I remember growing up in the country in which the local video store was the one spot which had arcade machines.
I would make my way there religiously and swap my pocket money for coins.
Then I would play The Simpsons and a few of the other popular games until all I was left with was empty pockets.
I had the best time...
ever! Perhaps I'm sentimental, or maybe I just didn't grow up...
but I've always wished for my very own arcade machine.
I didn't know if I could just head out and purchase an one and if you could I didn't know how much it would cost.
What I did know was that I have always been very capable with my hands.
I began wondering if it were possible-and less expensive-for me to construct one myself.
Purchase or construct? There are a couple approaches to bring your home arcade to life: build one or purchase one.
If you are too eager or don't have a place where you can build one then the simplest option to take is just go on eBay and acquire a ready-made MAME machine for a few thousand dollars (plus delivery).
I didn't have a few thousand dollars available to purchase one so that wasn't a choice for me.
It is in no way inexpensive to build one either, however, if you have an old computer and monitor lying around and you have a shed with a few tools in it, then you have removed the most costly items already.
Furthermore, getting out in your shed and getting your hands dirty is very gratifying-especially if you are like me and you spend your days at work hunched over a computer.
I chose to put my own arcade machine together however I still didn't know how to start.
I looked on the internet for designs and directions.
I discovered some plans that were pretty cheap and accessible in PDF format that I could download immediately.
There was also the possibility to get full-sized cut-outs but I opted not to.
The next hurdle was to find a place where I could put my idea together because at that point in time I was living in a two bedroom apartment.
That is where I turned to my sister and her fiance for help.
I turned up to dinner at their home one night armed with the construction diagrams.
I showed my soon to be brother in-law and explained to him what I was attempting to do.
He loved the idea AND he wanted to build his own too.
All of a sudden I had a partner in crime which ended up being a great help for this sort of project.
That weekend we headed to the local hardware store for the necessary materials.
We showed the sales assistant our plans and asked if he could point us in the right direction.
He questioned if we had completed any work similar to this before.
We said that we hadn't and then he gave us a glance that appeared like he no chance of getting this completed.
We brushed off his initial reaction, still fired up by the thought of having our very own arcade machines.
We loaded up the car with the necessary supplies and headed home.
We were ready to get started.