Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung TECH 4372 Technology Capstone The History of Arcade Circuitry and Functionality
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Introduction and Preview Technology of the 80s Every game had it’s own harness and set of pinouts; Simple game design Technology of the 90s JAMMA standardizes the way arcade games are wired; Digitization and MoCap Technology of Today Simulators, Bemani, and Emulators
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung The Technology of the 80s Examples Space Invaders, Astroids, Pac Man
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung The First Arcade Games Space Invaders Began the arcade revolution of the 80s First arcade scoring system Asteroids First modern coin door created Had to make larger coin boxes to hold quarters Pac Man Single most popular game of all time Born of a pizza with a missing wedge
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Hardware Aspects Boards Built From Simple Electronics Resistors, Transistors, Capacitors, Chips Used Joysticks/Buttons To Play Game Separate Pinouts/Harness For Every Game Arcade Monitor Combination of the CRT and chassis upon which a picture is produced
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Software Aspects Small Characters Levels Look Very Similar Later levels often repetitive Low Number of Programmers Per Game Simple Joystick/Button Movements Four Directions and One Button
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung The Technology of the 90s Examples Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Arcade Games Of The 90s Street Fighter II First arcade fighting game Used complex joystick movements Several incarnations spawned Mortal Kombat First fully digitized game Known for it’s blood content Spawned video games ratings
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Hardware Aspects JAMMA Harness A standard wiring setup for use with newer arcade games JAMMA+ (Plus) An addition to JAMMA that allowed for more players/more buttons per player The harness for JAMMA+ is known as a Kick Harness (Used in Street Fighter II)
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Hardware Aspects cont. Boards More Complex Multi tiered, Multiple boards Used Joysticks/Buttons To Play Game Now 8 way directional joystick Up to 6 buttons on some games Arcade Monitor Now used larger monitors (25” and up)
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Software Aspects Bigger, More Colorful Characters More In-Depth Level Design More Complex Joystick/Button Movements More Programmers Per Game Digitization Technology Motion Capture Technology (MoCap) Now used in movies as well
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung The Technology of Today Examples Simulators, Bemani, MAME
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Arcade Games Of Today Simulators Imitates or pretends to do a certain activity Examples Crazy Taxi, Daytona USA – Simulate Driving Bemani Games A series of games where players perform in some way to music Examples Dance Dance Revolution Karaoke Revolution
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Hardware Aspects Traditional Joystick/Buttons Replaced Steering Wheels, Dance Pads, Guns Powered More by Computers Hard Drives, DVDs, etc. Complex Wiring Harnesses Use of Projection Screens in Simulators
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Software Aspects 3D Environments and Characters 3D movement on screen Faster Gameplay More Interactivity Characters and Environments Players and the Game
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung What is an Emulator/MAME? Emulator A program that emulates the functions of another hardware or device Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator Emulates the hardware of the original arcade board the games were built on Allows arcade games to run on a standard PC
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung What Is A MAME Machine? Definition An arcade cabinet with a computer instead of an arcade board (or PCB) Purpose Allows you to play all of the games MAME emulates on one machine (up to 4,500)
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung Summary and Conclusion Technology of the 80s Every game had it’s own harness and set of pinouts; Simple game design Technology of the 90s JAMMA standardizes the way arcade games are wired; Digitization and MoCap Technology of Today Simulators, Bemani, and Emulators
Copyright 2004 – Jonathan Leung TECH 4372 Technology Capstone The History of Arcade Circuitry and Functionality