California Extreme / Classic Arcade Live Chat Transcript
[] [Xfire] matteox: Welcome to the California Extreme/Classic Arcade Live Chat
[16:01] [Xfire] matteox: We have some special guests with us today, so they will introduce themselves
[16:01] [Xfire] matteox: and then start Answering questions!
[16:01] [Xfire] matteox: We have 1 hour...ready go..
[16:01]
[16:02]
[16:02]
[] Xƒire: Hi guys--I'm
[] Bazman: Hey everyone, I'm Tom Bazzano,
from the Xfire Dev team. I'm the person that adds games to Xfire, and have been
an
[16:04]
Answer: ->Tom: Most of us are collectors reliving our youth. We can actually afford to own the machines now.
[] Xƒire: popeyito2000: Question: How did u start in the video game business? like what classic game did u feel like, this is the industry i want to be in?
Answer: I started playing games in about 1980 on the Atari 2600. Over the course of a few years my family collected 50+ games, and I played many hours on all of them. I also played arcade games as much as I could at local stores. I got into computer programming in order to be able to make games like the ones I loved to play. (cont)
[16:04]
Answer: All of them!! J
[] Xƒire: Question: popeyito2000: How did u start in the video game business? like what classic game did u feel like, this is the industry i want to be in?
Answer: I got into the
video games industry by co-creating
Bazman: I started over 10 years ago, as a phone rep, and worked my way up from there!
[] Bazman: Question: DaFox: To tom: How many arcade cabinets do you own?
Answer: Currently, about 20 but it's been as many as 30 at times :D It always seems to depend on how much space I have!!
->Tom: I only have 30 standup machines.
->Mark: I have 28 pinball machines and four vids
->Ken/TJ: Lost count after 300
[16:07] California Extreme: Question:
XX/SoD Gamble Solanius: Ok,
Arcade is a falling business, why do you continue to try to bring them back,
only a small percentage of gamers who like them. Im
personally one who does, but is it worth it. And if so, could we bring a new revolutionary
type of arcade systen to the
Answer: We are not trying to bring them back, but celebrate the good old days!
[16:07] [Xfire]Frederic: Hi, this is
Frederic from Xfire. I would like to
thank you all for being here today. We
have FANTASTIC guests, who are experts at classic arcade gaming and we hope you
enjoy chatting with them! If you are in
[] Xƒire: Question: <-=PAG=->Sparky: Chris, What is the first classic arcade game?
Answer: The very first arcade game was called Computer Space, which was not too popular. Pong was the first very popular one. MAME only emulates games with a CPU, which started around 1976.
[]
[]
Answer: We have a cover charge at the door
[] Xƒire: Question:
[3rD]JaJo????· · · · · ·: what was
Answer: My favorite classic game is Robotron... the game play is just as addictive as ever, even 20+ years later
->Tom: Tron!
->Mark: Black knight 2000 (pinball)
[] Bazman: Question: [3rD]JaJo????· · ·
· · ·:
what was
Tron, Star Wars, and almost anything vector based :D
[16:08] [Xfire]Frederic: Make sure you check all the details about California Extreme at
[] Xƒire: Question: (§) Kilimanjaro: Chris what plans do you have for MAME32 in the future?
Answer: The whole goal of MAME is to preserve for all time the details about how arcade games function. MAME32's niche is to be a nice interface into using MAME to actually play games on your PC. For the future, we plan to track MAME development and continue to be an easy to use interface.
[16:10] Xƒire: Question: [Xfire]Frederic: Who is the best at Mrs. PacMan? CK or Matt?
I'm the Xfire company champion at Ms. Pac-Man
[]
Answer: It brings back our long lost youth. :)
[] Xƒire: Question: Commander11x[28JSOF: how will mame help xfire and vice versa?
Answer: Probably not much :). They are two pretty different programs, but we are in the process of making some nice infoviews for MAME inside of Xfire, so that your Xfire friends can see more data about the arcade game you are currently playing
[16:11]
Answer: I am dancing as I type! Yes, this is a kooky game.
[] Xƒire: Question: -={MM}=- h3nk: Why do you love classic games?
Answer: Each classic game was typically made by 1 person or a very small team of people, so the game play is usually very "pure" in some direction. Many of the games were horrible, but the exceptional ones were amazing. These days, with teams of 100+ people developing a game, it's hard to create a great game that is very, very different from all other games out there.
[16:13] Bazman: Question: [Xfire] matteox: What is the biggest restoration job you have ever done on a game
Answer: I've been working on a Star Trek Cockpit restoration project for over 2 years now!
