Arcade Oddities: Hero of Steel
Sometimes, a gimmick can do more than catch someone’s eye
The modern arcade is a whimsical beast. The aesthetic is familiar — the cutting glow of dozens of screens, the cacophony of electronic beeps and jingles — but the guts are all new. The arcade has had to evolve quickly to stay relevant in an age of ever more powerful home systems, and some of those transformations have been unexpected.
Back in my old hipster town, the salvation was a simple one: Alcohol. Many bars had a cabinet or two, a modern multicade or a vintage cocktail machine. One of my favorite places — a now-defunct joint known as Ted’s Taphouse, home of the custom flight — even had its own little separate arcade where one might sip a craft IPA while waiting his turn to play Spider-Man pinball.
But in East Asia, where standalone arcades are far more common, getting the patrons drunk isn’t enough. The solution here has been to go big, and especially to go big into gimmicks. The term “gimmick” usually has negative connotations, but sometimes a good gimmick can do more than just catch someone’s eye. When implemented well, such tricks can fundamentally enhance the gameplay…
