The Rhody "Art-Cade" Arcade Cabinet will serve as a platform for showcasing games made by local creators. This half-size, bar-top style arcade cabinet will be used at community events, art shows, and game expos to highlight the work of independent game developers and creatives in the Providence area.

This arcade machine is a custom design and built for portability and inclusive access. The half-sized cabinet can be placed on a a height adjustable base to enable those with different heights to engage with the games. By making the cabinet compact and mobile, our group can bring it into a wide variety of public spaces and share the creativity of our community with different audiences.

One extra component is an accessibility device that I’ve been designing for games, which will allows players to use QR codes to load their preferred accessibility settings if the game supports it. This device on a shared cabinet should encourage developers to design games with accessibility features, for example colorblindness settings, motion sickness reduction options, or other player accommodations.

This initiative is being led by the Rhody Art-Cade, a collective of local game developers and artists who meet regularly to share works-in-progress, host game jams, and support each other in creative exploration. The cabinets’ fabrication process and design will be documented and freely available to all.