For a couple of years, ever since I first saw CmdrTaco's MAME Cabinet, I've had the desire to build one for myself. Admittedly, the last time I did any woodworking was waaaaaay back in high school, and that didn't turn out so well (one of my deranged classmates stabbed my project repeatedly with a screwdriver).

Anyway, despite the possibility that I might end up making something that resembles Homer Simpson's spice rack more than a standup arcade game, I designed a cabinet last night:

(Click image for larger version)

My goal is to make this as inexpensively as possible. Buttons aren't that expensive — $1.65 for a genuine arcade pushbutton at Happ Controls, slightly more expensive from Ultimarc. Basic arcade joysticks only run about $15 each. Trigger joysticks (like you'd see on a Tron machine) and spinner controls both cost over $100, so I think I'll be building my own instead.

Rather than spending a couple hundred dollars on a disappointingly small computer monitor, I'll hit the pawn shops with which Tampa is overflowing, and look for a decent 27-inch TV with an S-Video input for under $100, then stick in the cheapest video card I can find with S-Video output. A $6 keyboard can easily be hacked to provide a multiple-control input device. Basic hardware supplies and a cheap mouse can be turned into a respectable spinner.

The most difficult choice is the control layout. Two of my favorite games are Tron and Mad Planets, both of which require a trigger joystick and a spinner. On the other hand, I also like simultaneous multiplayer games such as Gauntlet and Joust. But how to set up adequate controls for both kinds of games?

Simple: I make the control panel detachable, and just swap it out as needed. Three ports on the main cabinet (joystick, mouse/trackball, and keyboard) should serve for any kind of layout that I can imagine. If I build a sliding drawer for the motherboard and CPU and bolt them in sideways, I can have the rest of the lower cabinet for storing unused control panels.

The hardest part looks like the construction of a spinner. Since Karen loves Tempest, but finds it difficult to play using a keyboard, mouse or joystick, I'll build her a standalone spinner — which will serve as practice for me, and (hopefully) give her a way to play one of her favorite arcade games.

Assuming, of course, that she can play Tempest with a spice rack.

Tangent: I tried to find an image of Homer Simpson's DIY project, but was wholly unsuccessful. I did, however, find an image of Rooster Spice.