Hi there!
Name's Chris and I'm an arcade builder/replicator...
Yeah, I know: "what the hell is he talking about???"
Well, remember those Pac-man, Donkey Kong and other classics from the eighties? I building them.
In order for my actual trade to make more sense, let me here shortly explain where I was and what I was doing only two years ago.
I was born in Belgium. Small country, nothing really interesting to see or do, from that generation who had and always has so much trouble finding some long term job, etc, etc...
So, as you can see, to tell it as simply as possible, the absolute boredom.
My only happy exit for the last 2 decades was an accessory activity as a used/second hand video games seller on flea and public markets.
Helped to pay the bills, gave me the cash to go on holidays a bit more often or for some more exotic destinations.
Long story short, finally found that special place where I wanted so bad to belong and worked my ass out to expatriate myself.
But of course, packing your stuffs and hoping on a plane is the easy part. Once where you wanted to be, you need to find a way to buy yourself a decent life. and when you are the foreigner, you better come with an idea that none else can nor is yet doing.
I decided then to go for something totally off the main road and, let's be honest, almost forgotten (at least from the mainstream market): the Arcade industry.
More specifically, the old classics. Those for which we have a so deep crush due to the nostalgia of our own youth spent throwing quarters down the coin mechs.
So here I am today. I'm living in Thailand, under the sun. Quite a change from my original low grey sky.
I'm the only one in my trade nationwide, some nice customers, slowly but surely growing in numbers and I build my machines on my terrasse.
Oh and yeah, everything is build from scratch. I shape and assemble everything myself. The only manufactured pieces used are the electronic ones ordered from their respective sources.
My plans for the future?
Keeping up as long as I can and maybe one day running my own arcade room/bar?
A guy can dream, right?
Anyway, I'll finish this post with a few pics of previous completed projects and with just this advice:
If you have a dream project of your own, just jump both feet on it. Better to try and fail than to live with regrets.
Cheers!
Chris.
Love these! Great craftsmanship, well done arcadeparadise! Following the dream ;)
Thanks for the sweet words!
No problem. Have you thought about your next post yet? I'd love to know more about 80's arcade games (as in how to play the actual games and maybe some links to play similar games online) or what it takes to be a 'pinball wizard'!
Mmh, those are ideas indeed. I may follow some of them.
Actually, I was thinking about a step-by-step DIY thing but not quite sure yet. Say, I just started a new build today and maybe some people would be interrested on how to recreate by themselves a real arcade machine.
What tools, how to shape, what type of materials and what spare parts.
But some informative posts regarding history and gaming itself should be cool too.
Gonna depends on how much free time I'll have to dig into those different points I guess.
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Excellent write!
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