Arcade
In this section i will be covering the gaming platform of arcade games. Firstly, what is an Arcade game? Well, below is a brief timeline highlighting the main technical developments of arcade machines, from the beginning to the present, showing the relevant developments to reach the final product.
Timeline:
1958
It wasn't until 1958 that the technology available was good enough to create a video games. The first video game ever created was named Tennis for Two, which was created in 1958 by a physics graduate named Higinbotham. This video game featured a blip of light, which bounced off a horizontal line at the bottom of a tiny five inch diameter oscilloscope scree. Players controlled the game by using a handheld metal box, which had a button and a dial. These were the first game controllers ever made too. The future of arcade machines rested upon the popularity of this machine, and it was indeed a big success. On October 18, it was showcased at the Brookhaven National Labs, where hundreds of visitors waited for hours in line just to play it.
1961
In 1961, a group of MIT students created a new game named Spacewar! This game had two players controlling space ships, which they had to use to fire at each other. This simple game became the first influential computer game.
1966
In 1996 a device named the Brown Box was invented, this device built by Bill Harrison and Ralph Baer was the first ever home video game console. The console played the video game named Corndog which was subsequently the first game to be played on a standard television set. While this may be considered significant in the consoles timeline, it is also an important development in arcade history too, as it showed how powerful technology was at the time, and led onto the development of an in built system of games and screens.
1967/ 1968
The following year Harrison and Baer went on to develop the first light gun. A light gun is an accessory which is shaped like a gun, and when aimed at the screen of a TV which has a console hooked up to it. This was achieved through the inclusion of a Photodiode within the barrel of the gun. This is something which can be found within cameras. This Photodiode is able to sense light emitting from the screen , this combined with a trigger switch creates an output that when fired, the gun is able to track whereabouts it is being aimed at the screen. While on the other end, the screen drivers send pulses to the computer which allows the computer to know where on the screen the electon beam is aimed at each frame. The computer blanks the screen and then paints the target object white. This is how the photodiode senses darkness after one vertical retrace signal, and then light after the next. This allows the computer to assume that the gun is pointed at the target. This is why the screen can be seen flashing black in the more primitive video games featuring such devices, such as Duck Hunt. However in 1968, this system was applied to target shooting game perfected by Baer.
1971
The 1970s was the beginning of the arcade golden age, as this is when arcade games began to develop quicker and more efficiently, thanks to the discovered technology above. But what classifies as an arcade machine? Well i will go into more detail about this below, but a common convention is to have coin operated systems. The first coin operated arcade machine was first made in 1971, and what was named the Galaxy Game. First installed at Stanford University. It was a version of Spacewar! and cost around $20000 to build. The game cost 10 cents to play and the wait times to play the game went up to as much as 1 hour until it was finally removed from campus in 1979 due to damage to the screen.
1972
The year of PONG. This game is umongst one of the most famous arcade games, and is often misreported as being the first video game. This was a simple tennis game which had 2D graphics of rectangles which the players had to move to bounce a square back and forth, trying to score a point by making the other player miss the "Ball". PONG Quickly became the first commercially successful coin operated video arcade game in history and was created by Atari inc, founded by Bushnell and Dabney. By 1974 Atari inc. had sold more than 8000 units.
1980's
With the enormous success of the early video game arcades which began cropping up over the years after PONG, along with their individual improvements, many game developers saw their opportunities in this new and upcoming market and began manufacturing a varied amount video arcade games. One of the most famous examples of an arcade success is that of Donkey Kong, a Nintendo title created in 1981. The late 70's and early 80's are considered the golden age because of this new boom in the market, with dozens of new creations and technological advances due to adaptions of each game, and was home to some of the most infamously known video games around such as Pac-Man or Space Invaders, all of which became common in places such as pubs or restaurants.
