Those who grew up in the era of the arcade may feel a pang of nostalgia after seeing the incredible pixel art tribute to the often dark and dingy game rooms that was recently shared by an artistically talented gamer. While it's not unusual to see tributes to specific games done up in the decidedly retro style, such as the impressive The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pixel art animation created by another talented gamer, it's far less common to see arcades themselves receive the pixel art treatment.
While many gamers are familiar with pixel art primarily through fan art and the widespread use of the retro aesthetic in indie releases, for older gamers the boxy graphics represent a callback to the titles that got them into gaming in the first place. And for those gamers who were born before the widespread adoption of consoles, arcades were the only place to get their hands on the latest releases in all their pixelated glory. Even though the heyday of the arcade has long since passed the appeal of a dark and noisy room filled with flashing lights and synthesized sounds remains for many gamers, leading to a growing market for throwback gaming devices like Numskull Designs’ Space Invaders Quarter Arcade cabinets.
In a post that’s sure to bring back memories of days gone by for gamers of a certain age, Reddit user M1278music showed off their incredible pixel art tribute to classic arcades. Titled "Gameroom," the animated creation was inspired by screenshots from the VR game New Retro Arcade: Neon. The image features an appropriately darkened arcade decked out with the requisite blacklight reactive carpet and filled with the pulsing and blinking lights of arcade machines. While many machines’ marquees are just collections of pixels, arcade classics like Pac-Man and the addictive puzzle game Tetris can be seen in the foreground.
Gamers were blown away by the unique pixel art creation, with several commenters asking if there was a downloadable version that could be used as desktop wallpaper. Seemingly flooded by sense memory at the sight of the throwback arcade, one Redditor commented that they could smell “the carpet, game cabinets, lots of quarters” and the scent of arcade pizza as they viewed it. Another user chimed in with an idea for a future artwork, suggesting that pinball machines should be next to receive the pixel art treatment.
Even though the glory days of the arcade are unlikely to return any time soon, this incredible pixel art image shows that the cultural memories of these unique gaming institutions remain strong even today. And while gamers may no longer be able to load up on quarters and take a trip to the local arcade, at least they can still check out the original Pac-Man arcade cabinet in Minecraft.
