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American Classic Arcade Museum @ PAX-East

mpsmps Registered User regular
edited March 2010 in PAX Archive
With PAX-East just around the corner, I am proud to announce the ACAM Classic Game Developer Panel that will be taking place on Saturday, March 27th. The panel will take place in the Wyvern Theater at 7:30pm.

I have an exciting discussion planned. The panelists are former employees of General Computer Corporation in Cambridge, MA. GCC was involved in game development, and between 1981-1984, they designed products that created over $750 million in revenue for Midway and Atari. Some of those products include the Ms. Pac-Man arcade game and the hardware for the Atari 7800 console.

My panel guests are:

Steve Golson (Super Missile Attack, Crazy Otto, Ms. Pac-Man, Atari 7800)
Mike Horowitz (Crazy Otto, Ms. Pac-Man)
Jonathan Hurd (Food Fight)
Tim Hoskins (Jr. Pac-Man)
Tom Westberg (Jr. Pac-Man, Atari, other arcade)
Kevin Osborn (Atari 2600/7800 games)

We invite all PAX-East attendees to join us for a fun discussion of classic game development & history.

The American Classic Arcade Museum will be in room 310 at PAX-East. We are setting up a museum exhibit in that room that will consist of classic coin-op games & pinball machines, along with static displays of gaming history. All four of the GCC-designed arcade games (Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Food Fight & Quantum) will be on display in our museum-style retro arcade environment. We will also have two classic laserdisc games (Dragon's Lair and Us Vs. Them) hooked up to projectors so the entire room can watch the gameplay.

The American Classic Arcade Museum is the first 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and displaying vintage coin-operated amusements. Located on the third floor of the immense Funspot Family Entertainment Super Center, the museum celebrates the origins of the arcade industry with popular games from the past. Asteroids, Pac-Man, Centipede and Gorgar are just a few of the nearly 300 games in the classic arcade museum. The museum also contains static displays of game history and the walls feature many posters of vintage arcade games.

Mike Stulir
Board of Directors
The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
579 Endicott Street North
Laconia, NH 03246
http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

mps on

Posts

  • ShervynShervyn Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Pinball! This is going to be awesome!

    Shervyn on
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  • ArcoArco Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    PINBALL! Can we know what pins are there yet, or is it a surprise?

    I just found a great deli here in Reno yesterday with Asteroids, Dig Dug, Spy Hunter, Crystal Castles, Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, Joust, Street Fighter 2, NBA Jam, and Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones (the original, not the new Stern), and Creature From the Black Lagoon pins. They're all in IMMACULATE condition and take quarters, not tokens or cards. I'm spending way too much time there now.

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  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Arco wrote: »
    PINBALL! Can we know what pins are there yet, or is it a surprise?

    The bulk of our PAX-East exhibit is based around coin-op video games. We will only be bringing 4-6 pins. The only ones that have been confirmed are Buck Rogers, Spy Hunter & Flash.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    The American Classic Arcade Museum is pleased to announce that on Friday, March 26th and Saturday, March 27th, we will be having the first public showing of Crazy Otto since 1981 at PAX-East.

    Ms. Pac-Man started life as Crazy Otto, an enhancement hack of Pac-Man. Developed in Massachusetts by General Computer Corporation (GCC), the game featured a number of improvements over traditional Pac-Man gameplay including randomized ghost algorithms, multiple new mazes, new music & sound, new intermissions and bonus items that float around instead of popping up in the same place.

    GCC showed their game to Midway (Namco’s American distributor for Pac-Man), attempting to bluff Midway into approving the release of the enhancement kit by telling them that GCC won their lawsuit against Atari involving a similar enhancement for Missile Command. Midway had nothing in the pipeline to follow up Pac-Man, so they suggested that GCC create a true sequel to the original Pac-Man instead of an enhancement kit. The result is Ms. Pac-Man.

    Crazy Otto has been in GCC's possession since 1981. It was not released in arcades and it has not been emulated. Our exhibit of Crazy Otto is a one-time showing to the public.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • ArcoArco Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Wow.

    Arco on
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  • ravemongerravemonger [E] Silicon ValleyRegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I'm so excited to see classic arcade cabinets and pinball machines at PAX. You guys are awesome for bringing these over.

    ravemonger on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    The American Classic Arcade Museum is pleased to announce that videogame historian, author & publisher Leonard Herman will be appearing with us during PAX-East. Leonard is the author of “Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames” and “ABC to the VCS: A Directory of Software for the Atari 2600.” He is also the publisher of several books including Ralph Baer’s “Videogames: In the Beginning.”