2000's
As other gaming genres began overtaking arcade games in terms of tech, the arcade genre began to die down, and it became more of a novelty than it did a popular format. Evidence of this can be seen by lack of developments in the early 2000's. The most notable development however, can be seen in 2010, where the arcade machines Dead Heat Street Racing introduced sharing scores through social media, and to take pictures of the racer to show on screen. I believe this to be an important development and point on the timeline as it shows that although the Arcade platform can be considered more of an older out of date way to play, it is still able to adapt to the modern times, showing that we should not forget about the platform just yet. Finally, the last major advancement so far in the arcade gaming platform to date is the 4D gaming experience able to be created through arcade machines. This 4D gaming experience is created through combining surround sound, 3D glasses, vibrations, heart rate monitors, and blasts of air, all to increase the immersion of gaming. Such a combination can be seen with the arcade machine Dark Escape 4D, created in 2013. Arcade is a perfect platform for a 4D experience, as the already large requirement for space fits well with the need for such space when adding all of these new components.
Clearly there is still a place for arcade in this ever evolving gaming market, as it serves as a good test platform for further development into other gaming media. I believe this because what made consoles popular was the size of the device, which could only be done after creating a larger original model to shrink down. This is what arcade machines are. And so when looking at new technology such as 4D and virtual reality, odds are there's going to be a much larger less practical model before we have perfected the design. Arcade is therefore a medium for developers to use to not only make a profit out of the development, but also money from them as well.
Timeline:
1958
It wasn't until 1958 that the technology available was good enough to create a video games. The first video game ever created was named Tennis for Two, which was created in 1958 by a physics graduate named Higinbotham. This video game featured a blip of light, which bounced off a horizontal line at the bottom of a tiny five inch diameter oscilloscope scree. Players controlled the game by using a handheld metal box, which had a button and a dial. These were the first game controllers ever made too. The future of arcade machines rested upon the popularity of this machine, and it was indeed a big success. On October 18, it was showcased at the Brookhaven National Labs, where hundreds of visitors waited for hours in line just to play it.
1961
In 1961, a group of MIT students created a new game named Spacewar! This game had two players controlling space ships, which they had to use to fire at each other. This simple game became the first influential computer game.
1966
In 1996 a device named the Brown Box was invented, this device built by Bill Harrison and Ralph Baer was the first ever home video game console. The console played the video game named Corndog which was subsequently the first game to be played on a standard television set. While this may be considered significant in the consoles timeline, it is also an important development in arcade history too, as it showed how powerful technology was at the time, and led onto the development of an in built system of games and screens.
1967/ 1968
The following year Harrison and Baer went on to develop the first light gun. A light gun is an accessory which is shaped like a gun, and when aimed at the screen of a TV which has a console hooked up to it. This was achieved through the inclusion of a Photodiode within the barrel of the gun. This is something which can be found within cameras. This Photodiode is able to sense light emitting from the screen , this combined with a trigger switch creates an output that when fired, the gun is able to track whereabouts it is being aimed at the screen. While on the other end, the screen drivers send pulses to the computer which allows the computer to know where on the screen the electon beam is aimed at each frame. The computer blanks the screen and then paints the target object white. This is how the photodiode senses darkness after one vertical retrace signal, and then light after the next. This allows the computer to assume that the gun is pointed at the target. This is why the screen can be seen flashing black in the more primitive video games featuring such devices, such as Duck Hunt. However in 1968, this system was applied to target shooting game perfected by Baer.
1971
The 1970s was the beginning of the arcade golden age, as this is when arcade games began to develop quicker and more efficiently, thanks to the discovered technology above. But what classifies as an arcade machine? Well i will go into more detail about this below, but a common convention is to have coin operated systems. The first coin operated arcade machine was first made in 1971, and what was named the Galaxy Game. First installed at Stanford University. It was a version of Spacewar! and cost around $20000 to build. The game cost 10 cents to play and the wait times to play the game went up to as much as 1 hour until it was finally removed from campus in 1979 due to damage to the screen.
1972
The year of PONG. This game is umongst one of the most famous arcade games, and is often misreported as being the first video game. This was a simple tennis game which had 2D graphics of rectangles which the players had to move to bounce a square back and forth, trying to score a point by making the other player miss the "Ball". PONG Quickly became the first commercially successful coin operated video arcade game in history and was created by Atari inc, founded by Bushnell and Dabney. By 1974 Atari inc. had sold more than 8000 units.
