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Creator: Mcnamar, Sydney, Hernandez, Christopher, Nguyen, Michael, Takiddeen, Yasser, Garcia, Jonathan

Title: Interview with Chris Dammacco: 1_Audio Transcription
Creator: Mcnamar, Sydney, Hernandez, Christopher, Nguyen, Michael, Takiddeen, Yasser, Garcia, Jonathan
Date: 2015-10-02, 2015-10-02
Description: Chris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the...
Show moreChris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the poor treatment of his customers; the owner’s response was “If you don’t like the way I do things, then why don’t you start your own shop”, and that’s exactly what he did. Dammacco founded Windy Gaming officially in January of 2015, but first invested in the idea in September of 2012. Windy Gaming specializes in import games, specifically from Japan. He mostly runs the business by himself; the only help he gets is a mechanical engineer that comes in once a week to repair games and two unpaid college students who assist him during convention weekends. The majority of his inventory is games from the late 80s and early 90s because this is the era that Dammacco finds most intriguing. Windy Gaming attends several gaming conventions a year, the favorite being the Midwestern Gaming Convention. At Windy Gaming’s first year at this convention, they only had two eight-foot tables; this past year they had grown so much as to be able to purchase a private room. Dammacco was able to meet many famous internet personalities and players through these conventions some of which included James Rolfe and the hosts of the “Sat Guys” YouTube channel. These two to three day conventions can bring in as much as five figures according to Dammacco and make up a majority of his sales. Dammacco’s friendly treatment of the buyers has created a league of loyal customers that will follow go so far as to follow to him to conventions. Each product he sends out comes with a hand written, personalized note from Dammacco expressing gratitude for their purchase. Dammacco will facetime, skype, email, tweet, Facebook message, call, and the like if the customer wants a deeper understanding of the product or inventory as a whole. The most unique thing about Windy Gaming is that despite sales being entirely online, Dammacco strives to make himself known so the customer is aware that it is a man they are making deals with, not a soulless computer screen. He also makes an effort to keep prices as low as possible in order to cater to the player so they can enjoy the experience of the game without the guilt of overpriced items. Dammacco feels the poor treatment of the players and customers in this industry will be its eventual downfall because the overpriced, never to be played games that certain vendors are selling are not true to the real meaning of a video games. Games are a hobby meant to be enjoyed by those who love to play. His efforts at creating a standard for pricing and customer interaction are making an impact on the gaming industry. The amount of growth that Windy Gaming has produced in such a short time is truly amazing and serves as a commentary on the success of the modern video industry. Prospects are high for Chris Dammacco’s Windy Gaming as well as the gaming industry as a whole.
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Title: Interview with Chris Dammacco
Creator: Mcnamar, Sydney, Hernandez, Christopher, Nguyen, Michael, Takiddeen, Yasser, Garcia, Jonathan
Date: 2015-10-02, 2015-10-02
Description: Chris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the...
Show moreChris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the poor treatment of his customers; the owner’s response was “If you don’t like the way I do things, then why don’t you start your own shop”, and that’s exactly what he did. Dammacco founded Windy Gaming officially in January of 2015, but first invested in the idea in September of 2012. Windy Gaming specializes in import games, specifically from Japan. He mostly runs the business by himself; the only help he gets is a mechanical engineer that comes in once a week to repair games and two unpaid college students who assist him during convention weekends. The majority of his inventory is games from the late 80s and early 90s because this is the era that Dammacco finds most intriguing. Windy Gaming attends several gaming conventions a year, the favorite being the Midwestern Gaming Convention. At Windy Gaming’s first year at this convention, they only had two eight-foot tables; this past year they had grown so much as to be able to purchase a private room. Dammacco was able to meet many famous internet personalities and players through these conventions some of which included James Rolfe and the hosts of the “Sat Guys” YouTube channel. These two to three day conventions can bring in as much as five figures according to Dammacco and make up a majority of his sales. Dammacco’s friendly treatment of the buyers has created a league of loyal customers that will follow go so far as to follow to him to conventions. Each product he sends out comes with a hand written, personalized note from Dammacco expressing gratitude for their purchase. Dammacco will facetime, skype, email, tweet, Facebook message, call, and the like if the customer wants a deeper understanding of the product or inventory as a whole. The most unique thing about Windy Gaming is that despite sales being entirely online, Dammacco strives to make himself known so the customer is aware that it is a man they are making deals with, not a soulless computer screen. He also makes an effort to keep prices as low as possible in order to cater to the player so they can enjoy the experience of the game without the guilt of overpriced items. Dammacco feels the poor treatment of the players and customers in this industry will be its eventual downfall because the overpriced, never to be played games that certain vendors are selling are not true to the real meaning of a video games. Games are a hobby meant to be enjoyed by those who love to play. His efforts at creating a standard for pricing and customer interaction are making an impact on the gaming industry. The amount of growth that Windy Gaming has produced in such a short time is truly amazing and serves as a commentary on the success of the modern video industry. Prospects are high for Chris Dammacco’s Windy Gaming as well as the gaming industry as a whole.
