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[Dragonmaw]

Alright. Here goes.

I'm currently working on establishing an arcade in the Seattle area. However, instead of being a strictly traditional arcade, this one will be a little more unique. If an indie developer so wishes, they can give us an exclusive arcade edition of their game (preferably with added stuff, like extra stages or new modes) and we will turn it into a cabinet. Or we can pay them for said exclusive arcade edition. Either works. These custom made indie game cabinets will be the primary focus of the arcade, and will let developers test their games on the open market, get statistics about play, and maybe earn a little extra cash if they are successful enough.

On the side will be a cafe and a small music venue, which will be used to provide nourishment for arcade goers as well as promotion for the arcade proper via music and contests using it.

Currently, there are a number of games/cabs we have lined up for the initial launch of the arcade:

Probability 0
Super Crate Box
Spelunky
Winnitron
Streemerz
Rescue The Beagles
Jumpman

The arcade also has support from a number of people in the area as well as indie folk. Brandon Boyer and Alec Holowka have agreed to help out in any way they can, and one of the big arcade guys in the area has also agreed to assist.

Here's where you guys come in. if any of you want to see an arcade version of your game, POST YOUR SUPPORT HERE. It could be something as simple as "yeah, if you pay me some money, I'll give you a copy of my game." If you want to go into more detail, that's fine with me!

Edit: NAME IS NOW THE BUTTON MASHERS.

Finally, once the promo images are up, we'll be opening up a project on Kickstarter. This arcade is going to take a fairly significant amount of money to get off the ground (at least 20k), so any link love would be greatly appreciated. I'll be providing full financial details on the Kickstarter page as per the costs.

Oh, and regarding any similarities between Babycastles and this: Babycastles is both more of an art exhibit (and that's why it's absolutely fantastic) and is in New York City. This arcade will be a business, not an art exhibit, although it will be a mixture of both regardless thanks to the indie games that will be put into the cabinets. Profits from the business, after paying all expenses and assuming they are high enough, will be funneled back into the indie community to help fund projects and keep indie devs doing their rockin' thing.

Any questions, suggestions, and such are welcome! And please, PLEASE, help me find a name!

[moi]

This sounds totally cool. Are you looking for a particular type/genre of games?

[Dragonmaw]

This sounds totally cool. Are you looking for a particular type/genre of games?

Anything that would work well in an arcade.

So no minecraft.

[allen]

what, you'd make a ton of money with minecraft.

lock the game on the hardest difficulty and every 50 cents it gives them an extra heart health (of course take all the food out of the game) and if you respawn you have to pay 5 dollars to get your loot back. 

I notice your list is lacking shooters. This must be rectified. You should try contacting charlie from http://www.charliesgames.com
irukandji and bullet candy perfect ( & space phallus) would be great choices.

[Dragonmaw]

what, you'd make a ton of money with minecraft.

lock the game on the hardest difficulty and every 50 cents it gives them an extra heart health (of course take all the food out of the game) and if you respawn you have to pay 5 dollars to get your loot back. 

I notice your list is lacking shooters. This must be rectified. You should try contacting charlie from http://www.charliesgames.com
irukandji and bullet candy perfect ( & space phallus) would be great choices.

I also have Kenta Cho on my "to reach" list so we can maybe get games like Torus Trooper, Gunroar, and rRootage in the arcade. And the Warning Forever guy as well.

[Hangedman]

Names because I like naming things
Gunteeth
Lonelydad(s)
Empty Rocket
Art Game?

[oyog]

I've been fantasizing about starting a project like this for a while now.  I was imagining an indie games bar based in the Pioneer Valley.  It would have badass local beers and badass indie games.

I think it'd be pretty cool to play 8-bit Killer and Hydorah if LocoMalito was interested.

Hope you've made this idea a reality by the time my girlfriend and I cross the country next year.

How are you planning on licensing the games?

[Dragonmaw]

I've been fantasizing about starting a project like this for a while now.  I was imagining an indie games bar based in the Pioneer Valley.  It would have badass local beers and badass indie games.

