The Adventure Begins...

Today is the day that this blog and journey begins!

The title of this project is Marvel Arcade.

As a kid I always enjoyed watching cartoons like X-Men and Spider man. Even more so I loved reading the Marvel comics. However, I was deprived of games as a kid. The console was replaced for a book and education was a main priority. My only saving grace was the arcade. A young lads haven of gaming genius with awesome games such as Bubble Bobble, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and of course Marvel vs Capcom (I loved that game!). But that was all about to change...

It was at uni that I first discovered MAME.

But what is MAME?

Well, MAME is an emulator application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade games systems in software, with the intent of preserving gaming history and preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten. The name is an acronym for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator.
taken from the MAME wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAME/MAME_arcade

Once my friends had seen what I had discovered all hell broke loose! We were gaming until 4 in the morning! But it wasn't the same. Then I thought "hang on, why don't we build an arcade machine?" This was followed by a large laugh. Determined I powered on and here I am today about to start my second project.

Now, for help completing this project I regularly use the Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) forum (hello to everyone over there!). This is a great source for help and (when you become an expert ;-) give help! There is a real sense of community over at the forum, so head over and sign up!
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php

Another great source of help is the BYOAC wiki which can be accessed here:
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

Tasks:

1. PLAN - This IS the MOST important part!
2. Design Artwork
3. Configure PC
4. Build the cabinet
5. Paint the cabinet
6. Wire everything up
7. Play until I can't feel my hands anymore!

This will try to provide some insight to people who were in my position 3 years ago.