At 10:04 p.m. -- the same time that lighting struck the clock tower giving Marty McFly's DeLorean just enough juice to charge the flux capacitor and send him back to 1985 in "Back to The Future" -- the doors to Timeline Arcade swung open.
If that sounds like an introduction to some sort of nerdy Neverland, it is. Nearly 50 people made their way up to the second floor of the Carlisle Street Heritage and Convention Center Friday, and were greeted by the celebratory bells and whistles of more than 80 classic arcade cabinets, including 17 classic pinball machines.
The venue is a perfect congregation area for pixel-obsessed Baby Boomers, Generation X and the earliest Millennials to take a nostalgic vacation; a time-traveling voyage to the back end of the 20th century, before game-console domination put arcades on the endangered-business list.
Now at its new location on 22 Carlisle Street, the Timeline Arcade is free to keep its doors open as late as 2 a.m. - a huge improvement, gamers say, from its old venue at North Hanover Mall.
"This is great," Travis Goodale, 22, of Hanover, said. "You really don't see a lot of arcade culture anymore. I missed this atmosphere. You had the mall, but it didn't feel like an arcade. It was a good setup, but the hours just didn't work out. A lot of arcade stuff happens later in the night."
If that sounds like an introduction to some sort of nerdy Neverland, it is. Nearly 50 people made their way up to the second floor of the Carlisle Street Heritage and Convention Center Friday, and were greeted by the celebratory bells and whistles of more than 80 classic arcade cabinets, including 17 classic pinball machines.
The venue is a perfect congregation area for pixel-obsessed Baby Boomers, Generation X and the earliest Millennials to take a nostalgic vacation; a time-traveling voyage to the back end of the 20th century, before game-console domination put arcades on the endangered-business list.
Now at its new location on 22 Carlisle Street, the Timeline Arcade is free to keep its doors open as late as 2 a.m. - a huge improvement, gamers say, from its old venue at North Hanover Mall.
"This is great," Travis Goodale, 22, of Hanover, said. "You really don't see a lot of arcade culture anymore. I missed this atmosphere. You had the mall, but it didn't feel like an arcade. It was a good setup, but the hours just didn't work out. A lot of arcade stuff happens later in the night."
Drew Johnson, 18, of Hanover, plays pinball Friday night along with a crowd of about 50 at Timeline Arcade's re-opening near Center Square. (THE EVENING SUN -- KALANI GORDON)
Crowds gather outside of the Hanover Heritage and Conference Center before the Friday Timeline Arcade opening at 10:04 p.m. (THE EVENING SUN -- KALANI GORDON )
Drew Johnson, 18, of Hanover, plays pinball Friday night along with a crowd of about 50 at Timeline Arcade's re-opening near Center Square. (THE EVENING SUN -- KALANI GORDON)
At 10:04 p.m. -- the same time that lighting struck the clock tower giving Marty McFly's DeLorean just enough juice to charge the flux capacitor and send him back to 1985 in "Back to The Future" -- the doors to Timeline Arcade swung open.
If that sounds like an introduction to some sort of nerdy Neverland, it is. Nearly 50 people made their way up to the second floor of the Carlisle Street Heritage and Convention Center Friday, and were greeted by the celebratory bells and whistles of more than 80 classic arcade cabinets, including 17 classic pinball machines.
The venue is a perfect congregation area for pixel-obsessed Baby Boomers, Generation X and the earliest Millennials to take a nostalgic vacation; a time-traveling voyage to the back end of the 20th century, before game-console domination put arcades on the endangered-business list.
Now at its new location on 22 Carlisle Street, the Timeline Arcade is free to keep its doors open as late as 2 a.m. - a huge improvement, gamers say, from its old venue at North Hanover Mall.
"This is great," Travis Goodale, 22, of Hanover, said. "You really don't see a lot of arcade culture anymore. I missed this atmosphere. You had the mall, but it didn't feel like an arcade. It was a good setup, but the hours just didn't work out. A lot of arcade stuff happens later in the night."
Brian Robinson put it more bluntly.
"It's in a better location
than it was before," he said. "This place is more accessible."
Brandon Spencer, the arcade owner, was thrilled with the opening-night turnout.
"It's a lot more than I expected," he said. "It's going awesome. It's a rad night."
The downtown location was ideal for Spencer, who hopes the gaming palace turns into a late-night alternative to bars. The second-floor convention center location offers a safe haven for arcade aficionados and collectors, beyond the judgment of your average mall consumer.
Those that prefer console play are not out of luck. One corner of the arcade operates as an unofficial museum, offering the best of the past -- and the future -- of gaming entertainment.
Currently, Spencer's collection includes an Atari from the 70s plugged into a retro, boxed, wooden-paneled television. Moving into the 80s and 90s, the Nintendo, Super Nintendo and N64, as well as the Sega and Sega Genesis entertainment systems are hooked up to a slightly more modern setup. On another wall, a WiiU is configured to a flat-screen television for avant-garde gaming.
And that's not the most exciting part.
"We're actually getting the Xbox One early," Spencer said of the new Microsoft system that premieres in stores Nov. 22. "We'll have it available before people can get it at home."
Beyond the gaming area, a mini-theater complete with vintage movie posters and a projector screen featured "Back to The Future" for gamers looking for a break. Spencer said he plans to hold video game tournaments, art gallery showings and local video-release parties in the area.
"We're going to do some old flicks, like old horror movies from the 30s on the weekends, too," Spencer said.
Visitors seemed generally impressed with Spencer's new setup.
Russell Cool, another Hanover resident, was already a frequent player at the arcade's old location.