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Title: Interview with Chris Dammacco: Audio Transcription
Creator: Mcnamar, Sydney, Hernandez, Christopher, Nguyen, Michael, Takiddeen, Yasser, Garcia, Jonathan
Date: 2015-10-02, 2015-10-02
Description: Chris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the...
Show moreChris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the poor treatment of his customers; the owner’s response was “If you don’t like the way I do things, then why don’t you start your own shop”, and that’s exactly what he did. Dammacco founded Windy Gaming officially in January of 2015, but first invested in the idea in September of 2012. Windy Gaming specializes in import games, specifically from Japan. He mostly runs the business by himself; the only help he gets is a mechanical engineer that comes in once a week to repair games and two unpaid college students who assist him during convention weekends. The majority of his inventory is games from the late 80s and early 90s because this is the era that Dammacco finds most intriguing. Windy Gaming attends several gaming conventions a year, the favorite being the Midwestern Gaming Convention. At Windy Gaming’s first year at this convention, they only had two eight-foot tables; this past year they had grown so much as to be able to purchase a private room. Dammacco was able to meet many famous internet personalities and players through these conventions some of which included James Rolfe and the hosts of the “Sat Guys” YouTube channel. These two to three day conventions can bring in as much as five figures according to Dammacco and make up a majority of his sales. Dammacco’s friendly treatment of the buyers has created a league of loyal customers that will follow go so far as to follow to him to conventions. Each product he sends out comes with a hand written, personalized note from Dammacco expressing gratitude for their purchase. Dammacco will facetime, skype, email, tweet, Facebook message, call, and the like if the customer wants a deeper understanding of the product or inventory as a whole. The most unique thing about Windy Gaming is that despite sales being entirely online, Dammacco strives to make himself known so the customer is aware that it is a man they are making deals with, not a soulless computer screen. He also makes an effort to keep prices as low as possible in order to cater to the player so they can enjoy the experience of the game without the guilt of overpriced items. Dammacco feels the poor treatment of the players and customers in this industry will be its eventual downfall because the overpriced, never to be played games that certain vendors are selling are not true to the real meaning of a video games. Games are a hobby meant to be enjoyed by those who love to play. His efforts at creating a standard for pricing and customer interaction are making an impact on the gaming industry. The amount of growth that Windy Gaming has produced in such a short time is truly amazing and serves as a commentary on the success of the modern video industry. Prospects are high for Chris Dammacco’s Windy Gaming as well as the gaming industry as a whole.
Show less

Title: Interview with Chris Dammacco: Raw Audio Recording
Creator: Mcnamar, Sydney, Hernandez, Christopher, Nguyen, Michael, Takiddeen, Yasser, Garcia, Jonathan
Date: 2015-10-02, 2015-10-02
Description: Chris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the...
