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Summary: The ultimate guidebook for reliving the past
Review: If you're like me, you grew up playing classic arcade games on those gigantic wood beasts in noisy arcades. There's no better way to play than that of course, and with this book you have everything you need to get cracking making your own arcade cabinet. From plans to links to advice on each step, this book serves as a great companion to the website. Also included is a CD that takes you even further with examples, shareware programs and such. If you're even remotely intrigued with the idea of making your own arcade machine, then this is the book for you. Be forewarned - once you start reading, you may find yourself hooked on this hobby.
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Summary: Best MAME Cabinet book around
Review: Ok, well technically its the ONLY MAME cabinet book around - but seriously this is very good. I started getting the MAME cabinet bug about a year ago, and took a stab or 2 at building some desktop controls, using the Author's website, oddly enough. Now, I have everything I need to go all the way. The Author is serious about this, and it shows. It's very well written, and the tone feels like he is working along side you in the garage, guiding you step-by-step through the construction. There is even a CD ROM included with tons of diagrams, construction plans, templates, and software. I haven't gotten all the way through the CD, but it is packed full of stuff. Man, my wife is gonna kill me....
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Summary: Get this before starting...wish i had
Review: Ok...let me start off by saying how fantastic this book is! It's written in a funny, technical, yet really easy to understand way. The chapter that proved invaluable for me was "Chapter 15 - Buttoning Up the Odds and Ends". In this chapter 'Saint' covers the delicate and frustrating job of working with acrylic. If only I had picked up this book before starting, I wouldn't have cracked my first (and really expensive) acrylic sheet. Thank you for the tips and the step-by-step approach to EVERYTHING arcade related.
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Summary: A MUST HAVE for any project arcade newbie!!!
Review: Project Arcade is JUST what the doctor ordered!! I am a relative amateur when it comes to all things technical. I commishioned an expert to make a cocktail arcade cabinet for my in-laws for their anniversary and immediately wanted to learn how to do this for myself. After reading many message boards and websites I found myself question whether or not this was something I could handle. I decided to order Project Arcade after hearing about it on the BYOAC message boards. BOY, am I happy I did!! This book is a COMPLETE step-by-step guide on how to put your own MAME cabinet together...from scratch. I even learned how a keyboard and mouse work after reading this book! I read it cover to cover in under a week and now I'm off to start my own project. If you're interested in putting a MAME cabinet together and need a little guidance (or alot!) I HIGHLY recommend this book.
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Summary: Several audiences
Review: Remember 1979? When Space Invaders conquered Japan and then stormed overseas to crush everything in its path? Then, in the space of 3 short years, it was rapidly obsoleted by Missile Command, Defender, PacMan and others. Yes, the world was young then, and so were you. Now you are grown up and respectable. But you want to go back?
It is no coincidence that St Clair and his publisher painted the cover in a hazy sepia glow of nostalgia. What is it, a photo from the Civil War? Shameless tugging at your fading youth.
St Clair shows us an amazing cottage industry that has sprung up in the shadows, to supply items like arcade spinners, trackballs and keyboard encoders. Unsurprisingly, the book is heavily hardware oriented. For the most part, it is about new versions of old hardware. Emulations or simulations on current PCs aren't really the attraction here. Instead, it is the entire retro ambiance. Like the full arcade size versions of the games.
Now it is possible, if you plonk down enough cash, to buy these items, in toto. But he writes for several different audiences. One is the person who likes to build such games for herself. Another is the person who can't afford to buy a finished game. A third is someone who wants to make and sell such games. Naturally, these audiences may overlap.
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Summary: What a fantastic resource!!!
Review: This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone attempting to build their own arcade machine! John has done a wonderful job of taking a complicated task and putting it in layman's terms that anyone can understand and follow. I will proudly display this book in my library for years to come!
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Summary: Everything I ever needed to know I learned from this book
Review: Well at least everything I ever needed to know about building an Arcade machine. This book is a MUST have for the novice to expert builder. It covers everything from how to decide what to build, to how to put it all together. I find myself re-reading chapters even on sections that I have already completed on my cabinet, just to see if there was something I missed or something I could have done better. What a great resource for anyone who grew up playing arcade games and wanted one of their very own. I highly recommend this to everyone.
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Summary: Everything I ever needed to know I learned from this book
Review: Well at least everything I ever needed to know about building an Arcade machine. This book is a MUST have for the novice to expert builder. It covers everything from how to decide what to build, to how to put it all together. I find myself re-reading chapters even on sections that I have already completed on my cabinet, just to see if there was something I missed or something I could have done better. What a great resource for anyone who grew up playing arcade games and wanted one of their very own. I highly recommend this to everyone.
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Summary: simply.....aweomse
Review: Well, this book is an incredible read. It has so much useful information, I couldn't put it down. Definitely one of the single best "how-to" books on the market, in ANY genre. I thought a book like this would have been very "text-booky". This was not the case. The way the book was written, the sentence structure, words, general flow of things, it just keeps you wanting more. A great book for anyone in this hobby, or just interested in this subject. I recommend it to anyone. Great job!
Rating:
Summary: simply.....aweomse
Review: Well, this book is an incredible read. It has so much useful information, I couldn't put it down. Definitely one of the single best "how-to" books on the market, in ANY genre. I thought a book like this would have been very "text-booky". This was not the case. The way the book was written, the sentence structure, words, general flow of things, it just keeps you wanting more. A great book for anyone in this hobby, or just interested in this subject. I recommend it to anyone. Great job!
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