The Nostalgia Cabinet
Even today, an arcade system can really capture the eye.
Was that a Galaga cabinet?
I did an earnest double take as I crossed in front of the pizza place. It was my usual joint, one I patronized at least once a week and passed by so frequently that it blurred neatly into its surroundings. Any other day, I’d only have acknowledged it as a minor landmark on my walk home, barely perceived over the pages of my latest library acquisition.
It was the new addition that wrenched my eyes away from the text. Sure enough — Galaga, the arcade classic in its harshly radiant glory.
There was a time when any pizzeria worth its salt contained a collection of arcade cabinets…he says, as though he had any personal recollection of that age. It’s true — I didn’t misspend any of my youth or my quarters in a makeshift pizza joint arcade. However, I do remember when arcade machines were a regular fixture inside buildings and business of various types, and I especially remember that pizza place in Colorado with the broken cocktail cabinet, the one I insisted on using as my table at every visit.
Galaga also happens to be one of my personal favorites among the arcade classics — a triumph of design simplicity, demanding equal parts tactical awareness and skill. I am not the lord of Galaga, I’m…