Drew Johnson, 18, of Hanover, plays pinball Friday night along with a crowd of about 50 at Timeline Arcade's re-opening near Center Square. (THE EVENING SUN -- KALANI GORDON)
At 10:04 p.m. -- the same time that lighting struck the clock tower giving Marty McFly's DeLorean just enough juice to charge the flux capacitor and send him back to 1985 in "Back to The Future" -- the doors to Timeline Arcade swung open.
If that sounds like an introduction to some sort of nerdy Neverland, it is. Nearly 50 people made their way up to the second floor of the Carlisle Street Heritage and Convention Center Friday, and were greeted by the celebratory bells and whistles of more than 80 classic arcade cabinets, including 17 classic pinball machines.
The venue is a perfect congregation area for pixel-obsessed Baby Boomers, Generation X and the earliest Millennials to take a nostalgic vacation; a time-traveling voyage to the back end of the 20th century, before game-console domination put arcades on the endangered-business list.
Now at its new location on 22 Carlisle Street, the Timeline Arcade is free to keep its doors open as late as 2 a.m. - a huge improvement, gamers say, from its old venue at North Hanover Mall.
"This is great," Travis Goodale, 22, of Hanover, said. "You really don't see a lot of arcade culture anymore. I missed this atmosphere. You had the mall, but it didn't feel like an arcade. It was a good setup, but the hours just didn't work out. A lot of arcade stuff happens later in the night."
Brian Robinson put it more bluntly.
"It's in a better location
than it was before," he said. "This place is more accessible."
Brandon Spencer, the arcade owner, was thrilled with the opening-night turnout.
"It's a lot more than I expected," he said. "It's going awesome. It's a rad night."
The downtown location was ideal for Spencer, who hopes the gaming palace turns into a late-night alternative to bars. The second-floor convention center location offers a safe haven for arcade aficionados and collectors, beyond the judgment of your average mall consumer.
Those that prefer console play are not out of luck. One corner of the arcade operates as an unofficial museum, offering the best of the past -- and the future -- of gaming entertainment.
Currently, Spencer's collection includes an Atari from the 70s plugged into a retro, boxed, wooden-paneled television. Moving into the 80s and 90s, the Nintendo, Super Nintendo and N64, as well as the Sega and Sega Genesis entertainment systems are hooked up to a slightly more modern setup. On another wall, a WiiU is configured to a flat-screen television for avant-garde gaming.
And that's not the most exciting part.
"We're actually getting the Xbox One early," Spencer said of the new Microsoft system that premieres in stores Nov. 22. "We'll have it available before people can get it at home."
Beyond the gaming area, a mini-theater complete with vintage movie posters and a projector screen featured "Back to The Future" for gamers looking for a break. Spencer said he plans to hold video game tournaments, art gallery showings and local video-release parties in the area.
"We're going to do some old flicks, like old horror movies from the 30s on the weekends, too," Spencer said.
Visitors seemed generally impressed with Spencer's new setup.
Russell Cool, another Hanover resident, was already a frequent player at the arcade's old location.
Several dozen people attended Timeline Arcade's re-opening Friday night. (THE EVENING SUN -- KALANI GORDON)
In fact, he holds a seven-digit high score on Gauntlet, a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash game. Spencer said the score is unofficially third in the entire world.
Cool said he was looking forward to playing Operation Wolf, a new game for the new location.
"That's one of the things I hadn't seen in forever," Cool said. "I haven't played it since I was a kid."
Kara Gustafson was enthusiastic about getting her hands on a pinball machine again.
"It's a fun, social thing to come and play and you don't have to wait for someone to be done on one game," Gustafson said.
Macy Keefer was grateful to play Mortal Combat again, and appreciated the wall decals, featuring classic video game characters like Donkey Kong and Super Mario.
Goodale said he was most excited to play Bad Dudes, where the objective is, obviously, to beat up bad dudes. He put in a special request for Spencer to find Robotron: 2084, a futuristic game where robots have turned against humans.
He smiled as he saw a couple of fathers walking around with their sons.
"I don't think a lot of kids that are 10 or 11 ever had a true arcade experience," Goodale said. "Not like it was back in the 90s. You would go to the arcade to play Street Fighter and it you were super excited when it finally came to the NES and Sega Genesis."
Visitors can choose to play for $9 an hour or $25 for a day pass. The store is open from noon to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 to 11 p.m. on Sundays.
By Adam Michaelamichael@eveningsun.com, @goodoletwonames on Twitter
Via http://www.eveningsun.com/local/ci_24247669/nerdy-neverland-finds-new-home-hanover
Cool said he was looking forward to playing Operation Wolf, a new game for the new location.
"That's one of the things I hadn't seen in forever," Cool said. "I haven't played it since I was a kid."
Kara Gustafson was enthusiastic about getting her hands on a pinball machine again.
"It's a fun, social thing to come and play and you don't have to wait for someone to be done on one game," Gustafson said.
Macy Keefer was grateful to play Mortal Combat again, and appreciated the wall decals, featuring classic video game characters like Donkey Kong and Super Mario.
Goodale said he was most excited to play Bad Dudes, where the objective is, obviously, to beat up bad dudes. He put in a special request for Spencer to find Robotron: 2084, a futuristic game where robots have turned against humans.
He smiled as he saw a couple of fathers walking around with their sons.
"I don't think a lot of kids that are 10 or 11 ever had a true arcade experience," Goodale said. "Not like it was back in the 90s. You would go to the arcade to play Street Fighter and it you were super excited when it finally came to the NES and Sega Genesis."
Visitors can choose to play for $9 an hour or $25 for a day pass. The store is open from noon to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 to 11 p.m. on Sundays.
By Adam Michaelamichael@eveningsun.com, @goodoletwonames on Twitter
Via http://www.eveningsun.com/local/ci_24247669/nerdy-neverland-finds-new-home-hanover
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