I think it'd be pretty cool to play 8-bit Killer and Hydorah if LocoMalito was interested.

Hope you've made this idea a reality by the time my girlfriend and I cross the country next year.

How are you planning on licensing the games?

One-time exclusive license with the developer. They provide us with an arcade-exclusive version of the game, we pay them a lump fee for the game. Probably somewhere between 100-300 dollars per game, since that's what your average PCB costs.

Assuming the arcade turns a significant profit through marketing and promotion, we'll offer profit sharing. But that's a dangerous thing to start the arcade with, especially since we are unsure just how successful it will be.

There's a number of extra incentives to help out as well, such as first dibs for the devs on retiring cabs and such.

As an aside, this place will be booze-free. It already requires quite a few licenses, and putting potentially drunk people around arcade cabinets is a nightmare for maintenance.

[Hangedman]

More names
Arcadoom
Indiestructible
Indiefeated
Plush Violence Arcade
(The) Cool Uncle

...Bullet Heaven (this one is the very best I am super proud of it)

[mcc]

:D This sounds awesome. If you are interested in using my game Jumpman let me know and I'll make whatever mods you need. I think it might work well in an arcade context ( although I'm not sure if the fact an average first-time playthrough takes 100-200 lives would cause problems when deaths cost you money... ^_^ )

[Dragonmaw]

:D This sounds awesome. If you are interested in using my game Jumpman let me know and I'll make whatever mods you need. I think it might work well in an arcade context ( although I'm not sure if the fact an average first-time playthrough takes 100-200 lives would cause problems when deaths cost you money... ^_^ )

That would be AMAZING. Jumpman is one of my favorite games, haha. Definitely will add this to my list, and be in contact with you regarding any necessary mods.

[Riley Adams]

This sounds interesting! (especially since I'm in Seattle for college...). Any idea of location?

I have a game that might possibly work. It's called Island Hopping, I originally made it for Ludum Dare 17. I've been in a cycle of remaking and starting over with it between other projects, but I'll probably have a version I'm satisfied with within the next few months. I think it's sufficiently arcade-y (apparently it's addicting, the leaderboard for the buggy LD version has a little over 1.5 million recorded scores).

Here's a video of the ludum dare version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwBp37Yc850

[Hangedman]

Here's a question. Will you be making individual cabs for each game, or just make a bunch of cabs that you can rotate games in and out of with swappable art inserts on the sides and front?

[Dragonmaw]

This sounds interesting! (especially since I'm in Seattle for college...). Any idea of location?

I have a game that might possibly work. It's called Island Hopping, I originally made it for Ludum Dare 17. I've been in a cycle of remaking and starting over with it between other projects, but I'll probably have a version I'm satisfied with within the next few months. I think it's sufficiently arcade-y (apparently it's addicting, the leaderboard for the buggy LD version has a little over 1.5 million recorded scores).

Here's a video of the ludum dare version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwBp37Yc850

Sure! The thing is that the arcade would require an arcade-exclusive version. This includes necessary additions to make coin-ops workable (a simple continue system where you press a button to get a continue, basically) and we'd also like exclusive arcade-only things.

The reason behind the arcade exclusive versions is that arcades have been suffering because of the home console market. There needs to be incentive for players to come into the arcade and play a the game, and arcade controls is not a strong enough reason. This is especially true for freeware indie titles, since you can get them for free and play them all you want.

Here's a question. Will you be making individual cabs for each game, or just make a bunch of cabs that you can rotate games in and out of with swappable art inserts on the sides and front?

Both. There will be some cabs that are individual per game, some per developer, and some that will be used as a rotating showcase.

As an aside, all games will require cabinet art to be displayed on the floor.

[oyog]

As an aside, this place will be booze-free. It already requires quite a few licenses, and putting potentially drunk people around arcade cabinets is a nightmare for maintenance.

Haha.  Yeah, that's a big part of it remaining a fantasy and I suppose what I'm imagining is really more of a pub than a bar.

There just so many games that are great playing drunk with friends.