1980's
With the enormous success of the early video game arcades which began cropping up over the years after PONG, along with their individual improvements, many game developers saw their opportunities in this new and upcoming market and began manufacturing a varied amount video arcade games. One of the most famous examples of an arcade success is that of Donkey Kong, a Nintendo title created in 1981. The late 70's and early 80's are considered the golden age because of this new boom in the market, with dozens of new creations and technological advances due to adaptions of each game, and was home to some of the most infamously known video games around such as Pac-Man or Space Invaders, all of which became common in places such as pubs or restaurants.
2000's
As other gaming genres began overtaking arcade games in terms of tech, the arcade genre began to die down, and it became more of a novelty than it did a popular format. Evidence of this can be seen by lack of developments in the early 2000's. The most notable development however, can be seen in 2010, where the arcade machines Dead Heat Street Racing introduced sharing scores through social media, and to take pictures of the racer to show on screen. I believe this to be an important development and point on the timeline as it shows that although the Arcade platform can be considered more of an older out of date way to play, it is still able to adapt to the modern times, showing that we should not forget about the platform just yet. Finally, the last major advancement so far in the arcade gaming platform to date is the 4D gaming experience able to be created through arcade machines. This 4D gaming experience is created through combining surround sound, 3D glasses, vibrations, heart rate monitors, and blasts of air, all to increase the immersion of gaming. Such a combination can be seen with the arcade machine Dark Escape 4D, created in 2013. Arcade is a perfect platform for a 4D experience, as the already large requirement for space fits well with the need for such space when adding all of these new components.
Clearly there is still a place for arcade in this ever evolving gaming market, as it serves as a good test platform for further development into other gaming media. I believe this because what made consoles popular was the size of the device, which could only be done after creating a larger original model to shrink down. This is what arcade machines are. And so when looking at new technology such as 4D and virtual reality, odds are there's going to be a much larger less practical model before we have perfected the design. Arcade is therefore a medium for developers to use to not only make a profit out of the development, but also money from them as well.
Features:
With the development history of the the arcade machine covered, its now time to look more specifically at the features of what makes an arcade game an arcade game. For starters, i will look at the coin operated aspect.
Coin Operated:
Out of all the different gaming platforms, the arcade machine is the only one to feature a coin operated system. This is a common way of recognizing a true arcade game or not, as it will require the player to insert a certain amount of cash each time the game is played. This means that after the player loses or dies in the game, they are forced to pay to play again. This is why Arcade machines brought in a large amount of income in the 70s and 80s, as there would be arcades set up specifically to house all sorts of video game arcade machines for people to use. The reason they were so popular in this time period wasn't just because they were the new trend, but also because of the technology available at that time. By this i mean that in the 70s and 80s, there were few consoles which people would have within their home, and even if they did, they would be expensive and therefore uncommon within a lot of households. This will be seen within the console segment. Its because of this that people were forced to go to arcades or pubs etc to play, and to pay for each game. However due to the prices of consoles of that era, parents would often prefer their children spend money on arcade machines, as it would in theory be cheaper. In addition to this, because of the nature of arcade machines, being bulky and unnecessary to move, it allowed for more hardware to be packed within it, making for a more complex and enjoyable game compared to the small living room friendly consoles. Once again, this further reflects the popularity of arcade machines now, as such technology can now be compressed into simple programs for a computer. This is what is called emulators.
Emulators:
As technology advances, so does the capabilities of systems. This is why games which required a huge amount of hardware such as the Pac-Man arcade game can now be played on almost every laptop. In fact, emulated video games have become very popular in the last few years, especially with the arcade machine platform quickly disappearing due to its outdated values. To remain close to video gaming roots however, many different websites have began appearing which contain a vast library of emulated arcade games, allowing people to enjoy the retro arcade games in their own home on their own computers. An example of this is MAME. MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, and is a program which once downloaded allows the player to choose from many video games which play just like their original arcade ancestors. This is done by taking the ROM and Disk Data from the arcade machines and reproduce it using current technologies processing power. Projects such as MAME are non profit organisations which are set up specifically to keep a link to the past, not just for profit gain.
