Laura's (Atar1g1rl) "Pressed For Time" UPDATE

[digitalpress]

Part of that "dream team" that's been putting out some incredible columns over the past month, Laura Truchon Tisdale's "Pressed for Time" rounds out the first cycle of weekly updates.

I love the way she writes, it's always very much "from the heart", something that not everyone can express in words. This particular piece is very nostalgic and in my opinion, very important to the classic gaming community. Read it and see for yourself.

http://www.digitpress.com/columns/pressedfortime.htm

As always, feedback is welcome here.

[hamburgler]

Nice story. :)

[GENESISNES]

:( beautiful.

[Arcade Antics]

Excellent! Nice job, Laura! :)

[ghsqb]

Ditto. Great piece.

Sadly she is all to right about those old hangouts being bulldozed.
The article reminds me of my misspent youth at Alladin Bowling Lanes and pumping quarters into the old classics there.

Alladin closed a year and a half ago and the made it into an offiice building. :(

Great to see some places carrying on.

If I'm ever down that way, I'll stop in.

[Starcade]

Yea, thats pretty cool :D

[NoahsMyBro]

I've got to be honest. I have mixed feelings about the new article.

First the positives:
* I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article.
* I will try to remember to stop in and check the joint out if I'm ever in the area.
* It reminded me of places like that that are no more, and I enjoyed the nostalgia.
* It was definitely well-written, no ifs and or buts.

Now the unfortunate negative:
* I don't see how this article fit it's mission. I expected to read about gaming for people with minimal free-time, and didn't really get much relevant info about that.

All the same, please don't think I'm complaining. If anything, my complaint would just be that I think the description of the column and it's purpose might need tinkering, that's all. The substance of the article itself was great!

[digitalpress]

Now the unfortunate negative:
* I don't see how this article fit it's mission. I expected to read about gaming for people with minimal free-time, and didn't really get much relevant info about that.

Huh?

You stop in a pizza place to play arcade games. This is something I'd consider to be something you do "on the go". In fact, I'd pretty much consider any stop to play any arcade game while you're waiting for something else - like pizza - to be maximizing or compressing your time. Hence, "Pressed For Time".

Hope this helps shed some light on things.

[Ascending Wordsmith]

I've been in those kinds of situations before. Can anyone contribute to 'Pressed for Time", or is it an inside thing?

As for Laura's piece, I find it to be on point. Visiting my cousins in Lawton, Oklahoma always meant running around. We too had a pizza parlor with arcade games. We had Jackal, Mario Brothers, and Rush N' Attack. Great article, Atar1g1rl! 8-)

[Atar1G1rl]

Hey all! Thanks for the compliments and comments! Joe can tell you that I was a bit stressed on this one. Talk about being "pressed for time," I didn't think I'd even have time to write the article the way these past few weeks have gone.

@NoahsMyBro: I can see where you might be coming from. But I don't know how much tighter I can get on time than an hour and a half out of that whole week back home to go and play some games with my sis while waiting on dinner. I tend not to write cut and dry review (just the facts) stuff. It's very difficult for me and maybe that's a bad thing. But, like Joe said, this did fit, at least in my opinion, as something to do when you are waiting on your food or have only a tiny bit of spare time. Seeking out these few remaining places that cater to us big kids with video gaming appetites generally isn't a time consuming mission if we know where to look, which is why I added the link at the end. (I need to send in my update for Davenport's games list, as well, now that I mention it.) But you may have expected something different and I can understand that, too. Your comments are appreciated, though! :)

I knew it probably wouldn't click with everyone, but I think it did it's job since I've received a number of comments personally and on here about how it reminded folks of these great little places and evoked some happy memories. If that gets them to hop up and look for something similar or visit an old place for just a little while, then I think I did my job pretty well for a first run. :D And it will probably vary quite a bit from article to article, but I will always try to fit it in the parameters of the column without jumping too far off the path.

Thanks again, everyone!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I liked it, myself. I weep for the days when even small game rooms like that were readily available. Made me kinda homesick, and I've never even been to Birmingham!

[NoahsMyBro]

OK Guys & Gals, UNCLE! (I'm not Catholic. Would this be the appropriate time to say 'Mea Culpa'?)

I understand now. And, like I said before, I really did enjoy the article; I just didn't 'get it' exactly before. Now I do. What I was expecting was more of a 'You have only a few minutes at home to play something, and the industry is more geared toward 40 hour RPGs and other games dependent on SAVEs than it used to be. What do you do?' sort of thing.

