Interview: Building Awesome Little Arcade Games With Replicade
A few days ago, we told you about a neat little Kickstarter campaign in which you could [...]
A few days ago, we told you about a neat little Kickstarter campaign in which you could essentially own your own miniature Centipede arcade cabinet, complete with authentic parts and fully playable controls. That Kickstarter has since become a success, prompting the company behind it, New Wave Toys, to announce a second game coming sometime in 2018 – the arcade classic Tempest!
Making these small little arcade games can't be an easy process, so we talked with New Wave Toys founder Shilo Prychak about their creation, their challenges, and, most importantly, what games we can expect to see next.
First off, who came up with the crazy idea of shrinking down an arcade machine to something for play on like a desk or table?
A collection of vintage arcade cabinets would be my personal holy grail, but this dream is just not possible for many reasons. We created RepliCade for folks, like me, that want an arcade machine collectible that pays proper homage to the original machines.
Was it a novelty sort of thing or did you really want to replicate the arcade experience at home because not everyone could afford a coin-op?
The RepliCade line is all about recreating authentic arcade atmosphere in your home or office. We capture all the details of the original cabinets, so arcaders can recreate the sights and sounds of their dream arcade.
Building A Mini Dream
What was the first thing you researched when it came to putting the Replicade together? The screen? The controls?
We researched the competitive landscape first to validate the concept. Then we dove into the history of the original cabs as we constructed the specs and product plan. We want to know every little detail about these amazing pieces of pop culture, from who designed the original game to any bit of trivia we can find.
How were you able to make controls so small yet so effective in a machine like this?
We're a team of experienced video game peripheral developers that have worked on every type of controller from dance mats to game pads. We made it one of our priorities to ensure the game is played on the original arcade control system. We custom built our trackball and push buttons to get the performance and accurate scale we demand.
When it came to getting the parts for the Replicade, did you consult with actual arcade manufacturers to make sure you had the right parts ready to go?
We're working closely with our partners to ensure authenticity. We don't use any vintage or repop arcade machine parts due to our small scale. Instead we utilize modern technology to faithfully recreate the parts in sixth scale. However, we do use traditional cabinet build materials whenever possible from the wood cab, vinyl overlays, to the metal coin door.
The KickStarter is turning out to be a great success. Would you say there's a lot of folks that believe in the return of retro gaming?
The community response has been extremely positive. We love all the feedback we're getting, and we review and consider each and every feature set suggestion and wish list game. Our community knows the classics will never go out of style.
prevnextSo What's Next?
We also saw that you just announced a Tempest arcade machine. How did you manage to find a Spinner so small to work with it?
The spinner control is still under development, but the same process applies as the track ball. We are going to find as many solutions as we can to get an idea of what works best for this scale machine, then we are going to customize it to be optimal for our machine. We are also testing many different screens to ensure the vector graphics look proper.
When will the Centipede machine be released now that the Kickstarter is a success? And any word on Tempest or is it still a work in progress?
Centipede will be released to the general public shortly after all the KS backers receive their product in Spring 2018. It will be available on NewWaveToys.com as well as a few specialty website and select retailers whom we are currently in negotiations with. Please follow us on social media to stay informed.
Finally, are there any dream Atari games that you'd love to see join the Replicade collection?
Of course. We are huge Atari fans and want to see all of our favorite Atari machines made. However, Atari is just the beginning, we have plans to expand the RepliCade line across several key licenses and include games from every arcade era.
You can follow the company's Kickstarter here.
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