Saturday 12 May 2012

Arcade Features & Limitations

How arcade machines still look today!
Arcade systems have been functioning for many many years, with the introduction to some of the first games to ever be made and brought out, with the use of vector and raster technologies and the start of using 3D geons & advancements towards realistic graphics. Arcade game machines have been the pinnacle to the success of such machines we use now-a-days for our gaming consoles, without the creation and development of these machines, gaming could be a thing of the past with a limited knowledge into what it provides.

Alongside the technical advancements which have been made, the hardware in which these machines use has revolutionised the ideology behind creating such complex machines, as more and more games were released and needed hardware upgrades, it pushed competing companies to find a way to create the next best piece of hardware. This continued until 1999 where arcades slowed for the development and the technologies were designed for household consoles. 

Arcades have advanced further in such areas:
Features:
  • Coin operation
  • Buttons & joystick controls
  • Standard screen with basic graphics
  • Limited hardware and software capabilities
  • Co-op Support
  • One machine = One game
  • Range of different games from shooters to dancing
  • Advancements have been made since the 1960's
Functions:
  • 2 joysticks for co-op support
  • Standing controls for dancing games
  • Driving controls for racing games
  • Outputs sound & force feedback
  • Video output
Limitations:
  • No online support or Multiplayer
  • Very large & hardware Dependant
  • Older hardware than whats used today
  • Can crash a lot of the time
  • Rarely used anymore besides dedicated arcades
  • Games are created for them anymore unless they're arcade based
  • Can't save games
  • Basic Graphics (Low quality)
  • Game cannot be changed, one machine per game