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Philly
Classic 2005 New!
Mitch Gerson brings exclusive coverage
of the 2005 Video Game Expo, also known as the Philly Classic.
With everything from classic consoles to the Videotopia arcade
game exhibit, it promised to be a memorable event, but was it
all it could be? |
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The
Mod Zone: Enhancing Your Twilight Zone Pinball
We present to you a detailed look at
"pinball mods," specifically a collection of mods for the 1993
Bally "Twilight Zone" pinball. Prepare to get lost in the zone...the
Mod Zone! |
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Pachislo
Paradise: A Look at Japanese Pachislo Machines Part 2
Mitch Gerson continues his look into
the world of Japanese Pachislo "Skill Stop" slot machines,
this time with reviews of his Metal Slug and Tekken Pachislos,
along with Stealth Amusements and Specialty Stands. |
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Pachislo
Paradise: A Look at Japanese Pachislo Machines Part 1
Mitch Gerson delves into the world
of Japanese "Skill Stop" slot machines, also know as
Pachislo or Pachislot machines. He looks into everything from
how they're made to how they get to the US! Part 1 of a 2-part
series. |
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RetroBlast!
Creating an Online Information Resource
How and why did RetroBlast come into
being? And who is this "Kevin Steele" guy we keep hearing
about? Reprinted from GameRoom Magazine, here is my own account
of the birth of RetroBlast. |
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An
Interview with MAMEDev "Reip"
Bob Seidel returns with another great
interview, this time with MAME developer Pierpaolo Prazzoli (Reip).
Learn what discovery led Reip into contact with the MAMEdev team,
and where it lead him from there! |
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The
Phoenix 2600 Arises:
An Interview with Ben Heckendorn
Never underestimate the power of creative
tinkering: Mitch Gerson interviews Ben Heckendorn about his latest
console "hack," an Atari 2600 transmogrified into a handheld gaming
station! |
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An
Interview with Frank Leibly of StarROMs
Appearing seemingly out of nowhere in
2003, StarROMs arrived on the retrogaming scene with an enticing
offer for arcade emulation fans: legal ROMs for a reasonable price.
I ask a few questions of co-founder Frank Leibly. |
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Controlling
the Classics!
A guest editorial from The Stinger Report,
providing the amusement industry's perspective on the MAME trademark
fiasco and the potential threat of MAME to the industry. |
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Interview
with Haze
Bob Seidel once again goes for twenty
questions, this time with MAMEdev
extraordinaire Haze. Find out what
his favorite games are, his finest MAME accomplished, and the stupidest question
he's ever been asked. |
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Interview
with smf
Bob Seidel plays twenty questions with
"SMF," the MAMEdev responsible for everything from maintaining
dosmame, CPS2 and ZN/ZN2 hardware emulation, and much more. |
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Interview
with R.Belmont
The first in a new series of interviews
with retrogaming personalities, Bob Seidel talks to R.Belmont,
the MAME developer who's also responsible for such gems as M1,
Audio Overload, and ZiNc. |
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ThermoPlastics
Comparison
Want to create a plexiglass control
panel covering, but don't know Lexan from Lucite? Here's a guide
by Will Yen on choosing and working with the right plastic for
your cabinet project. |
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Simplifying
the Interface: Coin Door "Coin-Up" Buttons
Too many buttons on your control panel?
Why not turn the coin return buttons on the coin door into MAME
"coin-up" buttons? Michael P. Conway documents his cool coin door
mod! |
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Restoring
Coin Doors
A guide from Nick Vazzana on how to
restore that beat-up coin door into a "factory fresh" look, just
the thing for making your arcade cabinet look its finest. |
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RetroBlast
Guide to Arcade Monitors and MAME
A "Lazy Man's Cheat Sheet" on how to
get the best possible game display results in MAME using the least
amount of effort, covering everything from what hardware to buy
to how to set it up properly. |
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Kevin's
Favorites
Here it is: my favorite gear. Warning:
this article is pure unfiltered personal opinion, and I reserve
the right to like something, well, just because! |
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The
History of Starcade
Pop Quiz: What do Alex Trebeck, Larry
Wilcox, Ted Turner, and Mike Eruzione (Captain of the 1980 "Miracle
on Ice" US Olympic hockey team) have in common? Answer: Would
you believe a gameshow about videogames? |
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Starcade
Contest Photos: Be an Honorary Starcader
RetroBlast had a contest: send in a
photo of yourself next to an arcade machine, past or present.
We got some great photos, and a healthy dose of retrogaming nostalgia! |
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Converting
to Token or Coin Operation
Want that extra bit of "arcade authenticity"?
Convert your MAME cabinet (and any other coin-op games you have)
over to token operation! |
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An
Interview with James Hills of TLC Industries, Inc.
Haven't heard of TLC Industries? If you're
a retrogamer with a taste for arcade gaming, I suspect you will.
RetroBlast interviews James Hills, Marketing Director for TLC Industries. |
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Doctorin'
the Tardis:
The RetroBlast "Dr. Who MADLights" Pinball Mod
My first "pinball mod", this
article details how I added a PC lighting mod called "MADLights" with
the mini-playfield on my Doctor Who pinball machine. Be sure to
watch the video! |
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Retrogaming
and TV Commercials
A new wave of commercials have hit the
air, all with a distinct retrogaming theme. Are the commercials
true to the spirit of the games they emulate, or are they just
pale imitations? |
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Wiring
Up Arcade Cabinet Speakers
Details on the "hybrid" sound
system in the MAMEframe2 arcade cabinet, combining car speakers
with a PC sound system to create a bone-jarring, eardrum shattering
experience. |
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Wiring
MAME Coin Door Lights
Full details on how to wire up your
MAME cabinet's coin door lights, powering them with your PC's
power supply. Add that final "special effect" to your
cabinet! |
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MAMEframe
II: A Construction Diary
From conception to completion, I plan
on trying to document every step in the construction of my second
arcade cabinet, the MAMEframe II. Video and photos of every phase,
from mock-up to the first gaming session with friends. |
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The
Making of the MAMEframe
The full details of my first MAME arcade cabinet, the MAMEframe.
A gutted Atari RoadBlasters arcade cabinet is transformed into
a universal gaming machine, capable of playing over 3,000 different
arcade games. |