Video games have been a staple of my childhood, causing me to drop from an 8th grade reading level in 1st grade down to a 3rd or 4th grade reading level. Sure I was sated by the home entertainment systems of the Atari 2600, Mattel Intellivision, and Coleco Colecovision; but the lure of the thrilling sounds and awesome graphics of arcade games kept me in the dimly lit arcades of the local malls. In 1997 I was introduced to a magical program known as MAME; the Multi Arcade Machine Emulator.
MAME allows you to download the actual arcade games, or ROMs, on to your computer, and play them just like you could in the arcades. Where a Sega Genesis or Nintendo Super-NES console takes games on ROM chips inside of cartridges, MAME acts the same way like a universal cabinet that can play almost any arcade game. The bonus to MAME is that you can save screenshots, pause the game while you're playing it, and even add visual effects to it.
To get started you'll need to download the latest version of MAME. Don't yet worry if you don't have the most up-to-date computer with the latest speed, as even older computers can play games using MAME. Head on over to www.mamedev.org and you'll see the following screen:
MAME allows you to download the actual arcade games, or ROMs, on to your computer, and play them just like you could in the arcades. Where a Sega Genesis or Nintendo Super-NES console takes games on ROM chips inside of cartridges, MAME acts the same way like a universal cabinet that can play almost any arcade game. The bonus to MAME is that you can save screenshots, pause the game while you're playing it, and even add visual effects to it.
To get started you'll need to download the latest version of MAME. Don't yet worry if you don't have the most up-to-date computer with the latest speed, as even older computers can play games using MAME. Head on over to www.mamedev.org and you'll see the following screen:
Off to the left under Downloads, click on latest release and it will take you to the downloads page:
Here you'll see two sets of downloads: MAME and MESS. MESS stands for Multi Emulator Super System and emulates not only arcade games, but home consoles and calculators as well. Ignore this set for now and stick to just the MAME downloads. If your version of Windows is 32-bit, download the first entry of "MAME (0.XXX) Windows command-line binaries". If your version of Windows is 64-bit, download the entry of "MAME (0.XXX) 64-Bit command-line binaries". Once it's downloaded, unzip the file to your Games folder or other desired location, and take a look inside:
Look at the other folders listed above. The two main folders you'll be using are "roms" and "samples". The roms folder are where you place the downloaded games, and samples are sound samples used for some games (which will be covered later).
Just as an X-Box or Playstation console needs a disc of a game, MAME requires files for games to run.
The games themselves are in the form of ROM (Read Only Memory) chips which have been digitally transferred into a computer file able to be read by MAME. ROMs themselves aren't too too hard to find, but my favorite sites are RetroRoms.com, and ROMNation.net. RetroROMs.com's file system is jammed into one big page which can result in longer load times, but the files themselves are plentiful and are mostly current. RetroROMs.com also requires you to enlist in a (free) account in order to download any files. ROMNation.com has files organized alphabetically and does not require any account to download games, but a few of the files they offer may be outdated. "Outdated" in this case is referring to the ROM itself and if it works on the latest version of MAME. Unfortunately, some newer versions of MAME won't work with outdated versions of ROMs, but most ROMs in general will work with any version of MAME. Try downloading from RetroROMs first, and if the game doesn't work, try downloading it from ROMNation next. Let's try this:
Head over to www.retroroms.com:
The games themselves are in the form of ROM (Read Only Memory) chips which have been digitally transferred into a computer file able to be read by MAME. ROMs themselves aren't too too hard to find, but my favorite sites are RetroRoms.com, and ROMNation.net. RetroROMs.com's file system is jammed into one big page which can result in longer load times, but the files themselves are plentiful and are mostly current. RetroROMs.com also requires you to enlist in a (free) account in order to download any files. ROMNation.com has files organized alphabetically and does not require any account to download games, but a few of the files they offer may be outdated. "Outdated" in this case is referring to the ROM itself and if it works on the latest version of MAME. Unfortunately, some newer versions of MAME won't work with outdated versions of ROMs, but most ROMs in general will work with any version of MAME. Try downloading from RetroROMs first, and if the game doesn't work, try downloading it from ROMNation next. Let's try this:
Head over to www.retroroms.com:
At the upper right, click on "Register", then enter the information in the required fields. Wait for the confirmation email, then click on the link to activate your account. Go back to the main page after logging in, then click on "Downloads" over on the left sidebar. Like all photos here, click on the picture and it will open up in a larger, floating window:
Despite you having just logged in seconds before, a pop-up window appears requiring authentication to gain entrance to the download section. Enter your username and password again. Completing this brings you to the Downloads section of the site:
The site is organized in an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) fashion. If you've ever navigated through files in DOS, it's very similar. To start downloading ROMs, click on "downloads/" as seen in the above screen shot.
