I will never forget when they opened the first Play Land Arcade in my hometown. Looking back, it was little more than an abandoned laundry mat that someone had gutted so they could make room for a dozen or so games and line them up against the back wall. We did not care that the drop ceiling was covered in water stains and that only half of the fluorescent lights worked.
And though the owner was a scary beer swilling troll who spent his day watching a little black and white TV in the closet he called his office, every Saturday we would somehow find our way to what we fondly esteemed as a veritable Mecca of entertainment. As long as none of our quarters got stuck in the machine and the bill changer was working, we would try desperately not to disturb the surly oaf. But if his skills were required, only then would we be left with no choice but to hasten the beast from its lair.
The biggest problem we had when we had to call him to come and help us was when he opened that little door on the gaming machines holding all the coins. It was impossible not to stare at a specific part of exposed anatomy as he bent over to fix the problem. There are some images that are just to difficult to get out of your mind and they haunt you forever.
Some of those classic early titles like Donkey Kong and Galaga will definitely always be close to my heart. This is definitely not because they were such amazing video games, but they represented simpler times in my life. Many would say arcades these days offer a much improved gaming experience to the public, but personally I would need to disagree with this.
The newer games at gaming arcades are visually over stimulating and many don't appreciate the value of 2D games require some hand eye coordination and some imagination. You don't need those tokens, tickets and the loads of junk in those glass showcases. All I want is one of those monochrome monoliths from the old arcades and I will be able to play for hours. Oh, and a hand full of quarters please.
About the Author:
If you are looking for some casual games like parking mania and mahjong solitaire then you can enjoy them at skillpod.com.
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