What is Digg?87 Comments
- ringo380, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31"I know I'm not the first parent to hit his mid-thirties and start demanding that the damn kids get off his lawn — I'm sure my parents were sad as drive-ins were torn down to make way for strip malls, and I'm sure they complained that we were playing in video arcades instead of riding bikes, and watching video tapes instead of going to the movies. I'm sure that my kids will one day complain that my grandkids immerse themselves alone in the holodeck rather than killing boars in the forest or charging into battle with Leeroy Jenkins."
This is the greatest article ever. - lickmygiggle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21What the ***** kind of bug is up all of your asses?
Wil Wheaton's a cool guy, you all must just be intimidated by him.
It's not like he forces his past upon you, like all the quasi-celebrities on Surreal Life or any of that *****. - turrican, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21"I'm sure they complained that we were playing in video arcades instead of riding bikes"
Back in MY day, we had to ride bikes in order to get to the arcade!
Disclaimer: Uphill only one way, though.. but it was the way HOME.. ugh. - licoricewhip, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Also, I once found a 10-dollar bill on the floor at the arcade. Finding money at the arcade is like seeing a naked girl for the first time, every time.
- theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13"If you're a Generation Xer like me, odds are you have at least one specific arcade you can recall, where you probably spent your weight in quarters every summer."
My arcade? Screen Play. The first time I played Turbo and Front Line. I always sucked at Defender. Being only 9 when it came out, I wasn't old enough to really grasp the controls. Watching the older kids was amazing though. I would LOVE to find one now though, I just know I could OWN it. Joust and Tempest though? No one could touch me. - tyho, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Back in the 80's we would have said, you guys are dicks.
- Dolomite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Another excellent article Wil.
- sundancekid503, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@broomett
".isn't it a little sad that the STAR of Stand By Me has been upstaged by pretty much every one of his supporting cast?"
Really? What's Corey Feldman up to these days? Also, what are you smoking? - theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Yeah, but you have to admit, the way they did away with his character was lame. Quitting Starfleet and becoming a "Traveler"? The way it was done left MUCH to be desired.
- Namco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Because his TV mom was the hottest MILF of all time. Good god did I want to bone Dr. Crusher. Gates McFadden FTW!!!!
- Namco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8PacMan, Ms.Pac Man, Pole Position, Dragon's Lair, Galaxian, Bagman, Xevious, Tron = El Doroado Bowl in Westchester/El Segundo, Ca
Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong 3, Operation Wolf, Contra, Gyruss = Inglewood Lanes in Inglewood, Ca
Mr Do, Golden Axe, 720, Cyberball = Aladdin's Castle in Hawthorne Mall
Street Fighter 2, Double Dragon, Chase HQ = 711 near Centinella & La Brea.
Mortal Kombat and more Street Fighter 2 = Hollymain Liquor Store, El Segundo, Ca
Bad Dudes, Super Monaco GP, Ninja gaiden = TimeOut in Fox Hills Mall, Culver city, Ca
AAhhhh, those were some great memories man. - SteelChicken, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Because Wesley Crusher is bad ass. He like traveled in time with his mind and one time he put the borg in a mini alternate universe.
- wilwheaton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I loved that game. Of all the ways I've flown the Enterprise, it remains my favorite.
- sailor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Wil Wheaton knows what he was and what he is...he makes no bones about it. He is a fine writer and columnist.
He knows that his short stint in TV and movies are not what makes him who he is...it is unfortunate that you don't.
Read one of his books you will gain respect for him... - Quix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6For those of you who grew up as part of the "arcade generation," make sure you watch for the DVD release of "Chasing Ghosts." It's a documentary about the king teens of the arcades in the 80s. I saw it at Sundance a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't stop smiling through the entire film. Funny and nostalgic.
A must-see. - theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah, MAME is OK, but there is just something about the darkly lit rooms with sticky floors and all the sounds and lights that MAME can't replicate. Plus, unless you build your own MAME controller, which could cost better than $100, the controls just aren't the same. And in games like Defender, for it to be accurate and play like it was meant to be played, it would need it's own panel.