Vector-based:
When looking at arcade machines, there are often two types of games you can find. The first is vector based games. This is where the video game is created using vector based graphics, which involve 2D images played on the screen. Unlike Raster images however, these vector based graphics had the capability to appear more detailed, as raster images were blocky and pixelated images. This is why they were popular within arcade machine games, as it gave the games appearance a much nicer and unique look, as apposed to the very early raster based pixel games such as Space Invaders. Below you can see that the game takes on a very pixelated appearance, wheres if you look at a vector based arcade game of the similar time period, such as Space Fury, the game takes on a very different appearance. How vector based graphics worked for arcade machines was through the use of lasers which were projected at specific mathematical locations to paint an image on the screen. These images were then moved around the screen. An example of this can be seen from the Star Wars game to the left. The downside to using this type of graphic however, was that they only played in monochrome colors. This means black and white. Wheres Raster images could be loaded with different colors. This is why many arcades have a screen coated in a special colored overlay. By having this, it made the lasers appear a different color, making it less dull to look at. As this technology evolved, arcade machines began using techniques such as having two different colored overlays which could be switched between each other using lighting, adding even more variation to the on screen color.
With the development history of the the arcade machine covered, its now time to look more specifically at the features of what makes an arcade game an arcade game. For starters, i will look at the coin operated aspect.
Coin Operated:
Out of all the different gaming platforms, the arcade machine is the only one to feature a coin operated system. This is a common way of recognizing a true arcade game or not, as it will require the player to insert a certain amount of cash each time the game is played. This means that after the player loses or dies in the game, they are forced to pay to play again. This is why Arcade machines brought in a large amount of income in the 70s and 80s, as there would be arcades set up specifically to house all sorts of video game arcade machines for people to use. The reason they were so popular in this time period wasn't just because they were the new trend, but also because of the technology available at that time. By this i mean that in the 70s and 80s, there were few consoles which people would have within their home, and even if they did, they would be expensive and therefore uncommon within a lot of households. This will be seen within the console segment. Its because of this that people were forced to go to arcades or pubs etc to play, and to pay for each game. However due to the prices of consoles of that era, parents would often prefer their children spend money on arcade machines, as it would in theory be cheaper. In addition to this, because of the nature of arcade machines, being bulky and unnecessary to move, it allowed for more hardware to be packed within it, making for a more complex and enjoyable game compared to the small living room friendly consoles. Once again, this further reflects the popularity of arcade machines now, as such technology can now be compressed into simple programs for a computer. This is what is called emulators.
Emulators:
As technology advances, so does the capabilities of systems. This is why games which required a huge amount of hardware such as the Pac-Man arcade game can now be played on almost every laptop. In fact, emulated video games have become very popular in the last few years, especially with the arcade machine platform quickly disappearing due to its outdated values. To remain close to video gaming roots however, many different websites have began appearing which contain a vast library of emulated arcade games, allowing people to enjoy the retro arcade games in their own home on their own computers. An example of this is MAME. MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, and is a program which once downloaded allows the player to choose from many video games which play just like their original arcade ancestors. This is done by taking the ROM and Disk Data from the arcade machines and reproduce it using current technologies processing power. Projects such as MAME are non profit organisations which are set up specifically to keep a link to the past, not just for profit gain.
