This is a pretty weird but potentially cool experiment: Pac-Mecium. As you can see in the video, the idea is to super-impose a gameboard over a collection of paramecium, who you can move around to play the games. I'm not sure whether this is cool or sick! What's next, one where you shock rats and inject them with drugs? Anyway, check it out below.

Pinball machine housing for iPhone/iPod Touch.

http://www.newpotatotech.com/PINBALL_MAGIC/pinball_magic.html

Are you ready to take the plunge?
Work your slap save, backhands, drop stop, bounce pass, and death save on this working pinball machine [app]cessory!
Just like the classic cabinets only smaller, Pinball Magic is a time machine that recreates classic arcade pinball action on your iPhone or iPod touch. Side mounted flipper buttons, realistic ball-launching plunger and even a credit/select button immerse you in the game play while the oscillating LED beacon and animated backbox set the stage to show your pinball wizard skills! Works with the FREE Pinball Magic app to create realistic, challenging and engaging game play bringing a portable arcade experience.

For those interested, I have posted some photos from Funspot and Clark's Trading Post in New Hampshire from an August 2009 vacation, focusing on cool vintage technology, including classic typewriters and of course, arcade machines. For my own organizational convenience, I have also included the photos and videos from The Musee Mecanique in San Francisco from March 2009 in the same set.

The Pinball Blog has a short write-up on an apparently new home pinball machine from Zizzle, this time with a classic Atari theme. It looks great, and by my calculations, will be their third generation product. If you remember, I have the first generation model, shown in the photo at the bottom of this blog post. The second generation added a few minor improvements, including more environmental lighting. Both models sold for between $100 - $500 depending upon when and where you were able to score one.

Luckily, on the last day of our San Francisco trip devoted to filming amazing interviews for the feature film, "W00t!: The Videogame Revolution", Matt and I had a chance to visit the The Museum of the City of San Francisco, The Musee Mecanique. Among the great stuff there were two vintage pinball machines in really great shape. It's amazing how different they are from modern pinball machines that began to appear in the 1970s! Check out the casual videos below:

I just wanted to post two things quick that I received via email. The first is The Pinball Blog, which looks pretty interesting (I know you pinball fans will want to check it out). The next is a web show called Gold: The Series, which is about a bunch of tabletop RPG fans preparing for a world championship. It reminded me a bit of MST3000 (the intermission bits) and perhaps a bit of a Kevin Smith film. I liked the dialog at the beginning of the 2nd episode, which is about how D&D fans are suffering from the massive appeal and "convenience" of MMOs. Worth a look, for sure.

The discussion on Pinball in some of the other threads have inspired me to go look for some nice Pinball games that I personally think are worth checking out. When I was a kid we had our own true full-size pinball machine back home it was a gift to my dad somewhere in the 70's. It was a simple machine and I can't remember the name of it.

Ground Kontrol Bar: The bar Ground Kontrol also features a smattering of retro consoles for sale.

Somewhat goofy gaming blog Destructoid recently featured an article on a great retro-arcade in Portland, Oregon called Ground Kontrol. The interview with Anthony Ramos, the co-owner, is brief, but makes a good point-- is having a retro-arcade/bar combination the best way for the next generation of arcades to live on?

Since I live in Portland, Ground Kontrol is not too far from me. It's a lot of fun and pretty cheap-- I think all the games are either 25 or 50 cents to play. They feature titles as old as Asteroids or Tron and have a 2nd floor full of pinball games ranging from a simplistic Star Trek board from the 70's to a ultra-complicated Lords of the Rings pinball table. Well worth the visit if anyone stops by in Portland.