MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator)

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I am a product of the 70's and 80's craze - Video Games. Arcade-style video games, to be exact. I can't tell you how many quarters I've dropped into someone else's pocket. Well, not anymore. Here's my story... I was poking around the Internet a few years back (I think it was eBay), and saw that there were people actually selling arcade games. I couldn't believe it! I could buy some of my favorite games, load up the garage, and have my own arcade. Well, after seeing how much they cost, and how much it costs to ship them, I thought that maybe I could just buy my favorite game. What game would that be? Cyberball, of course. I had a friend in the mid-late 80's that used to go with me to the arcade all the time (Hi Keith), and that was our favorite game. So, I set my sights on getting one. Well, they're not that easy to find. While I was poking around, I heard about this arcade emulator program called MAME (acronym for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator). I thought I'd pick up a copy and try it out. There are some free games available, or you can buy a board (w/an intact ROM), download the ROM, and you're set. After that, I was hooked. Playing the arcade games on a keyboard (or a PC joystick) just didn't cut it. It was time to build a cabinet. The most feasible solution was to pick up an empty cabinet from someone who didn't need it anymore. Since I was going to put a PC, monitor and sound system inside, I preferred an empty one. Here is what I found. I think I paid $50 for this cabinet. It had all of the controls, the glass, and a marquee (which I used for a little while). It also had a power supply, which I didn't use. So, I stripped everything out of it, and did a little sealing and painting. Then I took out the whimpy speakers, and put in a set of PC speakers with subwoofer. I added the PC, and interfaced the controls to the PC with a card called an I-PAC (available at Ultimarc). I replaced a few of the buttons, and some of the switches. I put in a shelf for the monitor, and made a black bezel to cover up the sides (around the monitor). Then, on with the glass and the marquee that came with it. Oh, I also put lights in the coin slot levers. Here's where that brought us. Then, I replaced the marquee, put in a backlight for the marquee, and replaced the joysticks. There is quite a bit more I'd like to do, including: - Repaint - Add side art - Re-do control panel - Upgrade PC - Upgrade to newest version of MAME software. And someday, do the same as above, but with a cocktail table. Enjoy!