Arcade Ambiance CDs - Pretty Cool! Like 1983 All Over Again

[ManciGames]

Hey, have any of you guys had a chance to hear those Arcade Ambiance CDs that Good Deal Games is offering? I had the chance to check out 1981 and 1983 and I've got to say, they are pretty nifty. It really takes you back to the days of the old fashioned arcades that would show up just about anywhere (I remember going to one that was part of a hair-salon!).

Anyway, it's got all the old games of the era jingling together and there is kind of a doppler effect as if you were walking around the arcade. It's definitely a strange experience. It's also not to listened to like a normal CD. I'd say listen to it as you are doing some retro gaming or something. I've been listening to them as I play my Namco classics on Gameboy SP and it really ads to the games. Cool stuff. Check them out if ya can.

For those who have heard them, what do ya think?

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm...might be useful for the early hours of a retrogaming meet? :D Anybody who wants to set up a show/exhibit might do well to put this on a couple hidden/somewhat quiet speakers.

Now let me guess - you hear bits of various theme songs, right? Do they seem to play "in order" (i.e. one fades in and out, then onto another, maybe a couple at once, as if moving) and you only hear one machine at a time? Any pop music audible? Neat concept for sure!

[omnedon]

If I owned a game store, I would pipe those sounds out to the exterior sidewalk.

[Michael Thomasson]

The audio is as if you were walking around an arcade in 1981 (or 1983) and
you heard the audio of all the machines at once. Of course the machines
closer would be louder and the ones in the distance a bit quieter. As you
"walk" around the arcade, you get a Doppler Effect of the machine volumes
ramping up as you get near them and then ramp back down as you pass by them.

It also has ambiant crowd sounds, attract modes, quarter drops, etc. They
run 74 minutes each, but have tracks added throughout so one can jump around the soundtrack if needed. The track breaks are silent, so if you just push play, it is a long solid effect with no audio breaks.

We are currently working on a 1986 version. All the sounds are
digitized through MAME directly into the computer, so the audio is crystal
clear.

The 1981 sample includes:

Asteroids, Astroblaster, Berzerk, Centipede, Crazy Climber, Crushroller,
Defender, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Galaga, Galaxian, Gorf, Missile Command,
Moon Cresta, Mousetrap, Ms Pacman, Omegarace, Pacman, Phoenix, Qix, Rally X, Scramble, Space Invaders, Spectar, Tempest, Venture, Wizard Of War

the 1983 track contains:
Bagman, Bump n Jump, Burgertime, Congo Bongo, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong Jr, Elevator Action, Food Fight, Galaga, Gyruss, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Mappy, Mario Bros, Millipede, Moon Patrol, Mr Do, Ms Pacman, Pengo, Pleiads, Pole Position, QBert, Robotron, Sinistar, Stargate, Star Trek, Tapper, Time Pilot, Track & Field, Tron, Xevious, Zaxxon, Zoo Keeper.

You can check 'em out at:
http://www.gooddealgames.com/Publishing_AudioCD_ArcAmb.html

[ManekiNeko]

The emulation frontend Emulaxian has a similar soundtrack. It's really cool because you can actually walk though a polygonal arcade while hearing these effects, adding to the illusion of being there.

JR

[Milk]

Wow. They should add one of those tracks to the ambient noise machines they sell in the Sears catalog. "Listen to the soothing sounds of Whale Songs...Rainforest at Night...Sinistar!"

[Lady Jaye]

Great idea!!! As Jaysen pointed out, it's perfect for a retrogaming session, whether on one of the modern consoles, via MAME or on the GBA... (I could imagine listening to this on my ipod while playing Konami Arcade Advance) :)

[Raedon]

Man, I wish I knew how to program.

I've had this Ambient sound creating program for a while (freeware here (http://www.relaxingsoftware.com/naturesounds.htm)) that's really cool. Allows all sorts of controls of sounds and the randomness at which they accur. Make a storm or a storm next to a stream or a storm next to a stream with rain hitting a tin roof while a bird chirps etc..

It allows you to record to a WAV file so you can burn the stuff..

NOW imagine that same program with arcade sounds.. Choose 1981, Choose 1991. heavy croud/light croud/no croud.

You could create a truck stop with just a pacman and galaga or a huge arcade with 100's of games.

Set Random events like a coin drop from a Sinistar every 8 minutes (ok ok.. Every 30 seconds haha) or how often he hungers.

[tyranthraxus]

What games do you have in mind for 1986? Have you thought of throwing
in the odd older game. Since a 1986 arcade would still have a Galaga or
Frogger kicking around?

[nickmoulds]

Hi All!

My names Nick and I'm the author of Atmosphere Lite ( and Deluxe ), posted above. You've got a great idea there about incorporating arcade sounds. I was ( and still am ) a huge fan, both of Retro arcade games and newer games also! Vice City is my game of choice at the moment, although rarely a week goes past without Mame getting fired up!

I've been working hard on a new version which will allow you to do exactly that - incorporate many of your favorite arcade sounds into different scenarios, which may then be easily shared. v 6.0 will allow any or all sounds to be easily replaced, enabling many different soundscapes to be created, shared and recorded ( not just nature sounds ). I've had many emails from game developers who have requested similar features to help them create ambient background audio for their games.
I actually created a scenario some time ago for the deluxe version recreating the ambience of an arcade just for my own amusement, although I didn't post it as the majority of our users are only interested in nature sounds. At some point in the not too distant future, I'll be creating an area of the site specifically for gamers wishing to share scenarios.

If anyone has any ideas they would like to see incorporated, please feel free to drop me an email and I'l do my very best to work them all in!

Anyway, thanks to you all for the interest and happy gaming!!!!

Nick :D

[Raedon]

I can't wait to get a copy of that program, Nick. I can almost here the sounds of a Krull coin drop whifting threw the air.. 8-)