Other emulators are listed, but MAME is where we need to go. Click on "mame/" as seen in the screen shot above. This will display a window to the one below. Now click on "currentroms/":
Because RetroROMs has all of their files in one location, it will take a while for all of the files to be displayed. It should take no more than 30 seconds on a fast connection though. Now let's take a look at the list:
While it's a bit congested, the list gives an overview of the files. From left to right you have the name of the ROM in .zip format, the last time the file was modified (by the owner), the size of the file, and the description (which in this case is the name of the video game). This window is only a tiny sample of the files available, but let's start with a game that plays easily. Click on "4enraya.zip", which is a video game version of Connect 4, only with more strategic elements added to it. In the screen shot above, it is bolded and underlined on the left. Clicking the name of the file will present you the following:
It's essential to note that the majority (if not all) of any games downloaded for any emulators, including MAME, must be saved in its initial .zip format that contains binary files. When you download a game, ensure that the radio button of "Save File" is selected instead of "Open with" when you go to save it. When you load a game, MAME will see the .zip file and load the binaries contained in the .zip file and you will be able to play the game.
Go to your Downloads folder or where ever the 4enraya.zip file has been saved to, then click and drag it from that location to the "roms" folder located in the MAME folder. Now double-click the MAME program and you'll see a similar screen:
Go to your Downloads folder or where ever the 4enraya.zip file has been saved to, then click and drag it from that location to the "roms" folder located in the MAME folder. Now double-click the MAME program and you'll see a similar screen:
Because 4 En Raya is the only game loaded in the ROM folder, it's the only game listed. As your library increases, so will the list of games. If you'd like, you can click on "Configure General Inputs" and see the universal keys used for the games. However, here's a quick breakdown of the more frequent keys used:
5 (top row, not the numeric keypad to the side) = Insert Coin
1 (top row, not the numeric keypad to the side) = Start game
Left Control = fire button 1
Left Alt = fire button 2
arrow keys = up, down, left, right
Certain games such as Robotron 2084 and Crazy Climber had two joysticks to control movement. These are represented on the keyboard as E (up), D (down), S (left), and F (right) for the left hand; while I (up), K (down), J (left), and L (right) are used for the right hand. Games such as Defender and Stargate use more buttons that must be configured for ease of use, and others such as Tron use the standard keys above but also use Z and X for rotating the character's firing direction.
4 En Raya uses the standard keys, and being that it's already selected, click on it or press Enter:
5 (top row, not the numeric keypad to the side) = Insert Coin
1 (top row, not the numeric keypad to the side) = Start game
Left Control = fire button 1
Left Alt = fire button 2
arrow keys = up, down, left, right
Certain games such as Robotron 2084 and Crazy Climber had two joysticks to control movement. These are represented on the keyboard as E (up), D (down), S (left), and F (right) for the left hand; while I (up), K (down), J (left), and L (right) are used for the right hand. Games such as Defender and Stargate use more buttons that must be configured for ease of use, and others such as Tron use the standard keys above but also use Z and X for rotating the character's firing direction.
4 En Raya uses the standard keys, and being that it's already selected, click on it or press Enter:
You'll be presented with some introductions screens such as this one accompanied by chirpy music. Press 5 to insert a coin, then press 1 to begin the game.
This game is similar to Connect Four, You play the cowboy on the left and try to get your men lined up to four-in-a-row, while the Indian on the right shoots arrows to try and stop your man as you drop him in the slot. You have a limited amount of time to select the slot to drop it in.
This game is just a small sample of what's available. Let's try a popular game such as Tron. (Click here for the Next Page)