defscreenmax.gif-Space Invaders -Spy Hunter -Gauntlet -Joust -Tempest -Donkey Kong… Recognize them? Can you see them in your mind’s eye? Then you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.

High Score. THE High Score. Ahh the bragging rights of getting those 3 letters on the high score list. It was the pinnacle for any arcade player. It was like a calling card, a flag to proudly plant in newly attained territory. Getting on that list multiple times? Now you’re just flaunting it. DRZ was my flag. Just the 3 simple letters carried such weight back then. It was the only real measure of success in arcade games. Each player’s was unique. Posting a high score and watching other players try to best it, that was the pastime. That and taking a run at someone else’s score. (There was an entire episode of Seinfeld about it.)

We spent our young lives in dark arcades, spending so much time there we knew every seam in the carpet, every cigarette burn in the cabinets. We knew which machines needed to have that damn fire button that always seem to get stuck at the worst possible time fixed. We knew which machines rejected your quarter while also giving you a credit.

To grow up during what is now referred to as the “Golden Age of Video Games” was a special thing indeed.

You see, not all arcades were created equal, one was always yours. You knew the regulars, hell you were the regulars. Playing there was like playing a home game. Going to another arcade was like taking the show on the road. Nothing’s better than walking into a new arcade, and taking on and taking down their regulars.
Home field for me? It was Aladdin’s Castle, across the street from the mall. When it closed, we all moved to Time-Out.
You knew each other, what games they played. Rarely did you know anyone’s name though. Very little talking went on. But we all respected each other. Some more than others. Respect wasn’t measured in age, coolness, or money, but pure skill. A 9 year-old that kicked serious ass in Berzerk! got the high-fives and back slaps. The arcade cabinet was the great equalizer.

SF2.gifThat of course started to change when the fighting games came around. It wasn’t really about score anymore. Then it was defeat or be defeated. Winning a match meant playing the next game for free. It was the birth of the saying, “Winner Stays, Loser Pays.” The row of quarters to denote your place in line. A spot in the queue to take your shot at glory. Of course a 9 year-old with serious Street Fighter II skills still got the high-fives and back slaps.

I’m sure it’s hard for younger generations to understand the magic of the arcade, it’s certainly part of a bygone era. Back then all you could get at home was the Atari 2600, and before that pong, and while it offered some great games it just couldn’t compare to the graphics or complexity of the arcade games. And while arcades were popping up across the land, you could find game machines anywhere. You’d see them in 7-Elevens, Pizza places, car dealerships, every hotel, etc. Older places sometimes still have a game room area, and if you’re lucky it’s still got a few games, but for the most part they’ve all been removed.

buttons.gifThere are some out there that’ll tell me arcades are still around, to which I say you’ve obviously never went to a real arcade. Places like Gameworks and Dave & Buster’s do not count. They’re family fun centers. They have a few machines spaced far apart, next to ball pits and instant photo booths. Which is fine, but it’s not even remotely the same thing.
-First of all these new places are always very well light, which is a big no-no. It makes screen glare more of a problem, and ruins some of the allure. (the decision to start lighting these places so brightly I believe is one of the reasons arcades died out) And I do not, repeat DO NOT need or want a laser tag arena or rollercoaster in my arcade. Just games, and a machine to dispense quarters.
-Secondly the way we play games has fundamentally changed. Games have evolved to a point now where plot and story play the important role. Back then you couldn’t beat a game, it went on forever until you died. Score was the only possible measure. Now we look at completion percentage, how long it took, etc. It’s just a different way now, for better and for worse.
-Lastly the need for the arcade to exist has pretty much ceased. Home gaming is at such an advanced level now it’d be impossible for arcades to compete. It’s a similar situation right now in movie theaters. People have DTS surround, huge-screen TV’s. They can get just as good or better at home. Why go to the movies? Sad but true.

xSpy_Hunter.gifIt not that I feel bad for kids today, they have xbox live, playstation online, and incredible consoles we never even dreamed about. I feel bad for me, cause if they were still around, I’d still be there.

Maybe the memory, like so much about our youths, it better than the reality. Maybe it wasn’t really special at all. Maybe it was just another fad moving through the country, like roller rinks and discos. But whether it is or isn’t is beside the point. What’s definite is that we can never go back, and THAT makes it all the more special.
I can tell you my memories of that time are special, they remind me of a magical time in my life where I was discovering my own boundaries, my own limits. I’ve never been an athlete, but I could compete in the arcade. Inside the screen, in the ether of bits & bytes & pixels & sprites, I was on an even playing field.

A large part of my life has been taken up by video games, and I’ve had some really great memories. But nothing in my gaming life will ever compare to those times spent at the arcade.

What about you? Let’s hear your take on your time at the arcade.
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