Internet Archive Releases 900 Arcade Games to Play In-Brwser

[JRNYMAN]

The Internet Archive (one of the coolest sites ever) has made available 900 classic arcade games to play right in your browser. Oh man, is this ever a trip on the way-back machine! The first game I sought out and of course played was Galaga followed by Defender then Joust. *sigh* When I think about the hours upon hours I spent in the arcade in my home town sitting (or standing) in front of one of those monolithic cabinets inserting quarter after quarter all for the short-lived euphoria of attaining high score! There were no hacks (yes, some pinball tables would reward an extra ball or reset a game if tilted just right) there were no cheats. It was just you and the game. As if it wasn't loud enough inside the arcade with every game producing continuous sounds, rock music was being delivered at a level just louder than the machines through shitty, in-ceiling speakers, most of which were blown and produced little more than a rattle. Ours didn't have a change machine. Instead, you had to go ask "the guy" for change which required both of you leaning in really close so you could hear each other. The arcade was lit primarily by the games themselves with a neon black light tube that lined the perimeter of the room. Black light posters covered nearly every inch of the walls. And as ridiculous as it sounds now, I'd love to revisit those days of my youth. Life seemed endless and we seemed unstoppable.

The Journey game is there. Somehow, I'd never played that one. No idea why, I just never did. As I read the synopsis of the game, I couldn't help but laugh at the cheeziness of it yet somehow it felt a bit sentimental at the same time. One thing that brought a smile to my face is the fact that the continuous music being played while the game is active (Separate Ways on a loop) comes from a cassette tape player inside the cabinet.

The Internet arcade:
https://archive.org/details/internetarcade

Journey arcade game:
https://archive.org/details/arcade_journey

The Internet archive:
http://www.archive.org

[FormerDJMike]

Very cool, thanks for sharing. Having problems figuring out what keys on the keyboard equal what tho. I tried every button on Galaga and couldn't figure out how to shoot, or how to steer on Paperboy. Classics!

[yulog]

how do you get it to work at all

[JRNYMAN]

Ok, here's what you do....
I'll use Galaga as the example of how and what to do.
Click the link to load the Galaga page.
https://archive.org/stream/arcade_galag ... ard=arcade

When page loads, press the space bar to actually load the game. It will cycle through a bunch of test screens and finally end on the familiar screen you''re used to seeing when you walked up to a Galaga machine.
On the far left side of the screen at the top, there are 3 buttons. Click the "Insert Coin" button to insert coin. Then click the Player 1 button. After configuring the screen and loading the ships, the game will begin.
Control your ship by using the left and right arrow keys to move and the CTRL key to fire.
That's it.
Each game has its specific instructions listed on the first screen that loads when you choose a game - the one where you hit the space bar to load the game. Before you press the space bar, read the game's instructions in that window.

Good Luck!

[Monker]

It's nice that they can make this available in a browser. MAME and MESS have been available on PC since the late 90's. I used to have a ton of games for those emulators.

But, it seems there is simply something missing. For example, I used to love "Discs of Tron" in the arcade...that experience just can't be duplicated on a PC. Some games don't have the controls. Sinistar had a 32 position control...again, can't really duplicate that. And, Defender or Stargate...come on, you had to master the control set up to be able to play it at the arcade, just not the same using a keyboard/mouse.

Simple games, like Frogger or Pac Man are fun emulated...any kind of game where all you need are arrow keys and maybe the space bar to fire...but, the more complicated, the less fun on a PC.

The Internet Archive (one of the coolest sites ever) has made available 900 classic arcade games to play right in your browser. Oh man, is this ever a trip on the way-back machine! The first game I sought out and of course played was Galaga followed by Defender then Joust. *sigh* When I think about the hours upon hours I spent in the arcade in my home town sitting (or standing) in front of one of those monolithic cabinets inserting quarter after quarter all for the short-lived euphoria of attaining high score! There were no hacks (yes, some pinball tables would reward an extra ball or reset a game if tilted just right) there were no cheats. It was just you and the game. As if it wasn't loud enough inside the arcade with every game producing continuous sounds, rock music was being delivered at a level just louder than the machines through shitty, in-ceiling speakers, most of which were blown and produced little more than a rattle. Ours didn't have a change machine. Instead, you had to go ask "the guy" for change which required both of you leaning in really close so you could hear each other. The arcade was lit primarily by the games themselves with a neon black light tube that lined the perimeter of the room. Black light posters covered nearly every inch of the walls. And as ridiculous as it sounds now, I'd love to revisit those days of my youth. Life seemed endless and we seemed unstoppable.

