I decided that since it was too cold outside to do much more than run to the truck that now would be a good time to try to restore my old Ms Pac-Man game.

But first, I need to figure out what’s broken. When dad gave me the game a couple years ago I was told that it was working in the break room until one day it didn’t. Sounds about normal for pretty much anything that breaks. Right now when I hit the power switch I get a pale glow from the monitor but that’s as far as it gets. Since there isn’t any game play or sound I’m leaning towards a board issue. But this is all new to me.

So far I have checked all the fuses and jiggled a few wires, but not much else. This weekend I’ll see if I can get electrocuted playing with electricity.

Ms Pac-Man

Dead screen

Inside

I have several arcade games here in my man cave. An old Ms. PacMan that gave up the smoke a while back and I have yet to repair, a mostly non-functional pole position at my brother-in-laws, and my pride and joy, and a Super Space Fortress Macross that almost no one has ever heard of. In my search to fix the Ms PacMan for my wife I came across this arcade PCB at JammaBoards.Com.

60 in 1 Multicade

The 60 in 1 Multicade Jamma PCB. What you get is a new JAMMA compatible pcb loaded with 60 classic arcade games. PacMan, Galaga, Dig Dug, Xevious, and more. As yo can see form the photo the multicade pcb is about 1/4 the size o my Macross pcb. Installation was simple and took a little more time simply becaus eI needed to move the mounting supports for the small pcb.

Some minor adjustments to the verticle and horizontal controls for the crt, and a couple of dip switch settings and I was up and running. Total install time, less than 15 minutes. I’m expecting future upgrades to take less than 10 minutes now that I have it figured out.

The Macross pcb is going in to secure storage until I can get a couple of spare JAMMA cabinets. The Ms PacMan will continue to collect dust until I decide it’s worth fixing. And my wife spent 2 1/2 hours playing Frogger the night I got it all set up.

If you are in to old arcade games, this is a great way to get some fo the classics and not fill up your basement with cabinets. You can the the pcb for about $180 and pick up JAMMA cabs for $200 to $300 and there you have it, and arcade in a box. Now I need to go set the new high score on Galaga.

Pong S-4000

Serial # 150836

Processor: GI AY-3-8500-1

I found this in my dad’s attic a long time ago.. I even remember when we first got it and how it lasted all of about 2 weeks before no one would play against me.. Then another 2 weeks before no one at all played it..

K-Mart’s entry into the Pong market was this great little box. Powered by either 6 C Cell batteries or a 9v adapter, this machine had several functions and settings.

Based on the General Instruments “Pong in a Chip“, the S 4000 featured 4 games, Practice, Squash, Hockey, and Tennis. There were also switches for the Speed (fast/slow), Angle (amateure/pro), and Size (large/small paddle). The controllers are on 4 foot cords and feature a slider instead of a paddle.

I had it plugged in to an old black and white TV just to make sure that it still worked, it does, and wound up playing it for about 4 hours.. How sad is that?? Maybe just one more hour.. .. .. .. .. ..

I stumbled across the Starcade website the other day and about lost my lunch. The clothes, the goofy contestants, the oh so cool games from the 80s.

For those of you not old enough to remember, video games used to be played at a place called the “arcade“. We would actually leave our house and go play games with friends from all over town at the mall, or Putt-Putt, or even the bowling alley. The only draw back was that you needed to get a ride and usually had to take your kid sister, or brother, and watch her spend all your extra tokens because she sucked at ski-ball and wouldn’t leave you alone until you gave her more.

Starcade came out on TBS in 1983 while I was still in High School. Being po’ and living way out in the country I didn’t get to the arcade all that much until I started driving. Then you couldn’t get me to leave. Anyway, Starcade only ran in 83 and 84 and it featured some of the coolest games out at the time, along with some of the coolest hair.

The premise of the show was that you would answer a question Jeapordy style, first one to buzz in got a shot at the question and the bonus points. Then each contestant would play a video game for 60 seconds (then 50 then 40 and finally 30 for the grand prize). That score was added to your quiz score. Highest score at the end of the show got a chance at winning their very own arcade game. I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a prize that would make a kid wet himself more than having your own Donkey Kong in your bedroom.

The show didn’t last all that long. Partly because the video arcade craze was already starting to die out with the NES hitting shelves in 85 and partly because the show really did sort of suck. It’s never been really exciting to watch someone else play a video game. Try sitting through someone struggling with GTA to see just how boring it can be.

If you think you are up to it, you can head over to the Starcade episodes page and try to sit through an entire episode without wondering if you will ever get that time back.

Anyone have a Dragon’s Lair or Star Trek Vector Game (sit down preferred) sitting around they want to get rid of?

This is a great example of too much time and too many friends..

Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby have put together a great book about the culture of gaming and game developers.. The book follows several of the game world’s masters such as CliffyB (Unreal) and Shigeru Miyamoto (Nitendo) and their rise to the top of the gaming world.. Weaving game developer events with the history of gaming we get an inside look at the in crowd, the rock stars of gaming..

While there isn’t a lot of earth shattering information, the book provides a unique insight to the developers lives and how they pushed the envelope of gaming to the levels of today..

The book also delves into the early days of professional game playing.. We get a look at some of the early competitions in Dallas and the people that play..

Overall this is a good book for some light reading.. For those of us old enough to remember the early days when 2D side scrollers were the latest thing it has moments of nostalgia.. Plus it’s always good to remind some of the kids that there was gaming before they were born..

Fey~

The Guild Wars Factions preview is this weekend.. I got a chance to log in early this morning and take a quick run around the new frontiers.. I like the new classes.. Still not sure whther I would prefer to run an assassin or ritualist, or even what would make good secondaries, so since I only had one character slot to work with instead of the two new slots we were promised, I cobbled together an assassin/monk for those much needed self heals while running for my life in random areas..

I like the new graphics, especially the giant turtles.. But, like any expansion, it left me wondering if the final release will have more, or if it will just be More Of The Same.. We’ll see what the weekend holds when I get more of a chance to play..

Also joined a good guild a couple weeks ago.. Fonkin drug me into it and it’s been fun.. A more adult oriented group with some youngens that are learning quickly.. Check out our guild, The Order of the Frozen Tundra, and our site over at http://toft.gogab.com .. And yes, I put it together even if it is a basic Nuke Portal..

Fey -