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Title: Interview with Doc Mack
Creator: Bahena, Analy, Maciano Ii, Peter, Sense, Braden, Huff, Le Jalen, Oluduro, Olumide
Date: 2014-12-08, 2014-12-08
Description: Asked about what he thinks of competition in the video game industry, Doc Mack says, “It's never a competition. It's video games. It should...
Show moreAsked about what he thinks of competition in the video game industry, Doc Mack says, “It's never a competition. It's video games. It should all be fun.” Doc Mack is the owner of Galloping Ghost, which currently holds the title of the largest arcade in the world, housing more than 435 games. Mack Continues to grow the arcade’s collection. From a young age, Mack knew he belonged in the video game industry, and commenced Galloping Ghost initially with only a few of his personal games. He gradually, but continuously increased his collection. Now, he spends about two hours daily in search for new releases, high demand games, or just something new he thinks gamers would enjoy. Galloping Ghost consists of two joined buildings, three big rooms, with plans to integrate a second floor addition. Galloping Ghost Productions (Doc Mack’s arcade crew) will release their first original arcade game early 2015. The arcade operates as a successful free-play, coinless business. People travel around the world to play in his arcade. Mack’s greatest interest is maintaining all games in his possession in working condition -- in part because he knows any game in his collection could be someone’s favorite. Doc Mack’s mission is to share his data with other arcades to help the industry continue expanding and flourishing.
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Title: Interview with George Spanos: Photos
Creator: Farrell, Taylor, Glavan, Thomas, Grzenia, Stephen, Wira, Phil, Zhang, Shuyu
Date: 2014-12-09, 2014-12-09
Description: George Spanos is a game technician living in Schaumburg, Illinois. He works freelance around the Chicago suburbs at arcades and warehouses...
Show moreGeorge Spanos is a game technician living in Schaumburg, Illinois. He works freelance around the Chicago suburbs at arcades and warehouses fixing whatever machines and cabinets are sent his way. Spanos’s first memories of arcade machines are from playing Qbert at the age of four in his grandparents’ grocery store. Years later, the entire grocery store was converted to a game room. It was during this time that George learned to repair the various games his grandparents had acquired. After going to college, he returned to help run the establishment, and eventually moved from an operator to the freelance work he does today. In this interview, Spanos speaks about his personal background, the specifics of his work, and his thoughts of the future of the coin op industry. The interview starts with him discussing his early childhood involvement with coin-op and how he was raised in this environment. This went onto his early adulthood working for his grandparents at their own game room and the eventual transition into freelance work. Spanos believes that a number of arcades are currently setting a positive trend for the industry to grow as a whole.
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Title: Interview with George Spanos
Creator: Farrell, Taylor, Glavan, Thomas, Grzenia, Stephen, Wira, Phil, Zhang, Shuyu
Date: 2014-12-09, 2014-12-09
Description: George Spanos is a game technician living in Schaumburg, Illinois. He works freelance around the Chicago suburbs at arcades and warehouses...
Show moreGeorge Spanos is a game technician living in Schaumburg, Illinois. He works freelance around the Chicago suburbs at arcades and warehouses fixing whatever machines and cabinets are sent his way. Spanos’s first memories of arcade machines are from playing Qbert at the age of four in his grandparents’ grocery store. Years later, the entire grocery store was converted to a game room. It was during this time that George learned to repair the various games his grandparents had acquired. After going to college, he returned to help run the establishment, and eventually moved from an operator to the freelance work he does today. In this interview, Spanos speaks about his personal background, the specifics of his work, and his thoughts of the future of the coin op industry. The interview starts with him discussing his early childhood involvement with coin-op and how he was raised in this environment. This went onto his early adulthood working for his grandparents at their own game room and the eventual transition into freelance work. Spanos believes that a number of arcades are currently setting a positive trend for the industry to grow as a whole.
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Title: Interview with Doc Mack: Interview_Clean
Creator: Bahena, Analy, Maciano Ii, Peter, Sense, Braden, Huff, Le Jalen, Oluduro, Olumide
Date: 2014-12-08, 2014-12-08
Description: Asked about what he thinks of competition in the video game industry, Doc Mack says, “It's never a competition. It's video games. It should...
Show moreAsked about what he thinks of competition in the video game industry, Doc Mack says, “It's never a competition. It's video games. It should all be fun.” Doc Mack is the owner of Galloping Ghost, which currently holds the title of the largest arcade in the world, housing more than 435 games. Mack Continues to grow the arcade’s collection. From a young age, Mack knew he belonged in the video game industry, and commenced Galloping Ghost initially with only a few of his personal games. He gradually, but continuously increased his collection. Now, he spends about two hours daily in search for new releases, high demand games, or just something new he thinks gamers would enjoy. Galloping Ghost consists of two joined buildings, three big rooms, with plans to integrate a second floor addition. Galloping Ghost Productions (Doc Mack’s arcade crew) will release their first original arcade game early 2015. The arcade operates as a successful free-play, coinless business. People travel around the world to play in his arcade. Mack’s greatest interest is maintaining all games in his possession in working condition -- in part because he knows any game in his collection could be someone’s favorite. Doc Mack’s mission is to share his data with other arcades to help the industry continue expanding and flourishing.