->tom: a gorund up Centipede resto. The cabinet was waterlogged and I needed almost every part. I did it though......
->Mark: Firepower (pin) It need help everywhere! New playfield, cabinet floor, circuit boards....pratically starting over!
[16:14] Xƒire: Question: [IronChef]Chinese: With the evolution of arcade games going from strictly ROM-based to Hard Drive/CD-ROM based games, how much more difficult is it to continue including "new" classics to the existing set of ROMs?
Answer: It is certainly more difficult, because the MAME team needs to make new file formats to capture all the data in the game, plus it is harder to read all the data from the arcade game in the first place. However, emulation of CD and Hard-Disk-based games does work fine in MAME.
[]
Answer: We expect 400 games this year
[16:15] Bazman: Question: googleplexdude: when and how was pinball created?
Answer: Some of the Extreme team could Answer this a bit better, but it evolved from table top 'shaker' boxes to its current form over the past 60-70 years!
->Mark: It started from Bagatelle in the early part of the 20th Century. For the first Pinballs, they had actual pins in the playfield. You shot the ball and tried to aim to the best spot. No flippers in sight either. Flippers showed up in 1947 on Humpty Dumpty.
[] Xƒire: Question: popeyito2000: What can we, as video gamers, do to keep arcade games, or MAME alive? How can we help?
Answer: The most important thing is to play and pay for these games to make them profitable, particularly in arcades. For MAME, buy roms when they are legally available (for example, from StarRoms when they were alive), or other classic collections. You can also donate money to The Dumping Project, which buys unemulated games in order to reverse engineer how they work.
[16:17]
Answer: ->Tron. But there would be no power to play it. :(
[] Xƒire: Question: <-=PAG=->Sparky: Chris, what is the weirdest arcade game?
Answer: There are some very weird games... some of which were good. Off the top of my head, I'd say Reactor was a weird but great game, timber was a weird game, and the irritating maze was a weird game.
Bazman: Even though I'm not Chris....Irritating maze was so weird I had to buy
it a few years ago at the show! I also am trying to find another bizarre game
called
Some of the newer games out
of
[] Xƒire: Question: googleplexdude: was computer space originally created in japan?
Answer: No, it was created
in
->Tom: I am pretty sure it was someones garage on the West coast
[] Xƒire: Question: [TAT]Nikon1982uk: Will Mame32 ever support some type of online play like other emulators do for example Zsnes
Answer: MAME32 is devoted to being a nice interface on top of MAME, and MAME's goal is arcade game preservation and documentation, so the direct Answer is "no". However, other people can make derivatives of MAME32 that do support online play; there was an effort a few years back to do this, but it was abandoned even though it was pretty close to working.
[] Xƒire: Question: [IronChef]Chinese: How difficult is it to emulate the CPS3 (Capcom Play System 3) hardware? Has there been any progress made where we might see classics from ROMs based on this system board?
Answer: CPS3 has a very difficult encryption system. I'm confident that every arcade game will be emulated eventually, but this system is very hard to figure out so far.
[] Bazman: Question: [Xfire]Frederic: If you are an ignorant n00b such as myself, what to look out for when buying an arcade game?
Answer: Watch out for water damaged cabinets, or machines that have had a 'hard life' (Unless you really know what you're doing), and be sure to 'test' the machine well, to be sure that all the different components are working well (controls, power supply, monitor, PCB's etc) What is most helpful is having a friend who knows a bit to help you 'kick the tires' when buying your first game!
[16:22]
Answer: LOL. No, I personally havent.
[] Xƒire: Question: googleplexdude: who came up with the idea of emulating video games?
Answer:
[16:24]
->Tom: Street Fighter II
->Ken: RUSH 2049, Blitz
Xƒire: I think that's a fantastic question, and I don't know where I'd draw the line. When MAME started, I would have said anything pre-68000 (around 1986). However, it's now 9 years later, and I would probably consider anything before Virtua Fighter (the first real hardware-accelerated 3D arcade game, in 1996) a "classic"
[16:25] Bazman: Question: XX/SoD Gamble Solanius: Tom, In accordance with current games, what games besides the obvious, do you think that classic video games have influenced any current or newer video games?
Answer: I do know that many of the people designing current games definitely played and loved them growing up, but I'm not sure how much of that really carries over into design. The reason that so many of the older games held up, other than nostalgia, was the gameplay. With limited technical capabilities..........
