Arcade Saturdays - 172 icons Note: Because of the source material, these icons will look better on dark backgrounds I'm having a really hard time writing an introduction to this set without sounding too nostalgic. It seems kind of funny, but unless you were growing up in the late '70s and early '80s you can't imagine the impact that video games had on our childhood. Gen X may not know where it was when Kennedy was shot, but we probably all remember where we used to go to play Asteroids. At first, Pong and Breakout were the only games you could find, occasionally at a local pizza parlor. When Space Invaders was released in 1979 you started to see the games around more; when Asteroids was released you started to see games everywhere. I can't remember even going to an Arcade before 1980 (except for the Penny Arcade at Walt Disney World, which at that time had an array of mechanical games) but by that summer every kid in the neighborhood was begging their parents for a ride to the local arcade. There we would play Pac Man, Galaxian, and the countless bootleg and rip-off variations the arcade owners hustled in to keep kids playing instead of just watching. No arcade had every game you wanted to play, so you had to split your time between the mall (or malls, since each one was different), your local arcade (which for us was a small, trailer like building with a dirt parking lot and wood siding), ice cream parlors/pizza places, and the local convenience store. Only then could you play every game you liked. As the games caught on giant arcades became more of the norm, and companies with money combined large game rooms with mini-golf or go-kart racing. In Orlando, where I grew up, there was a warehouse-sized game room named "The Fun Machine" across town with 3 to 5 of each game so you didn't have to line up the quarters in the slot where the games' backlit title fit into the cabinet. It was like heaven. And 45-minute drive for my parents. They were the best. The really odd thing to me is that although most of the games we think of as classics were all released about the same time, it seemed to take forever between new machines back then. remember when Pole Position and Centipede arrived at the local arcade. We couldn't believe our eyes. The owners of the local arcade always put new games in a special place, and whatever was there before got moved. Everytime a new game came out, it had better graphics, sound, voices, cool controls, bonuses. Then you waited a year for a watered-down version for your Atari 2600. -------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, enough nostalgia. Thanks to projects like MAME and shrinkwrapped software like Microsoft Arcade and the Namco Classics series for Playstation, you can play any of your old favorites any time you want. It occured to me, during a heated game of Bosconian, that the designers of these early games were the only people really pushing computer art at the time. They faced a lot of constraints: limited palletes (usually of 16 colors), limited sprite sizes (often 16x16 pixels, which was then doubled for display on the monitors)Ñhey, wait a minute, that sounds just like the same limitations we icon artist face! These people laid the groundwork for everything we do! They even had to create 8x8 'super- mini' icons in some games to represent extra lives! So in the spirit of those early days, and the designers, programmers, and companies that brought us the games we treasure today, we present this tribute to the very first icon designers; and to the happiness, frustration, and inspiration their work brought us all. BTW, the games were selected for the "iconability" and because they were my favorites. That's why there's no DefenderÑtoo many buttons. Is there a classic game you'd like to have icons for? Make your own, it's easy! -------------------------------------------------------------------- The icons in this set were created by How Bowers. Asteroids ©1979 Atari, Berzerk ©1980 Stern, Bosconian ©1981 Namco, Centipede ©1980 Atari, Dig Dug ©1982 Namco, Donkey Kong ©1981 Nintendo of America, Inc. Donkey Kong Jr. ©1982 Nintendo of America Inc., Frogger ©1981 Sega Galaga ©1981 Namco, Galaxian © Namco, Joust ©1982 Williams Electronics, Inc., Ms. Pac Man ©1980/1981 Midway Mfg Co, Pac Man ©1980 Midway Mfg. Co., Scramble ©1981 Stern, Space Invaders ©1978 Midway, Wizard of Wor ©1980 Midway Mfg Co. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. These icons can be used free of charge by any person or company without a licensing fee. These icons can only be distributed as freeware. If you choose to re-distribute these icons, you must not charge fees or request compensation of any kind. This document must be included with the files. You may not edit or alter these icons except for your own personal use. By downloading this file, you are bound by the terms of this agreement. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Mad Science Laboratories on the Internet for icons, games, and whatever else we come up with in the labs. Direct your browser of choice to: http://www.madsciencelaboratories.com You can write to Professor Bowers here: how@madsciencelaboratories.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- Play the games at home! For Macintosh MacMAME homepage: http://www.macmame.org For Windows MAME homepage: http://www.mame.org Microsoft Return of Arcade (Pac Man, Pole Positon, Dig Dug, Galaxian) Microsoft Revenge of Arcade (Ms. Pac Man, Xevious, Rally-X, Mappy, Motos) For Playstation Namco Classics Museum Volume 1 (Pac-Man, Pole Position, Rally-X & New Rally-X, Galaga, Bosconian, Toy Pop) Namco Classics Museum Volume 3 (Ms. Pac Man, Galaxian, Pole Position II, The Tower of Druaga, Phozon) Williams Arcade Classics (Joust, Robotron, Defender, Defender II, Sinistar, Bubbles) Konami Arcade Classics (Pooyan, Scramble, Circus Charlie, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Road Fighter, Gyrus, Shao Lin's Road, Roc n' Rope, Time Pilot, Super Cobra) Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Williams Collection 1 (Tempest, Battlezone, Missle Command, Asteroids, Centipede, Super Breakout)