Building A Metroid Arcade Cabinet

[VenomMacbeth]

While perusing teh internetz a couple days ago, I randomly got the idea to build an arcade cabinet out of an NES.  Naturally, I figured somebody had already done it, so I googled it & I did find a couple things.  After some careful research, I decided I'd like to build an NES arcade machine.

My favorite Nintendo franchise is, of course, Metroid, making it an obvious choice for my cabinet theme.  Plus, the game's artwork is already so awesomely 80's-sci-fi, making it perfect for cabinet artwork.

My basic idea is to get a fluorescent light, a small-ish TV, an NES, and two Arcade Advantage NES controllers, and building the arcade cabinet to accommodate the said items.  The two biggest issues are:

1. Building the cabinet (I have no experience with wood working) and,

2. Printing off the artwork.  I have some very interesting ideas for artwork, too.  For example, the cabinet would feature a large graphic of Samus on the sides, possibly with some of the enemies & bosses behind her.  The marquee would, obviously, be the title of the game with the horizon of planet Zebes in the background.  The bezel around the monitor would feature the power-up items of the game (morph ball, energy tank, screw attack, etc.)  I may perhaps put a small, simple map of Zebes between the two controllers.  There's also the kick plate to account for.


Does anyone have any advice concerning the best way to design & print arcade artwork?  Or would it be better if I just attempted to paint the machine myself?

In any case, that's really the one thing I'm not sure about.  Everything else is just artistic design.  What are your thoughts about, for instance, what shape should the cabinet be, what color should it be, what color should the T-molding be, what graphics should I use, etc.?  Once I get the ball rolling, I'll post pictures of my progress here.  Right now, though, I'm interested in everyone's artistic input.  Thoughts?

[nerdygrrl]

You should just get a NIntendo VS cabinet and hardwire the joysticks  and buttons to the NES Controler PCB.  IIt's a straight shoot and i's not that hard to do.  As far as the output/monitor you could go with a converter or a cheap 19 inch LCD TV.

[manuel]

If you do it, post pictures. Lots of pictures.
Good luck!

[VenomMacbeth]

You should just get a NIntendo VS cabinet and hardwire the joysticks  and buttons to the NES Controler PCB.  IIt's a straight shoot and i's not that hard to do.  As far as the output/monitor you could go with a converter or a cheap 19 inch LCD TV.

Now where's the fun in that?   But it's also a matter of money, and I somehow feel building the cabinet would be cheaper than trying to track down a Nintendo VS cab. 

As for the monitor, I was just gonna get a cheap 19" CRT from the thrift store, as I thought most old game consoles wouldn't work right with new LCD TV's (as they output a 1080p signal, and I think the NES produces a 240p)

[manuel]

I also think a cheap CRT should do the trick.

[Drakon]

Here's a sexy template.



Seriously though you don't need to use nes advantage sticks you can build arcade controls into a custom panel and wire up nes controller pcbs to the switches.

It's also best to draw lots of pictures first of what you exactly want.  Also is this machine going to only play metroid?

[manuel]

That looks great!
I love the cart storage in the base.

[Drakon]

That looks great!
I love the cart storage in the base.

It would probably look a heck of a lot better if it had artwork instead of just....unpainted wood colour

Just imagine trying to move that stupid thing.....this's why I built an arcade supergun instead of collecting massive cabinets.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

Wow - Metroid is not-very arcade-like. I mean, seriously, completing that in one sitting standing?

Unless you hack the game to be more action-like? Add a timer, no backtracking, still branches out... That would be cool!

You might also want to check out Ketsueki's blog for some artwork inspiration.

[VenomMacbeth]

The cabinet would be set up to play Metroid by default, but I'd build it so the NES could be accessed easily to change the game cartridge, if you so chose (thus the reason why I'd have two arcade sticks, should you want to play a 2-player game.)

Here's a sexy template.



Seriously though you don't need to use nes advantage sticks you can build arcade controls into a custom panel and wire up nes controller pcbs to the switches.

It's also best to draw lots of pictures first of what you exactly want.  Also is this machine going to only play metroid?

That is the exact source from which I drew my inspiration!   Though instead of the space in the front, I'd put artwork.  Plus, I'd get a TV without knobs to the side like that, so I could completely conceal it behind the bezel.

Regarding the control panel, wouldn't that be more expensive?  I picked the whole arcade advantage idea because I figured it would be the most cost-effective.

Wow - Metroid is not-very arcade-like. I mean, seriously, completing that in one sitting standing?

Unless you hack the game to be more action-like? Add a timer, no backtracking, still branches out... That would be cool!

You might also want to check out Ketsueki's blog for some artwork inspiration.

You're right, it's not...but the sci-fi style of the game makes it a good candidate for a sexy cabinet, IMO.   Also, if you look at it from a "play-until-you-die" standpoint, it could be considered very arcade style! (it kills me in a matter of minutes without the invincibility cheat!  ) Unfortunately, hacking the game in such a manner would be-if I'm not mistaken-nearly impossible without rewriting the whole program.  Plus, even if it could be done, I couldn't do it; I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to begin.

[Drakon]

Uhh more expensive maybe but it would look nicer.  It all depends how nice you want it to look.  If you're going to cheap out on this then yes it'll look cheap.

[Frank_fjs]

Have you considered building a Mame cab or one with a standard jamma connection? Advantage here is the ability to play a much more diverse range of games, and you can always play NES games via emulation.

Some consoles have jamma converters available for them, or they're easy to make. Not sure how feasible this would be for a NES due to the lack of native RGB output.

[Drakon]

Have you considered building a Mame cab or one with a standard jamma connection? Advantage here is the ability to play a much more diverse range of games, and you can always play NES games via emulation.

Some consoles have jamma converters available for them, or they're easy to make. Not sure how feasible this would be for a NES due to the lack of native RGB output.

rgb screen usually means no composite video input.

[nerdygrrl]

I don't know your location, but an emptyish NIntendo VS cab would be like $50-100.  You could still use your CRT just take it out of the plastic casing and mount it to the monitor frame.  You would just need to make an input panels to plug everything into.

As you noted the weigh on an all plywood cab may be a bit much.  The VS cabs are light as a feather and have rear wheels

[Frank_fjs]

Have you considered building a Mame cab or one with a standard jamma connection? Advantage here is the ability to play a much more diverse range of games, and you can always play NES games via emulation.

Some consoles have jamma converters available for them, or they're easy to make. Not sure how feasible this would be for a NES due to the lack of native RGB output.

rgb screen usually means no composite video input.

Yeah, which is why there probably isn't a jamma converter for the NES (that I know of anyhow). With other jamma converted consoles you just grab the RGB signal and go into an arcade chassis via the jamma harness. It doesn't cost much to grab a universal arcade chassis and a TV tube.

I really don't like the idea of an arcade cab with a composite video signal but I'm rather picky when it comes to that stuff.