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Purpose of the marquee? Can you do away with it?
Crowquill:
All-in-all the marquees were there for advertisement. It was a glowing sign trying to get you to play the game. But it also served as the best place to put artwork that would give character to the cabinet. Many companies did very nice side-art, but with cabinets lined up in an arcade, you would rarely see the side-art. Bezels and CPOs were OK, but they still had to have a functional purpose. The only purpose of the marquee is to look pretty and draw in new players.
Speaker placement depends on what you want to do with the cab. If you want it to double as a hi-fi jukebox, careful planning is more in order. If you're mostly playing classic games on it in your home, then the beeps and booms aren't going to matter much whether they're pointed straight at your head. In a crowded arcade, you want to be able to hear YOUR game. Having speakers closer to your head helps accomplish this. Cocktails weren't really marketed to arcades. I'm guessing this is why speaker placement was less important. On my Ms Pac cocktail the speakers are actually mounted at knee-level.
I think there might be something to the thoery that the upright's sides are tall to help block glare on the screen. It seems though that that type of design was eventually dropped. Some of the most popular conversion cabinets--Centipede, Williams cabs, and Dynamo's--have a more upright monitor that isn't enclosed by the sides. In their case, the sides cover up the monitor's electronics.
Crowquill:
I once tried to make a streamlined MAME cab that was optimized for home use. It was designed to match the light maple and silver that most of the furniture in my office is. I finally found the old file.
Everything's packed in very tightly, but at least in theory it should have worked well. No marquee to be found. Speakers are recessed behind the control panel. It was going to be powered by a PowerMac G3.
philby85:
Hey Anubis,
I have sent you a pm re pics and plans.
cheers
Phil
btp2k2:
IMHO doing away with the marquee is like doing away with the joystick.
The marquee is an integral part of a cabinet.
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