->Ken: Gauntlet series, Karate champ and possibly Computer space
Bazman: With limited capabilities in the hardware, the game designers/engineers had to have amazing gameplay as well as cool control gimmicks to make a game unique and able to stand the test of time
[] Xƒire: Question: popeyito2000: There are a bunch of very fun classic games that are versus, which ones does your team play?
Answer: We happen to have a few of Bazman's machine at the office, so we play those the most. If they're not vs. then we compete on scores, particularly Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, and Joust.
[16:25]
->Tom: Zero Wing <all your base...>
Answer: I'd have to say I think Bubble Bobble's music is among the best.
[16:27]
->Ken: FPS games did not come from arcades; they actually started from PC games. Ultima Underworld and Wolfenstein 3D were the first ones, being released within weeks of each other.
[16:27]
->Tom: Yes, when you die
Bazman: :D
Xƒire: I have not gotten far enough on Donkey Kong to know, though I do love that game and play it regularly.
[] Xƒire: Question: <-=PAG=->Sparky: Chris,What is the longest arcade game
Answer: Well, some games don't end, but instead repeat; some games repeat a short level over and over until the machine hangs, like Pac-Man.
[] Xƒire: Question: [TAT]Nikon1982uk: As i am going to reinstall mame after recovering from a virus what game should i play first?
Answer: If you have a 2-joystick setup, then Robotron... otherwise Galaga, another of my favorites.
[16:30] Xƒire: Question: popeyito2000: So, since u consider anything before virtua fighter to be considered classic, how long do u think u have before you are DONE emulating games for MAME?
Answer: Well, MAME's goal is to emulate
[16:30]
->Tom: Only when I have arcade parties.
Bazman: All the time! My last random arcade drop in was last Sunday :-D I currently have 11 arcades and 4 pinballs running at my house
[] Xƒire: Question: FFC{ceverson}: Are there any games that aren't loops that are impossible to beat?
Answer: Well, some games are massive, massive quarter sucks such as Contra, but I don't believe that any are actually impossible.
[] Xƒire: Question: Pvt.SilverSwordsman: What music do you guys listen to? Hope its not rap :)
Answer: The Bubble Bobble theme. "Doo doo doo, do doo doo doo, do doo doo doo doo doo"
->Ken: Rastsbilly Skank
->Tom: anything without commercials on the radio
Bazman: Rock,Classic Rock, Blues, and just about anything other than polka and opera!
[16:32] Xƒire: Question: Dimarus: What
Answer: Zaxxon... the semi-3d view has always been really difficult for me to deal with, but I always want to say I've figured it out!
->John: Defender
Bazman: Robotron, Defender!
[]
Answer: We are not actually a company...just a bunch of crazy people volunteering for this show.
[16:34]
[16:34] Xƒire: Question: XX/SoD Gamble Solanius: In the ways that Classic Arcade games came up, what do you think the Video Game industry has changed?
Answer: It's changed a ton. In the old days, 1-2 people could make a game in a few months. These days, a typical game has over 100 people working to build it over the course of 18 months.
[16:35]
->Ken: Lord of the Rings pinball, Time Crisis
Bazman:
[] Xƒire: Question: <-=PAG=->Sparky: Are there any cheats to put in while playing classic arcade games?
Answer: There are plenty of "cheats". For example, if you don't kill the bees in Galaga for something like 15 minutes and survive then they never fire at you again the rest of the game.
[16:35]
Answer: No, not at all. You cant get sticky carpet playing online!
Xƒire: I think Gametap is a really neat product and I really hope they are successful.
[] Xƒire: Question: Pvt.SilverSwordsman: do you wish xfire would pay you guys to talk to random stragers like us?
Answer: It's doing so right now.
[16:36]
Answer: Chiller and Deathrace
[16:36]
Answer: Not really. I personally have an Xbox and PS2....I am ashamed to say that they are caked with dust.
16:37] Bazman: I constantly have a problem figuring out where to spend my gaming time. I have most all consoles, an arcade in my house, and of course several gaming PC's on the LAN. It usually is decided by how much gaming time I have ;-)
[] Xƒire: <-=PAG=->Sparky: Chris, Are the mushrooms that make Mario bigger in Super Mario Bros. drug related?
Answer: I assumed they were very nutritious mushrooms.
[ [16:37]
Answer: Depends on if the game is in storage. I have all of my games set up like an "arcade" in my basement. So anytime really.
