The bestseller returns–completely updated to include thenewest hardware, software, and techniques for building your ownarcade
Interest in classical arcade games remains on the rise, and witha little money, older computer hardware, and a little effort, youcan relive your arcade experiences by building your own arcademachine. The hands-on guide begins with a description of thevarious types of projects that you can undertake. It thenprogresses to a review of the audio and video options that areavailable and looks at the selection of game software and cabinetartwork. Ultimately, you’ll learn essential troubleshootingtips and discover how to build arcade controllers and machines thatyou can enjoy at home with your PC.
* Serves as a soup-to-nuts guide for building your own arcademachine, from the sheets of wood to the finished product
* Addresses the variety of arcade controls, including joysticks, buttons, spinners, trackballs, flight yokes, and guns
* Explains how to interface arcade controls to a computer
* Shares troubleshooting tips as well as online resources forhelp and inspiration
Project Arcade, Second Edition helps you recapture theenjoyment of your youth that was spent playing arcade games bywalking you through the exciting endeavor of building your own fullarcade machine.
Table of Content
Introduction.
Part I Playing Your Games the Way They Are Meant to Be Played– with Arcade Controls.
Chapter 1 Picking Your Path to Game-Playing Nirvana.
Chapter 2 Building Your Arcade Cabinet.
Part II Designing and Building Your Dream Arcade Control Panel.
Chapter 3 Pushing Your Buttons and the Joy of Joysticks.
Chapter 4 Taking Your Game Out for a Spin — Spinners and Trackballs.
Chapter 5 Arcade Controls for Power Gamers.
Chapter 6 Building the Control Panel.
Part III Hooking Things Up Under the Hood — Time to Trick the Computer.
Chapter 7 How It Works — Turning a Computer into the Brains of an Arcade Machine.
Chapter 8 Using the Keyboard Connector for Arcade Controls.
Chapter 9 Arcade Controls Using the Mouse Connector.
Chapter 10 Miscellaneous Bits of Arcade Trickery.
Part IV Putting Together the Final Pieces.
Chapter 11 Audio — Silence Isn’t Golden.
Chapter 12 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand . . . Tokens?
Chapter 13 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand . . . Tokens?
Chapter 14 Choosing and Loading Software.
Chapter 15 Buttoning Up the Odds and Ends.
Part V Like the Concept but Not Sure You Have It in You?
Chapter 16 Stuck? Frustrated? Out of Quarters?
Chapter 17 Buying Your Way to Gaming Nirvana.
Chapter 18 Online Places to Go.
Appendix A Where to Find Arcade Parts for Your Project.
Appendix B The Great Debate — Preserving Versus MAMEingthe Past.
Appendix C What’s on the CD?
Index.
About the author
John St.Clair, like most children of the ’80s, spent endless youthful hours feeding his allowance into arcade machines. He grew up to be a networkengineer, but remains a game fanatic who created Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) at www.arcadecontrols.com, a gamer’s paradise where arcade gamebuilders can swap plans, experiences, tips, and ideas. John wrote the first edition of this book in 2004.