Top 25 Arcade Machines – Arcade System Designs
Planning Out The Arcade System Design
Ok, so the first thing we will want to do when planning out our Build It Yourself Arcade Machine is study actual vintage Arcade cabinets to get a feel for how we want to design ours.
I think that this is an important step because I want my Arcade Machine to have a very authentic look and feel to it. I check around online for some good examples of Arcade Cabinets and found some great links on a website called Killer List of Video Games (http://www.klov.com/)
The site has a ton of pictures of Arcade Machine cabinets, Marquees, Screenshots and Artwork. For the purpose of this post we are going to be looking at the shape and dimensions more than artwork.
I have compiled a list of my top 25 favorite arcade machines from when I was growing up and I will be using these as examples for the study.
Top 25 Best Arcade Machines:
01. Asteroids
02. Bubble Bobble
03. Centipede
04. Contra
05. Defender
06. Donkey Kong
07. Final Fight
08. Frogger
09. Galaga
10. Ghost n Goblins
11. Lunar Lander
12. Marble Madness
13. Metal Slug
14. Missle Command
15. Moon Patrol
16. Pac Man
17. Paper Boy
18. Q*bert
19. Raiden
20. Rampage
21. Space Invaders
22. Star Wars
24. Tempest
25. Tron
(This list is basically arcade machines off the top of my head. If you have some better ones you think deserve to be in the list, or have a better example of a good looking cabinet please leave a comment and I consider adding it to the list!)
Observations of Arcade Machine Designs
From studying the similarities in most of these systems we can gain several insights into how to design an authentic feeling Arcade Machine.
The first thing we notice in all the designs in that while the controls and marquee layouts can vary, the display is almost always in the same spot, and same position. Some arcade machines make use of the display in two ways. On some it is horizontal like your standard 4:3 TV displays but on others it is turned on its side to give it a tall, narrow feel which would be good for games like Centipede and Galaga.
For my design I will be utilizing a 4:3 standard display setup as this applies to the majority of games out there. Considering that I am planning to do a miniature arcade machine this means my system will need to be at least 15” wide to accommodate a standard 17” (LCD) monitor.
I will be going with an LCD monitor for this project and will go into more detail on it when we discuss the PC hardware selection in a later post.
The next thing I notice with most of the arcade cabinets is that if you remove the marquee, the lower half and upper half of the cabinet is roughly the same height. For the miniature system I will be making the lower half of the unit about 1/3 the height of the system with the top half being roughly 2/3's of the total size.
I will be doing this to make the unit more compact so it is more convenient to play on a table or desk. This will also help create a smaller unit that is easy to store as it will not take up as much space as a full size arcade machine.
Because I will be making the bottom of the unit smaller I am going to ad a slight slope to the front of the system to create a little wider base on the cabinet for stability.
Another common feature we notice on a lot of these units is that the marquee is usually pushed back farther than the controls. I am guessing this is so people do not bump their head if they are leaning into the system. I will be designing my system with this in mind since on a miniature system this may get in the way of someone’s view if they are sitting over the unit.
A lot of the units we see here also have some sort of shroud around the display which helps block out light from glaring on the screen. I think this is a great idea and will be incorporating it into my design also.
The last major feature we notice on a lot of these units is how the controllers come out from the system at an almost horizontal angle. I would like to copy these designs and make it so my display and controls are at roughly a 120 degree angle from one another, similar to if you have a laptop open with the display tilted back.
Overall this gives us a great idea of where to start with our design.
I now have a good idea of common traits and design features from various Arcade cabinets and can begin to work up some sketches based on what we see here.
A few other things to keep in mind while I work on the design are the following:
- I would like a marquee on the system that actually lights up so I will need to plan for a light kit in the top portion of the system.
- The controls need to be comfortable to use so I will need to utilize the entire width of the system and possibly design them a little wider depending on how the initial mock up feels.
- I want the ability to use a third party controller with the system so I can play it like a console if the mood strikes me. I also plan on designing it so I can hook the system up to my television and play it like a true couch potato, so the ability to use a USB controller with it is a "needed" feature for me.