Show moreChris Dammacco began as a cheese broker for the majority of Midwestern states until one day he confronted a video game shop owner about the poor treatment of his customers; the owner’s response was “If you don’t like the way I do things, then why don’t you start your own shop”, and that’s exactly what he did. Dammacco founded Windy Gaming officially in January of 2015, but first invested in the idea in September of 2012. Windy Gaming specializes in import games, specifically from Japan. He mostly runs the business by himself; the only help he gets is a mechanical engineer that comes in once a week to repair games and two unpaid college students who assist him during convention weekends. The majority of his inventory is games from the late 80s and early 90s because this is the era that Dammacco finds most intriguing. Windy Gaming attends several gaming conventions a year, the favorite being the Midwestern Gaming Convention. At Windy Gaming’s first year at this convention, they only had two eight-foot tables; this past year they had grown so much as to be able to purchase a private room. Dammacco was able to meet many famous internet personalities and players through these conventions some of which included James Rolfe and the hosts of the “Sat Guys” YouTube channel. These two to three day conventions can bring in as much as five figures according to Dammacco and make up a majority of his sales. Dammacco’s friendly treatment of the buyers has created a league of loyal customers that will follow go so far as to follow to him to conventions. Each product he sends out comes with a hand written, personalized note from Dammacco expressing gratitude for their purchase. Dammacco will facetime, skype, email, tweet, Facebook message, call, and the like if the customer wants a deeper understanding of the product or inventory as a whole. The most unique thing about Windy Gaming is that despite sales being entirely online, Dammacco strives to make himself known so the customer is aware that it is a man they are making deals with, not a soulless computer screen. He also makes an effort to keep prices as low as possible in order to cater to the player so they can enjoy the experience of the game without the guilt of overpriced items. Dammacco feels the poor treatment of the players and customers in this industry will be its eventual downfall because the overpriced, never to be played games that certain vendors are selling are not true to the real meaning of a video games. Games are a hobby meant to be enjoyed by those who love to play. His efforts at creating a standard for pricing and customer interaction are making an impact on the gaming industry. The amount of growth that Windy Gaming has produced in such a short time is truly amazing and serves as a commentary on the success of the modern video industry. Prospects are high for Chris Dammacco’s Windy Gaming as well as the gaming industry as a whole.
Show less

Creator: Rao, Xi, Houlihan, Jodi

Title: Interview with Todd Friedman
Creator: Rao, Xi, Houlihan, Jodi
Date: 2015-09-25, 2015-09-25
Description: We conducted an interview with Todd Friedman, a game competitor who holds over 100 game world records, on Sep 25, 2015 at his home in Gurnee,...
Show moreWe conducted an interview with Todd Friedman, a game competitor who holds over 100 game world records, on Sep 25, 2015 at his home in Gurnee, IL. Todd Friedman is a game competitor and competition organizer. His personal game collections consist of 2,840 games and he has been playing video games since he was five years old. His world records are recorded on the Twin Galaxies Score Database website. For the Wii DJ Hero alone he has three pages filled with records of him placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th with songs ranging from Foo Fighters to Jackson Five. However, Todd has never worked as a full-time game competitor. Instead, he is an EDI (Electronic data interchange) analyst at HubGroup, a truck company. Generally, he arrives home from work at 4:30pm and plays games or works out with his children. Todd has his own philosophy for life and gaming. He holds world records but has never thought of earning money from playing games or having it as a “real” job. Rather, he loves the competition itself. In his view, playing games is more like something that brings people fun and happiness, instead of a tool to make money. He also enjoys being a spectator and watching others play games. This is one of the reasons why he loves not only to participate but also to organize game competitions. How does Todd balance his daily life with his gaming life? If you ask Todd they are one and the same. In fact, a quote of his is “Working and being father is my typical day.” He works his full time job, spends time with his family and ensures that he also spends time on his professional gaming activities. He has twins, a boy and a girl aged 9 years old that he does the normal after school activities with like, soccer, cheerleading, etc. He also loves video gaming especially with his family! One controversial view is that coin-operated video gaming has been a target of negative perceptions. However, Todd completely discredits this argument -- that gaming is a negative influence. He credits video gaming for keeping him on a good path, away from drugs and alcohol, fueling his interest in technology, and obtaining friendships from an array of different cultures all due to being able to meet, talk and play video games with people from around the nation and around the world. Are e-sports according to Todd a real sport? The short answer is “yes.” Todd has two favorite sports, Bowling and video gaming. He compared video game competition to bowling to how some people do not believe it is a sport by discussing hand and eye coordination, mental focus, and talent. You have to beat the other person and practice to get better at it, which is exactly like bowling or golf. According to Todd, a professional gamer, a sport consists of using your mind, practicing, and playing against someone to win. And e-sports falls within his definition. Through the interview, we found that Todd was not in agreement with a lot of the negative stereotypes that people have about gaming, such as, video games are bad for young kids, it wastes their time, money and may have a negative effect on their behaviors and social skills. Instead, he is an average guy who has been playing games since 7 years old and it has helped to evolve him socially and as a positive role model. He credits video games to keeping him away from drugs and alcohol and is also a mechanism that helps to relieve stress. It also positively affects his relationships. He is a better friend, father, husband and co-worker because of his involvement with games.
