KnockBack, Episode 68: The Arcade
Added 2019-05-30 16:00:03 +0000 UTCVideo gaming began after World War II, when primitive punch card and oscilloscope games were played exclusively on university and government supercomputers. But what started as a small niche for the educated and elite quickly found its way into venues every person could enjoy, like bars, lounges, and restaurants. Before you knew it, pinball machines were everywhere, and by the late-'70s, so too were arcade machines. Space Invaders. Pac-Man. Galaga. Arkanoid. While it may be hard for the younger generations to fully grapple with, for older gamers, the arcade really meant something. And it still does today. So let's hearken back to a time before smart phones, or even the Internet. Hell, let's even hearken back to a time before mainstream home console gaming, and show our appreciation for the quarter-gobbling machines that spawned one of modern entertainment's most vital verticals.
Comments
Thanks, I hope it brought a wee smile to your day :)
Lou & Rei Loper
2019-06-27 21:31:18 +0000 UTCNice story, dude. Glad you got to relive those glory days. =)
Colin Moriarty
2019-06-27 21:02:07 +0000 UTCGrowing up in the arcades (I'm 39 now), I would give almost ANYTHING to go back in time and put my quarter up on the machine. I'd stay ALLLLLL day long playing fighting games, the sounds, the crowds, the atmosphere...nothing like it. We recently/finally got married at the end of April and while on our honeymoon we ended up driving to Maine (from Delaware) and stumbled upon a random mall and bowling alley....and inside that alley was a real life honest to God PROPER arcade. I wanted to cry (not joking). They had probably 30 machines and games or so and just hearing the attract sounds of the old fighting games like Street Fighter 3 and Marvel vs Capcom 2...I'm telling you man, I wanted to cry. She gave me PLENTY of time to just stand there in the middle of the place for a solid 3 minutes or so and just take in the sound. Then I got lucky and found the SF3 machine had a few credits on it unused so I got to sit down and enjoy playing the greatness in an arcade at least one last time. I almost got a free game of MvC2 in but some guy slid through and snagged the free credit up before I got there haha. We were on a time crunch, so I didn't press that issue since I still got some Street Fighter in. A fantastic honeymoon (other things happened, but c'mon we all know the arcade is the cherry on top of our road trip lol)
Lou & Rei Loper
2019-06-10 20:23:36 +0000 UTCHell yeah. Nice memory. =)
Colin Moriarty
2019-06-06 20:28:25 +0000 UTCIn Portland you pay a flat fee at Ground Kontrol and can enjoy "free play" all night. It helps out with pinball a lot, but having unlimited continues takes the challenge out of everything.
Joseph Ady
2019-06-06 18:01:30 +0000 UTCMy favorite memory of the arcade was the very first Afterburner game. It was the first time I had ever experienced a cabinet that moved with the action of the game, the sound was just mind-blowing, the game itself was fun as hell, it was like living Top Gun. Absolutely incredible and to this day is one of my favorite gaming memories of all time.
Bryan Finck
2019-06-05 14:14:13 +0000 UTCCrazy Taxi was great in the arcade.
Colin Moriarty
2019-06-04 18:34:27 +0000 UTCI loved playing Speed Buggy, Crazy Taxi, and Die Hard arcade machines.
Taubel
2019-06-01 19:37:01 +0000 UTCI think I saw a trailer for that sometime ago. I'll check it out.
Colin Moriarty
2019-06-01 19:36:38 +0000 UTCIf you looking for fun modern beat-em-up; I have been really enjoying “Mother Russia Bleeds” on Switch, published by Devolver.
Steve Jula
2019-06-01 13:58:24 +0000 UTCOooo. I may have to check this out
Steve Jula
2019-06-01 13:55:38 +0000 UTCMust be the effects of Johnny Got His Gun finally surfacing
Nate McKinney
2019-06-01 00:45:50 +0000 UTCThat's a nice idea.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:58:37 +0000 UTC2600 is terrible. LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:58:29 +0000 UTCReally? That's a new one on me! Good to know.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:58:22 +0000 UTCHuge dork.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:58:13 +0000 UTCI'm glad you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for watching! <3
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:58:06 +0000 UTCHe's becoming more violent.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:57:45 +0000 UTCThat was a big part of the documentary, as I recall!
