Cabinet and Controls meeting

Today (Aug. 11, 2013) we met for a little bit to discuss the Cabinet and Controls.

In attendance was John, Chris, Tom, Derek and myself (Shylo)

Thank you to everyone that attended, your time is appreciated. A special thanks to Derek for his help.

For those interested and unavailable here's what we discussed.

@ Arcadium

We discussed our background and experience to catch Derek up as well as learn a little about him. His formal education seems to be based in engineering and design. He currently teaches as well as being a sailor and is working on some boat pieces at Collexion. He has some great experience doing many different types of processes. He mentioned some really interesting techniques we may use later on, and expressed a particular interest in Environmentally Sustainable/Responsible design, materials, and techniques. One method he mentioned included using vacuum forming techniques for mass producing items that could be interesting for smaller table top sized arcades. Could be ideal if done for fund raising etc. (maybe a kickstarter reward item for large donors)

@ Collexion

Derek walked us through the typical process of using the CNC equipment and suggested some software to use. We discussed doing a half or smaller sized cabinet scaled to see logistical limitations.

Some notes about the equipment (once we know enough and are able to use it)...

• Safety is priority, so always use protective eye wear, ear plugs or covers, and masks for wood dust (it's really bad to breathe in.) Exercise caution around the machine so you and those around you don't get hurt. It can cut you badly.

• Respect and Cleanliness are also necessary...if anyone uses the equipment please clean up the dust and scraps. Be careful with the equipment.

• We will be purchasing our own bits, out of respect so we don't wear theirs out and so we can have extras so when we inevitably break them we have replacements.

• Never operate alone. This is my recommendation as a concerned friend to all of you, operating equipment like this can be dangerous, and accidents happen. It's best to have someone around to help if they do.

Some other items that came up...

• Multiple screens vs. larger vertically oriented screens? What would our limitations be for each orientation? What sizes can we use either way? Should we have an option to mount a screen to the top for viewing from behind players or would a higher screen in the cabinet be sufficient? Should we consider having a screen on the backside? I think we are leaning in the direction of one screen, vertically oriented, that game makers fit their games to, as it gives the game makers control of what is seen on the screen area. Not sure what the cost comparison would be yet. (Comments please)

• ADA considerations and cabinet dimensions as well as screen angles? I believe that we should make it accessible for wheelchair access, but this could change screen angles and control heights, unless mounted to be adjustable. I'm not sure what the consensus is but I feel it is responsible to consider those with disabilities and height restrictions, and I believe that a screen mounted so it can tilt as well as a control low enough that a person in a wheelchair can reach is feasible, but I would understand if this first unit was made to typical specs for simplicity with a caveat that our next iteration should be Accessible in any way we can. (Comments please)

• Regarding joystick and buttons, we will likely use the American made versions over the Japanese due to cost effectiveness and difficulty of installing the Japanese set. The intent is that our next iteration of the cabinet will have the Japanese set for those who are making games that could utilize the sensitivity. Tom has more info if anyone has questions about the joystick and buttons.

• The consensus was to keep the design of this cabinet simple as the primary goal is to finish it by our date in November. Preferably sooner. Ideally we could find an old cabinet without a working game to reuse, however that is proving difficult to find. So our best option is to plan on building this from scratch. We discussed using 1/2" MDF this time around for cost and ease of cutting. We plan to laminate the MDF and use a vinyl t-shaped edge for the outside edges of the sides. All very typical. We do have the ability to cut vinyl with the CNC machine. So we can print vinyl graphics for the sides, also pretty typical. We discussed that use of hardware for assembling the Cabinet would cost more than routing and gluing, but gluing would make it permanent, so we couldn't take it apart for moving. The Lexitron is going to get moved around quite a bit so we would probably lean toward using hardware, but we will try to compare costs.

[from dave - MDF is a great material, but be aware that it does not tollerate water at all. It will swell up and break down. If you think folks might spill a coke on it or it might get carried into an installation in the rain, etc., plan on painting it or 100% vinyl wrapping it. Plywood is generally more water tollerant, but has its own set of issues.]

That about sums up the meeting. Questions and comments are welcome.