Show less

Creator: Bahena, Analy, Maciano Ii, Peter, Sense, Braden, Huff, Le Jalen, Oluduro, Olumide

Title: Interview with Jessica Kent: Jessica-Kent-Transcription
Creator: Wojtowicz, Daniel, Vadakumchery, Tony, Polk, Tamia, Toppel, Dennis
Date: 2015-10-01, 2015-10-01
Description: Before video games were invented, people initially played coin-op games like skeeball. The most prominent coin-op game was pinball, and its...
Show moreBefore video games were invented, people initially played coin-op games like skeeball. The most prominent coin-op game was pinball, and its appeal endures to this day. However, the arcade and coin-op scene, including pinball, has a relative lack of women players. This is why Jessica Kent, one of the founders of Down to Flip, has such an interesting story. Her push for diversity and encouragement for female players is making significant changes to the pinball and coin-op community, and her work will continue to make these changes. Jessica Kent is the creator of the Down to Flip pinball group, an all women pinball group. Down to Flip started as a Facebook page but has now grown into a group with over 100 members, and over twenty-five active pinball players. Her inspiration for the group came from observing women groups like LA Bell and Chimes in Los Angeles. From a young age, she was involved in the arcade scene, and she rediscovered her love for arcade gaming during college. Jessica has been an avid gamer for most of her life; before rediscovering her love of arcade games and coin-op games, she was a big at-home gamer. She started playing pinball regularly about two-and-a-half years ago, initially on a laundry room pinball table. She prefers the feel of real life tables over digital ones due to her love of other hands-on arcade games like skeeball. Currently, Jessica plays pinball one night a week, but she travels extensively checking out different arcades and other places with coin-op games. Jessica has done a substantial amount of research on pinball and arcade games. Currently, her favorite pinball table is Attack from Mars. Her favorite arcade is Logan Arcade, and her Down to Flip meetings take place there. Jessica’s favorite parts of pinball is that she can track her progress regularly, the randomness of the game, competing against her personal best scores, and the level of hand-eye coordination required. Additionally, Jessica gets a sense of nostalgia from playing pinball and other arcade games. One of Jessica’s goals for Down To Flip is to promote pinball and arcade games to the younger generation and others who aren’t big gamers themselves. She also feels that Down to Flip as a group promotes pinball and coin-op games to people of all backgrounds, especially women, and wishes to use the reach of the group and her own interests to promote causes she believes in to others. Down to Flip and pinball ties into coin-op and video gaming as a whole since it shows a revival in the coin-op and arcade scene that is especially prominent amongst young adult in their twenties and thirties. Recently, numerous arcades and bars such as Galloping Ghost, Logan Arcade, Headquarters, and Level 257 have opened up and are thriving. Coin-op and arcade gaming can be considered to be the true beginning of the gaming community, and these sort of games have been around since the 1930s. However, in the subculture, there has been a relatively lack in diversity; female players were not very prominent, for instance. Jessica Kent’s group Down to Flip encourages greater player diversity by promoting pinball and arcade gaming for women and attempts to encourage younger children of all sexes and demographics to play pinball and other arcade games, thus promoting a more diverse and varied pinball and gaming community. During the interview, Jessica mentions one interaction in the pinball community where she was competing and one of the male pinball players ridiculed female pinball players. According to Jessica, upon getting a very good high score, the person ridiculing her stopped his actions. Groups and people like this break the stereotypes of gamers, and allow females and minorities as a whole to gain equal respect and opportunity.
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Title: Interview with Daniel Bishop: photos
Creator: Armas, Cesar, Parnell, Tesoro, Nguyen, Minh, Scroggins, Colt
Date: 2015, 2015
Description: Mr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a...
