The Arcade Machine

Here at VGDC, we care a lot about our arcade machine. While we eagerly await the conclusion of Project Forge, join us for a deep dive into the machine's history and what it means to us!

If you've ever attended one of our events, you might've seen this thing around—it's our very own arcade unit! Being a popular attraction at any of our events, we consider it to be one of the club's greatest achievements.

One of the earliest photos of the arcade machine in action. Taken sometime in 2017.

The machine ended up in our hands sometime during the 2010s. A member of VGDC at the time was working part time at an arcade—when one of their machines began to malfunction, rather than throw it out, they decided to donate it to the club! Interestingly, it seemed to have started life as a Mortal Kombat unit.

The current design of the arcade machine. Photo taken in spring of 2025.

The arcade machine's controls. Artwork by @f3nxyz on Discord and Instagram.

Last year, our tech committee gave the machine a large revamp. Featuring new original artwork on the machine's controls by Cass Adefuin, one of our marketing officers, the whole unit was changed to be more in line with VGDC's current branding. Much of the physical upgrading to the machine was done by Timothy Washburn, one of our tech officers.

Ethan Carter claiming victory over Breanna Lau in a game of SNAKE2.

Our machine is populated with games made by members of VGDC! While the majority of them come from our own development projects, the machine does feature games from our members made for external events.

The arcade machine's game selection screen.

Games are selected through a locally hosted web-based user interface! Programmed by John Zhou, one of our alumni, it adds that "official" touch to the user experience, in an effort to give all games on it the presentation we think they deserve.

The machine also features an exclusive early version of the indie game Patrick's Parabox! Originally created during Patrick Traynor's time with VGDC, the full release of the game would go on to win the Developers Choice Award at IndieCade 2019, as well as the Excellence in Design award at the 2020 Indie Games Festival.

If you're interested in getting your game onto the machine, please fill out the port request form!

Arcades are no longer a necessity to play video games. In the modern day, you need only a smart device and an internet connection to have access to millions of games, right at your fingertips.

Given this, you might find yourself wondering why we put so much time and effort into maintaining our arcade machine. The answer is simple: the arcade machine will last longer than any VGDC member, officer, or director.

The machine is a garden, each flower placed by those from generations passed. As they continue to grow, we invite our most dedicated members to plant their own seed, so future newcomers can look to them, and be inspired in the same way we are now.

Thank you to our alumni Alex Hawker, Michael LaPlante, and Matthew Lawrence for providing photos and additional information regarding the early days of the arcade machine. I would also like to thank Breanna Lau, Ethan Carter, and Timothy Washburn, from VGDC's current officer base for assisting me in the creation of this blog post. As always, thank you for reading!