Vector-based:
When looking at arcade machines, there are often two types of games you can find. The first is vector based games. This is where the video game is created using vector based graphics, which involve 2D images played on the screen. Unlike Raster images however, these vector based graphics had the capability to appear more detailed, as raster images were blocky and pixelated images. This is why they were popular within arcade machine games, as it gave the games appearance a much nicer and unique look, as apposed to the very early raster based pixel games such as Space Invaders. Below you can see that the game takes on a very pixelated appearance, wheres if you look at a vector based arcade game of the similar time period, such as Space Fury, the game takes on a very different appearance. How vector based graphics worked for arcade machines was through the use of lasers which were projected at specific mathematical locations to paint an image on the screen. These images were then moved around the screen. An example of this can be seen from the Star Wars game to the left. The downside to using this type of graphic however, was that they only played in monochrome colors. This means black and white. Wheres Raster images could be loaded with different colors. This is why many arcades have a screen coated in a special colored overlay. By having this, it made the lasers appear a different color, making it less dull to look at. As this technology evolved, arcade machines began using techniques such as having two different colored overlays which could be switched between each other using lighting, adding even more variation to the on screen color.
Laser Disc-Based:
As well as vector and raster based arcade machines, there was also another very popular format in its time. This was laser disk based arcade machines. These machines had laser disc players at their heart, which allowed for a very different game play. The invention of lase disk technology first arose in 1978, and can be considered an analog version of a DVD. The capabilities of laser discs were greater than the other game types in respect to graphics, and many popular games such as Astron Belt, Dragon's Lair, and Galaxy Ranger were a result of it. Its easy to spot a laser disc game, as they have a very distinctive look. Below you can see a video of game play from a game named Cliff Hanger Stern, created in 1983.
As well as vector and raster based arcade machines, there was also another very popular format in its time. This was laser disk based arcade machines. These machines had laser disc players at their heart, which allowed for a very different game play. The invention of lase disk technology first arose in 1978, and can be considered an analog version of a DVD. The capabilities of laser discs were greater than the other game types in respect to graphics, and many popular games such as Astron Belt, Dragon's Lair, and Galaxy Ranger were a result of it. Its easy to spot a laser disc game, as they have a very distinctive look. Below you can see a video of game play from a game named Cliff Hanger Stern, created in 1983.
From this video, you can see a varied amount of conventions commonly found to distinguish laser disc arcade games. For starters the games graphics were always centered around comic book or 80's cartoons aesthetics. A good way to compare the graphics is by looking to see whether the games graphics match that of the images printed on the arcade machines case. Because arcade machines were so bulky, it allowed a lot of room for images to be printed on them. This was to make them stand out from each other, and to entice people to play them, much like a games case does nowadays. This can be seen by the image to the side, which backs up this point, as here is the arcade box and cover of the game above. You can see how accurate the real life art reflects the graphics, compared to other arcade devices such as Pac-man and its printed graphics.
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Secondly, the games were very animated. Because laser discs specialized in video format, it meant that a lot of the games featured many animations and movie clips, which could be moved using the controller. As well as richly detailed animations, laser discs allowed for voice acting and a soundtrack to go with it, which was uncommon in a lot of video games, being restricted to simple sounds played over again. The downside to this type of game however was that due to the huge formats size, it became a lot more common for failures to occur, another reason why emulation has become important to keep the relics of the past going, as we now have the technology to keep these games running, whereas in the past once it fails, its gone for good.
Limitations:
While there are numerous advantages to arcade machines, such as the extra income and popularity of establishments, provide a higher quality of gaming compared to other consoles of their time, and allow for a more social environment to play, they also have limitations as well.
The first of which is the size. As i have mentioned above, arcade machines are typically very large, as they must fit all the processors, as well as the TV screen within one device. This makes them a hassle when coming to do things such as repairing them. This brings me onto my next point, their reliability. Because arcade machines are becoming more and more out of date, it means that the remaining arcade machines are more primitive to the technology we have today. What this means is that they are also more unstable and prone to corrupting. When this happens, unlike other platforms of gaming such as consoles, one cannot just send it off to be fixed, a repair man usually has to come and fix it where it is.
