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Whack-a-mole
''Whac-A-Mole'' is a Japanese arcade game that was created in 1975 by the amusements manufacturer TOGO in Japan, where it was originally known as or . A typical ''Whac-A-Mole'' machine consists of a waist-level cabinet with a play area and display screen, and a large, soft mallet. Five to eight holes in the play area top are filled with small, plastic, cartoonish Mole (animal), moles, or other characters, which pop up at random. Points are scored by, as the name suggests, whacking each mole as it appears. The faster the reaction, the higher the score. Play The cabinet has a three-digit readout of the current player's score and, on later models, a "best score of the day" readout. The mallet is usually attached to the game by a rope to prevent it from being lost or stolen. Current versions of ''Whac-A-Mole'' include three displays for Bonus Score, High Score, and the current game score. Home versions, distributed by Bob's Space Racers, have one display with the current score. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pac-Man
''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to also eat the ghosts for bonus points. Game development began in early 1979, led by Toru Iwatani with a nine-man team. Iwatani wanted to create a game that could appeal to women as well as men, because most video games of the time had themes that appealed to traditionally masculine interests, such as war or sports. Although the inspiration for the Pac-Man character was the image of a pizza with a slice removed, Iwatani has said he rounded out the Japanese character for mouth, kuchi (). The in-game characters were made t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galaxian
is a 1979 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them. Designed by company engineer Kazunori Sawano, ''Galaxian'' was Namco's answer to '' Space Invaders'', a similar space shooter released the previous year by rival developer Taito. ''Space Invaders'' was a sensation in Japan, and Namco wanted a game that could compete against it. Sawano strove to make the game simple and easy to understand. He was inspired by the cinematic space combat scenes in '' Star Wars'', with enemies originally being in the shape of the film's TIE Fighters. ''Galaxian'' is one of the first video games to feature RGB color graphics and the first ever to use a tile-based hardware system, which was capable of animated multi-color sprites as well as scrol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arcade Video Game
An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-operated or accept other means of payment, housed in an arcade cabinet, and located in amusement arcades alongside other kinds of arcade games. Until the early 2000s, arcade video games were the largest and most technologically advanced segment of the video game industry. Early prototypical entries '' Galaxy Game'' and '' Computer Space'' in 1971 established the principle operations for arcade games, and Atari's '' Pong'' in 1972 is recognized as the first successful commercial arcade video game. Improvements in computer technology and gameplay design led to a golden age of arcade video games, the exact dates of which are debated but range from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. This golden age includes ''Space Invaders'', '' Pac-Man'', and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MEL Magazine
''MEL'' was a men's magazine headquartered in Marina del Rey, California. Originally funded by Dollar Shave Club, ''Mel'' has been described by ''New York Times'' journalist Amanda Hess as "the rare men's magazine that has taken upon itself to investigate masculinity, not enforce it". The magazine has no advertisements. ''MEL'' was started in 2015 as a newsletter with five to seven employees. It was originally published on the third-party site Medium. In 2018, ''MEL'' reworked the site and transitioned from Medium to a stand-alone website. In 2017, ''MEL'' had approximately 1.4 million monthly unique visitors, which grew to 2.8 million by July 2018. In 2020, traffic grew 30 percent, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 4 million unique monthly visitors. On March 24, 2021, ''MEL'' ceased publishing, and all staff were laid off. On July 7, 2021, it was announced that ''MEL'' had been acquired by Recurrent Ventures, and would be relaunching under longtime editor in chief ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. The game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with flippers before the ball is lost. Most pinball machines use one ball per turn, except during special multi-ball phases, and the game ends when the ball(s) from the last turn are lost. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Electronics and Stern P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aaron Fechter
Aaron Fechter (born December 22, 1953) is an American mechanical engineer and entrepreneur who owns and operates Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI). He is best known as the creator of , an animatronic show featuring a variety of characters created primarily for Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants throughout the 1980s. A fallout between Showbiz and CEI, along with the chain's dwindling revenue, led to the show's decline and eventual removal by the early 1990s. In CEI's early beginnings, Fechter intended to manufacture fuel-efficient vehicles, but the company's focus soon shifted to the animatronic industry. The company later developed other products and concepts, but they failed to gain commercial interest. Fechter also claims to have been instrumental in the early development of , an arcade game from Bandai that became popular in the late 1970s, but his involvement was never officially recognized. His animatronics gained renewed interest decades later, when fan-made Rock-afire Explosi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is an unpowered vehicle Towing, towed by a powered vehicle. It is commonly used for the transport of goods and materials. There are two general categories of trailers: the full trailer and the semitrailer. A full trailer is a type of trailer whose entire weight is supported by its own wheels, with no weight transferred to the towing vehicle. In contrast, a semi-trailer is designed so that a portion of its weight is carried by its own wheels, while the remaining weight is borne by the towing vehicle. Sometimes recreational vehicles, travel trailers, or mobile homes with limited living facilities where people can camp or stay have been referred to as trailers. In earlier days, many such vehicles were towable trailers. Trailers have been used for thousands of years, predating the invention of the automobile. Before the advent of the wheel, early humans employed the concept of trailering by using drag sleds to transport goods. While the two wheel war chariot is one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnival Game
A carnival game is a game of chance or game of skill, skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement arcade and amusement park, or on a State fair, state and county fairs, county fair midway (fair), midway. They are also commonly played on holidays such as Mardi Gras, Saint Patrick's Day, and Oktoberfest. Carnival games are usually operated on a "pay per play" basis. Prices may range from a small amount, for example 25 Cent (currency), cents, to a few dollars per play. Most games offer a small prize to the winner. Prizes may include items like stuffed animals, toys, or posters. Continued play is encouraged as multiple small prizes may be traded in for a larger prize. Multiplayer games — the "Watergun" game is one example—may change the size of the prize with the number of players. In a more difficult game, including the "Baseball and Basket" or "Stand the Bottle", a large prize may be awarded to any winner. Carnival games have a poor reputation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RCA Records, RCA Victor label. History *April 1972: is spun off as a subsidiary of JVC. *September 30, 1982: JVC Musical Industries, Inc. is founded in the U.S. *February 1984: The sales and marketing department of JVC is spun off as . *January 1990: JVC Musical Industries announces its first video game release will be ''Boulder Dash (video game), Boulder Dash''. *October 30, 1991: JVC Musical Industries Europe, Ltd. is founded. *April 1993: Nihon AVC and Victor Musical Industries merge and the name is changed to . *October 1, 1996: Victor Interactive Software takes over video game-related activities after Pack-In-Video is merged with Victor Entertainment. *May 1, 1997: JVC Musical Industries is renamed to JVC Music, Inc. *May 14, 1997: J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
