Why would an otherwise reasonably intelligent, grown man take on a crazy project like this?

I still don't know, but what I do know is that I had a big, dopey smile on my face the whole time spent working on it and since it's been done, my wife and I have played at least a few games on it EVERY single day.

If you have built one of these or are seriously considering it, then you already know it's a GREAT idea, despite what your friends and family might say! Just do it!

If not, read on...

The Rationale

I knew a nice, finished MAME cab would be a fun thing to have at home. It would be great for parties, a nice conversation piece, a good way to relax and take out some after-work frustrations. It would also be cheaper, take less space and be more fun than, say, a pool table, which is something lots of people have in their homes. Still, I had to come to grips with some questions before committing to build this thing:

• Is it going to be expensive? (Yes)
• Is it going to take up a lot of time? (Yes)
• Can't you just play these games on a regular PC? (Yes)
• Aside from the nostalgia factor, aren't most of those games old and obsolete anyway? (Yes)

Knowing all this beforehand, the nagging notion to do it anyway just wouldn't let go. I don't know if I can explain, but here's how it all happened.

Childhood Game Addict

Like most MAME fanatics, I was a video game junkie as a child. I grew up during the "golden age" of arcade games in the late 70s, early 80s. I worked hard to support my habit, virtually all my paper route money went into the arcades, Atari 2600 and Colecovision. I vividly remember walking into my first arcade, "The Wizard", at the local mall with some school friends. Neon and flashing screens everywhere! I remember the first time I dropped a quarter into a game - "Boot Hill", where you controlled a blocky-looking Cowboy and tried to shoot down a computer controlled bandit. I tried a few others that day, there must have been 30 or 40 games in there, but all the action was around this brand new thing called Space Invaders. People were lined up to play that one ALL the time. "The Wizard" became a fave hangout until my family moved across town and I started going to "Illusions", another mall arcade. I was there with my hard-earned quarters when all the classic games made their arcade debuts - Asteroids, Galaga, Missile Command, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, Defender, Joust, Robotron 2084, Tempest, Centipede... The list goes on. I was better at some than others, but I think I played them all.

Those old games owe me a LOT! But then, in a way, I owe them a lot in return. You see, my interest in video games led directly to my interest in computers. (My first was an Amiga, mainly because my big brother had TONS of games I could use). Now I pretty much make a living with computers, so I guess I can say I owe my career to Space Invaders and Boot Hill. Suddenly, Many Years Later Surfing the web one day in early '98, I accidentally came across this thing called MAME, and proceeded to completely freak out! I hadn't seen old Donkey Kong in well over a decade, suddenly there he was, alive and well on the screen of my PC. He hadn't changed a bit! I spent some time downloading roms and getting re-aquainted with all my old buddies. Great as this was, it wasn't really the same. Have you ever tried to play Defender or Robotron on a PC keyboard? More frustrating than fun.

Build a Cabinet?

I also came across some early examples of MAME cabinets back in '98, like the famous PC2Jamma. COOL - I immediately saw the value in the idea, but I realized it would take a lot of specific resources, such as:

• CASH. (More than I was willing to part with for something so frivolous, at the time.)
• Time. (Lots to do and learn to make it happen - a big commitment)
• Space. (To work on the game, and keep it in after it's done. At the time I was renting my basement suite, and had limited space upstairs.)
• Tools. (I didn't have many then.)
• Expertise. (Electronics, soldering, PC configuration, networking, woodworking, graphic design, etc. I had some ability with some of these, but I was most concerned with the idea of making a PC work with an arcade monitor and controls - back then this would have required some major electronics and hardware hacking.)

I knew then I wasn't in a good position to build a MAME cabinet, but I vowed that "someday" I would do it. So I got on with my life and pursued other things.

FFWD to 2002

Earlier this year, finding myself with some time on my hands, I decided to check up on the MAME scene, which I had kind of forgotten about for a while. To my delight, I found that the scene was thriving - the software is better than ever with support for a HUGE number of games. More importantly, I found out there are HUNDREDS, if not thousands of MAME cabinets out there, with more being built all the time! I found page after page of cabinet projects, with tons of information on how to do it right. There's even a few small companies supplying special hardware just for MAME cabs.

Suddenly, the idea of building my own didn't seem so crazy! I took another look at the resource situation:

• CASH. (Still frivolous, but it probably costs LESS now, mainly because the minimum PC requirements are a lot cheaper.)
• Time. (It's amazing how a bout of unemployment will make you realize how much you really need a MAME cabinet!)
• Space. (Lots of it - I've recently gotten married, and we took over the basement suite as a family room / workshop.)
• Tools. (I finally bought a nice router, but I already had everything else I would need)
• Expertise. (Still need some, but not as much in electronics thanks to the custom hardware available, and the wealth of information on the web. I knew I could find everything I'd need.)

That settled it - it was time to realize my arcade dreams! I wanted to go for it, but I knew it would all depend on finding a good, used cabinet to start with - I wasn't about to construct my own from scratch. I put a free want ad in the local paper, and posted a request on alt.games.mame for a used, MAMEable cabinet. A day later I got an e-mail from a guy named Ross, saying he had the perfect cab for me. I went to check it out, and it was ideal. We stuffed it into the back of my truck and I took it home. WOOHOO - no turning back now!

I did my research, scrounged up an older PC, ordered a bunch of parts on the web, made a few trips to Home Depot and an electronics store for supplies, and got to work. It really wasn't that difficult, it came together fairly quickly and I had a lot of fun assembling and configuring the thing. Of course, my wife thought I was nuts, and I did get a little obsessed for a while, but now that it's done it looks great in our family room, and we both get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

As a child, my favorite fantasy was to be locked in an arcade overnight with a huge bucket of quarters. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I would have the biggest and best arcade in the world right in my own family room!

In short, build a MAME cab. You won't regret it! I'm already thinking about Version 2...

Now, More About Those Old, Obsolete Games...