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Title: Interview with Todd Friedman: Todd Friedman_9-25-15_Transcription_Oral History Project
Creator: Rao, Xi, Houlihan, Jodi
Date: 2015-09-25, 2015-09-25
Description: We conducted an interview with Todd Friedman, a game competitor who holds over 100 game world records, on Sep 25, 2015 at his home in Gurnee,...
Show moreWe conducted an interview with Todd Friedman, a game competitor who holds over 100 game world records, on Sep 25, 2015 at his home in Gurnee, IL. Todd Friedman is a game competitor and competition organizer. His personal game collections consist of 2,840 games and he has been playing video games since he was five years old. His world records are recorded on the Twin Galaxies Score Database website. For the Wii DJ Hero alone he has three pages filled with records of him placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th with songs ranging from Foo Fighters to Jackson Five. However, Todd has never worked as a full-time game competitor. Instead, he is an EDI (Electronic data interchange) analyst at HubGroup, a truck company. Generally, he arrives home from work at 4:30pm and plays games or works out with his children. Todd has his own philosophy for life and gaming. He holds world records but has never thought of earning money from playing games or having it as a “real” job. Rather, he loves the competition itself. In his view, playing games is more like something that brings people fun and happiness, instead of a tool to make money. He also enjoys being a spectator and watching others play games. This is one of the reasons why he loves not only to participate but also to organize game competitions. How does Todd balance his daily life with his gaming life? If you ask Todd they are one and the same. In fact, a quote of his is “Working and being father is my typical day.” He works his full time job, spends time with his family and ensures that he also spends time on his professional gaming activities. He has twins, a boy and a girl aged 9 years old that he does the normal after school activities with like, soccer, cheerleading, etc. He also loves video gaming especially with his family! One controversial view is that coin-operated video gaming has been a target of negative perceptions. However, Todd completely discredits this argument -- that gaming is a negative influence. He credits video gaming for keeping him on a good path, away from drugs and alcohol, fueling his interest in technology, and obtaining friendships from an array of different cultures all due to being able to meet, talk and play video games with people from around the nation and around the world. Are e-sports according to Todd a real sport? The short answer is “yes.” Todd has two favorite sports, Bowling and video gaming. He compared video game competition to bowling to how some people do not believe it is a sport by discussing hand and eye coordination, mental focus, and talent. You have to beat the other person and practice to get better at it, which is exactly like bowling or golf. According to Todd, a professional gamer, a sport consists of using your mind, practicing, and playing against someone to win. And e-sports falls within his definition. Through the interview, we found that Todd was not in agreement with a lot of the negative stereotypes that people have about gaming, such as, video games are bad for young kids, it wastes their time, money and may have a negative effect on their behaviors and social skills. Instead, he is an average guy who has been playing games since 7 years old and it has helped to evolve him socially and as a positive role model. He credits video games to keeping him away from drugs and alcohol and is also a mechanism that helps to relieve stress. It also positively affects his relationships. He is a better friend, father, husband and co-worker because of his involvement with games.
Show less

Title: Interview with Todd Friedman: raw-recording
Creator: Rao, Xi, Houlihan, Jodi
Date: 2015-09-25, 2015-09-25
Description: We conducted an interview with Todd Friedman, a game competitor who holds over 100 game world records, on Sep 25, 2015 at his home in Gurnee,...