Show moreMr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a teen, he instantly fell in love with video games. Defender was the game that sparked his interest in the industry and from that point on the rest of his life would be intertwined with the coin-op industry. In college he studied as an electrical engineer, and was later hired by Atari. He then moved to Namco USA and worked his way up the ranks to Vice President. His role at Namco is exploring how to expand beyond home entertainment in the future, in order to create social and meaningful experiences between people and games. He strives to make playing games more accessible, not necessarily a “pay for play” anymore. This would change the term “coin-op” as the future holds a different form of payment. He believes that using gaming as an “element” in unison with other elements can create a much more meaningful and satisfying experience. Studio 257 is a modern style restaurant that encompasses his idea of using games as an element. It includes a full hall of games, but it also features HD televisions, open bars, bowling lanes, and family style sit downs. Games are not the center of attention here at Level 257. Instead, they serve as a compliment to the overall experience. In this way, Bishop paves the way for those who haven’t played video games in years to be able to enjoy them again. They do not feel like they’re forced, rather the games are there, and since the option presents itself, they are more likely inclined to add that to their experience. Mr. Bishop offers some very valuable insight into the coin-op industry and its change in culture, technology, and audience. In terms of culture, the past seemed to have demonstrated video games as poison to the youth. At one point in his life, Mr. Bishop was representing the coin-op chains of America. He, himself often felt like a “poster-child” growing up, since there were many active protest and lawsuits against violent video games. He notes that regardless of the bad publicity, it drove sales. Video game popularity skyrockets when it generates controversy. This is present in modern day games as well but not to such a large extent. Games gave gravitated towards more violence; however the response has never been more accepting. He stresses how games are an art form, and how they can be, and should be appreciated. They are an integral part of his life, and he hopes that they remain an integral part of everyone’s life moving forward.
Show less

Title: Interview with Daniel Bishop
Creator: Armas, Cesar, Parnell, Tesoro, Nguyen, Minh, Scroggins, Colt
Date: 2015, 2015
Description: Mr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a...
Show moreMr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a teen, he instantly fell in love with video games. Defender was the game that sparked his interest in the industry and from that point on the rest of his life would be intertwined with the coin-op industry. In college he studied as an electrical engineer, and was later hired by Atari. He then moved to Namco USA and worked his way up the ranks to Vice President. His role at Namco is exploring how to expand beyond home entertainment in the future, in order to create social and meaningful experiences between people and games. He strives to make playing games more accessible, not necessarily a “pay for play” anymore. This would change the term “coin-op” as the future holds a different form of payment. He believes that using gaming as an “element” in unison with other elements can create a much more meaningful and satisfying experience. Studio 257 is a modern style restaurant that encompasses his idea of using games as an element. It includes a full hall of games, but it also features HD televisions, open bars, bowling lanes, and family style sit downs. Games are not the center of attention here at Level 257. Instead, they serve as a compliment to the overall experience. In this way, Bishop paves the way for those who haven’t played video games in years to be able to enjoy them again. They do not feel like they’re forced, rather the games are there, and since the option presents itself, they are more likely inclined to add that to their experience. Mr. Bishop offers some very valuable insight into the coin-op industry and its change in culture, technology, and audience. In terms of culture, the past seemed to have demonstrated video games as poison to the youth. At one point in his life, Mr. Bishop was representing the coin-op chains of America. He, himself often felt like a “poster-child” growing up, since there were many active protest and lawsuits against violent video games. He notes that regardless of the bad publicity, it drove sales. Video game popularity skyrockets when it generates controversy. This is present in modern day games as well but not to such a large extent. Games gave gravitated towards more violence; however the response has never been more accepting. He stresses how games are an art form, and how they can be, and should be appreciated. They are an integral part of his life, and he hopes that they remain an integral part of everyone’s life moving forward.
Show less

Title: Interview with Terry Minnich and Jeff Lee: TerryTrickmanAndJeffLeeInterview
Creator: Mynes, Jordan, Torres, Fulgencio, Nunez, Sylvia, Badasyan, Zhanna, Wohn, Jared
Date: 2015-10-13, 2015-10-13
Description: For our oral history project, we interviewed Jeff Lee, and Terry Minnich who is also known as Trickman Terry. Jeff Lee was an artist that...