Bazman: Daily. I have a few here at Xfire in our 'lounge' room, and I have quite a few set up at home. I mostly play pinball unless I have more than a few minutes ;-)
[] Xƒire: Question: FFC{ceverson}: IS the boss on level 100 in Bubble Bobble possible to beat or do u need like 30 lives?
Answer: Yes, it is possible to beat with just one life; you just need to practice a lot.
[] Xƒire: Question: BFM_Knight|EXPlorer_Clark: Is there cheats that you never told anyone about? And would like to share them with yours truly?
Answer: I have never discovered any cheats, but a lot of the way Bubble Bobble's bonuses work was figured out for the first time by a MAME programmer looking through Bubble Bobble's binary code!
[16:39]
Answer: Probably R360
Bazman: Definitely R360, the thing flips you upside down lol!
[16:39] []
Answer: What do you mean? African or European?
[16:40] California Extreme: Question: <-=PAG=->Sparky: Chris, what is the most irritating game that you quit playing, but then go back and play it in 5 minutes?
Answer: Defender!!
[16:40]
Answer: Warrior
[] Xƒire: Question: [Pure]_Star-Wars: What do u guys think of the idea from psycologist that kids who play violent games will kill evyerbody!????
Answer: I played video games since I was 6 years old and I have not killed everybody.
More seriously, "violent" media has existed since the written word has existed. With good parenting, it can be a useful and fun outlet for kids to safely explore their world. With bad parenting, it might even still be a good and fun outlet for kids to explore their world.
[16:41]
Answer: Too many to list....
[16:42]
Answer: Come on down! Check our website for volunteer info
[] Xƒire: bluharvest: Question: Why do you think we started not going to arcades and just stayed inside? Are we just getting lazyier?
Answer: I think that in the early 1980s, arcade games had much more advanced graphics and gameplay compared to home consoles. Compare Pac-Man in the arcade vs. the Atari 2600 to see this. As home consoles could deliver games as good as the arcades, people went to arcades less.
Bazman: I think that it had a lot to do with the tech in home consoles
catching up to the arcade 'experience'. After the 32bit days, the
[16:42]
Answer: I loved it!! I have
one in my arcade
Bazman: Loved them! I actually never played Empire Strikes Back in the arcade, but I certainly lost many dollars on the original Star Wars. It was one of the machines I wanted to own the most (and now I do).
[] Xƒire: Question: bluharvest: What was the most technologicaly advanced game of its time?
Answer: I think Battlezone would be near the top of my list.
[16:42] [Xfire] Artaxs: Question: popeyito2000: If a cosmic ray from another dimension fell upon you and took you to an alternate universe, and that alternate universe was a video game, what video game would that be for you???
Answer: I don't know, but hopefully it would be a bonus level so I wouldn't die in just a few seconds!
->Tom: Tron
->Ken: Fish Tales (pinball)
->Mark: ??
->John: Asteroids
[16:43] []
Answer: House of the Dead. Maybe Mortal Kombat
Bazman: That would have to be 'chiller' or 'deathrace' by exidy. Mortal Kombat is the one most people think of, but these were more shocking considering when they were released!
Xƒire: A large number of classic arcade games were about shooting or getting shot, or eating and getting eaten... some games certainly tried to portray this more realistically than others.
[16:45]
Answer: Sounds fine to us.
[16:46]
Answer: Large Interactive games seem to do very well (DDR, etc...)
[] Xƒire: Question: [IronChef]Chinese: Will there ever be a point when MAME reaches version 1.0?
Answer: We've discussed that on the MAME developer list. Nicola Salmoria started MAME, and he defined 1.0 as a classical programmer would--feature-complete. In this case, that means all arcade games have been emulated, which we will never reach as long as more games get released.
[] Bazman: Question: <-=PAG=->Sparky: When you were a kid, what was the scariest arcade game that you had nightmares about?
Answer: I don't think I ever had nightmares about games, perhaps about never getting to play them again, but not about the games themselves!
Xƒire: I never had a nightmare about a video game as a kid, but I did about the movie Gremlins...
->Tom: Sinistar...I Hunger!!!!!
[] Xƒire: Question: googleplexdude: whats your favorite genre of video games? why?
Answer: I don't have a favorite genre of arcade games... I think they have been so diverse that most of them are hard to even define as members of genres.
[] Bazman: [] Question: [Xfire] Artaxs: .^ DtS| ??????Rg???:
Answer: On a PC? Doom 1.
[16:48]
Answer: the closest thing we have to "making a game" are our special Modified Pinball Machines. We will have the World Famous Pinball Rodeo and we have added a few of our own.
