the largest arcade monitor available in 1983, thank you.

at 1:30 into the film you can see the arena!  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5lqGh1eR3YQ#t=91s


i wish we could delete our own threads.. now i think about it, the arcade monitors were probably just tvs and just playing video. 

so to save grace, 

what was the largest arcade monitor available in 1983 that would of been used in a cab, ignore the movie that made wonder.  thanks. 
chris.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Pics of the monitors in question:


Satan's Hollow?



Are those bowling balls on top??

[jipp]

Pics of the monitors in question:


Satan's Hollow?



Are those bowling balls on top??

they sure look like bowling balls. 
odd idea, only in Hollywood would they come up with a arena idea.  heh.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Similar setup in the movie Hackers. I always thought that version of Wipeout looked neater than the PSX release.

[jipp]

yeah it dose look better.  well with the powers of google i found out why they used satans hollow.   

When Greydon Clark approached game company Midway about using the image of Pac-Man in the film, he also requested that they allow him to feature a yet-to-be-released game in order to increase the film's appeal. The game Midway chose to feature was Satan's Hollow, which is played in the face-off between King Vidiot and McDorfus.

still cant find info on if the monitors were real or not, same with the sticks.

at any rate satan hollow i never played that game..  looks fun.

chris.

[yotsuya]

I think you have an idea for your next cabinet, Chris! 

[sjbaines]

From looking at this still:

I'm almost certain that they used standard size monitors, and used an old in-camera visual effects trick called 'hanging miniatures'.

If this is what they did then the monitors are actually placed close to the camera, whilst the actors
(if they can be called that in this film   ) are actually further away, and staring at a blank wall.

Clues that this is what they did are:
1. The camera doesn't move (if it did then it would be instantly obvious what was actually happening)
2. None of the actors obscure the monitors at all.
3. Doesn't look like this movie had the budget for huge monitors.

It's an effective trick when done well, and they have done it pretty well here.

Edit: Before anyone says anything  - obviously the camera doesn't move in this still - but it doesn't move in that shot in the film.

[sjbaines]

I'd guess that the sticks were just props.  No real need for them to be connected up, and could you imagine actually trying to play using them?  Not the shortest of throws. 

[jipp]

I think you have an idea for your next cabinet, Chris! 

cab, heck house!! laughs.

[jipp]

I'd guess that the sticks were just props.  No real need for them to be connected up, and could you imagine actually trying to play using them?  Not the shortest of throws. 

ok thanks for the info..  yeah, the movie was made in 3 weeks.  and was number 1 when it was in the movie joints.. goes to show you everyone had pacman fever in the early 80s. heh.

interesting, that would explain somethings.  iv watched it a few times and i see what you mean.

chris.

[CheffoJeffo]

[Hoopz]

Edit: Before anyone says anything  - obviously the camera doesn't move in this still - but it doesn't move in that shot in the film.

You fit in well here.  And also know how some people are around here.   

[RayB]

There were projection tvs even back then.

[Gray_Area]

I think I'm in love.

[yotsuya]

Dammit, Jipp! Because you keep mentioning this movie, and because I remember it coming out but not being old enough/allowed to see it (OMG Boobies!), my interest has been piqued enough that I went out and found it on DVD! I hope you're happy! 

 

[jipp]

ooo too funny.  hey its worth the melons.  there is no shortage thats for sure.  heh.

lots of cabs in the arcade tho. . def worth a watch..
i enjoy the movie ( im a fan of mystery theater 3000 tho, so maybe my image of a good movie is skewed! ), but man..  the valley girls are sooo annoying


chris.

[yotsuya]

I'm looking forward to seeing how bad it is! 

On a side note, apparently 'Uncle Rico' from "Napoleon Dynamite" plays the punk-goth guy. Should be fun.

[jipp]

yeah he dose.. his part is rather amusing..

i did not realize that was him the first time through.   but im not surprised.

and of course Connie ( Patsy, when i say Connie.  cant find any info on the actress who plays the valley girl connie.  )  is still a cutie even if she is in her 50s.. she has aged great.  

chris.

[Donkbaca]

CHRIS!!!!

Check out the "Giant Tetris Cabinet" on this page. 

http://www.bmigaming.com/games-videositdown.htm

Think they got the inspiration from the movie?

[yotsuya]

I stayed home from work yesterday because I was sick, so I popped in "Joysticks".

It was bad. BAD. There wasn't even enough quality T&A to make up for how bad it was.

Having said that, I'll probably watch it again some time.   

[jipp]

laughs...  hey it was so bad it made it to be a #1 movie .  all i can think is, arcades were hip.  anything with a arcade in the premise of the movie was gonna be a box off hit for a few weeks,

yeah them giant games look fun but way to big..  image having to need a full size room just to play textris. LOL

chris.

[Gray_Area]

I stayed home from work yesterday because I was sick, so I popped in "Joysticks".

It was bad. BAD. There wasn't even enough quality T&A to make up for how bad it was.

Having said that, I'll probably watch it again some time.   

There are very few 'stupid' movies I'll watch. This is one of them. Wait...maybe this response belongs in the arcade dork thread....