Aswald
10-06-2006, 03:08 PM
A long, long, time ago, in the Dream Machine arcade in the Dutchess mall on Route 9, before I even saw "The Empire Strikes Back," I played this gem of a game:
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=W&game_id=10408
It was a vector game, but, by using reflection, and different lighting effects, this machine achieved a beauty not normally possible using just a video display back in those days. This, combined with the fantastic music effects and other things (such as the way a knight spiralled down into one of those pits!), made playing it an experience to remember.
It also brought to mind how unique the arcade scene is to pop culture.
Movies are available on DVDs and videotapes, and it is by no means impossible to arrange a private showing in an actual theater.
Television programs are also available in these formats, and, since they were television programs, seeing them on television is pretty accurate.
Music? iPods, tapes, cds, etc. Plus, even here we have a station that plays music from the 1980s and 1970s.
Books, comics, etc...it's possible to obtain most of it all.
But, the arcade scene is different. Fact is, better than 99% of games that appear in the arcades only last some months, maybe not that long, and then...they are gone. That's it. Yesterday's zoo, so to speak. Unlike those other things, we rely on home versions, which usually aren't up to what the arcade versions were. And, of course, for every arcade game that does make it onto a home version- and, of course, no one console has it all; even in 1983 you'd have needed a Vectrex, ColecoVision, and Atari 5200 in order to get a portion of popular arcade games back then: Frenzy, Qix, and Solar Quest, for example.
Even in this era of emulation, many games are nowhere to be found.
Granted, not EVERY television show or movie is available, but this problem is by far the most obvious with arcade games. And while many old games are still out there- until recently, Super Pac-Man and Fast Freddy were in a laundromat- these are exceptions by far, of no use in a practical sense.
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=W&game_id=10408
It was a vector game, but, by using reflection, and different lighting effects, this machine achieved a beauty not normally possible using just a video display back in those days. This, combined with the fantastic music effects and other things (such as the way a knight spiralled down into one of those pits!), made playing it an experience to remember.
It also brought to mind how unique the arcade scene is to pop culture.
Movies are available on DVDs and videotapes, and it is by no means impossible to arrange a private showing in an actual theater.
Television programs are also available in these formats, and, since they were television programs, seeing them on television is pretty accurate.
Music? iPods, tapes, cds, etc. Plus, even here we have a station that plays music from the 1980s and 1970s.
Books, comics, etc...it's possible to obtain most of it all.
But, the arcade scene is different. Fact is, better than 99% of games that appear in the arcades only last some months, maybe not that long, and then...they are gone. That's it. Yesterday's zoo, so to speak. Unlike those other things, we rely on home versions, which usually aren't up to what the arcade versions were. And, of course, for every arcade game that does make it onto a home version- and, of course, no one console has it all; even in 1983 you'd have needed a Vectrex, ColecoVision, and Atari 5200 in order to get a portion of popular arcade games back then: Frenzy, Qix, and Solar Quest, for example.
Even in this era of emulation, many games are nowhere to be found.
Granted, not EVERY television show or movie is available, but this problem is by far the most obvious with arcade games. And while many old games are still out there- until recently, Super Pac-Man and Fast Freddy were in a laundromat- these are exceptions by far, of no use in a practical sense.