A typical '80s arcade was not a "nerd" hangout ...

[MaximRecoil]

is it just me or is that head on the middle kid looking like it was photoshopped in?

That picture is a scan directly from my 8th grade yearbook; it is unaltered. The middle kid (Sean), was odd looking (and odd acting), but he was a genius. Everyone called him Einstein; not just because of his intelligence, but also because of his wild frock of nearly white hair (which in uncharacteristically tame in that picture), which looked like the famous pictures of Einstein.

 

[TRK]

I was 12 in 1983. Arcades were a place to make yourself feel awkward.

At that age, everywhere is awkward.

Should have brought a book then!

 

[MaximRecoil]

The first one is Dave Mustaine

A poor man's Dave Mustaine. I think he may be in a bar band these days; I know for a fact that Lawton is (electric guitar).

 

[devils1982]

That picture is a scan directly from my 8th grade yearbook; it is unaltered. The middle kid (Sean), was odd looking (and odd acting), but he was a genius. Everyone called him Einstein; not just because of his intelligence, but also because of his wild frock of nearly white hair (which in uncharacteristically tame in that picture), which looked like the famous pictures of Einstein.

That was a guy in the middle?

 

[avidgeek]

I had a friend who's mom would get so pissed off if he even brought up the desire to go to the arcade. I think it was around 1984/1985. I always chocked it up to him being 1st generation Armenian and his parents not understanding the American pasttime of hanging out and playing games.

I believe she said "only hoodlums hang out there".

I wasn't a hoodlum but I can understand why so many people chose to stereotype arcades like that. Their loss....

 

[JamBurglar]

That was a guy in the middle?

WAS a guy. A lot of things have changed since the 80s. A LOT of things.

 

[TRK]

I had a friend who's mom would get so pissed off if he even brought up the desire to go to the arcade. I think it was around 1984/1985. I always chocked it up to him being 1st generation Armenian and his parents not understanding the American pasttime of hanging out and playing games.

I believe she said "only hoodlums hang out there".

I wasn't a hoodlum but I can understand why so many people chose to stereotype arcades like that. Their loss....

Because.. people older than us like that (old enough to be our parents) only had hobby's like.

Cleaning Bathrooms
Scrubbing Floors
Cutting Wood
Etc


If it wasn't productive it was a waste of time. Some would argue this lead to the downfall of America. Also led to your great hand eye coordination though again arguably an asset to our country.

Now how do you feel? I remember my first full nelson and getting the sh*t kicked out of me by two other kids one time at a different arcade than my usual. So that was a bonus too. I wasnt a nerd or burn out, just a regular kid that took his first beatdown compliments of dragons lair

 

[TRK]

WAS a guy. A lot of things have changed since the 80s. A LOT of things.

LMAO.. we knew that white flock of hair wasnt just an 80's statement. It screams androgynous potential ------HERE

 

[MaximRecoil]

That was a guy in the middle?

Yes. His name is Sean. He was a runt. He's the same age as the other two in the picture, but he looked like a 6th grader. The funny thing is, his father was huge and looked almost exactly like John Goodman.

 

[JamBurglar]

LMAO.. we knew that white flock of hair wasnt just an 80's statement. It screams androgynous potential ------HERE

"You know, he always played Ladybug. I never thought about that until now. Suddenly it all makes sense."

 

[RandyT2]

That was all addressed in post numbers 3 and 6, not that it has anything to do with this thread (i.e., what category I fit into then or now is irrelevant).

By the way, I never saw the following kids from my school at the arcade, not even once:

I think you've been watching too many 80's movies where the shirtless guy with feathered hair was surrounded by cheering girls while getting the high score on some nameless game, thus cementing in the eyes of those watching, his indisputable level of "cool".

It didn't happen. The "cool" guys were smoking, drinking, working on their cars and getting the girls (as they always did). And most of the guys who did this have as little interest in arcade games today as they had back then. I agree with whoever said that arcades became hangouts for characters who used them because it was easy to loiter there, amongst potential customers for whatever bad stuff they were selling, while raising little suspicion. They weren't there for the games, but for the cover / opportunity. The arcade aspect was incidental to their purpose.