- Lynxpro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6
I've thought for a long time that SF2 killed arcade gaming here in the States. Before SF2, the arcades attracted many different types of people to them. This was due to the fact that creativity sold, and people liked to play interesting games. Just look at the back catalog of Atari Games, for example (and others, as well). But with the advent of SF2, the vs. gaming took off and became the proto-pwner culture which tipped the scales and the arcades became filled with adolescent males who memorized all the moves so they could destroy any casual gamer that they challenged. There was no room for anyone but the hardcore. Then every other arcade game company tried to make their own answers to SF2 and thus all the game titles that attracted casual gamers dried up.
The same thing happened to comic books as that product transitioned from being sold at news stands and super markets to specialized comic stores. Casual comic book readers were lost and the average age of the comic book reader went up dramatically. - tyho, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6This is another great article, Wil sure has a nice writing style, and a damn good memory. I'm a couple years older than Wil but this fits my experience growing up in San Diego to a tee. Even the clothes he talks about wearing and shops he went to to play. I remember finding a cocktail version of Galaga that was taking nickels at a Round Table and playing for hours, or hanging out at the massive arcade The Yellow Brick Road in La Jolla. So many times. Good times man. Thanks for reminding us old-schoolers Wil. Gamer forever.
- draebor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6You know, I used to hate Wesley Crusher as a kid but I gotta say that these days Wil Wheaton kicks ass. There aren't many down-to-earth technophile stars that happen to be really intelligent and insightful. GJ, Wil.
- bouche, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Thanks for the article Wil !
You just described my life, in video games. Born in '71, I experienced the same evolution. However, I always wondered if anyone else experienced the free-credit-for-shock.
"It was another indoor pool, but this one had a tropical theme with a giant waterfall, and if you didn't mind a mild electric shock, holding your wet hand over the coin slots gave you free credits."
There was one game, a ***** game at an arcade of a Ramada Inn that I was staying at that gave out free games if I rubbed my feet on the carpet and touched the coin slot. It was Carnival. When I ran out of quarters on the good games, I went straight to shocking myself and kept playing that crappy game. I still am unsure how I became aware of that exploit. - jtizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Perhaps you mean "and/or".
- Konrad9, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Buried for spelling Mortal Kombat wrong... from DOOOOOWWWWNNNNN TOOOOWWWNNN.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I remember fondly the Sega "Star Trek" game. I got pretty addicted to that as a kid. I also really enjoyed the Star Wars game. Who couldn't love flying an X-Wing?
- nickstl77, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7If you submit something, at least take 3 seconds to read the title before you click submit. Sorry, but it's really frustrating to see things on the front page with obvious misspellings an/or grammatical errors.
- licoricewhip, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Video games like that one with Dirk the Daring (I just can't remember the name) and Space Ace charged two quarters at my local arcade. That was the decline of the Arcade, in my opinion--2+ credits for one play sucked. Of course, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 could suck my quarters any day. Then, stupid pinball machines had the audacity to do the same!
Favorite arcade game ever :: Gauntlet. I still get aroused when I hear "Don't shoot food,"
PS first video game experience ever .... the shady convenience store out in the country by my parent's farm. Donkey Kong... only one quarter, too. - infra172, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I miss the old "decline arcades". Pinball was especially hard at a permanent 45 degree tilt.
- meldroc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I was pleasantly surprised to find that a local Pizza Hut in my area actually had a working Centipede machine. That really brought me back. It's been too long since I played on an actual coin-eating Centipede machine.
I guess MAME will have to fill the gap... - AnteChronos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@NikZ
"Dragon's Lair. Terrible game. Looked quite cool with it's cell-shaded-like animation, but it played like ass."
It wasn't cell-shaded-like animation. It was actual cel animation. As in, a cartoon hand-drawn by cartoonists. It's what cel shading is an attempt to replicate.