    In addition to having copies of his books available, Leonard will be displaying a replica of Ralph Baer’s “Brown Box.” That device was the prototype that eventually led to the first home videogame console – the Magnavox Odyssey. The replica was built by Ralph Baer.

    Long before there was a Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii, there was the Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first home videogame console. The story of videogames predates the Odyssey by six years. It begins in 1966 when a television engineer named Ralph H. Baer sat down at a New York bus station and entered history. “Videogames: In The Beginning” is Ralph H. Baer’s account of how today’s $11-billion per year videogame industry began. A meticulous note keeper, Baer presents in his own words the real story of what led to the Odyssey… and beyond.

    Be sure to stop by the ACAM exhibit to meet Leonard, check out his books & see a piece of video gaming history.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • MockduckMockduck Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Wow - how cool! My Midwestern self has long wanted to visit Funspot, now I can get a taste of it at Pax. Neat.

    Mockduck on
  • DStalefishDStalefish Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Will there be change machines? :)

    DStalefish on
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  • ayersrjayersrj Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    This panel has been on my radar since the schedule rolled out. Really looking forward to it as well as checking out the exhibit. The Crazy Otto appearance is a really cool touch!

    ayersrj on
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  • ravemongerravemonger [E] Silicon ValleyRegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    DStalefish wrote: »
    Will there be change machines? :)

    I have next game, that's my quarter on the glass.

    ravemonger on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    DStalefish wrote: »
    Will there be change machines? :)

    All of the games will be set for free play.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Mockduck wrote: »
    Wow - how cool! My Midwestern self has long wanted to visit Funspot, now I can get a taste of it at Pax. Neat.

    Our exhibit is just a small sampling of what you will find at The American Classic Arcade Museum & at Funspot. There will be plenty of photos around the PAX-East exhibit showing what the facility looks like. That should really get you interested in making a trip to our facility.

    ACAM isn't far away from PAX-East -- less than a two hour drive.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    ayersrj wrote: »
    This panel has been on my radar since the schedule rolled out. Really looking forward to it as well as checking out the exhibit. The Crazy Otto appearance is a really cool touch!

    It has taken almost four months of work to get this panel assembled and I can hardly wait myself. I have conducted these panels before at other shows, but I must say that this one excites me the most. Almost all of our panelists have not done a convention before, so it will be nice to hear some fresh perspectives & stories about designing games during the arcade boom of the 80's.

    There will be some additional former GCC employees in attendance that are not part of the panel. We don't have a schedule set in stone, but we expect they will be in our exhibit at several times during the day to answer questions about their games.

    The reaction to Crazy Otto has been huge.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • kahikahi Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Did you hear that? that was a pocket full of quarters jingling all the way

    kahi on
  • EkkosangenEkkosangen Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    mps wrote: »
    All of the games will be set for free play.

    Free play pinball? I'm there! :winky:

    Ekkosangen on
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  • GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop Manager NJRegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    This is exactly what I wanted to hear.... hot damn an entire arcade on free play.

    Gundabad on
  • DrdedalusDrdedalus Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Ekkosangen wrote: »
    mps wrote: »
    All of the games will be set for free play.

    Free play pinball? I'm there! :winky:

    Someone's been reading my wish book. I used to play the silver ball all the time years ago in establishments of varying shady-ness. Playing some classic tables at PAX will be a blast.

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  • WaterbornWaterborn Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Mike, Congratulations once again on these amazing announcements. As someone who lives here in the Boston area and travels up to Funspot as frequently as I can, I strongly encourage everyone to stop by the ACAM display and say hello to Mike, Gary Vincent and the group of New England arcade collectors who will be volunteering there this weekend.

    Waterborn on
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  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Here is the list of games that ACAM will be bringing for the classic arcade exhibit in room 310. These games were chosen for popularity, historical significance or rarity:

    Video:
    Omega Race
    Dragon's Lair
    Us Vs. Them
    Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom
    Galaga
    Ms. Pac-Man/Crazy Otto
    Jr. Pac-Man
    Quantum
    Food Fight
    Sinistar
    Asteroids
    Leprechaun
    Space Invaders Deluxe
    Frogger
    Pong
    Pooyan
    Joust 2
    Donkey Kong 3


    Pinball:
    Buck Rogers
    Flash
    High Speed
    Spy Hunter


    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited March 2010
    Aww, no Twilight Zone pinball machine.

