Coin Op Capers

[paranoid marvin]

Ok , maybe this should go in the feedback thread , but I thought I'd open a new one for 2 reasons ; firstly to emphasise how seriously impressed I am with this new feature and secondly so that we might be able to suggest other arcade machines that could be covered

For me , this was the complete article - details of the arcade original , plenty of shots of the cab's artwork , an interview with theworld champ (nice touch!) , tips on how to survive , information regarding sequels , comparisons of conversions including a Q&A with 2 of the programmers , and best of all detailed info about the mechanics of the cab itself. For anyone with even a passing interest in Op Wolf , this is the equivalent of one of Stu' Campbell's definitives. I left this feature to be read last , and it certainly didnt disappoint. Not sure who wrote t , but the design and layout is perfect , and the pece was very well written ; if this is a sign of things to come , then the future looks very rosy indeed.

Now , as regards the next cab to be featured - I'd suggest Atari's Firefox or sit-down Star Wars cab? Atari cabs - whatever you may think of the games - were always topnotch and very well designed with great artwork and differing controller layouts.

[Antiriad2097]

I've not read this yet (got carried away with Dungeons and Desktops).

Firefox would be a nice scoop, but unlikely due to the scarcity of cabs.

Star Wars on the other hand is (or used to be) resident in the RG office, so would be a no brainer. Unless of course the staff are now sick of the sight of it.

[FatTrucker]

Firefox works in Mame now.

[Antiriad2097]

It does? I need to get me some of that.

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

The coin-op capers are a little trickier to pull off than we'd like do to a number of things.

First and most importantly, you want an interesting coin-op. Once you start getting to the late 80s most cabs were jamma and were therefore generic. The aim was to have more unique coin-ops as they just look a hell of a lot nicer. We've been looking at Double Dragon, and while it's a unique cab, the artwork for it is pretty naff.

Secondly, interviews. One of the things that makes the article for me is the additional interviews. We've managed to track down Keith Burkhill for Space Harrier, but it's not always easy finding old coders, and if we haven't got an interview with them (espeically as an interview with the original jap coders is literally impossible) I don't feel a game would be worth covering.

Thirdly - Um there is something but I can't remember it off the top of my head.

We're welcome to suggestions, especially if you know of old coders, but don't be surprised if the feature pops up every other month.

[hydr0x]

I've not read this yet (got carried away with Dungeons and Desktops).

How dare you remind me that my copy's still sitting on the unread shelf? Now I'm feeling guilty again for not having read this yet...

[Antiriad2097]

I've not read this yet (got carried away with Dungeons and Desktops).

How dare you remind me that my copy's still sitting on the unread shelf? Now I'm feeling guilty again for not having read this yet...

I wouldn't worry about it, I've got a whole shelf full of unread gaming books

I want to read them, but every time I start considering it another issue of RG drops through the door.

[hydr0x]

I've not read this yet (got carried away with Dungeons and Desktops).

How dare you remind me that my copy's still sitting on the unread shelf? Now I'm feeling guilty again for not having read this yet...

I wouldn't worry about it, I've got a whole shelf full of unread gaming books

I want to read them, but every time I start considering it another issue of RG drops through the door.

It's not my only unread one either Just halfway through Power-Up. Some back issue of RG or Dungeons and Desktops will be next though

[HalcyonDaze00]

Double Dragon would be amazing, never mind about the artwork get it done !!

[Mr_Staypuft]

(espeically as an interview with the original jap coders is literally impossible)

May I put my noob hat on, and ask why this is so, Darran?

I've always suspected it was hard (As RG seems to reach many coders for the home machines)
but I'm not sure I understand what difficulty one faces in finding / interviewing Japanese arcade coders in particular?

[CraigGrannell]

In my experience, the following problems are fairly common with Japanese coders:

1. Many of the old games are not credited and so finding out who created them is really hard. (And even if you do have a credit, it's often tricky to track people down.)
2. Plenty of Japanese coders aren't prepared to take the credit, citing everything as a team effort.
3. Lots of Japanese people don't speak or write English well enough to conduct an interview (or even respond to an English email/answerphone message). This means you either need someone who can speak/write in fluent Japanese to conduct an interview or who can act as a go-between/translator via email.
4. There's a tendency for some interviewees to be rather blunt and generic, and the balance towards this versus 'insanely helpful' varies by country. In the US, almost everyone I've spoken to (especially ex-Williams and ex-Atari) has been really detailed about everything and excited to talk about the old days. In the UK, there's maybe a 50/50 split, where you half the time have to coax more detailed answers out of people. In Japan, you find things often tend towards very brief and not particularly insightful answers.

There are, of course, plenty of exceptions to all these things, though, hence the interviews already published in the mag and those in forthcoming issues.

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

As Craig says. Honour is also a difficult obstacle to overcome. I've known where the creator of the Strider arcade game has been for years, but he will not speak to me unless I get permission from Capcom Japan. So far that permission hasn't been forthcoming so he won't speak to me

[Megamixer]

Thirdly - Um there is something but I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Conversions? I'd imagine that there would be a big chunk missing if there wasn't a little bit to write about best/worst home conversions.

[arcadebarn]

I love the coin op capers section but I am biased as I love coinops!

I have a atari firefox sitdown ( the only one I know of in the UK ) but its still waiting a full restoration. I have all the bits..... It is a very cool cab / game !

[Dunjohn]

I've not read this yet (got carried away with Dungeons and Desktops).

How dare you remind me that my copy's still sitting on the unread shelf? Now I'm feeling guilty again for not having read this yet...

...an UNREAD shelf! Genius! Now I'll finally be able to shame myself into getting through all that stuff!

Anyhow, the topic, which was... oh yeah. Not having ever played Operation Wolf, aside from a quick blast on a friend's C64 of which the only thing I remember is the loading time, I can safely say I now know more about the game than I do my own family. It's a seriously impressive article style. I'd imagine a lot of work needs to go into them but I hope they keep coming.