- Because I want to be able to hook up the system to the TV I will need some sort of “convenient” video out feature on the system so I can connect it to the video in connection on my television.
- I do not plan on using CD/DVD drives with the system so I will be transferring data via a network connection and a USB memory stick. Because of this I will need an accessible network port and USB port somewhere on the system.
- I would like to have a keyboard that is hidden from “normal” use but can quickly and easily fold out if I am doing admin stuff with the system.
- The addition of a track ball mouse on the controller would give the system a more authentic feel for games like pong, breakout, and more. This will need to be worked into the design of the controller.
So overall this covers most of the considerations I need to keep in mind when drawing up sketches for possible design ideas.
In my next post I plan to follow-up with some of the potential designs I have had floating around in my head and try to plan out some concrete designs to work from. Thanks for checking out the site and look forward to my next post on creating our arcade machine design plans.
Planning How to Build a ROM Arcade System
Design Considerations for an Arcade Machine Emulator
What are ROMs and Emulators?
Ok, without any delay let’s just jump right into it and start talking about what we want to do here. We want to build an Arcade System that runs all sorts of different Emulators and ROMs.
Now I will assume that most people who are reading this probably already have a pretty good idea of what Emulation and ROMs are but for those who do not let me give a quick summary.
An Emulator is a software based program that is built to mimic the functions of a piece of hardware. This can range from computers, to calculators and all sorts of other devices. In the realm of gaming we are referring to emulators as being software that emulates various old console gaming systems, like Atari, Nintendo, SEGA, Coleco Vision, Intellevision, etc.
ROMs (Short for “Read Only Memory”) are the files that Emulators run to simulate the games that were designed for these old consoles. There are ROMs for almost every console system ever invented available online. The file type can vary but ROMs are commonly labeled with the *.bin file extension.
So now that we understand what ROMs and Emulators are lets take a look at how to build your own Arcade Machine Emulator.
Do It Yourself Arcade Machine Considerations
Since we are planning to build our own Arcade Machine there are numerous considerations we need to make.
The first most critical consideration I have had to make is “size”. Now I don’t think a lot of people take into consideration size when they are building their system because they either have plenty of space, or just haven’t thought about a lot of the factors that apply to the size of an Arcade Machine.
Now full size units are really cool. They look great and they are very authentic. The only problem is when I first started planning this project I lived in an apartment with VERY limited space. A full size Arcade Machine was out of the question.
This is still a very valid consideration for most people because even if you have a house, you may not have a big enough room for a full size machine or maybe you want to keep it in your bedroom where you already have limited space.
Down the road I will be working on a full size Arcade System but for my first project I am going to focus on making a compact, fully functional, authentic feeling Arcade Machine to resolve some of the issues I listed above.
Whether you are building a full size unit or are planning on making a scaled down Arcade system all the considerations we are listing here are still worth keeping in mind.
Studying Existing Arcade Machine Designs
Once we have decided on the size, we will want to study real Arcade Machines to get a feel for their shape, look and design. Part of giving this project an authentic feel is to accurately reproduce the Arcade Machine design on a miniature scale. Similar to some of the Coleco Mini Arcade Systems out there when we were little.
The main considerations to keep in mind when looking at real Arcade Systems are the display, the display shroud, the speaker placement, the controller layout, and the dimensions and shape. Once we have a good understanding of common design features we can create a layout that borrows from that aesthetic to give our system an authentic Arcade feel.
I will be going into more detail on studying Arcade Machine designs in my next post so look for more details on the next page.
PC Hardware Considerations for an Arcade System
That’s right. All emulators run on computers so essentially we are just building a fancy computer. Fancy in the fact that it looks like an Arcade System not fancy in the fact that it will break the bank.
In fact part of my project requirements are coming up with a cost effective way to build the system so that even those who are on a budget can use my guide for some great ideas on what they will need.
I should let people know that I work full time in the computer industry and I am a project manager for a company that builds custom computers. I am not the authority on all things PC by any means, but I know how to build a great system with budget considerations and I know overkill when I see it.