[]
->Tom: Doom!
[] Xƒire: Question: [ZiiP]Lazzars: has playing a game for too long ever effected you metally?
Answer: I have had some weird dreams after playing Tetris and Columns for too many hours straight before going to bed.
Extreme: We volunteer for this show.....thats got to tell you something!
Bazman: Never play the burnout console games shortly before taking a drive..... rotfl.
[16:49]
->Tom: I hate Zaxxon. Mine is for sale!!
Bazman: Nothing that I specifically 'hate', if I don't like a game, I just don't play it ;-)
[]
->Tom: Atari 2600
Bazman: Pong, Odysee, and an Atari 2600 were the firsts for me
[16:51] [] Xƒire: Question: [Pure]_Star-Wars: Do u think the ESRb games rationg bpard is a good or bad idea..
Answer: The ESRB was created to give game buyers (particularly parents) a better idea of the level of potentially offensive content in a game. As a parent myself, I can see a benefit in an industry-wide initiative like this. However, I don't see any benefit in the recent trend of politicians bashing videogames for society's problems.
[16:52] [] Xƒire: Question: zytalxv: CHRIS, what do you think was the most SUCCESSFUL classic side scroller game besides from MARIO BROS.
Answer: Double Dragon maybe?
[] Xƒire: That question is like saying who got second place in the world cup 50 years ago. History only remembers the winners :)
[16:54]
Answer: Whatever the market will bear. Generally, maybe twice the cost?
Bazman: That really depends on who you intend to sell to.
[16:55]
Answer: In general, most games have a plot
[16:55] []
Answer: Yes, when we can find them.
[] Xƒire: Question: What video game score are you most proud of?
Answer: 104k at Ms. Pac-Man, without any special techniques to coerce the monster behavior
[] Xƒire: Question: googleplexdude: what do you like better? 2d or 3d?
Answer: There's no Answer to that! I love classic 2D arcade games, but I also love lots of modern RPG and RTS games.
[16:57]
Answer: Not sure
[16:57] [] Xƒire: Question: googleplexdude: what modern rpgs and rts's do you play?
Answer: In the past few years my preferred games have been Starcraft, Dawn of War, C&C Red Alert, and Guild Wars.
[16:57] Bazman: Question: cooldrew: Bazman, or Xfire: What's the most expensive game you guys own?
Answer: Probably some of my
pinballs.
[]
Answer: Cut the Cheese (Sega Redemption Game)
[16:59] Bazman: Question: cooldrew:
Given the chance to go back in time and meeting the developers of one game,
what ould it be?
Answer: Dave Theurer, the guy who wrote Tempest!
Xƒire: I was lucky enough to trade a few emails with Warren Robinett, the developer of Adventure for the Atari 2600 and the creator of the first known Easter Egg.
[16:59]
Answer: This is not a job, it's an adventure. We all have real world jobs. We're just volunteers.
Xƒire: Leading Xfire's development from the initial idea through today has been a dream job, yes. Difficult, but I can't imagine loving anything else more.
Bazman: For me, yes! Working in the video game industry is truly awesome! You really have to be passionate about it though ;-)
[]
->Ken: You can focus more on gameplay rather than technology.
[16:59] [] [] Xƒire: Question: Dimarus: What game did you find to be the most intense and want you begging for more after beating it? - this is getting annoying constently writing it..
Answer: You can't beat Robotron, but every bit of progress I get through it does make me want to get even further.
[]
[17:01] [Xfire] matteox: Thank you to all the participants!
[17:01]
[17:01] Bazman: Thanks for all the great questions!!
[17:01] [Xfire] matteox: We will give out a few free tickets here in a second
[17:01] [Xfire] matteox: Please visit http://www.caextreme.org
[17:01] Bazman: Go to the show this weekend if you're local, We'll be there :D
[17:01] [Xfire] matteox: That is where you will find everything you need to know about the show!
[]
[17:02] [Xfire] matteox: Ok, if you want a ticket and you live in the area and can actually attend the show, type "ME" in the Question room
[17:03] [Xfire] matteox: ok, i have 3 pairs of tickets....
[17:03] [Xfire] matteox: #1 goess to Kingcold19
[17:03] [Xfire] matteox: Winners pm me
[17:04] [Xfire] matteox: #2: (pure} star wars
[17:04] [Xfire] matteox: #3 popeyito2000:
[17:04] [Xfire] matteox: OK thanks everybody!