Witchball Arcade Cabinet Fundraiser
For the past five years, Death By Audio Arcade has helped to build arcade cabinets for independent game developers. Each cabinet is a unique work of art - we choose a design with the game developer, cut and paint plywood, solder electronics, and install the game on a computer to run uninterrupted in a public space. While the process is fairly straightforward, it also leaves a lot of room for creativity. We like to try different materials, build cabinets with odd shapes and alternative controls, and experiment with our process. We’re less interested in manufacturing identical arcade cabinets, and more interested in pushing the boundaries of what arcade cabinets are and could be.
This year, we are working with Steph Clark to produce a cabinet for their game Witchball. We’ve been huge fans of Witchball for the past few years, having the opportunity to play it at Babycastles Gallery, MAGFest, and most recently at Wonderville.
In Witchball, two players compete in a high speed foot-race while simultaneously playing a 2D pong-like ball game on the surface of the screen. Points are gained in both aspects and tallied per lap, so it’s important -- and tricky -- to manage the space better than the opponent. It’s a compelling local multiplayer game, which is why we love it. The art style is also great, and Steph borrowed some of the level design from the recently closed DIY venue The Glove.
For this particular cabinet build, we’re collaborating with Brooklyn-based fabricators Ilia Winter and Say Andrea. They’re big fans of the game and have been working on a cabinet design that involves a light-up Witchball on the top.
Every arcade cabinet costs roughly $2000 between wood, paint, buttons, and joysticks…not to mention a computer and screen. We’ve traditionally paid for this out of pocket, but we want to produce more cabinets and so we’re asking for your help!
On Tuesday October 29th we’ll host a Witchball Cabinet Fundraiser at Wonderville. Over the course of the night, we’ll be broadcasting the game on Twitch and talking about the build process. We’ll have some of the fabricators from DBA Arcade on hand to talk about how past cabinets have been constructed. Steph Clarke will also be at the venue (it’s their birthday!) and will be talking about how they designed and built the game
If you want to donate, we’re currently accepting donations through StreamLabs. Thanks so much for your support! We plan to debut the Witchball cabinet at MAGFest Super 2020 in National Harbor Maryland. It will then return to NYC to live at Wonderville.
PS: DBA Arcade is a 501(c)-3 Non-Profit organization so every donation is tax-deductible! Email someone@deathbyaudioarcade.com for additional info!