Extra Sensory Memories
Memories are not just visual, I find that many of my strongest memory triggering events focus on smell and taste. These will shape my "food" section that I think is a must for any arcade. While all the true arcades I saw at the mall were near the food court, the ones in my mind had their own snack bars. A snack bar is a must for me because food is nostalgia.
The skating rink is one of my most early memories. I could not skate, but I remember going there with my sisters and cousins a few times. This was probably around 3-4 years old? Somewhere around there. It was so long ago that I can not remember the games AT ALL. But I do remember other things. There was an Alvin and the Chipmunks cardboard cut out at the front that I always wanted to play in because it looked like a tree house. The other thing I remember is Bugles. Yes, the salty corn snack Bugles. It is a very powerful taste to memory association for that time period. EVERY time I eat or smell Bugles, it makes me 3 years old again. Very little things in my life are as strong a send back as that. So Bugles is a must. Vending machines are super costly brand new, yet pretty damn cheap used, so I will probably look to Ebay for that. I have some ideas on how to manage a vending machine also, that'll be in the cost evaluation posts later.
My most frequented "arcades" were actually little sections in other stores. Walmart is where I got most my arcade experience, but it was set up at the front of the place, so aside from pressure sensitive doors, nothing much about it to remember. But then there was Pizza. Pizza Hut was a place that had 2 or 3 arcades and I got to play a game every time we came to pick up our pizza. The games... weren't really all that great. There are nice shiny stickers... so that's something I need to put down on the ideas list. Later it was CiCi's Pizza, the one that recently went out of business, where I got my arcade gaming on after the old Walmart moved. Whoever ran it was a big Mortal Kombat fan because they got the latest version of the game as soon as it was out. The pizza was secondary, but the smell was always there. Pizza and Rootbeer. Its weird for me to have pizza without having rootbeer with it now. A soda machine might be right out of budget, but one of those turn style pizza bakers may not be. Lastly in this section we have popcorn.
It was the old movie theater from my childhood that makes me think of popcorn when I think of games. That theater always had movies a year after they were released, the prints were in horrible condition, and their games were just as bad and old. But old beat up arcades still held great games; I played the hell out of Pole Position, Punch-out, and even played Street Fighter 1. So a popcorn machine is a must... I just have to decide weather Air-popped with no oil will cut it or not. My HUGE HUGE problem... that place used a coconut oil system for their popcorn. Now the type of oil largely dictates what the popcorn smells like and i bet the one from your childhood used coconut oil. When it gets cold, your coconut oil solidifies. So every time I'd want to make a batch for memories sake... I'd have to make sure the oil is warmed before turning the machine on. I do not know if any other kind of popcorn would trigger my memories as much, as the vegitable based oils will bring up my teenage movie theater job memories instead.
Bugles, Pizza, Rootbeer, Popcorn, prioritized in that order. There are some super cheap additional things I may get for atmosphere and because they're cheap. I think I may end up just keeping the soda in the fridge, and cooking the pizza in the oven, but making sure I have a way to present it in the room.
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