Dragon's Lair was overseen by Don Bluth, who was also responsible for The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time. The reason it "played like ass", as you put it, is because it consisted of canned animations playing off a laserdisc. Not the most interactive of formats, but it was amazing at the time. I would almost consider it one of the first attempts to incorporate cinematic aesthetics into a game. - buckykatt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I used to work in an arcade in my younger days (Fun-O-Rama for those of you that might remember it.) Dragon's Lair was one of the first laserdisc games made (picture a CD about the size of a record).
It cost more to play because unlike previous games with just the motherboard, a monitor and a bunch of wires and buttons inside, this had an expensive laserdisc player inside. Theory was you could buy a new laserdisc, some new stickers, and boom, you had a new game when players got tired of the old one. (I don't remember if we bought the full machine with Space Ace and then upgraded to Dragon's Lair or vice-versa).
Problem was the laserdisc player kept breaking, had to be cleaned constantly to avoid skipping, and the company didn't keep producing new games.
As for expensive games, I remember our first 4-quarters-per-play game, Afterburner (a jet combat game), which cost about $10,000 and required constant maintenance on the motors and wheels to keep the cockpit moving.
Glad I worked there as I could play that for free when the boss wasn't around. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5The 70/80s retro club I go to just got rid of their Centipede, Phoenix and Pac Man games. (Originally they also had a KISS pinball game but they got rid of that a couple years ago. Anyway, they replaced it with two cabinets. One has Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario Bros., the other has Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, and Galaga.
Here is the catch thogh...I noticed it had a dollar bill slot which I thought was kind of cool, figuring that it helped out the bartenders from having to give out quarters. (Not that anyone will ever play it.) But then I noticed something else. It had a dollar bill slot for a reason. Becuase on the coin slot it said "1 Credit - 4 X 25" Holy crap! A DOLLAR to play Donkey Kong!
I've seen the Ms. PAc Man/Galaga cabinets before for 50 cents. That was bad enough. But $1? - bouche, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There was one arcade in my grade 6 and 7 years that offered credits for A's, B's and C's. As a grade school student that finished your grade, you would show your report card and get credits depending on the grades.
We actually worked really hard to get A's because for each C was worth 1 credit (1 quarter), and a B was 2 credits (2 quarters) and an A was worth a full 4 quarters! So, if you had 8 classes with 8 A's, you got, 8 bucks to play with for free! It was an amazing incentive and I did damn well in my classes. - carve, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Ahhhh...I have many fond memories of arcades. I mostly played at Adladins Castle in the mall, but on special occasions there was a place called "Wunderland". After a $5 cover, all games were a nickel. Why were the Arcade games always WAY ahead in graphic and gameplay at the time, anyway? For a long time, no console could touch a new arcade game.
Anyway, the reason I'm posting is that Costco is now selling a stand-up arcade style console with lots of classic games on it. Good deal, too. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yeah..people saying it played like ass are judging it not from am early 80s standpoint.
The worst part about it was there wre no continues at all. So you have to be near perfect to get through the whole game. Even early on when some arcades gave you 5 guys, that is still a lot to ask.
I torrented the anniversary version and finally won it with quite a few continues, but without cheating with a walkthrough. Still can't beat Space Ace. - fordot2oh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Damned if I can remember its name but there was a small arcade, biking distance from my house, that my buddies and I would frequent daily, not just in summer. Head over to the sub shop next door for lunch, then back into the noisy darkened room. Hours and hours of Bubble Bobble and Rampage...good times....good times.
- teamgwho, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The hardest thing about a new game wasn't learning how to time the bosses or whatever, it was remembering which of the 8 quarters lined up were yours or versus the 7 dudes around you...
and for the record I personally miss Mr Do, and Mr Do's Wild Ride. That and Scramble, though I never liked Cobra Scramble as much.
In short, Best. Article. Ever - Namco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Actually, I prefer mangy nightsabers.
- caddyalan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I had a several-month fixation with the Capcom game Black Tiger. Even though it was a tough action game, I found it fascinating. I was fascinated with console RPGs, and Black Tiger included something similar - the element of armor/weapon upgrades. It seemed like an arcade version of classic Zelda.