The hardware considerations may change a little over time which is common with PC hardware.
Since we are Emulating older console systems there is really not much in the way of new hardware that will change the overall design of our system too dramatically.
The main hardware we need to build the system is:
01. Motherboard
02. Processor
03. Memory
04. Power Supply
05. Hard Drive
That’s it! Now I know some of you are saying but what about a video card or CD/DVD-Rom etc. We can add those parts, but for the first project here they are unneeded. I will go into more detail on this later on.
Designing the Interior of the Arcade System
Now this is part of the design process that should have been touched on when we were studying Arcade Machines to get an idea for our initial designs, although sometimes it’s a lot more practical to have the hardware there in front of you to envision how it will fit into the system.
I have actually been mulling over several different internal designs in my head I will be working this out together as I build the system.
The overall idea is you will have a display in the top of the system, which will have speakers near or above it. If you want to go fancy you will have a light kit above the display for a marquee on the system. You will have the bulk of the hardware build into the lower portion of the system, along with a controller, mouse and keyboard built into it.
I have some great ideas for a mouse, & controller layout that I will elaborate on later in the project.
Painting and Graphic Arts for the Arcade System
There are several considerations when it comes to this part of the design. I have dabbled with Art all my life and have been into Graphic Arts and Photoshop since 1997. I have some great ideas and tips for this part of the project that are bound to help people who feel stuck when it comes to this type of stuff.
The main consideration to make is that the system will need to be painted before the hardware and controls are built in to avoid any potential damage to the components. So keeping this in mind it helps to plan out your designs ahead of time.
Also if you are adamant about doing original artwork for your Arcade Machine you can always borrow from the great selection of game related images found online and go to a place like Kinko’s for some professional looking prints or even buy sticker paper and print your own decals.
I will be using a number of techniques when I do my system so that I can outline a bunch of easy to do graphics techniques for the system.
Now the harder part may be the graphics in the system itself. Here we are talking about in the OS of the system to give it that arcade feel. As I mentioned before I am pretty well versed in Photoshop and have some other great ideas on how to make menu systems for your Arcade Machine that will give it a unique feel and can be done by anyone with a little patience.
I will also be sharing some of the graphics and menus apps I create on the site for those who don’t want to have to create their own.
Building a Controller for Your DIY Arcade Machine
Now this is something that eluded me for the longest time when looking at some of the complex controller mock ups and builds that people did for their machines. Just seeing some of those wiring jobs is enough to turn people off to the idea of doing it themselves.
Not to worry. I came up with a great way to create a high quality “authentic” Arcade Controller that does not require you to have a degree in electronics to build. While it may require some patience to build, it is probably one of the easiest options I have seen anywhere aside from buying a prefab controller.
Because we are going for an authentic feel I think this is the best way to go if you are designing your own.
Now Just Load Your Emulators and ROMs and You’re Set!
Hey I don’t have any ROMs yet! Not to worry. We will talk about where to get ROMs and Emulators also. The thing to keep in mind is that there is debate about the legality of downloading ROMs and certain parts of Emulators. (The BIOS).
Since I have owned a lot of different systems throughout my life, I have owned a crap load of games. Many people say as long as you own the game you can download the ROM.
Now I don’t want to get into a philosophical debate on this site about whether it is legal or not. Use your own judgment. There are people out there doing a lot of worse things than downloading ROMs.
Once you have an Emulator and ROM on your system you can test your DIY Arcade Machine to it’s full potential.
Closing Thoughts on the Arcade Machine Rant
If you read through all this, that’s awesome! Thanks so much. This was kind of my preface to the site with lots of stuff that has been rolling around in my head. Let me know what you thought and share any additional comments that you think will help others, or stuff I might have forget that I should add.
This first post is mainly an outline for considerations I will be making during the project. This is not a definitive road map but gives us a good direction to travel in for most of this project.
So thanks for checking out the site, and please check out all the other posts and guides I will be adding in the coming weeks for the DIY ROM Arcade build it yourself Arcade Machine.