Show moreFor our oral history project, we interviewed Jeff Lee, and Terry Minnich who is also known as Trickman Terry. Jeff Lee was an artist that made artwork for QBert, Exterminator, and as well as other freelancing work. Terry Minnich was an editor for a magazine called Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine where he was an editor for the Tips and Tricks section where he would review tricks submitted from fans and publish them in EGM. Terry had a fairly large collection of arcade games in his basement which is where the interview took place. Both of these men were passionate about their job and were very knowledgeable in the video game industry. Terry Minnich worked many years as an editor for EGM, specifically the Tricks and Tips section. He would receive letters from fans, receive information overseas from Japan, or play the games himself with his team to try to obtain tricks, cheats, glitches or bugs, and other information needed to make the games more enjoyable. Terry was also an avid collector who obtained and maintained a collection of arcade machines in his basement and was well informed in the hardware aspect of the history. Jeff Lee, the second person interviewed, was an artist who was a fan of video games, specifically at the bar scene where he would enjoy a few drinks along with playing Pinball or Armour Attack before he got into the game industry in a more serious manner. He coincidently began working at Gottlieb and Co.as an artist where he made the artwork for Qbert1, 2, and 3. Then him and a fellow partner from Qbertwere contracted to do some artistry work on a few games like Exterminator. After he finished his artwork for QBert, he did some freelancing, and did some art and design work for the games Double GsandLotto Fun as well as another piece for the companyCredible Technologies. Terry Minnich, as part of his job as an editor, knew a lot about the Konami Code, which is a special combination of buttons the player can hit which will enable special abilities or extra lives. He mentioned the Konami Code as one of the first major cheat codes as it was used in many games such as Gradius, Contra, Dance Dance Revolution,and other games. The Konami code was interesting to look at because it is something about the history that you can not find by looking at the game itself; you have to talk to the players and fans of the games to learn about. Jeff Lee was a major designer of Q*bert,a puzzle game where players had to make each color of a block on a pyramid the same color. This game was hugely popular and is considered to be a classic from its time period. Lee had significant contributions on the project including character design, using the pyramid shape as a game, and the “@!#?@!” that the playable character would say in speech bubble. Minnich and Lee both had major impacts in the first generation of video games however from different positions. Lee was a creator and was part of the first hand industry while Minnich was part of the second hand industry that helped publicize the games and create the community of gamers that is around today. It is interesting to look at the multiple levels of the video game industry as there are many aspects to it like designing, manufacturing, retailing, the media scene, and the competition aspect.
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Title: Interview with Daniel Bishop: transcription
Creator: Armas, Cesar, Parnell, Tesoro, Nguyen, Minh, Scroggins, Colt
Date: 2015, 2015
Description: Mr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a...
Show moreMr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a teen, he instantly fell in love with video games. Defender was the game that sparked his interest in the industry and from that point on the rest of his life would be intertwined with the coin-op industry. In college he studied as an electrical engineer, and was later hired by Atari. He then moved to Namco USA and worked his way up the ranks to Vice President. His role at Namco is exploring how to expand beyond home entertainment in the future, in order to create social and meaningful experiences between people and games. He strives to make playing games more accessible, not necessarily a “pay for play” anymore. This would change the term “coin-op” as the future holds a different form of payment. He believes that using gaming as an “element” in unison with other elements can create a much more meaningful and satisfying experience. Studio 257 is a modern style restaurant that encompasses his idea of using games as an element. It includes a full hall of games, but it also features HD televisions, open bars, bowling lanes, and family style sit downs. Games are not the center of attention here at Level 257. Instead, they serve as a compliment to the overall experience. In this way, Bishop paves the way for those who haven’t played video games in years to be able to enjoy them again. They do not feel like they’re forced, rather the games are there, and since the option presents itself, they are more likely inclined to add that to their experience. Mr. Bishop offers some very valuable insight into the coin-op industry and its change in culture, technology, and audience. In terms of culture, the past seemed to have demonstrated video games as poison to the youth. At one point in his life, Mr. Bishop was representing the coin-op chains of America. He, himself often felt like a “poster-child” growing up, since there were many active protest and lawsuits against violent video games. He notes that regardless of the bad publicity, it drove sales. Video game popularity skyrockets when it generates controversy. This is present in modern day games as well but not to such a large extent. Games gave gravitated towards more violence; however the response has never been more accepting. He stresses how games are an art form, and how they can be, and should be appreciated. They are an integral part of his life, and he hopes that they remain an integral part of everyone’s life moving forward.
Show less

Title: Interview with Daniel Bishop: Bishop, David Interview (Audio)
Creator: Armas, Cesar, Parnell, Tesoro, Nguyen, Minh, Scroggins, Colt
Date: 2015, 2015
Description: Mr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a...
Show moreMr. David L. Bishop is the Vice President of Namco USA, and works at Level 257 in Schaumberg, Illinois. Growing up working in an arcade as a teen, he instantly fell in love with video games. Defender was the game that sparked his interest in the industry and from that point on the rest of his life would be intertwined with the coin-op industry. In college he studied as an electrical engineer, and was later hired by Atari. He then moved to Namco USA and worked his way up the ranks to Vice President. His role at Namco is exploring how to expand beyond home entertainment in the future, in order to create social and meaningful experiences between people and games. He strives to make playing games more accessible, not necessarily a “pay for play” anymore. This would change the term “coin-op” as the future holds a different form of payment. He believes that using gaming as an “element” in unison with other elements can create a much more meaningful and satisfying experience. Studio 257 is a modern style restaurant that encompasses his idea of using games as an element. It includes a full hall of games, but it also features HD televisions, open bars, bowling lanes, and family style sit downs. Games are not the center of attention here at Level 257. Instead, they serve as a compliment to the overall experience. In this way, Bishop paves the way for those who haven’t played video games in years to be able to enjoy them again. They do not feel like they’re forced, rather the games are there, and since the option presents itself, they are more likely inclined to add that to their experience. Mr. Bishop offers some very valuable insight into the coin-op industry and its change in culture, technology, and audience. In terms of culture, the past seemed to have demonstrated video games as poison to the youth. At one point in his life, Mr. Bishop was representing the coin-op chains of America. He, himself often felt like a “poster-child” growing up, since there were many active protest and lawsuits against violent video games. He notes that regardless of the bad publicity, it drove sales. Video game popularity skyrockets when it generates controversy. This is present in modern day games as well but not to such a large extent. Games gave gravitated towards more violence; however the response has never been more accepting. He stresses how games are an art form, and how they can be, and should be appreciated. They are an integral part of his life, and he hopes that they remain an integral part of everyone’s life moving forward.
