Video Beer Gut
Remember the old video arcade?
In the 1970s I was a teenager growing up in a small town in the midwest. Although the systems home video game had just left, who always seemed to pale in comparison with the type of games that were available in the local websites that were emerging in the time. I do not remember what our first game system on the continent and called, but basically there were three different versions of pong. Do not ask me why, but when the table every one of us had two scoops called "Hockey". Go figure. The only other thing I remember was that system came with a big gun in red, which were going to film the frantic as a ghost pong square bouncing across the screen. Looking back, it seems crazy they were so fascinated by the movement of the white squares of the house. But he began the hunger of a weekly trip to consume quarter games room.
In fact, the predecessor of the arch was probably the local pizzeria or service station. In those days, the landlord must invest in one game, usually Pac Man or Asteroids, and then hide in some dark corner of the store with the hope of generating a little extra income. Not sure to find a gang of teenagers spastic children in hooded sweatshirts with fingers flying in the flickering light of the latest version of Bally. I like to think of the amount of money I spent hours consuming maneuvers that stick in our local 7-11, the left hand driving the big red ball and hitting the button right franticly dirty white. But the sticky soda pop soaked floors service station soon gave way to a lot of locally owned and operated video games.
I'll never forget when they opened the first "Play Arcade Land "in my hometown. Looking back, it was little more than a laundry mat that someone had gutted abandoned so they could give rise to a dozen games in a row against the back wall. We did not care that the ceiling was covered with water spots and only half of the fluorescent lights worked. And although the owner was a beer swilling fear troll who spent his day to see a little black and white TV in the closet, called his office every Saturday to find that somehow our way to what such high regard fondly as a true entertainment mecca. As long as none of our quarters jammed in the machine and the changer Bill was working, we would try desperately not to disturb the surly lout. But if their skills were needed, only then we would be more choice but to accelerate the beast in his lair. As he knelt down to open the small door that revealed the magic compartment holding all the change, would do everything possible to avoid the gaze on the part of his anatomy that reveals itself as, like clockwork, his tool belt would be too heavy for your jeans dirty. Some images are too vivid to suppress.
However, titles like Galaga, Donkey Kong and Centipede will always have a special place in my memory. Not because they grew up playing video games, but because they represent a simpler time of life. Although I'm pretty sure most players that support that modern video portals have dramatically improved the experience of public game, I have to respectfully disagree. In summary, we have been visual stimulated and therefore no longer appreciate the value of a good ol '2D game that requires only basic hand eye coordination and a little imagination. Moreover, you need tickets, tokens, and a boat load of scrap price in a glass case? Give me a black and white monolith and the archways of age at any time. If you are trying to find a good list of ofvideo galleries, visit www.arcadepages.info/
Pages Arcade is a national directory of video games and of California video arcades
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Fred Fish Author Humor, Satire, Life
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