The Journey game is there. Somehow, I'd never played that one. No idea why, I just never did. As I read the synopsis of the game, I couldn't help but laugh at the cheeziness of it yet somehow it felt a bit sentimental at the same time. One thing that brought a smile to my face is the fact that the continuous music being played while the game is active (Separate Ways on a loop) comes from a cassette tape player inside the cabinet.

The Internet arcade:
https://archive.org/details/internetarcade

Journey arcade game:
https://archive.org/details/arcade_journey

The Internet archive:
http://www.archive.org

[yulog]

Ok, here's what you do....
I'll use Galaga as the example of how and what to do.
Click the link to load the Galaga page.
https://archive.org/stream/arcade_galag ... ard=arcade

When page loads, press the space bar to actually load the game. It will cycle through a bunch of test screens and finally end on the familiar screen you''re used to seeing when you walked up to a Galaga machine.
On the far left side of the screen at the top, there are 3 buttons. Click the "Insert Coin" button to insert coin. Then click the Player 1 button. After configuring the screen and loading the ships, the game will begin.
Control your ship by using the left and right arrow keys to move and the CTRL key to fire.
That's it.
Each game has its specific instructions listed on the first screen that loads when you choose a game - the one where you hit the space bar to load the game. Before you press the space bar, read the game's instructions in that window.

Good Luck!

thanks...have to agree trying to play this game in a left handed set up isn't fun at all

[FormerDJMike]

Yeah, try Crazy Climber! Impossible on a keyboard! Or Xenophone, can't figure that one out either. And Paperboy instantly rides into the first sign. But I had fun with Burger Time!

[Monker]

Yeah, try Crazy Climber! Impossible on a keyboard! Or Xenophone, can't figure that one out either. And Paperboy instantly rides into the first sign. But I had fun with Burger Time!

Burger Time was the first one I went for. I used to play it on Intellivision and had patterns down to where I could get through all the screens at least three times. Here, you have to precisely nail when to turn off the ladders...makes patterns impossible to use.

[FormerDJMike]

Yeah, try Crazy Climber! Impossible on a keyboard! Or Xenophone, can't figure that one out either. And Paperboy instantly rides into the first sign. But I had fun with Burger Time!

Burger Time was the first one I went for. I used to play it on Intellivision and had patterns down to where I could get through all the screens at least three times. Here, you have to precisely nail when to turn off the ladders...makes patterns impossible to use.

Yeah, I got stuck on a ladder several times and got killed by the Egg!

[AR]

Can anyone recommend a good PC gamepad with a joystick that will work with these games? I love the old arcade games but hate trying to play with a keyboard.

[JRNYMAN]

Can anyone recommend a good PC gamepad with a joystick that will work with these games? I love the old arcade games but hate trying to play with a keyboard.

Can't really recommend a specific brand but I can tell you Goodwill is the place to go get one. The store near me always has tons of joysticks and gamepads for $1-2.00

[Monker]

Can anyone recommend a good PC gamepad with a joystick that will work with these games? I love the old arcade games but hate trying to play with a keyboard.

Can't really recommend a specific brand but I can tall you Goodwill is the place to go get one. The store near me always has tons of joysticks and gamepads for $1-2.00

I used to own a gamepad for this very reason. I bought one that had a screw in joystick. The problem is that after only a couple weeks the joystick broke off because it was plastic. So, if you get a Gamepad with a joystick, make sure it is not cheap soft plastic...I'm sure that has improved over the years.

But, for $1-2, who really cares?

[JRNYMAN]

Can anyone recommend a good PC gamepad with a joystick that will work with these games? I love the old arcade games but hate trying to play with a keyboard.

Can't really recommend a specific brand but I can tall you Goodwill is the place to go get one. The store near me always has tons of joysticks and gamepads for $1-2.00

I used to own a gamepad for this very reason. I bought one that had a screw in joystick. The problem is that after only a couple weeks the joystick broke off because it was plastic. So, if you get a Gamepad with a joystick, make sure it is not cheap soft plastic...I'm sure that has improved over the years.

But, for $1-2, who really cares?

Exactly!
While we're on the subject of joysticks, I'll never forget the first time I tried out a force-feedback joystick. What a fucking trip! If you've never experienced one, it's impossible to describe/explain it to you. It was so strange to actually feel aspects of the environment the game was being played in. Very cool!

[caricalvados]

JRNYMAN, thanks so much for posting this! I have the Journey game cartridge, just no Atari to play it with. So great to play it (and Moon Patrol) again after all these years. Nice find!!