Show less

Title: Interview with Jessica Kent: R05_0008
Creator: Wojtowicz, Daniel, Vadakumchery, Tony, Polk, Tamia, Toppel, Dennis
Date: 2015-10-01, 2015-10-01
Description: Before video games were invented, people initially played coin-op games like skeeball. The most prominent coin-op game was pinball, and its...
Show moreBefore video games were invented, people initially played coin-op games like skeeball. The most prominent coin-op game was pinball, and its appeal endures to this day. However, the arcade and coin-op scene, including pinball, has a relative lack of women players. This is why Jessica Kent, one of the founders of Down to Flip, has such an interesting story. Her push for diversity and encouragement for female players is making significant changes to the pinball and coin-op community, and her work will continue to make these changes. Jessica Kent is the creator of the Down to Flip pinball group, an all women pinball group. Down to Flip started as a Facebook page but has now grown into a group with over 100 members, and over twenty-five active pinball players. Her inspiration for the group came from observing women groups like LA Bell and Chimes in Los Angeles. From a young age, she was involved in the arcade scene, and she rediscovered her love for arcade gaming during college. Jessica has been an avid gamer for most of her life; before rediscovering her love of arcade games and coin-op games, she was a big at-home gamer. She started playing pinball regularly about two-and-a-half years ago, initially on a laundry room pinball table. She prefers the feel of real life tables over digital ones due to her love of other hands-on arcade games like skeeball. Currently, Jessica plays pinball one night a week, but she travels extensively checking out different arcades and other places with coin-op games. Jessica has done a substantial amount of research on pinball and arcade games. Currently, her favorite pinball table is Attack from Mars. Her favorite arcade is Logan Arcade, and her Down to Flip meetings take place there. Jessica’s favorite parts of pinball is that she can track her progress regularly, the randomness of the game, competing against her personal best scores, and the level of hand-eye coordination required. Additionally, Jessica gets a sense of nostalgia from playing pinball and other arcade games. One of Jessica’s goals for Down To Flip is to promote pinball and arcade games to the younger generation and others who aren’t big gamers themselves. She also feels that Down to Flip as a group promotes pinball and coin-op games to people of all backgrounds, especially women, and wishes to use the reach of the group and her own interests to promote causes she believes in to others. Down to Flip and pinball ties into coin-op and video gaming as a whole since it shows a revival in the coin-op and arcade scene that is especially prominent amongst young adult in their twenties and thirties. Recently, numerous arcades and bars such as Galloping Ghost, Logan Arcade, Headquarters, and Level 257 have opened up and are thriving. Coin-op and arcade gaming can be considered to be the true beginning of the gaming community, and these sort of games have been around since the 1930s. However, in the subculture, there has been a relatively lack in diversity; female players were not very prominent, for instance. Jessica Kent’s group Down to Flip encourages greater player diversity by promoting pinball and arcade gaming for women and attempts to encourage younger children of all sexes and demographics to play pinball and other arcade games, thus promoting a more diverse and varied pinball and gaming community. During the interview, Jessica mentions one interaction in the pinball community where she was competing and one of the male pinball players ridiculed female pinball players. According to Jessica, upon getting a very good high score, the person ridiculing her stopped his actions. Groups and people like this break the stereotypes of gamers, and allow females and minorities as a whole to gain equal respect and opportunity.
Show less

Title: Interview with Sean Davis: sean_davis_interview_raw
Creator: Nguyen, Ricky, Chionglo, Jeremy, Otgontulga, Khashkhuu, Brekke, Eric, Castellanos, Christopher
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-03
Description: Lucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a...
