2 Warps to Neptune

4 Responses to “Arcade Cabinets: <em>Tempest</em> (1981)”

1. 1 leftylimbo March 3, 2012 at 4:43 am

   Woo hoo. Filling the blanks at it’s very best.

   I would rank Tempest among the Top 10 most distinctive and definitive arcade game sounds from my experience.

   Somehow I remember most of the Tempest cabinets being super loud, chaotic (of course) and heavy on the bass. Sometimes I think the arcade/bowling alley owners intentionally set them at a slightly higher volume because the game sounds were so imposing and demanded attention. Or maybe it was just the nature of the game.

   Ah. Those controls. So well engineered and incredibly intuitive…I remember that knob thing being totally sensitive. It was common practice to send that thing spinning with a flick of the wrist when one was transported to the next level, just for the fun of it.

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2. 2 2W2N March 3, 2012 at 5:10 am

   Hell yes. Spinning the dial after completing a level. The most awesomely obnoxious video game attract mode I can remember is Gorf: “Try again! I eat coins!” “Prepare for annihilation!”

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3. 3 Don Gates July 26, 2013 at 8:27 pm

   Tempest was IT, man. The graphics and game seemed so revolutionary at the time, and the art on the cabinet was certainly one of the best examples of sparking the imagination and letting you fill in the blanks (perfect term for game art of the day, yes!). Plus: all these years later it’s helped give birth to the urban legend of mind-controlling arcade game “Polybius” (look it up if you haven’t before… it’s a terrific 80’s urban legend that still pokes its head out every once in a while today).

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4. 4 2W2N July 28, 2013 at 3:08 am

   Yes! I’m not sure where I heard about Polybius, but I’ve heard about it. I’m still not sure how it started…

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