Chris Webb

Well this is interesting.  Project Arcade, which happens to be the definitive guide to building your own arcade cabinet (a la MAME) was reviewed on Slashdot today.  The interesting part is that we published the book in 2004.  Of course, it’s not out of date – and don’t get me wrong, a Slashdot review is awesome no matter when you get it – but it is curious that the review was 3 years in coming.  Maybe we are not doing something right here…

Regardless, the review is positive and is generating lots of conversation. Indeed, a nice surprise this afternoon.

One thing that stood out in Project Arcade was the thoroughness of the book. Unlike some “build your own arcade books”, Project Arcade contains complete plans for an arcade cabinet, from start to finish, including lists of all of the materials. I unfortunately didn’t build the cabinet, and am not an expert on woodworking, but the plans looked complete and well thought out. At the very least, it left me with the impression that this was something that I could likely handle with some help. The part I am a little more familiar with (the electronics) was quite fascinating. The book catalogs a great deal of hardware available to the arcade-cabinet builder, and there were parts that I didn’t know were available, such as screw-terminal keyboard adapters (no more taking apart cheap keyboards for me). The author details many different joysticks, trackballs, and button choices available, with thoughtful discussion on the pros and cons of each choice. I felt through most of the book like I was being guided by someone who was passionate about building excellent MAME arcade cabinets, and had a lot of knowledge to share. Even the section on pre-made cabinets was carefully put together, with the benefits of each cabinet design explained thoroughly. There are also copious amounts of photos, so you’ll know exactly what it is you’re looking at. Also, where applicable, there are diagrams and charts to aid and assist.

Thanks to Craig Maloney.