Covering a story about a subject you grew up loving brings back all the feels
One of the great things about being a journalist is learning about new subjects that you know nothing about.
But the better thing is getting to cover a story about something you love.
As a person of a certain age, I grew up standing in front of arcade games, plugging however many quarters I could scrounge into machines at mall arcades, bowling alleys and pizza parlors.
Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Joust, Defender, QBert, Donkey Kong, Tetris, Klax. You name it, I played it. Shooters, puzzlers, platformers, sports, I loved them all.
When asked if I was interested in covering a new exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art at about a Chicago game company made famous during the golden age of arcade games, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20241025/news/level-up-new-exhibition-highlights-chicago-arcade-game-companys-legacy/Located on the College of DuPage campus, “INSERT COIN: Inside Midway’s Arcade Revolution,” tells the story of how Williams, Bally and Midway came together to make some of the most influential games of the era, including NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat and myriad others that have left a stamp on the cultural zeitgeist.
I met curator Justin Witte there a few days before the exhibit opened just as he was plugging in a Robotron 2084 game to make sure it worked. He played for a couple of minutes while I took some pictures, then he asked if I wanted to give it a go.
Free play? I was in.
It’s amazing how quickly the muscle memory comes back when you take the double joystick controls in your hands. It was just like old times, standing up, shooting robots while someone watched over your shoulder.
The feeling can’t be replicated playing on a computer or game console at home.
After the interview I walked around making more photos while Witte and the assistant curator hurriedly worked to finish the exhibition before the opening in a couple of days. I felt like the package needed a picture of a recognizable game screen while it was being played, but I didn’t want to bother the only other people around.
These were the circumstances surrounding the moment when my life experiences finally gelled in to the moment of my greatest achievement.
I strolled up to the Ms. Pac-Man machine and hit the well-worn one-player button. I held my DSLR camera with a wide-angle lens in my right hand up to my face and grabbed the joystick with my left hand (note: like both swordfighters in “The Princess Bride,” I am not left-handed).
It was go time. I gobbled up those little dots just like old times, shooting pictures all the while with my other hand. I made those ghosts turn blue and chased them relentlessly. I even grabbed the cherry for bonus points.
I did die once, but I also finished the first screen. And got in-focus photos at the same time. Mic drop.
Video games and multimedia journalism, two of the only things at which I’m reasonably good, coming together to make a work product for which I actually get paid. Now I can rest.