> The Arcade Signal

I was at work today listening to a lore podcast about the Resident Evil series, and it really brought me back to when I first played the second one on the good old PlayStation. Something about those tank controls and an enemy called the “Licker” always scared the crap out of me.

Then my mind started wandering, as it tends to do when you’re working for a living. And then I realized something… I made an arcade 3D tic-tac-toe game. What is wrong with me? I should have made my cheeseburger game. I’m not going to talk about that one quite yet. Trust me, there’s a funny story there.

But anyway, I’m getting off topic. I remember when there was still a sense of fun and wonder in the world. I remember being a kid playing the Twilight Zone pinball machine, and it honestly blew my mind. Growing up in the 80s and watching shows like that really got me into the whole mindset of science fiction and fantasy. Being able to see stories like that play out on TV, and then discovering there were graphical adventure games that let you explore worlds like that yourself, completely blew my mind.

You don’t really see stuff like that anymore. People as a whole just seem to want something cheap and flashy. Back in my day we had 386 computers, the Atari 2600, and arcades, and by golly those were some of the best days. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at the evidence. Look at the arcade games, the movies, the board games. Even board games based on video game properties like Pac-Man and Berzerk.

I remember playing Dark Seed because, for whatever reason, I always thought the game looked cool. It felt like a dark, morbid adventure, and stuff like that is exactly what I love experiencing in games.

I guess that’s why I ended up writing a 3D tic-tac-toe arcade game. I’m not bragging at all, believe me. I love the game and I think it’s awesome, but I’m not bragging.

It’s funny how listening to a Resident Evil lore podcast somehow led me to thinking about programming and what inspires me.