Show moreLucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a mini golf course, pool tables, and bowling, it has something for everyone. Featuring fresh made food developed by an in-house chef, private suites overlooking the Chicago skyline, and a variety of party options, it’s a great experience. In charge of all of this is Sean Davis, the Director of Operations at Lucky Strike FTW. Mr. Davis has meddled in all areas of the entertainment business throughout his career, including working as a cook, waiter, bartender, manager, and general manager. He first discovered that he loved working in the entertainment industry when working as a local Massachusetts pizza maker, whose venue housed several bar games like billiards and its own mini golf course. He studied business at Northeastern University, and went on to work at Jillian’s arcade around 1993 in Boston, which featured 52 pool tables, 200 games, and 70,000 square feet of restaurant space. Then, in 2011 he started working at FTW in Chicago. As Director of Operations, Mr. Davis checks on things like making sure the arcade is staffed, ensuring each department has what they need, ordering, scheduling, and generally makes sure that everything in his arcade runs smoothly from day to day. However, as he’ll tell you, “There’s always something going on, there’s always a catastrophe... It’s never ‘Hey everything’s great,’” citing a time when a nearby pipe burst and caused the entire floor to flood, as one extreme case. Mr. Davis plays the games in his arcade as often as possible (his favorite game being Silent Scope), and loves watching other people enjoy themselves. He has said that some of his best days at work are when they bring in groups of less fortunate or handicapped children and let them play and have fun to their heart’s desire. Davis says that FTW is really a place for everyone. The arcade uses large cabinets and displays so that even adults can feel like a kid again when standing in front of the big games, part of the appeal to going to the arcade. “We serve great food, great beer. It really is like the total package. And it’s geared more towards adults than it is kids, because we do have a lot of adults saying, ‘Hey we’re going to bring our kids here,’ and they have their birthday parties here and kids love it. Typically the bigger arcades are more designed for kids and they have to bring their parents, and so we said well why don’t we make it for the parents, and they have to bring their kids. It seems to be working out.”
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Title: Interview with Sean Davis: sean_davis_transcription
Creator: Nguyen, Ricky, Chionglo, Jeremy, Otgontulga, Khashkhuu, Brekke, Eric, Castellanos, Christopher
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-03
Description: Lucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a...
Show moreLucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a mini golf course, pool tables, and bowling, it has something for everyone. Featuring fresh made food developed by an in-house chef, private suites overlooking the Chicago skyline, and a variety of party options, it’s a great experience. In charge of all of this is Sean Davis, the Director of Operations at Lucky Strike FTW. Mr. Davis has meddled in all areas of the entertainment business throughout his career, including working as a cook, waiter, bartender, manager, and general manager. He first discovered that he loved working in the entertainment industry when working as a local Massachusetts pizza maker, whose venue housed several bar games like billiards and its own mini golf course. He studied business at Northeastern University, and went on to work at Jillian’s arcade around 1993 in Boston, which featured 52 pool tables, 200 games, and 70,000 square feet of restaurant space. Then, in 2011 he started working at FTW in Chicago. As Director of Operations, Mr. Davis checks on things like making sure the arcade is staffed, ensuring each department has what they need, ordering, scheduling, and generally makes sure that everything in his arcade runs smoothly from day to day. However, as he’ll tell you, “There’s always something going on, there’s always a catastrophe... It’s never ‘Hey everything’s great,’” citing a time when a nearby pipe burst and caused the entire floor to flood, as one extreme case. Mr. Davis plays the games in his arcade as often as possible (his favorite game being Silent Scope), and loves watching other people enjoy themselves. He has said that some of his best days at work are when they bring in groups of less fortunate or handicapped children and let them play and have fun to their heart’s desire. Davis says that FTW is really a place for everyone. The arcade uses large cabinets and displays so that even adults can feel like a kid again when standing in front of the big games, part of the appeal to going to the arcade. “We serve great food, great beer. It really is like the total package. And it’s geared more towards adults than it is kids, because we do have a lot of adults saying, ‘Hey we’re going to bring our kids here,’ and they have their birthday parties here and kids love it. Typically the bigger arcades are more designed for kids and they have to bring their parents, and so we said well why don’t we make it for the parents, and they have to bring their kids. It seems to be working out.”
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Title: Interview with Sean Davis: photos
Creator: Nguyen, Ricky, Chionglo, Jeremy, Otgontulga, Khashkhuu, Brekke, Eric, Castellanos, Christopher
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-03
Description: Lucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a...
