Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Tyler and I beat "1941 Counter Attack" last night. Only 1999 games left to beat on that arcade machine. "Oh man, I died again." "Well hit the coin button and continue." "Oh yeah… this is so sweet."

After a year of talk, the arcade machine has finally come to life. Last night I got the controls wired and installed on the machine. The only tasks left now are just for touch up. All the main functionality is there! Feel free to come by any time to check it out. One of these nights we'll have to have an arcade game tournament instead of Halo.

Where did I eat lunch today? Home Depot! I had to pick up a few more things for the arcade machine and I've got class tonight so I can't do it on the way home. That makes 5 trips to Home Depot and 1 to Lowe's in the last 4 days. I'm predicting a finished arcade machine by this time next week.

The arcade page is up and running. Be sure to check it out often!

The arcade machine is here! Swarna and I made the 200 mile round trip out to Rheems, PA to pick up the arcade cabinet. We were riding in style in our Chevy minivan that I rented from work. I ended up getting an old Asteroids cabinet. So now I have the cabinet, the computer, and the games. All that's left is getting the keyboard emulator here (it's on its way from England) and ordering some more joysticks and buttons. Those things and a few trips to Radio Shack should produce some gaming fun! I'm going to put together a project web page with photos and information so you can keep up to date on the project if you're interested.

Arcade cabinet update! I've located an arcade cabinet for sale out in Rheems, PA. I've rented a minivan and I'm headed out there on Friday. Anybody wanna go on a road trip?

The arcade project is making some more progress. The PC is built and almost ready to be put in the cabinet (whenever I get it.) In the beginning, it will be primarily a Nintendo box, but I'll think about adding more in the future. Now is the time to get your favorite Nintendo game on the machine. Send me a list of games you can't live without and I'll try to get them put on the box.

I'm making the first actual steps in building the arcade machine. Today, Amy graciously donated an old computer (P3 600) to me. I'll be installed all the necessary software on it this weekend. I also have a line on a possible arcade cabinet although getting it to the house is still questionable. After I get the cabinet, the last major step is choosing which way to hook controls to the computer. I'll be sure to keep you updated as I go.

The BYOP DVD is finished and ready to ship! There is a behind the scenes video which shows some of the work done with Maya, the old PovRay Lego movie, stop motion animation Legos, and a Terragen movie. I'll ship you a copy if you send me an email and $5 to cover costs. If you see me in person it's only $3 since I don't have to package and ship it.

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! BYOP is posted!