Seeds of an Idea and Meeting the Raspberry Pi

How the Idea Started

The idea to actually have a retro arcade machine began when we moved into a new home that came with my long wished for item of a finished basement "man cave".  I always dreamed of the day that I'd have a man cave.  But beyond the obligatory pool table, poker table, dart board, etc. I always wanted two items in my man cave... a real, fully functioning casino slot machine and an arcade machine (at the time, I was thinking of an original classic machine like Pac-Man).

Future home of arcade cabinet

As you can see, half of that dream is in place.  The man cave has a perfect spot for the slot machine and arcade cabinet.  It's just waiting on me!  As mentioned, my first thought was to find an original functioning classic arcade machine.  But as I soon learned, these are becoming rare (meaning expensive to buy) and the on-going upkeep and maintenance could be a challenge.  I'm learning this lesson from the slot machine, where the parts are old and not easily sourced or replaced.

So, my next thought was to purchase one of those pre-built retail multicades.

These can run anywhere from $1,500 - $4,000+.  But after visiting a couple of locations and playing with the machines, there were a lot of issues for me.  First, they came pre-populated with a set number of games... anywhere from 40 or so to around 400.  Often there were certain games available on one model but not on another.  I also did not like the display, where the aspect ratio stretched many of the game displays (maybe this could be configured within the machine's settings, I don't know).  But I knew I didn't want to drop that kind of dough on a machine that would not have the games I really wanted or have a display I wasn't happy with.  So, I put the idea aside for a while and the slot machine continued to wait for its companion.

But then along came the Raspberry Pi!

Hello Raspberry Pi

I had heard of the Raspberry Pi and knew that lots of folks were doing interesting things with them... like remote temperature monitoring of a smoker and other cool things.  And, as a general rule, they run Linux. Again, not really my forte.  But after hearing me complain about not getting to do "technical" work anymore, my co-workers got together and bought me a Raspberry Pi starter kit (Canakit.... comes with Pi, SD card, case, power supply, HDMI cable, etc.) for a Christmas gift.

To be honest, my first reaction was "What in the heck am I going to do with this thing?".  Not that the gift wasn't appreciated, but I wasn't sure what to do with it.  So, like most people, I turned to Google for 'Raspberry Pi' uses.  It wasn't long before I stumbled across many, many links where people were using the Pi in building custom retro arcades.  Ding, ding, ding.... here was something I always wanted (a retro arcade) and would also fill my urge to get back into technical work.  I had no idea at the time what I was getting myself into, or how obsessed I would soon become.

In case you aren't familiar with the Raspberry Pi, it is basically a computer on a single circuit board.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

Among other built-in features, it has both wired and wireless connectivity, bluetooth, 4 USB ports and HDMI.  File system and storage is via a MicroSD card.  Seemed like a perfect platform to experiment with making my own retro arcade machine!  If you're interested and don't already know about it, full specs on the Raspberry Pi 3 can be found at:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-3-model-b/

So, with only a Raspberry Pi starter kit and a dream in my head, I embarked on the start of my journey.

Next: Installing OS, Emulators and Games on the Pi >>