Laura - I look forward to your next installment, and I'll definitely try to hit it with a more open mind next time.

Steve
:embarrassed:

PS: Not to hijack the thread, but lately I really feel like I must come across as a real crank. Do you guys see me like that?

[kainemaxwell]

Great article Laura, keep up the good work!

[digitalpress]

I understand now. And, like I said before, I really did enjoy the article; I just didn't 'get it' exactly before. Now I do. What I was expecting was more of a 'You have only a few minutes at home to play something, and the industry is more geared toward 40 hour RPGs and other games dependent on SAVEs than it used to be. What do you do?' sort of thing.

I'm pretty sure that will be the topic of some future installments, but Laura is quite versatile, you see - and I think she's showing that right off the bat. Funny thing is, she wasn't really sure this was a GOOD piece. Which of course makes me want to hang up my pen for good!


PS: Not to hijack the thread, but lately I really feel like I must come across as a real crank. Do you guys see me like that?

Yep. :P

Heh, seriously Steve, those of us who know you know you're not a "crank". A "wanker", perhaps, but never, never NEVER a "crank". Usually never.

[Mayhem]

As usual, I enjoyed every last Laura word ;)

Speaking of Gyruss, any chance of getting that cab for this year's CGE? I wanna go back up against an old friend ;)

[ManekiNeko]

I was kind of relieved when I read the article and discovered that the pizza place wasn't going anywhere. I've seen far too many arcades close in my lifetime and don't want to see more of them suffer the same fate.
So Joe, when's my next MAMExpose article gonna be published?

JR

[digitalpress]

So Joe, when's my next MAMExpose article gonna be published?


You're up next! I want to keep these coming one per week.

[digitalpress]

Laura's column returns today, and the BULLETS ARE FLYING!

http://www.digitpress.com/columns/pressedfortime.htm

Enjoy.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Y'know, remind me not to cross Laura if she's having a bad day. *gulp* O_O

[Keir]

I'd like to "get a little extra furry in dog mode". Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud?

[Atar1G1rl]

I'd like to "get a little extra furry in dog mode". Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud?

Sorry, hehe. All the dirty references are fun to throw in, although a bit predictable now. I'll have to be more creative next time. :D

[Videogamerdaryll]

Awesome...

[zektor]

Hey, I think you did an excellent job!

[digitalpress]

UPDATED this weekend.

Remember those old BBS systems? There's just enough time to nostagicize with Laura in her new column.

http://www.digitpress.com/columns/pressedfortime.htm

[Starcade]

Cool story, looking forward to more.

Keep up the great work!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I too am a veteran of the BBS wars from WAY back - I think I was in fifth grade. It was such a different world back then...remember those C64 boards with their own C64/128-specific online graphics and sound? Like ANSI but fancier. I remember doing the Fidonet thing early on and thinking that this was so insanely cool - the end-all and be-all of being able to communicate with folks far away from me! Even if the messages took 3-4 days to propagate to the full network. I even ran a BBS for quite a while, but it was quite the joke: chugging along on four 5 1/4" floppy drives. I still have the software too! Found it recently while packing some stuff up. I also still remember the mighty Novation CATmodem, zipping along at 300 baud, or you could get the extra board for it which would take up another slot, ribbon-cable it to the CATmodem, and get 1200 baud!

So many memories. Damn, but I've been online for a looooong time.

[Flack]

I was right there with ya. My dad put up (as far as we know) the first IBM BBS in Oklahoma City - "PC-X" (which later became "Backdoor BBS"). We were one of those families with three phone lines -- voice, outgoing data, and incoming data. When no one was dialing out, that line was used as a second node for the BBS (later). I ran one of those floppy based BBS's as well on my C64, "Fortress of Solitude" (I think every town had one of those) which later migrated into The Gas Chamber. I've got a million and one BBS stories, but I'll spare y'all.

Nice article which brought back some great memories.

[digitalpress]

Laura's sophomore season begins with this weekend's update. She happened to pick two games that - while you can probably play them with just a few minutes on your hands - gobble up a TREMENDOUS amount of time when I sit down with them.

I guess the trouble with these quickie games is that there always seems to be time for just ONE more.

It's a great column, give it a look!

http://www.digitpress.com/columns/pressedfortime.htm