There was a period in history around the 70’s to 90’s when to see the latest in computer video games you would go to the Video Arcade.
Only Arcade machines had the next generation custom hardware needed to run next generation computer games.
In a way these Arcades were test labs for next generation games that lived or died depending on how well they got people to keep putting money into them.
The thing is they existed in an age when if you wanted more sprites, colours or sounds you needed better faster hardware. They were at the cutting edge of technology.
Also the makers of these machines did not need to produce millions of machines per a region they only needed thousands or tens of thousands to populate a countries arcades with their machines.
Now we have come a long way in processing and graphical power since then but we are also not seeing the hardware diversification that they had then. Are we missing this from modern games development?
Look at Unity it runs on lots of ‘Hardware Platforms’ but really we are only talking a few different chipsets with very similar configurations.
Are there games that we could make but cannot because of the locked in nature of our hardware platforms?
Could the resurgence of maker communities be applied to game development hardware in ways we could not imagine with our current hardware ecosystems?
Does AR/VR need the Arcade space or the modern equivalent to adapt, grow, evolve and improve?
Well the thing is, its a barcade, they don’t make you pay to play games, but rather, the generation who is used to arcades comes and buys alcohol, and then plays games
Seems to be a functional business model, as there are at least 2 more barcade locations near me, so maybe this arcade future isn’t too unrealistic…
… arcade games use a very different business model. The games are very short (few hours at most), and you’re supposed to lose.
Going back to this model would mean devolution in storytelling and world building aspect.
Still, the arcade scene is still active in japan. The genres that are suitable for it are lightgun arcades, racing and fighting games. Especially fighting games.
VR could be used in some of those… actually it has been used in them long before head mounted displays and oculus rift.
But I think that assuming that arcades + VR would push game development… I think it is very wrong.
I can only see it in negative light where kids will go to starbucks to make fun of another idio… I mean VR-gear wearing person doing silly movements in a vr game.
The gundam mecha piloting arcade thing is cool, and looks like something you’d want to play the moment you see it. The blindfolded dude on the podium does not look cool at all.
That’s only because you are not seeing what he is doing in VR, with an Arcade setup you could have a spectator view screen. Or ideally you would have VR booths with external spectator screens.
Arcade (and pinball) use to be a social experience, you compete against someone or perform before a public (when you aren’t training). VR cut the bidirectional interaction necessary for that.
But lets say, there was this location where adults came and drank alcohol right?
Then, they install like 4 of those omni directional treadmills and 4 VR headsets, then those drunken nights with friends become way more entertaining? At least for gamers haha, because you could play in competitive and cooperative games networked through the “Infinidecks” that look really fun…
EDIT: I read back over that, and the only problem would be drunk people breaking the hardware haha
I’d say VR is the opposite of what arcade is supposed to be - it is an anti-social experience, where you plug your ears and wear a blindfold, to completely cut off outside world. Not exactly a party performance.
For an arcade setup you’d need volumetric hologram display or something like that.
I disagree, once people were playing in the game they were ‘gone’, and it only managed limited multi-player with specially made cabinets.
Also a future VR arcade does not have to be static it can be much more dynamic, along the lines of a VR Arena, where players move through the real world in sets that match the layout of the virtual world.
Alas pc hardware became so powerful and commonplace that it was no longer necessary to go to an arcade to play the next super-high end hardware platform. However I could see an arcade working if it did something way bigger and more impressive than you could do on your own easily, like huge screens and super-fast GPUs and networked games set up and amazingly comfortable gaming chairs and food and drink served to your private boothe, sort of thing. But partly also it’s down to the games, and game access is SO widespread and easy nowadays that probably you’re not going to see anything radically fantastic beyond what most people can already get on their own.
Yeah, I think you have a killer format, but then I came to the same conclusion as you … it’s about the game and experience too and this come with many conundrum. You need to be different from home, you need to be easy to pick up, you need to distill a great experience in seconds and minutes, you need to have great production values which kill the entire concept already, making the game is too risky for the format.
In theory, arcades are able to provide experiences that can’t be had elsewhere. The problem facing them is that the business model that they once thrived on is no longer viable. Without the ability to present an experience completely unlike what can be had at home, there’s no reason to spend extra money to go out to an arcade. As locations for experimental high-end hardware design, arcades just wouldn’t work. Anyone interested in that sort of thing will probably just try to build their own at home. (especially with Virtual Reality headsets becoming more affordable) No one wants to feed multiple dollar bills into an arcade machine anymore.
The real modern value of such an approach to game design is not in high-end custom hardware, but in physical location space, and games that actively encourage or require social interaction. Local multiplayer is an experience that you can’t get while playing on your PC. It’s a living-room experience. Designing games with more social aspects would be much more appropriate for an arcade-style space. The modern proliferation of smart-devices would help to facilitate this manner of design.
Well you just found why the switch is an underpowered piece of crap™ I think they figure out affordable price for location based social gaming, hence why they unveil 12switch as a key early title. And have two pad by default that double as a single modern split pad. Also cheapest way to LAN with people.
Yes, but the Switch can’t replace an arcade space.
This is something that always frustrates me. Someone says arcade, and everyone’s mind just seems to automatically gravitate to a big room filled with machines and people standing in front of them slapping buttons. Some people throw out the idea of using high-end VR. But all of this misses the point. Even the modern “bar-cade” is a step in the wrong direction. They’re banking more on nostalgia and liquor sales than actual game design.
What we need are games that actively require and encourage interaction between players in a social space. We have smartphones and cheap tablets now, we don’t have to rely on just joysticks and cherry switches. We have local Wi-Fi networks, we don’t have to force people to be tethered to one spot, staring at one screen.
I’m imagining a local-area multi-player RPG. Some information for the game would be displayed on screens at the location, but most of the individual interactions would take place on your smartphone. The design of the game would specifically require that players group up in order to avoid dying. All of the persistent data for the game would be unique to that one location. If you played the game anywhere else you would be stepping into a different world. Changes you make to the game world at that location would be your changes, and other local players would know about them and become familiar with them. The local proprietor could craft specific quests and/or NPCs for their regular customers to interact with.
The monetization model would also have to change. A place like this could simply have a reasonably low cover-charge for coming in. Regulars would have the option to pay in advance for a year-long pass, allowing them to ignore the cover charge. People who are just curious or are from out-of-town would just pay the cover charge. Playing the game itself would cost you nothing, though there could be some micro-transaction options, not necessarily saying no to that. And for a space like this, a restaurant or café for providing refreshments to help pay the bills would be entirely reasonable.