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

  • KhadourKhadour Dinosaur Cupcake Hillsboro, ORRegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Ohhh - High Speed pinball? I LOVED that game. I'll definitely have to swing by and check it out . . .

    Khadour on
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  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Moe Fwacky wrote: »
    Aww, no Twilight Zone pinball machine.

    The American Classic Arcade Museum is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to preserving "classic" era arcade games. Our focus is on the "classic" period from the inception of the industry until 1987-1988. Twilight Zone was released in 1993, which is out of our area of expertise.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited March 2010
    Ah, well that's understandable. If I might ask, why is the cutoff 87-88?

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Moe Fwacky wrote: »
    Ah, well that's understandable. If I might ask, why is the cutoff 87-88?

    Generally speaking, the "classic" era ended around that time. I would suggest reading this. It should clear up your question.

    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/mission2.htm

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited March 2010
    ...okay, but why does the classic era end at that time? what events of historical significance caused people of the future of that time (aka, the present) to decide "this far and no further"?

    Moe Fwacky on
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  • mentok1982mentok1982 I could never leave you PAX baby. BaltimoreRegistered User regular
    edited March 2010
    mps wrote: »
    Here is the list of games that ACAM will be bringing for the classic arcade exhibit in room 310. These games were chosen for popularity, historical significance or rarity:

    Pinball:
    Buck Rogers
    Flash
    High Speed
    Spy Hunter

    Next PAX East we have to get Ben Heck to bring his Bill Paxton pinball machine.
    Did you guys at the ACAM see this machine? It is uhmazing.

    It may not be 'classic', but it will draw a crowd and if you feel like it you can put over in the corner away from the 'classic' machines.

    mentok1982 on
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  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Moe Fwacky wrote: »
    ...okay, but why does the classic era end at that time? what events of historical significance caused people of the future of that time (aka, the present) to decide "this far and no further"?

    Post-1984 crash, the industry went through a lot of change. 1984-1987 was a period of industry turmoil. Many gaming companies went our of business or were swallowed up by other gaming companies. The consoles of the time (NES, etc.) started hitting their stride around 1987 and we were starting to see home consoles with games that were every bit as good as the arcade.

    With home equipment equalling what could be found in the arcade, manufacturers had to make major changes in their games to keep people interested in arcade games. Manufacturers started moving away from simple, cartoony or "innocent" games that had defined video arcades for a decade. In order to make games that could not be played at home, we started to see more "simulation" style games, and more violent games like Street Fighter.

    ACAM has chosen to define the end of the classic era as the period around late 1987/early 1988 when the arcade industry started to regain its footing and move into a new direction.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • 50 More Trash50 More Trash Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I have been giddy about this since I read about it... since games are on free play I guess a "you're dead, I'm next" lineup situation will be in place?

    Also, in the (unlikely) event some of us are high-score hunters on these games will there be any sort of way to hook a high score attempt up? (I don't count myself in this group by a long shot, but I would love to cheer on some guy going for a record, watching Weibe go after Donkey Kong last year was captivating stuff).

    50 More Trash on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I have been giddy about this since I read about it... since games are on free play I guess a "you're dead, I'm next" lineup situation will be in place?

    Also, in the (unlikely) event some of us are high-score hunters on these games will there be any sort of way to hook a high score attempt up? (I don't count myself in this group by a long shot, but I would love to cheer on some guy going for a record, watching Weibe go after Donkey Kong last year was captivating stuff).

    I don't think the PAX-East attendees would be too happy if they could not play our games because they were taken by people trying for records.

    Since we have a limited amount of space at the show (and therefore a limited amount of games) we will not be permitting any record attempts. You would be best served to attend our annual tournament for those kinds of performances.

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North
    Laconia, NH 03246
    http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

    mps on
  • 50 More Trash50 More Trash Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    Good to know, I would hate to be roaming the hall and overhear something like "Man, did you see that guy set the new record for XXX game?" and I'd be sad and stuff.

    I am excited for your panel/exhibit sir. Thanks in advance.

    50 More Trash on
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