If you hung out at the arcade for the love of the games, you were a "nerd". Looking back, I would have to include myself in that stereotype.

 

[Frankenpora]

Although many were stoners. You fail to make the connection between nerd and stoner. Most of the Nerds, Skaters, Punks, etc. were social outcasts to one degree or another. Suffice it to say that their were not a lot of jocks or cheerleaders. But to say it was'nt a repository of nerdom is a huge mis-statement IMO.
As for myself I had a stint in each of the above catagories. And I have always been a nerd.
Even if I did have a long period of being heavily oversexed

 

[Spunkmeyer]

Should have brought a book then!

LOL. Nothing worse then playing games in an arcade on a fixed budget and being out of quarters before anyone else...

If Twitter had been invented then, I'd probably have been posting a lot of #FML posts.

Fortunately, it all worked itself out.

 

[MaximRecoil]

I had a friend who's mom would get so pissed off if he even brought up the desire to go to the arcade. I think it was around 1984/1985. I always chocked it up to him being 1st generation Armenian and his parents not understanding the American pasttime of hanging out and playing games.

I believe she said "only hoodlums hang out there".

I wasn't a hoodlum but I can understand why so many people chose to stereotype arcades like that. Their loss....

Exactly, and that was a lot closer to the truth than "only nerds hang out there". The idea that arcades were mainly a nerd thing is a recent idea invented by people who weren't around back then, and perhaps recently saw Brian Kuh on King of Kong. They are taking the current nerd / video game stereotype and are trying to apply it to the past.

 

[Frankenpora]

It didn't happen. The "cool" guys were smoking, drinking, working on their cars and getting the girls (as they always did).

 

[Spunkmeyer]

They are taking the current nerd / video game stereotype and are trying to apply it to the past.

No, what they're saying is that people who give more than a crap about a game that's 30+ years old - let alone holding the world record to it - is the definition of a nerd.

There is some truth to it. I will mock somebody equally who's obsessed with "Halo" or "Call of Duty" in 2040.

Does it lessen my enjoyment of playing my games? No.

 

[Frankenpora]

One more thing. My aunt worked at Malibu Castle, and it was pretty clean and bright. Granted it was focused more on pinball at the time, And just at the begining of the 80's.
I mainly think I was an arcade nerd because I would ride my bike 20 miles to get to one.

 

[MaximRecoil]

I think you've been watching too many 80's movies where the shirtless guy with feathered hair was surrounded by cheering girls while getting the high score on some nameless game, thus cementing in the eyes of those watching, his indisputable level of "cool".

What are you talking about? I didn't say anything about such scenarios, nor did I say anything about what was or wasn't "cool". They were mostly the slacker and/or druggy types in typical arcades, and not many girls were there. You can decide for yourself if those Motley Crue roadie looking guys in the picture I posted were "cool" or not, but it is irrelevant. Also, I don't know what movies you are talking about, but I spent every last quarter I could get my hands on in the arcade during most of the '80s. In other words, I'm speaking from experience; movies have nothing to do with it.

If you hung out at the arcade for the love of the games, you were a "nerd".

This again? Would you like a link to the definition of the word "irrelevant"? I could have been the most stereotypical nerd in the history of the world, and it would not change the fact that "a typical '80s arcade was not a 'nerd' hangout".

 

[Mike Rhinehart]

I have to agree with this generalization despite being against stereotyping. I used to fear that one of the older "rocker" dudes with a comb in their back pocket and an el camino parked outside was going to kick my ass off a game simply because I was younger and they wanted to play. For that reason alone, I'd leave the new releases to those guys and go off an play Gyruss or Congo Bongo to avoid any sort of confrontation.

 

[MaximRecoil]

No, what they're saying is that people who give more than a crap about a game that's 30+ years old - let alone holding the world record to it - is the definition of a nerd.

I'll repeat:

They are taking the current nerd / video game stereotype and are trying to apply it to the past.

I'm going to point out the obvious here, but there was no such thing as video arcade games that were 30+ years old in the '80s. Whether people who are currently into '80s arcade games tend to be nerds or not is irrelevant.