Naturally, the game hasn't aged well. Looking at it now, it seems like a slight variation on Ghouls and Ghosts, and it's still annoyingly difficult. But at least it's playable on a recent retro compilation. - jtizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Interesting. If anything, I thought SF2 and the like were the cream of the crop, and the reason I went to arcade in the first place. I never even considered the possibility that the games I knew and loved might have inadvertently brought upon their own demise. Depressing, actually.
- Manzabar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't remember the name of the arcade, but the game was UN Squadron. I remember one summer saving up my allowance and from moving lawns. I went down to the arcade and blew like $20 bucks on tokens so I could play that game from start to finish. Ah, that was a good day. :)
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2good ol' days... dig dugg (har har), centipede, tempist, wizard of war, mrs. pac-man, super pac-man.. oh gawd those games sucked, but for an 8-year old they were uhhhh magical?
- Pxtl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Capcom & SNK in general, not just Street Fighter. Capcom raised the bar for animation but also started cranking out "genre" games like there was no tomorrow. Once games were pigeonholed into the EXTREMELY rigid genres capcom created, the creativity vanished. Fighter, shmup, beat-em-up, over and over again. That and a stack of racing games that were all the same.
- Mobius2112, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It is funny how some of us can document the chronology of our lives through video games.
Too bad I sucked ass at most games. My folks were well off though, so I could be one of those lame kids who got pissed, bought a couple rolls of quarters and paid for me and my friends to finally finish Xybots (Ahh, Paula Abdul. Your dulcet tones of "Straight Up" mixing with the vox of "Intruder!")
Coolest though was watching someone who really could play. A friend from High School stills holds several world records (eg. Tutankham) and has managed to continue to make a career out of gaming (sponsored by Twin Galaxies, last I heard). Dwayne Richards if anyone's curious. Lucky bastard.... - Lynxpro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2
Continuing...I remember when Chuck E. Cheese was the place to go to for the latest arcade games. They were also usually 3 to 4 times the size as the current Chuck E. Cheese restaurants due to the space required to house all of those arcade machines. This was of course, pre-1985.
Pier39 also had (has?) a great arcade. First owned by Atari, and then later Namco ('cos they bought Atari Games and owned them for a few years). - goodnewsevery1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2If Wil was a true arcade fanatic he would have started with how the awful Space Invaders and Pong pushed out the pinball machines. I say bring back the classic pinball machines...they provide and experience that your XBOX, PS and/or Wii cannot provide!
- mhanley, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"...and if you didn't mind a mild electric shock, holding your wet hand over the coin slots gave you free credits."-- awesome! I had a similar experience at a hotel arcade in Phoenix, during one of my father's WW2 reunions. I don't even remember the game, but I distinctly remember discovering that if you rubbed your feet on the carpet to work up a static charge, you could "zap" the coin slot and get a free game! Thanks, Wil, for bringing back such good memories!
- lagrange, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"You know, when I first read about the decline in arcades, the first thing that went through my mind was to wonder how all the second-tier celebrities out there felt about it."
Second tier? Come on now, he would have to suck a lot of dick to get back up to second tier. Take it easy on the guy. - Namco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes it's true, we closed that one down and sold it to Riptide. We here at Namco don't run many arcades in the US anymore.
- sailor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1ahhh, the memories, the Goldmine at the Colonies North Mall...defender, star wars and pacman.
- GrantTheGr8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I only read it for the articles, I swear!
- rtfx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Namco arcade closed but an independent one, Riptide, came in its place almost immediately. Pretty good place, but a bit heavy on the redemption games. (they are basically gambling, only the odds are fixed in some way making it easier to hide. I determined after going through about $30 and winning an iPod Nano that the last level of the "Stacker" game will pay out only sometimes, not based purely on skill.)
There is also the Musee Mechanique further down the wharf, near the Boudin bakery. They have a classic arcade section. When they first put it in the games were in perfect condition. They don't seem to have maintained them so well though....probably one of the biggest problems of arcades today. -
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