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Arcade Saturdays - 172 icons
Note: Because of the source material, these icons will look better
on dark backgrounds

I'm having a really hard time writing an introduction to this set without
sounding too nostalgic. It seems kind of funny, but unless you were growing
up in the late '70s and early '80s you can't imagine the impact that video
games had on our childhood. Gen X may not know where it was when Kennedy
was shot, but we probably all remember where we used to go to play
Asteroids.

At first, Pong and Breakout were the only games you could find, occasionally
at a local pizza parlor. When Space Invaders was released in 1979 you
started to see the games around more; when Asteroids was released you
started to see games everywhere.

I can't remember even going to an Arcade before 1980 (except for the
Penny Arcade at Walt Disney World, which at that time had an array
of mechanical games) but by that summer every kid in the neighborhood
was begging their parents for a ride to the local arcade. There we would
play Pac Man, Galaxian, and the countless bootleg and rip-off variations
the arcade owners hustled in to keep kids playing instead of just watching.

No arcade had every game you wanted to play, so you had to split your
time between the mall (or malls, since each one was different), your local
arcade (which for us was a small, trailer like building with a dirt parking
lot and wood siding), ice cream parlors/pizza places, and the local
convenience store. Only then could you play every game you liked. As the
games caught on giant arcades became more of the norm, and companies
with money combined large game rooms with mini-golf or go-kart racing.
In Orlando, where I grew up, there was a warehouse-sized game room
named "The Fun Machine" across town with 3 to 5 of each game so you
didn't have to line up the quarters in the slot where the games' backlit
title fit into the cabinet. It was like heaven. And 45-minute drive for my
parents. They were the best.

The really odd thing to me is that although most of the games we think
of as classics were all released about the same time, it seemed to take
forever between new machines back then.  remember when Pole Position
and Centipede arrived at the  local arcade. We couldn't believe our eyes.
The owners of the local arcade  always put new games in a special place, 
and whatever was there before got moved. Everytime a new game came
out, it had better graphics, sound, voices, cool controls, bonuses.
Then you waited a year for a watered-down version for your Atari 2600.

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OK, enough nostalgia. Thanks to projects like MAME and shrinkwrapped
software like Microsoft Arcade and the Namco Classics series for
Playstation, you can play any of your old favorites any time you want.
It occured to me, during a heated game of Bosconian, that the designers
of these early games were the only people really pushing computer art
at the time. They faced a lot of constraints:  limited palletes (usually of 
16 colors), limited sprite sizes (often 16x16 pixels, which was then 
doubled for display on the monitors)�hey, wait a minute, that sounds 
just like the same limitations we icon artist face! These people laid the
groundwork for everything we do! They even had to create 8x8 'super-
mini' icons in some games to represent extra lives!

So in the spirit of those early days, and the designers, programmers,
and companies that brought us the games we treasure today, we
present this tribute to the very first icon designers; and to the
happiness, frustration, and inspiration their work brought us all.

BTW, the games were selected for the "iconability" and because they
were my favorites. That's why there's no Defender�too many buttons.
Is there a classic game you'd like to have icons for? Make your own,
it's easy!

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The icons in this set were created by How Bowers. Asteroids ©1979 Atari,
Berzerk ©1980 Stern, Bosconian ©1981 Namco, Centipede ©1980 Atari,
Dig Dug ©1982 Namco, Donkey Kong ©1981 Nintendo of America, Inc.
Donkey Kong Jr. ©1982 Nintendo of America Inc., Frogger ©1981 Sega
Galaga ©1981 Namco, Galaxian © Namco, Joust ©1982 Williams 
Electronics, Inc., Ms. Pac Man ©1980/1981 Midway Mfg Co,
Pac Man ©1980 Midway Mfg. Co., Scramble ©1981 Stern, Space Invaders 
©1978 Midway, Wizard of Wor ©1980 Midway Mfg Co. All trademarks 
are property of their respective owners. These icons can be used free of 
charge by any person or company without a licensing fee. These icons can 
only be distributed as freeware. If you choose to re-distribute these icons, 
you must not charge fees or request compensation of any kind. This document 
must be included with the files. You may not edit or alter these icons except 
for your own personal use. By downloading this file, you are bound by the 
terms of this agreement.

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Visit Mad Science Laboratories on the Internet for icons,
games, and whatever else we come up with in the labs.

Direct your browser of choice to: http://www.madsciencelaboratories.com
You can write to Professor Bowers here: how@madsciencelaboratories.com

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Play the games at home!

For Macintosh
MacMAME homepage: http://www.macmame.org

For Windows
MAME homepage: http://www.mame.org
Microsoft Return of Arcade (Pac Man, Pole Positon, Dig Dug, Galaxian)
Microsoft Revenge of Arcade (Ms. Pac Man, Xevious, Rally-X, Mappy, Motos)

For Playstation
Namco Classics Museum Volume 1 (Pac-Man, Pole Position, Rally-X & 
New Rally-X, Galaga, Bosconian, Toy Pop)
Namco Classics Museum Volume 3 (Ms. Pac Man, Galaxian, Pole Position II,
The Tower of Druaga, Phozon)
Williams Arcade Classics (Joust, Robotron, Defender, Defender II, 
Sinistar,  Bubbles)
Konami Arcade Classics (Pooyan, Scramble, Circus Charlie, Yie Ar Kung-Fu,
Road Fighter, Gyrus, Shao Lin's Road, Roc n' Rope, Time Pilot, Super Cobra)
Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Williams Collection 1 (Tempest, Battlezone,
Missle Command, Asteroids, Centipede, Super Breakout)