Show moreLucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a mini golf course, pool tables, and bowling, it has something for everyone. Featuring fresh made food developed by an in-house chef, private suites overlooking the Chicago skyline, and a variety of party options, it’s a great experience. In charge of all of this is Sean Davis, the Director of Operations at Lucky Strike FTW. Mr. Davis has meddled in all areas of the entertainment business throughout his career, including working as a cook, waiter, bartender, manager, and general manager. He first discovered that he loved working in the entertainment industry when working as a local Massachusetts pizza maker, whose venue housed several bar games like billiards and its own mini golf course. He studied business at Northeastern University, and went on to work at Jillian’s arcade around 1993 in Boston, which featured 52 pool tables, 200 games, and 70,000 square feet of restaurant space. Then, in 2011 he started working at FTW in Chicago. As Director of Operations, Mr. Davis checks on things like making sure the arcade is staffed, ensuring each department has what they need, ordering, scheduling, and generally makes sure that everything in his arcade runs smoothly from day to day. However, as he’ll tell you, “There’s always something going on, there’s always a catastrophe... It’s never ‘Hey everything’s great,’” citing a time when a nearby pipe burst and caused the entire floor to flood, as one extreme case. Mr. Davis plays the games in his arcade as often as possible (his favorite game being Silent Scope), and loves watching other people enjoy themselves. He has said that some of his best days at work are when they bring in groups of less fortunate or handicapped children and let them play and have fun to their heart’s desire. Davis says that FTW is really a place for everyone. The arcade uses large cabinets and displays so that even adults can feel like a kid again when standing in front of the big games, part of the appeal to going to the arcade. “We serve great food, great beer. It really is like the total package. And it’s geared more towards adults than it is kids, because we do have a lot of adults saying, ‘Hey we’re going to bring our kids here,’ and they have their birthday parties here and kids love it. Typically the bigger arcades are more designed for kids and they have to bring their parents, and so we said well why don’t we make it for the parents, and they have to bring their kids. It seems to be working out.”
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Title: Interview with Sean Davis
Creator: Nguyen, Ricky, Chionglo, Jeremy, Otgontulga, Khashkhuu, Brekke, Eric, Castellanos, Christopher
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-03
Description: Lucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a...
Show moreLucky Strike FTW (For the Win) arcade is a bowling alley and arcade located in downtown Chicago. With 130 games that give prizes every time, a mini golf course, pool tables, and bowling, it has something for everyone. Featuring fresh made food developed by an in-house chef, private suites overlooking the Chicago skyline, and a variety of party options, it’s a great experience. In charge of all of this is Sean Davis, the Director of Operations at Lucky Strike FTW. Mr. Davis has meddled in all areas of the entertainment business throughout his career, including working as a cook, waiter, bartender, manager, and general manager. He first discovered that he loved working in the entertainment industry when working as a local Massachusetts pizza maker, whose venue housed several bar games like billiards and its own mini golf course. He studied business at Northeastern University, and went on to work at Jillian’s arcade around 1993 in Boston, which featured 52 pool tables, 200 games, and 70,000 square feet of restaurant space. Then, in 2011 he started working at FTW in Chicago. As Director of Operations, Mr. Davis checks on things like making sure the arcade is staffed, ensuring each department has what they need, ordering, scheduling, and generally makes sure that everything in his arcade runs smoothly from day to day. However, as he’ll tell you, “There’s always something going on, there’s always a catastrophe... It’s never ‘Hey everything’s great,’” citing a time when a nearby pipe burst and caused the entire floor to flood, as one extreme case. Mr. Davis plays the games in his arcade as often as possible (his favorite game being Silent Scope), and loves watching other people enjoy themselves. He has said that some of his best days at work are when they bring in groups of less fortunate or handicapped children and let them play and have fun to their heart’s desire. Davis says that FTW is really a place for everyone. The arcade uses large cabinets and displays so that even adults can feel like a kid again when standing in front of the big games, part of the appeal to going to the arcade. “We serve great food, great beer. It really is like the total package. And it’s geared more towards adults than it is kids, because we do have a lot of adults saying, ‘Hey we’re going to bring our kids here,’ and they have their birthday parties here and kids love it. Typically the bigger arcades are more designed for kids and they have to bring their parents, and so we said well why don’t we make it for the parents, and they have to bring their kids. It seems to be working out.”
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Title: Interview with Terry Minnich and Jeff Lee: Transcription
Creator: Mynes, Jordan, Torres, Fulgencio, Nunez, Sylvia, Badasyan, Zhanna, Wohn, Jared
Date: 2015-10-13, 2015-10-13
Description: For our oral history project, we interviewed Jeff Lee, and Terry Minnich who is also known as Trickman Terry. Jeff Lee was an artist that...
