5 Minutes in the Ms. Pac-Man Factory, 1982

34k

Well-known member

Donor 2012
Joined
Jul 27, 2012
Messages
1,379
Reaction score
44
Location
Denver, Colorado
I'm not sure if this is a re-post, but a search didn't turn anything obvious up.

http://youtu.be/62s_BIYg5Gs

16 minute version at the source:
http://mediaburn.org/video/wired-in-raw-28/


Raw footage for "Wired In," a never completed series on the technological trends and innovations of the 1980s. In this video, we watch as Bally Midway factory employees go through the intricate process of assembling Ms. Pac Man Arcade games. Jarocki / Bally #1.

00:00 This tape begins with color bars.

00:49 Cut to footage from inside of a Ms. Pac Man Arcade game factory. We watch as employees assemble the video game in mass production. The videomakers gather a wide variety of shots, spanning nearly every part of the factory. This lasts for the majority of the tape.

11:33 Factory employees test finished models of the video game. Afterward, we watch as other employees continue to wire and solder the necessary components of the game. This lasts for the remainder of the tape.

16:05 Tape ends.
 
Pretty neat to see what it was like to build them back then.


A few questions...

1. What job in the factory would you have liked to have?


2. Do you think you would have enjoyed arcade games as much if you had to build them
all day long as opposed to them being a hobby?


I think I would have liked to test the finished game myself. inhale all those solder fumes for a few hours...yuck!
 
Heard the Ms. Pac startup music @ 1:40, and it gave me goosebumps. Somebody was coining up a Ms. Pac machine for the 1st time. Fucking awesome.

When I watch these videos, I am always more excited about seeing American manufacturing than I am about the games. Look at all of those U.S. employees assembling a U.S built machine with parts made in the U.S. It is mind-blowing and sad at the same time.

I am cutting a new Galaga cabinet on the CNC router as we speak to replace a totally destroyed particle board cab. After watching the video, looking at all of the old original parts just makes me smile. This Galaga will live on to see another day.

Thanks for posting this.
 
When I watch these videos, I am always more excited about seeing American manufacturing than I am about the games. Look at all of those U.S. employees assembling a U.S built machine with parts made in the U.S. It is mind-blowing and sad at the same time.

Haha you and I think alike. As soon as I watched it, the first thing I said was, "Remember when things you love were made in America?" haha.

Brings a tear to the eye. :)

Really cool to see them being manufactured love Ms. Pac and it's awesome to see the genesis of such an iconic game. ^^
 
VERY cool to see, thanks for sharing!

Clearly not the work atmosphere of today...LOL!

Ashtrays on the tables with people carrying monitors and other equipment over other peoples heads...such a different world now.
 
Amazing. I loved how they had "train tracks" for the machines to move around. I would definitely even now love the job to 1. apply art, 2. test the games, 3. DESIGN the art!
 
That is so cool and brings back so many memories from the day that those new vids were hitting the arcade. Thanks for sharing!!

- Don
 
FYI,, they still make coin-op games in America. All the Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix games are manufactured in IL just like they were in the old days.
 
Extremely cool. Makes me wonder if my Ms. Pac is in that video. Probably not very likely as 100,000 of them were made. Awesome seeing that many of them together.
 
Cool vid. Thanks for sharing. I also spotted a couple Kick cabs in the background as the workers were leaving.
 
Heard the Ms. Pac startup music @ 1:40, and it gave me goosebumps. Somebody was coining up a Ms. Pac machine for the 1st time. Fucking awesome.

When I watch these videos, I am always more excited about seeing American manufacturing than I am about the games. Look at all of those U.S. employees assembling a U.S built machine with parts made in the U.S. It is mind-blowing and sad at the same time.

I am cutting a new Galaga cabinet on the CNC router as we speak to replace a totally destroyed particle board cab. After watching the video, looking at all of the old original parts just makes me smile. This Galaga will live on to see another day.

Thanks for posting this.

Hard to believe quarters paid for all that. Makes you appreciate just how many people were into these games at one time.
 
very cool... you can tell it was probably shot with a very expensive video camera at the time, the quailty is awesome for 1982.. definitly cool

whats in the background going "ALIVE ALIVE" ???

also funny that when the lady is testing it, it has the famous BLUE maze!!
 
Last edited:
That is Bosconian you hear in the background. I heard it at approximately 4:05. What I wouldn't have done to get a tour of that place. I wonder what else they had cooking inside that huge factory. The blue maze is awesome!

very cool... you can tell it was probably shot with a very expensive video camera at the time, the quailty is awesome for 1982.. definitly cool

whats in the background going "ALIVE ALIVE" ???

also funny that when the lady is testing it, it has the famous BLUE maze!!
 
Back
Top Bottom