It seems that the idea of promoting your indie-produced game title (which is generally intended for a PC/XBLA/PSN/WiiWare release) inside of an arcade cabinet is starting to catch steam up to the point of becoming a fad.
There are two current events where independently produced titles are using arcade games to promote themselves. First is the Fantastic Arcade event that is a part of the Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, TX. There several games including Enviro-Bear 2000, Every Day the Same Dream, Monaco, Nidhogg and Norrland all used their own arcade cabinet as a way to draw attention to the game. Game blog Joystiq was there and snapped some shots of the various setups, although only one of them featured real arcade controls, with Enviro-Bear 2000 doing a trackball controller, real arcade buttons and took it a step further with a fur covered panel(thanks for the correction Rob).
The second event which takes place this coming Saturday on Oct. 2nd is The Arcadian Renaissance which is a part of the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche arts festival in Toronto, Canada. There six indie titles will be shown off in classic style arcade machines, which includes Night of the Cephalopods, lockOn 2, AlbaCross, Mondrian Provoked Monster Puncher and Heavy Weather. The aforementioned Nidhogg will also be there as a part of a tournament. You can read more about this festival at GameSetWatch.
I’ve already mentioned how this idea could be developed and taken further to a point to benefit arcade locations. If I only had the resources to make it a reality…
Hey shaggy, you changed your handle to “arcadehero”? 😉 Also, do you have a link on where you mention the idea to take this further to benefit arcade locations?
Yeah, the website move made me create a new account although I can choose Shaggy for each post, I just forget that the option is there most of the time since it’s far down the screen. I like Arcade Hero though too. 🙂
Here’s a link where I throw my idea out there:
https://arcadeheroes.com/2010/09/14/promoting-indie-games-with-an-arcade-cabinet/
I honestly think that the idea or something like it could be what is needed to bring back that feeling in arcades of having something fresh to offer.
Look at how successful download-only indie games have sold on the xbox 360 and iphone. It would be great if arcades could have a download only platform with competitive prices.
Actually EnivroBear 2000 did have proper arcade controls: a lightup trackball and two buttons. And a panel covered in fake fur.
Ah missed that, thanks for catching it