Show moreFor our oral history project, we interviewed Jeff Lee, and Terry Minnich who is also known as Trickman Terry. Jeff Lee was an artist that made artwork for QBert, Exterminator, and as well as other freelancing work. Terry Minnich was an editor for a magazine called Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine where he was an editor for the Tips and Tricks section where he would review tricks submitted from fans and publish them in EGM. Terry had a fairly large collection of arcade games in his basement which is where the interview took place. Both of these men were passionate about their job and were very knowledgeable in the video game industry. Terry Minnich worked many years as an editor for EGM, specifically the Tricks and Tips section. He would receive letters from fans, receive information overseas from Japan, or play the games himself with his team to try to obtain tricks, cheats, glitches or bugs, and other information needed to make the games more enjoyable. Terry was also an avid collector who obtained and maintained a collection of arcade machines in his basement and was well informed in the hardware aspect of the history. Jeff Lee, the second person interviewed, was an artist who was a fan of video games, specifically at the bar scene where he would enjoy a few drinks along with playing Pinball or Armour Attack before he got into the game industry in a more serious manner. He coincidently began working at Gottlieb and Co.as an artist where he made the artwork for Qbert1, 2, and 3. Then him and a fellow partner from Qbertwere contracted to do some artistry work on a few games like Exterminator. After he finished his artwork for QBert, he did some freelancing, and did some art and design work for the games Double GsandLotto Fun as well as another piece for the companyCredible Technologies. Terry Minnich, as part of his job as an editor, knew a lot about the Konami Code, which is a special combination of buttons the player can hit which will enable special abilities or extra lives. He mentioned the Konami Code as one of the first major cheat codes as it was used in many games such as Gradius, Contra, Dance Dance Revolution,and other games. The Konami code was interesting to look at because it is something about the history that you can not find by looking at the game itself; you have to talk to the players and fans of the games to learn about. Jeff Lee was a major designer of Q*bert,a puzzle game where players had to make each color of a block on a pyramid the same color. This game was hugely popular and is considered to be a classic from its time period. Lee had significant contributions on the project including character design, using the pyramid shape as a game, and the “@!#?@!” that the playable character would say in speech bubble. Minnich and Lee both had major impacts in the first generation of video games however from different positions. Lee was a creator and was part of the first hand industry while Minnich was part of the second hand industry that helped publicize the games and create the community of gamers that is around today. It is interesting to look at the multiple levels of the video game industry as there are many aspects to it like designing, manufacturing, retailing, the media scene, and the competition aspect.
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Title: Interview with Terry Minnich and Jeff Lee: Photos
Creator: Mynes, Jordan, Torres, Fulgencio, Nunez, Sylvia, Badasyan, Zhanna, Wohn, Jared
Date: 2015-10-13, 2015-10-13
Description: For our oral history project, we interviewed Jeff Lee, and Terry Minnich who is also known as Trickman Terry. Jeff Lee was an artist that...
Show moreFor our oral history project, we interviewed Jeff Lee, and Terry Minnich who is also known as Trickman Terry. Jeff Lee was an artist that made artwork for QBert, Exterminator, and as well as other freelancing work. Terry Minnich was an editor for a magazine called Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine where he was an editor for the Tips and Tricks section where he would review tricks submitted from fans and publish them in EGM. Terry had a fairly large collection of arcade games in his basement which is where the interview took place. Both of these men were passionate about their job and were very knowledgeable in the video game industry. Terry Minnich worked many years as an editor for EGM, specifically the Tricks and Tips section. He would receive letters from fans, receive information overseas from Japan, or play the games himself with his team to try to obtain tricks, cheats, glitches or bugs, and other information needed to make the games more enjoyable. Terry was also an avid collector who obtained and maintained a collection of arcade machines in his basement and was well informed in the hardware aspect of the history. Jeff Lee, the second person interviewed, was an artist who was a fan of video games, specifically at the bar scene where he would enjoy a few drinks along with playing Pinball or Armour Attack before he got into the game industry in a more serious manner. He coincidently began working at Gottlieb and Co.as an artist where he made the artwork for Qbert1, 2, and 3. Then him and a fellow partner from Qbertwere contracted to do some artistry work on a few games like Exterminator. After he finished his artwork for QBert, he did some freelancing, and did some art and design work for the games Double GsandLotto Fun as well as another piece for the companyCredible Technologies. Terry Minnich, as part of his job as an editor, knew a lot about the Konami Code, which is a special combination of buttons the player can hit which will enable special abilities or extra lives. He mentioned the Konami Code as one of the first major cheat codes as it was used in many games such as Gradius, Contra, Dance Dance Revolution,and other games. The Konami code was interesting to look at because it is something about the history that you can not find by looking at the game itself; you have to talk to the players and fans of the games to learn about. Jeff Lee was a major designer of Q*bert,a puzzle game where players had to make each color of a block on a pyramid the same color. This game was hugely popular and is considered to be a classic from its time period. Lee had significant contributions on the project including character design, using the pyramid shape as a game, and the “@!#?@!” that the playable character would say in speech bubble. Minnich and Lee both had major impacts in the first generation of video games however from different positions. Lee was a creator and was part of the first hand industry while Minnich was part of the second hand industry that helped publicize the games and create the community of gamers that is around today. It is interesting to look at the multiple levels of the video game industry as there are many aspects to it like designing, manufacturing, retailing, the media scene, and the competition aspect.
Show less