Show moreWe conducted an interview with Todd Friedman, a game competitor who holds over 100 game world records, on Sep 25, 2015 at his home in Gurnee, IL. Todd Friedman is a game competitor and competition organizer. His personal game collections consist of 2,840 games and he has been playing video games since he was five years old. His world records are recorded on the Twin Galaxies Score Database website. For the Wii DJ Hero alone he has three pages filled with records of him placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th with songs ranging from Foo Fighters to Jackson Five. However, Todd has never worked as a full-time game competitor. Instead, he is an EDI (Electronic data interchange) analyst at HubGroup, a truck company. Generally, he arrives home from work at 4:30pm and plays games or works out with his children. Todd has his own philosophy for life and gaming. He holds world records but has never thought of earning money from playing games or having it as a “real” job. Rather, he loves the competition itself. In his view, playing games is more like something that brings people fun and happiness, instead of a tool to make money. He also enjoys being a spectator and watching others play games. This is one of the reasons why he loves not only to participate but also to organize game competitions. How does Todd balance his daily life with his gaming life? If you ask Todd they are one and the same. In fact, a quote of his is “Working and being father is my typical day.” He works his full time job, spends time with his family and ensures that he also spends time on his professional gaming activities. He has twins, a boy and a girl aged 9 years old that he does the normal after school activities with like, soccer, cheerleading, etc. He also loves video gaming especially with his family! One controversial view is that coin-operated video gaming has been a target of negative perceptions. However, Todd completely discredits this argument -- that gaming is a negative influence. He credits video gaming for keeping him on a good path, away from drugs and alcohol, fueling his interest in technology, and obtaining friendships from an array of different cultures all due to being able to meet, talk and play video games with people from around the nation and around the world. Are e-sports according to Todd a real sport? The short answer is “yes.” Todd has two favorite sports, Bowling and video gaming. He compared video game competition to bowling to how some people do not believe it is a sport by discussing hand and eye coordination, mental focus, and talent. You have to beat the other person and practice to get better at it, which is exactly like bowling or golf. According to Todd, a professional gamer, a sport consists of using your mind, practicing, and playing against someone to win. And e-sports falls within his definition. Through the interview, we found that Todd was not in agreement with a lot of the negative stereotypes that people have about gaming, such as, video games are bad for young kids, it wastes their time, money and may have a negative effect on their behaviors and social skills. Instead, he is an average guy who has been playing games since 7 years old and it has helped to evolve him socially and as a positive role model. He credits video games to keeping him away from drugs and alcohol and is also a mechanism that helps to relieve stress. It also positively affects his relationships. He is a better friend, father, husband and co-worker because of his involvement with games.
Show less

Title: Interview with Jessica Kent: R05_0009
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 Jessica Kent: photos
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 Jessica Kent
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 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.
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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.
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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.
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Title: Interview with Jason Cambers: Jason Camberis Interview (Audio)
Creator: Ochwat, Jacob, Kupiec, Lukasz, Hernandez, Yasmeen, Zasadzki, Weronika, Castaneda, Luis
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-16
Description: At a young age, Jason Camberis was always intrigued by Video games. He would go to his local corner store just to play on the arcade that the...
Show moreAt a young age, Jason Camberis was always intrigued by Video games. He would go to his local corner store just to play on the arcade that the store provided. One thing that he remembered from that childhood experience was that the cabinet was rather large for his small stature. Using that as a form of motivation, years later he pursues a project that would later win him a Guinness World Record for the largest Arcade machine cabinet ever created. Gaming was a big part of his life growing up and he found this hobby rather addicting. He described himself as a hands-on type of guy who would teach himself rather than have someone else teach him. One game that he described as his favorite was the sea devil submarine game that was in his local 7- Eleven. He described himself at the time very short and having to reach for the joystick to even can play the game. At an astounding 14 feet tall and 6 feet wide, the Largest Arcade Machine Produced, or what Jason just likes to call LAMP, can play a variety of games ranging from classic arcade games, Xbox games, PlayStation games, and even PC Games. The LAMP took approximately 2 years for him to complete. His motivation for building the biggest arcade ever came from seeing the previous record and believing that he could do better. His mindset was always an optimistic and innovative. He believes that there is always a best way to do something and that even better ways will come. Jason’s hobby fortunately for him turned into his career. Jason’s goal for designing the largest arcade machine was to make everyone feel like a kid again and be in equal terms. For everyone to remember when they were younger and they had to reach to be able to move the joy stick and press the buttons on the cabinet. He also wanted people to come together and play. With all the negative news that he had been seeing in the passing years he wanted to make something that would make the people smile again. Currently Jason is creating home arcade systems while also enjoying other jobs such as working on houses, working on cars, working on computers. He also works with security systems and cameras. All around well rounded in anything technology related.
