This was originally posted on Slashdot. Some of the responses were interesting too.
I feel priveleged to have been born in ‘68, because I got to experience arcades at the height of their glory. Best arcade I ever went to: Spaceway Raceway in Springfield Mall. Actually, there were *two* arcades in Springfield mall during the 80s–IIRC, they were both called “Timeout” at one point. The Spaceway Raceway was the one that was remodeled to include a circular electric bumper-car track.
The important thing is that the arcades were DARK. This cannot be stressed too much. Also, games were new, we were young, and this was “cutting edge technology that nobodoy knew where it would take us”. It was soooo… easy to get “lost” in this fantasy world… perhaps too easy. I honestly believe I was addicted to games at one point.
Timeout is still there, but SWRW was turned into something else… not sure what. The beginning of the end came for me when games started getting “cartoony” and I learned to drive. Then they started turning on lights in Time Out. They started turning on lights in all the arcades, reason given was that drug deals and pick-pocketing were going down. Lousy people always have to spoil it… but perhaps this was part of the “Star Wars Cantina” low-grade danger that made the places so appealing… that, and the fact that I had to ride my bike pretty far to get there.
It all fell apart when I went to college. Even before that, they were losing their luster. And, when you can drive a car, there are much more interesting places to go…
Of course kids these days have better tech, but I can’t help but think they are deprived. There[sic] tech is too good. No epic bike rides for gaming… they sit on their butts too long… the effect of the tech and the direction it will take seems more predictable.
Games now? I fire up Quake once in a while when I’m frustrated with something, but that’s it. The addiction left, as mysteriously as it came.
