Cue the Pac-Man theme song, throw in a handful of tokens, add some flashing arcade lights and transport back to the ‘80s.
The Athens MakerSpace, 751 W. Union St., is hosting its monthly Vintage Game Night on Wednesday. Vintage Game Night includes not only a wide range of retro-games but many of everyone's modern favorites. Attendees must be 21 or older with a valid ID and can bring their own beverages.
The past few times game night has been hosted there has had a fairly consistent turnout, usually with regulars coming back. Sean King, the organizer of Vintage Game Night, welcomes everyone to join.
“When it started we were just trying to stick to just vintage games — like we got an Atari 2600, we got a SEGA Genesis, a Dreamcast, an original Nintendo, a Super Nintendo, an N-64 and that’s kind of where we wanted to keep it,” King said. “But with the last couple, we have been trying to branch out. We got Playstation games and we got a Wii set up and we’re playing Rock Band on that. So a little bit of everything right now.”
King’s love for vintage games came to be when he was working at thrift stores.
“It all started with a thrift store. We get donated these game systems and then we have this opportunity to use them and play them,” King said, “Then I get to meet other people who are as interested as I am. It all just sort of happened naturally.”
Many people also enjoy the social aspect of games, like Nathan Derose a sophomore studying sports management.
“I liked Super Smash Bros on my Nintendo 64,” Derose said. “All my friends would come over when I was in elementary school and we’d have a blast on that.”
For others, like John Ried, a sophomore studying biology, vintage games bring back childhood memories.
“I liked Super Mario 64,” Ried said. “It was the first game I ever played growing up as a kid on my DS.”
As for King’s personal favorite, he enjoys the Taz in Escape from Mars Genesis game, where the Tasmanian devil gets kidnapped by Marvin the Martian and they have to make it out of Mars together.
“I grew up playing video games, that was like one of my passions, you know we were always begging for a new system,” King said. “I remember playing N64 at my aunt and uncle's house. It’s some nostalgia I guess, it gets me in a certain spot.”
The Athens MakerSpace also hosts many other events, and the Vintage Game Night is only one of many as to why King enjoys being part of Athens MakerSpace.
“It’s awesome, I love working there,” King said. “There’s always something going on and I get to work with my hands more often than not.”