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Title: Interview with Jason Cambers: Archive
Creator: Ochwat, Jacob, Kupiec, Lukasz, Hernandez, Yasmeen, Zasadzki, Weronika, Castaneda, Luis
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-16
Description: At a young age, Jason Camberis was always intrigued by Video games. He would go to his local corner store just to play on the arcade that the...
Show moreAt a young age, Jason Camberis was always intrigued by Video games. He would go to his local corner store just to play on the arcade that the store provided. One thing that he remembered from that childhood experience was that the cabinet was rather large for his small stature. Using that as a form of motivation, years later he pursues a project that would later win him a Guinness World Record for the largest Arcade machine cabinet ever created. Gaming was a big part of his life growing up and he found this hobby rather addicting. He described himself as a hands-on type of guy who would teach himself rather than have someone else teach him. One game that he described as his favorite was the sea devil submarine game that was in his local 7- Eleven. He described himself at the time very short and having to reach for the joystick to even can play the game. At an astounding 14 feet tall and 6 feet wide, the Largest Arcade Machine Produced, or what Jason just likes to call LAMP, can play a variety of games ranging from classic arcade games, Xbox games, PlayStation games, and even PC Games. The LAMP took approximately 2 years for him to complete. His motivation for building the biggest arcade ever came from seeing the previous record and believing that he could do better. His mindset was always an optimistic and innovative. He believes that there is always a best way to do something and that even better ways will come. Jason’s hobby fortunately for him turned into his career. Jason’s goal for designing the largest arcade machine was to make everyone feel like a kid again and be in equal terms. For everyone to remember when they were younger and they had to reach to be able to move the joy stick and press the buttons on the cabinet. He also wanted people to come together and play. With all the negative news that he had been seeing in the passing years he wanted to make something that would make the people smile again. Currently Jason is creating home arcade systems while also enjoying other jobs such as working on houses, working on cars, working on computers. He also works with security systems and cameras. All around well rounded in anything technology related.
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Title: Interview with Jason Cambers: Jason Camberis Interview -Transcription-
Creator: Ochwat, Jacob, Kupiec, Lukasz, Hernandez, Yasmeen, Zasadzki, Weronika, Castaneda, Luis
Date: 2016-12-09, 2016-11-16
Description: At a young age, Jason Camberis was always intrigued by Video games. He would go to his local corner store just to play on the arcade that the...
Show moreAt a young age, Jason Camberis was always intrigued by Video games. He would go to his local corner store just to play on the arcade that the store provided. One thing that he remembered from that childhood experience was that the cabinet was rather large for his small stature. Using that as a form of motivation, years later he pursues a project that would later win him a Guinness World Record for the largest Arcade machine cabinet ever created. Gaming was a big part of his life growing up and he found this hobby rather addicting. He described himself as a hands-on type of guy who would teach himself rather than have someone else teach him. One game that he described as his favorite was the sea devil submarine game that was in his local 7- Eleven. He described himself at the time very short and having to reach for the joystick to even can play the game. At an astounding 14 feet tall and 6 feet wide, the Largest Arcade Machine Produced, or what Jason just likes to call LAMP, can play a variety of games ranging from classic arcade games, Xbox games, PlayStation games, and even PC Games. The LAMP took approximately 2 years for him to complete. His motivation for building the biggest arcade ever came from seeing the previous record and believing that he could do better. His mindset was always an optimistic and innovative. He believes that there is always a best way to do something and that even better ways will come. Jason’s hobby fortunately for him turned into his career. Jason’s goal for designing the largest arcade machine was to make everyone feel like a kid again and be in equal terms. For everyone to remember when they were younger and they had to reach to be able to move the joy stick and press the buttons on the cabinet. He also wanted people to come together and play. With all the negative news that he had been seeing in the passing years he wanted to make something that would make the people smile again. Currently Jason is creating home arcade systems while also enjoying other jobs such as working on houses, working on cars, working on computers. He also works with security systems and cameras. All around well rounded in anything technology related.
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