Building an arcade machine from scratch
 

So a friend and I had this crazy idea to build arcade machines from scratch. As it stands right now I am a little over $700 invested in it and still have about another $280 to go before it is complete. In total I will have just under a grand into this thing :eek: but it will be capable of playing over 6000 games ranging from Atari and old school arcade games up to playstation 3 games :tup: (may need to upgrade the computer later to pull off ps3 games)


I have attached a .pdf that includes all the parts I purchased and plan to purchase, as well as quantities, prices and links to where I purchased them.

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...uild-plan.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...-side-cut.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...sides-cut.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...rt-boards.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...le-top-cut.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...ting-there.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...lmost-done.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...ser-warmer.jpg

I have already ordered the vinyl that I designed in Photoshop as the artwork to wrap the machine and I will pick it up today when I leave work. I have yet to build the controller deck and drill the holes for the buttons. I will continue to post pictures of the build if you all are interested.

that's cool.

so is someone going to sit inside the screen with puppets or something or?


;)

For now it will be powered by a Dell OptiPlex 330 with a GeForce 210 video card. Nothing fancy but it will work.

What software are you using?

Fuckin hell... Make me one too!!!

I will be using Hyperspin as a front end loader to all my emulators. I will be using MAME for the arcade emulation and various other emulators for different platforms.

if there ends up being a serious demand for this I maybe able to work something out. I can legally build the machine and get you the emulators but the games themselves I cannot legally put on the machine. with that being said....google is your friend.

It will not be cheap to build or ship these things as they are big and heavy as hell. A ton of the cost that I have in this machine can be trimmed significantly. the vinyl graphics do not need to be done for the sides, it can be done a cheaper route, also putting a 28" LED TV in there can be slimmed down to a 22" or whatever. Tons of ways to cut corners....

I picked up my vinyls last night after work and applied the marquee as well as the monitor cover for a test fit. My last name is "Kleman" in case you were wondering what that means :p

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...eally-nice.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/wolfe...-installed.jpg

Great project :tup:

Thank you! it has been very fun and expensive so far :rofl2:
I cannot wait to get the rest of the vinyl's applied, it will really make the machine look "store bought"

Awesome project dude! Can't wait to see the final results

Hey, the plans are more than adequate! Keep up the good work!

Thank you Sir! :tup: I got the general shape and height off of this guys build ArcadeCab- MAME cabinet plans and related information and the rest of it I have been designing as I go. I changed the whole marquee display area and I also added a retractable tray for the keyboard and mouse under where the controller deck will be. I play on making the controller deck hinged so I can access the underside for repairs and to control the computer if I need to change any settings or whatnot.

Looking good.

I played around with MAME/emulators/ROM images/&c many years back and was amazed at how well it worked and how many of the old games were available. I didn't go to the trouble of building controllers and some of the games were all but impossible to play with mouse and keyboard. It was fun seeing some of the games of yore.

Edit: For those that might be interested in a project like this, there are LOTS of old game ROMs freely available on the Web. If a title is still being sold, you may not be able to get it but very few of the old, 8-/16-bit games are still in production.

Very true, there are thousands of games available. I would be more than happy to give any advise on a build if anyone wanted to start one.