Ladies and Gentlemen, I HAVE A PROJECT. Those of you who know me (I have a total readership of what, three?) know that, my natural sloth aside, I really like building things. I also really like repurposing things in true MacGyver fashion. I'm also a pack-rat.

Now, I recently spent a week or so organizing my basement. The results were amazing. A whole bunch of Home Despot shelf systems and a whole lot of sweat later, and my entire history has been compacted from "gigantic pile of crap in my basement" to "carefully organized alcove of crap forming a de facto partition dividing my basement into a laundry room, room of storage, and other room". A side effect of this is that there is now a space approximately the same size as my living room in the basement with nothing in it.

I like clutter. It's just a thing about me. I like rooms full of stuff. Having a big empty space in my basement just will not do. I needed a project.

Now, I could install a pool table, but, well, I don't play pool. Also, pool isn't much fun alone, and I can't guarantee guests to play with, since it doesn't happen often. Most importantly, I live in a townhouse. It's about ten feet wide. A pool table would maybe fit, but it'd be tight and difficult to play. Now, I could install a bumper-pool table. But, um, no one plays bumper-pool.

So, what can I contrive to fill the basement? I need something that is fun solo, fun at a party, and, above all, cheap. Hm. I've got a pile of ancient computers. I've got power tools. I've got lots of scrap lumber. And I've got a plan.

Okay. Here's the deal. You know that scene in Apollo 13 where they point out how amazing it is that they could build a computer that fits in a single room? That computer had almost, but not quite as much processing power as a modern graphing calculator. So, I've got a pile of ancient computers, but they're still a zillion times more powerful than computers of the 70s and early 80s. From this, I developed my plan.

I am going to build a video arcade. In fact, I'm going to build a cocktail cabinet arcade, using ancient computers to emulate real old-school video consoles. I've got plans for a Ms. Pac-Man cocktail cabinet, which I will modify based on the specific dimensions I need, insert an ancient computer with emulators installed, liberally mix with the coolest joystick ever, and provide a real old-timey arcade experience.

I will post more details as work progresses, but for right now, I am contriving the games. I plan to pack as much game as I can into this thing, but I'm starting with the original Nintendo Entertainment System. So I went out, got a bunch of ROMs, and am now in the process of sorting through them. And playing through these old games of my youth has reminded me of two things:

1. My god that music is bad.
2. Man, I really liked some of these games. Why aren't there more?

So, here's a list of games whose franchises have not lasted into the modern era, but which I really hope will reappear in new gamecubey 64-bit glory:

1. Kid Icarus
2. Bionic Commando
3. A Boy and His Blob
4. Bomberman
5. Wizards and Warriors
6. Blaster Master

And on the other hand, I played "The 3D Adventures of World Runner". When I was a kid, this game was amazing and excellent. It would totally not work at all now. Shame.

Anyway, 10,701 games left to consider. Wish me luck.

Oh, and the title? [.5 points].

Let the games begin.