On 9415 Ogden Ave and Brookfield, there’s a place that every 80s or 90s kid has dreamed of: The Galloping Ghost Arcade. Boasting a collection of over 800 games, the arcade is not only a fun place to play games like “Mortal Kombat” and “Pac-Man” but also an extensive museum of gaming history. And this museum’s founder and curator is Brookfield’s very own Doc Mack.
Dressed from head to toe in black, Doc Mack resembles a rockstar more than an arcade owner. He’s the local gaming community’s Willy Wonka handling each part of his business with attention and care. Doc Mack was kind enough to talk to the Xavierite about the origins of the arcade, the process of running it, and the future of gaming.
Mack’s career in games goes back 28 years with the founding of his first production company.
“Galloping Ghost originally started with our production company Galloping Ghost Productions which opened in 1994—well before the arcade was even a concept. We wanted to be making video games, and we’ve always been involved with games.”
“The Galloping Ghost Arcade opened August 13, 2010. Back then, we had 130 machines and a line that was two blocks long. Since day one, it’s been going strong.”
Mack talked about his passion for gaming and arcades—an obsession he’s had since age five.
“I lived in arcades back in the day. First arcade game I played back in the day was ‘Asteroids’ which came out in 1979. I saw everything come out like ‘Street Fighter’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’. I played everything, and I saw games come and go.”
“When the Galloping Ghost Arcade first opened, you would only hear news about arcades closing. Everytime I went to an arcade, the machines weren’t working, and things were in disrepair. So I thought about approaching an arcade from a different angle. It wasn’t just about getting quarters from people, but instead, it was about building a community.”
As the biggest arcade in the world, the Galloping Ghost is responsible for the preservation of many rare arcade games. Mack told us how the arcade got so large and became home to hundreds of rare games.
“We definitely had the concept of preservation of arcade machines at the beginning, but we didn’t know how far we would take it. Now, we have a company called Galloping Ghost Reproductions which really focuses on making sure all the artwork is preserved for each of these games. But we had no idea that we would be able to track down so many rare games.”
Being in the business of preserving old machines, one of Mack’s biggest challenges is finding people with the right skills to repair and maintain the Galloping Ghost’s machines.
“Repairing arcade machines is definitely a learned skill that is known by very few. When we first opened, we found a guy named Doug Fox—he’s now our master technician who keeps the machines up and running. Me and him are usually the only ones who work on the machines. Very rarely do we get a hired repair guy.”
“Actually, most of the machines from the 70s, 80s, and 90s are very manageable and repairable. A lot of the newer stuff is where we run into problems because the hardware is fairly disposable. Once it breaks down, there’s no components you can really replace. That’s a huge concern for machines coming out in this generation. Hopefully, there will be specialists for these types of hardware in the future.”
Mack also talked about his experience with the game “Narc”—the first arcade machine he had ever purchased.
“I love playing all the games here, but I have to choose one, I usually say it’s ‘Narc’ which was the first arcade game I ever purchased. We did a huge event where we brought over all the people that made the game. We heard so many stories about how the game was developed. Before the event, I got a version of the game from George Petro—one of the game’s programmers—which had a previously unreleased level.”
With an ever expanding collection of arcade cabinets taking up limited space, Mack and the staff have found a solution with what is known as “The Vault”.
“‘The Vault’ is our area where we keep all our unreleased games. We got about 170 games in the vault, and every Monday, we bring out a new game from the vault.”
In its twelve years of business, The Galloping Ghost has seen a number of celebrities and icons of gaming walk through its doors.
“We see about 80,000 people through the door a year. Industry celebrities, music celebrities, all types of people come in. Some more eccentric than others. The one thing everyone has in common is that they all love to play games.”
“We’ve had legends of the industry come in. Jeff Lee, the creator of Q*bert. Ed Boon and Jon Tobias who made ‘Mortal Kombat’. Even Toru Iwatani, the creator of ‘Pac-Man’. He stopped here when he was over from Japan.”
Mack ended with his thoughts on the future of arcades.
“I think classic arcades will always have their spot. But I hope more developers will keep releasing new games for the arcades. Companies like Raw Thrills and Play Mechanics have never lost focus on putting games out in arcades. They’ve held out for the arcades in an era where companies always bring games straight to consoles.”
“Hopefully, game developers will see the need to put games out in arcades. There’s so many things that bring people to arcades. And it’s much bigger than a place to play games. We’ve had so many people form friendships here. And everyone who’s ever come here has left happy.”
For 12 years, Doc Mack and The Galloping Ghost have been a pillar in the local gaming community. As Galloping Ghost’s collection grows, hopefully it will continue to entertain people and preserve gaming history for years to come.