Another limitation to these devices is the lack of save features. As opposed to a household console, arcade machines have no save feature, so once you have to stop playing, the progress you have made is gone forever and you must pay to replay what you have done next time. The only save feature arcades have are that of the scoreboard, which saves the best players score. This is there to add a more competitive aspect, and to show who is the best around by looking at who ranks number one. Aside from this however, it can become a pain for a player to replay the same thing over and over again if it is an arcade game based on repetition. This limitation therefore also effects what type of games are made for arcades, as they usually need to be repetitive in nature to make up for a lack of saving. An example of this is could be Pac-Man, as the only goal is to eat all the pallets on the screen. Upon doing this, you then go to the next level which, although having a different map, still consists of the same objective. Having games which work well on console might not work well on arcade however, as a lot of games focus on variety and story these days, which makes saving and multiple play times to complete. This is why the arcade genre is dying, as developers are focusing on the main market of consoles, which cannot be adapted to conform with the arcade systems.
The final and most impacting aspect i will be covering is the fact that games cannot be changed within the system. Or at least not with ease. An arcade machine is constructed specifically around one game, and so if you want to play a different game, you have to find a completely different machine. This lack of accessibility makes it more of a pain and a lot more hassle that simply hooking a console up to a TV and having multiple games to swap between.
Limitations:
While there are numerous advantages to arcade machines, such as the extra income and popularity of establishments, provide a higher quality of gaming compared to other consoles of their time, and allow for a more social environment to play, they also have limitations as well.
The first of which is the size. As i have mentioned above, arcade machines are typically very large, as they must fit all the processors, as well as the TV screen within one device. This makes them a hassle when coming to do things such as repairing them. This brings me onto my next point, their reliability. Because arcade machines are becoming more and more out of date, it means that the remaining arcade machines are more primitive to the technology we have today. What this means is that they are also more unstable and prone to corrupting. When this happens, unlike other platforms of gaming such as consoles, one cannot just send it off to be fixed, a repair man usually has to come and fix it where it is.
Another limitation to these devices is the lack of save features. As opposed to a household console, arcade machines have no save feature, so once you have to stop playing, the progress you have made is gone forever and you must pay to replay what you have done next time. The only save feature arcades have are that of the scoreboard, which saves the best players score. This is there to add a more competitive aspect, and to show who is the best around by looking at who ranks number one. Aside from this however, it can become a pain for a player to replay the same thing over and over again if it is an arcade game based on repetition. This limitation therefore also effects what type of games are made for arcades, as they usually need to be repetitive in nature to make up for a lack of saving. An example of this is could be Pac-Man, as the only goal is to eat all the pallets on the screen. Upon doing this, you then go to the next level which, although having a different map, still consists of the same objective. Having games which work well on console might not work well on arcade however, as a lot of games focus on variety and story these days, which makes saving and multiple play times to complete. This is why the arcade genre is dying, as developers are focusing on the main market of consoles, which cannot be adapted to conform with the arcade systems.
The final and most impacting aspect i will be covering is the fact that games cannot be changed within the system. Or at least not with ease. An arcade machine is constructed specifically around one game, and so if you want to play a different game, you have to find a completely different machine. This lack of accessibility makes it more of a pain and a lot more hassle that simply hooking a console up to a TV and having multiple games to swap between.
Definition:
So an arcade machine is a large device, which consists of a large case. Within the case there is a built in screen, and a game engine, accompanied by the controls to play the game. Arcade machines are specifically designed to allow people to play video games without needing anything but a power source, as it includes everything needed all packed up together. the main purpose of an arcade machine is to create profit for the business which owns them. This is through the coin operated system arcade machines usually have. The coin operated system means that players must insert a small amount of change into the machine to start the game up, and when a game is very popular and many different people wish to play, it can create a big revenue.
So an arcade machine is a large device, which consists of a large case. Within the case there is a built in screen, and a game engine, accompanied by the controls to play the game. Arcade machines are specifically designed to allow people to play video games without needing anything but a power source, as it includes everything needed all packed up together. the main purpose of an arcade machine is to create profit for the business which owns them. This is through the coin operated system arcade machines usually have. The coin operated system means that players must insert a small amount of change into the machine to start the game up, and when a game is very popular and many different people wish to play, it can create a big revenue.