| Top Prize |
[Sep. 1st, 2012|09:19 pm]
|
Just last night, I had a dream about going in to one of those arcades, where you can win tickets for doing well in games. The game I played in my dream, didn't really make much sense: some sort of lyric memorization and virtual lever placement is about the best description.
Although the actual games in such real arcades rarely made much sense either. Flick a coin into a mouth; shoot an alien's uvula. . "We NeeD EneRgY!!!"
The one we would always go to was called Funtasia; totally closed down by now. All of us: all my friends, every birthday; every time we could go, that is where we would be. Two hundred bonus tickets to the birthday boy seemed like a great deal at the time! We all had accounts there to horde our tickets at; maybe I can justify all this gaming as a tool for early banking practice. . :P
There were lots of games. . "drive a tiny car around a track," "roll a coin through a tiny revolving door," "virtual horse racing;" and classics like Basketball shooting, and Skeezeballz. My favourite had to be Mario Pinball. Which played like Super Mario Bros. 3. . .if it were a pinball game. I don't honestly know how that works or makes any sense. In fact, I only made it past world 2 maybe 3 or 4 times. It was always my favourite, though, and I remember averaging 32 tickets on it when I played.
There was also a row of more 'typical' arcade cabinets, which didn't give out tickets, but let you play games like Primal Rage, just like at a normal arcade. I don't know who could choose to play such games when tickets are on the line. . :o
It would have been years later that the site I played at got another cabinet in: a multi-game system, rather a lot like a Neogeo cabinet. I liked it, because it had a Bubble Bobble "match three similar colours" game on it, which I was pretty good at, so the ticket efficiency was quite good for me.
It was different by having poker chips instead of bubbles, and you shot from the top to the bottom; able to move left and right, and always dropping pieces straight down. I was good at it, but I'm not really a master Bust a Move player. Still, though, pretty much an assured twenty tickets.
Time passed after that. I was the only one of my friends in the arcade on this day. I don't even remember my parents being around. I put a coin in for that game, and started playing. Clearing about four levels, before getting stuck.
Just not seeing anything to clear. Filling up all the columns but one, and not getting the right pieces to make a set of three. Giving up; slotting in my remaining pieces, and filling up the final column. Finally, as I was about to fill the last possible slot, though I didn't see it at the time, my drop formed a set of three that went into the pile of pieces, and as they disappeared, pieces above fell, and also cleared more sets. Making more space for more of the pieces to fall, and even more sets being cleared. Still I hadn't touched anything, and the chain reaction was still going on: pieces just falling into place, and clearing, and everything above them falling and forming more sets, and leaving more holes for pieces to fall into and clear still more sets. Until only two pieces were left on the screen, which I cleared off myself.
Well, how many points do you think that was worth?
I played through a couple more levels, in my standard style, before finally overflowing the screen, and receiving my points. I took it to the lady at the counter, who couldn't believe it, and came to the machine to check my score.
And there I was, with the highest score; well above anyone else who had played. Yes, a score that was sure to remain The high score. . . for at least another six hours, until they reset all the scores at night.
I had enough tickets to choose any prize I wanted, so I cashed out my savings, and chose a giant, authentic, stuffed Porky Pig in a leather jacket. The jacket reads "That's All, Folks," on the back. It still remains the highlight of my collection of stuffed animals.
I never really went back to the arcade in the same way after that achievement. Though the fragments of memories remain, even now.
PS: Way to go everyone, on putting Videogame_Tales in the Top 10,000 LJ Communities!! Which. . I don't really know how they determine that, but it feels pretty good, huh? Someday, I know we can make it to #1!!! It may be tough, going up against groups making fun of celebrities. . but we'll be first, in some time warp; echoing through space. . . and no matter what, you'll always be first in my heart~ Whoow whow whoooww ~~!!! |
|
|
discontent
