Arcade Game Central

The is the first post from the Arcade Game Central news blog. Whether you’re seeing this site for the first time, or are a long-time visitor, this post should help explain a little about this site, its history, its mission, and what I want it to become. (See also: About This Site.)

My name is Randy Rasa. I first launched Arcade Game Central in 2002. My original vision for the site was for it to be “the web’s premier site for classic arcade games”. It was designed to be a complement to my existing gaming sites - Solitaire Central, The House Of Cards, and Board Game Central. The site took its name seriously, and I used a fairly narrow definition of what an arcade game was: Arcade games focussed more on action than on puzzles; Arcade games didn’t need great graphics, but great gameplay was an absolute requirement; Arcade games were what some called “twitch games” - simple rules, an immersive gaming environment, gameplay that placed a premium on hand-eye coordination, and above all else, an addictive quality that brought you back to a game again and again. This definition of what an arcade game included classic such as Tetris, Xonix, Breakout, Pacman, Frogger, and many more.

In the years since, the term “arcade game” seems to have taken on a broader meaning, and has come to be a sort of catch-all phrase, refering to nearly all types of games, including action games, puzzle games, strategy games, sports games, word games, and more. Some have even begun to refer to card games and board games under the “arcade game” umbrella.

Another umbrella term that has come into use lately is “casual games”. This phrase is probably deliberately vague and perhaps a bit too broad (I mean, any game can be played casually, can’t it?), but it’s nevertheless a term that seems appropriate and has gained widespread acceptance.

Hence the new tagline for Arcade Game Central: “The Latest Casual Game News, Reviews & Downloads”

In addition to the change in terminology, the other major trend has been the shift from small shareware games, often produced by single programmers, to “portals”.

The rise of the portals has been, by and large, a good thing for gamers. Portals provide a consistent user experience, in terms of downloading, installing, and purchasing games. Rather than each game developer coming up with their own installation procedure, their own terminology, and their own method for purchasing a game, users now can be confident that if they’ve installed and payed for one game, doing the same with another game will be just as easy. The portals have also, by acting, in effect, as editors, boosted the production values of the games, nearly al of which now feature professional-quality graphics, animation, and sound.

On the downside, the rise of the portals has resulted in an often mind-numbing sameness to many of the games. One game will do well, and soon there will be a dozen barely-different clones, each hoping to capitalize on the popularity of the original game.

Game from small, independent developers (referred to as “indie games” on this site), have not disappeared, and in fact have continued to thrive. Compared to the corporate blandness of some portal games, indie games are often far more creative and original. And many of them have production values every bit as high as the portal games.

Arcade Game Central features both portal games and indie games, offering you the best of both worlds. In fact, we don’t really care where a game comes from - as long as it’s a good game, you should know about it.

The centerpiece of the site is our news blog, which provides all sorts of up-to-date information on all aspects of casual arcade games, including announcements of new games and updates, arcade game reviews, news about the gaming industry, and news about arcade game development, offering you a behind-the-scenes look at how games are designed and marketed.

Arcade Game Central also offers a fine selection of online games, a directory of links to game developers and gaming resources, and much more. Enjoy!