RetroDan16
Newbie
- Credits
- 3CR
Some of you have already seen in the introductions section that I am in the process of writing a book which aims to be a celebration/recollection type thing of all that was good in the arcades in their prime. It's aimed at gamers of a certain age who were lucky enough to be part of a very exciting (and ultimately deflating) part of video gaming history. Rather than being a book about video games (although obviously I will be touching on them slightly!), this is more about the experience of the arcade, the wide variety of people that played the games, the unspoken rules within the arcade, things like that.
The first thing I want to see is if there is enough interest about this. I have to produce some kind of stats to publishers to show that there would be a market for it, even if it is a niche market at that. Most people I've spoken to have been very enthusiastic, if nothing more, it evokes memories which are usually nice ones.
Secondly, a site like this is a perfect reflection of how arcade games have influenced our lives and how we've still kept an interest in them, something else that I think should be written about and encouraged further.
So, I'm looking to people like the people I've found here for help. I am looking for material that could be used within the book, by that I mean your own stories, experiences and memories of arcades (I'm covering mostly 1979-1985, but this is a tentative timescale). What do you remember? What were your experiences of certain games? How did this transfer to the home (i.e. the realisation that Pac Man on your Atari 2600 was NOT like the one in the arcade...)
I am also looking for picture resources. This book is to be a celebration not only of playing the games but their whole personality, how they looked and were designed - the intimidating look of Defender, the colourful invitation to play Pac Man - wood grained loveliness - I think you can see where I'm heading. As many of you own beautiful examples of machines like these, can you help with photography in any way? I'm looking for creative, arty type shots to show the machines off. I'm also looking for pictures of machines in a sorry state, for a piece on the decline of the arcade.
I'll also be illustrating for the book myself, as photos of true British 80's arcades are obviously hard to come by.
Lastly, I'm obviously going to have to write about the games themselves, and to cover a wide spectrum of people, as well as writing about the most obvious games, I want to cover some perhaps lesser known titles (at least to the average person that might have visited arcades from time to time.) I'm putting together a list of games that would have an interesting narrative, from their looks to how they played - but they will not be reviews, merely reminders. History of the games is a secondary priority - there are plenty of good resources to read about that aspect. What games would you like to read about?
I'd love to hear from any of you that might have something you think would work in the book!
The first thing I want to see is if there is enough interest about this. I have to produce some kind of stats to publishers to show that there would be a market for it, even if it is a niche market at that. Most people I've spoken to have been very enthusiastic, if nothing more, it evokes memories which are usually nice ones.
Secondly, a site like this is a perfect reflection of how arcade games have influenced our lives and how we've still kept an interest in them, something else that I think should be written about and encouraged further.
So, I'm looking to people like the people I've found here for help. I am looking for material that could be used within the book, by that I mean your own stories, experiences and memories of arcades (I'm covering mostly 1979-1985, but this is a tentative timescale). What do you remember? What were your experiences of certain games? How did this transfer to the home (i.e. the realisation that Pac Man on your Atari 2600 was NOT like the one in the arcade...)
I am also looking for picture resources. This book is to be a celebration not only of playing the games but their whole personality, how they looked and were designed - the intimidating look of Defender, the colourful invitation to play Pac Man - wood grained loveliness - I think you can see where I'm heading. As many of you own beautiful examples of machines like these, can you help with photography in any way? I'm looking for creative, arty type shots to show the machines off. I'm also looking for pictures of machines in a sorry state, for a piece on the decline of the arcade.
I'll also be illustrating for the book myself, as photos of true British 80's arcades are obviously hard to come by.
Lastly, I'm obviously going to have to write about the games themselves, and to cover a wide spectrum of people, as well as writing about the most obvious games, I want to cover some perhaps lesser known titles (at least to the average person that might have visited arcades from time to time.) I'm putting together a list of games that would have an interesting narrative, from their looks to how they played - but they will not be reviews, merely reminders. History of the games is a secondary priority - there are plenty of good resources to read about that aspect. What games would you like to read about?
I'd love to hear from any of you that might have something you think would work in the book!