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:57:36 +0000 UTCFull circle.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-31 23:57:26 +0000 UTCThere's one in red bank called yestercades. It's an awesome concept because you pay by the hour and all the machines are unlimited credits. Ive been able to beat games I never could before like Simpsons because of it. Good times.
Jose Horrach
2019-05-31 23:30:43 +0000 UTCGreat episode. Finally someone admitted that the Atari 2600 is garbage. The NES ports of arcade games like Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong etc. were all pretty damn good. Looking forward to Part 2 guys.
Brandon Soto
2019-05-31 20:52:55 +0000 UTCHey guys - quick note on fighting games and using arcade sticks as controllers. Colin mentioned that you don't see pro players using pads etc. At this stage the controller is actually a preference - many top players use pads or hit box controllers. The push for arcade sticks came from Japan where it was the default because they still have an arcade culture
tejotl
2019-05-31 18:12:46 +0000 UTCMy mom still goes to the mall - what a nerd
GameSimp
2019-05-31 14:27:49 +0000 UTCThis was a delightful surprise. I wasn’t born until ‘93 and so I missed a lot of what the arcade was. There were some arcade games at my local pizza shop that my family and I would eat at typically every Sunday after church. I remember loving to just watch the screens and pretending like I was playing because very rarely would I actually get to play. There was something fascinating to me about them because you could actually “drive” a car or “shoot” a gun. Also, connected to that pizza joint and tiny arcade was a video rental store, and Sundays were my day to rent some new games for that week. Needless to say this episode brought a lot of memories back.
Trent Miller
2019-05-31 12:36:57 +0000 UTCDagan’s been talking about fighting people the past couple of episodes.
Brandon Hardman
2019-05-31 08:43:22 +0000 UTCYES!!! An episode about the Cronenberg Fly remake would be fucking awesome
Nate McKinney
2019-05-31 01:48:21 +0000 UTCJust started the episode. Fun fact: In addition to being a dirty, rotten cheater, Billy Mitchell also has his own hot sauce. Why? No one knows.
Nate McKinney
2019-05-31 01:15:12 +0000 UTCWhen people around me are being miserable and hateful, it's really great to have the Moriarty Bros. beamed into my ear. Oh, and you saying you were doing the episode "on the fly" really makes me want to hear an episode about The Fly.
David Graham
2019-05-31 01:14:29 +0000 UTC...
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-30 22:53:57 +0000 UTCResident Evil 2 will be recorded in the coming weeks, and released before mid-July. We're punting on Resident Evil 4.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-30 22:53:49 +0000 UTCI've been to the one in Jersey City!
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-30 22:53:23 +0000 UTCI wonder if kids still have arcade parties.
Colin Moriarty
2019-05-30 22:53:13 +0000 UTC...
There’s No I in LLC
2019-05-30 20:12:10 +0000 UTCI'm just starting the episode, and I'm hearing the Resident Evil 2 episode is going to happen later down the line. Am I crazy or was there a Resident Evil 4 episode that never happened as well? I could very well be insane. Either way, I'm excited for this one.
Ian (616Entertainment)
2019-05-30 19:01:27 +0000 UTCOh man I dropped everything to listen to this! If you both are ever in the NYC area you should check out Barcade in midtown
Kenneth Oms
2019-05-30 17:47:22 +0000 UTCI remember having my birthdays at the arcade down the street from my house when I was a kid
Kc Wright
2019-05-30 17:42:06 +0000 UTCAyyy a new bar arcade just opened up in my down town area too!!!
Brandon Lahood
2019-05-30 16:28:01 +0000 UTCHa. This one drops at the perfect time. A new bar arcade just opened in my little downtown area where I live. Can't wait to check it out and now I'm sure I'll want to go tonight after listening to this!
Britton Dowers
2019-05-30 16:03:09 +0000 UTC
