Coin-Op Vignettes
These are going to be specific memories of old coin-op games I played or hovered around as a kid. I wonder if I would have been so eager to play these games if I knew the deck was often stacked against you, and that some machines raised their difficulty if you were successful without dying, such that it was basically impossible to finish the damned things on one life. Still, you went to the arcade, even when consoles were around, because you knew you'd see a spectacle that you couldn't get anywhere else. Eventually consoles overran the arcades and I'm glad for it, since I believe it helped games grow up a bit, but there's something about just diving in and risking a bit of money to try to get a high score that still appeals to me.
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