On September 18th, 2019, A dear friend and fellow gamer passed away.   He was a local gamer in my home state of Illinois.  Sean was a frequent visitor of Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL.  He was a true compeitive gamer that loved hanging out with his friends and being a part of the gaming community.   Many fellow gamers and friends have many good memories and stories about Sean. I will share some with you here in this article.  If you have a story you would like to add remembering Sean, please contact me and we can add it to this.   I will miss you Sean.

Galloping Ghost arcade team member and former player of the year Pete Hahn: 

“The best thing about having Sean as a friend and member of the Galloping Ghost community is that I always was reminded of one important thing when talking to him: The people who we share these arcade games, food and time with are what’s important.  Despite all of Sean’s unfortunate health issues, he was here as much as he possibly could have. The individuals of this community meant so much to him, he made every effort to be around the arcade. He understood and reminded us that setting a high score might be good for a sense of accomplishment or recognition, none of that means anything without someone to share it with.  Sean’s presence and positive attitude will be sorely missed here at the arcade.”

Multi Arcade Record holder at Galloping Ghost arcade and former player of the year James White:

“Sean came to the Galloping Ghost Arcade several years ago not only playing some of his favorite arcade games, despite what he was going through, his smile made everyone happy. His spirit will always be remembered at the GGA.

Galloping Ghost Owner Doc Mack

Sean had such an amazing impact on the arcade community and had an incredibly positive presence with him whenever he was at the arcade. While he loved playing arcade games, when he was there he really embraced and thrived on being part the community. He always wanted to share the arcade with his friends and did his best to make everyone in the community feel welcome. It meant a lot to him when he could bring others into the scene that meant so much to him. He had befriended so many people over the years and he will be sorely missed by everyone. He will always be remembered at the arcade and for all the positivity he brought with him.

Atari 2600 world record holder and fellow gamer and friend Paul Zimmerman:

“I was there at galloping ghost which turned out to be Sean’s last day there (which of course no one knew).  this was the day he got the world record for Brian Colin’s game Spectre Files Deathstalker.  which Brian told me no one has ever completed the game.  Sean filmed it and I hope it is on YouTube.  I walked into galloping ghost that day at opening happy to see Pete Hahn working the counter and I turned my head and there was Sean playing Spectre Files and he was waving to me.  I did not see Sean in a long time (I don’t go to galloping ghost often).  so, I went up to him, talked to him and watched him play.  he was telling me about his favorite scenes in the game.  I never knew Sean was sick.  so, all of this is a shock to me.  I will miss my friend.”

Walter Day

“Sean Quigley is well known at Galloping Ghost Arcade for not only his kind and giving nature, but also his desire to improve in many games.  As one of the GGA’s local champions, Sean is an expert player, holding local high scores in both Sega classic “Choplifter” and “Circus Charlie”.  Sean is always helpful in introducing other to games he is familiar with around the arcade.  he was a great source of inspiration to other gamers and will always take time to talk with those at the arcade, introducing newcomers to all the regular players making everyone fell welcome at the arcade.  The local high-score community is often introduced to many games on Sean’s recommendations He is a pioneer who is always trying out something new and will often be the first person to play a new game when it hits the floor.  His kind nature was truly making apparent when he picked up James, a traveling arcade enthusiast from Spain, from the airport and gave him a great tour of not only the arcade, but the local areas as well.  Sean, along with Daniel Pesina (Johnny Cage motion capture actor from Mortal Kombat), visited his friend Jon in the hospital before a heart transplant to wish him luck and a speedy recovery.  Countless examples like these reveal his giving nature. This can be witnessed anytime he was at Galloping Ghost Arcade or Underground Retrocade.”

The post R.I.P. Sean Quigley appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Opened in 2016 by Joe Santulli, Sean Kelly, and John Hardie (founders of the Las Vegas Classic Gaming Expo), the museum is a retro gaming utopia. The museum’s mission is printed on their web page. It states, “Our mission is fairly straightforward and simple: To preserve the history of the video game industry by archiving not only the physical artifacts, but also the information and stories behind its creation….to document, FIRST HAND, as much information about the creation and evolution of the video game industry as possible and preserve as many physical artifacts as possible for generations to come.”

It is a completely immersive experience that begins before you even reach the ticket window. There’s a small lobby filled screens broadcasting old video game commercials and gameplay.

Once you get inside, the museum is broken into “stages,” each representing a different period of video game development. However, Santulli, Kelly, and Hardie weren’t content to simply display artifacts. Video games are a participatory experience, and to truly capture the essence of the industry you have to be able to play. All throughout the museum there are a variety of different consoles and platforms that you can play on. One of the most eye-popping is a giant version of Pong with enormous controls.

You can also sit down in a late 70s, early 80s style living room, complete with a wood paneled television and a hideous couch. While you kick back in this bit of suburban nostalgia, you can grab the controls of the classic Intellivison and play for awhile.

There’s also a bedroom setting. Madonna and Depeche Mode posters adorn the walls. Open the drawers and you’ll find copies of Mad Magazine, Garbage Pail Kid cards, and a variety of cassette and eight track tapes. There’s also a small TV set up with a classic NES where you can play Duck Hunt. Grab a seat or kick back on a beanbag chair, and then blast away at some water fowl (and that stinkin’ dog when he laughs at you).

Because video game culture extends well beyond the screen, you can also explore the assortment of toys, breakfast cereals and other assorted kitsch inspired by gaming. There’s even a display set up with props from Super Mario Bros. the movie (the Citizen Kane of Mario Bros. themed movies).

Of course, there were dark days in video game history, most notably the video game crash of 1983. There’s an area designed to resemble a video game rental store, which is going out of business. As you explore the store, you can read all about how the industry bottomed out.

There’s a room dedicated completely to handheld gaming, as well as an area exploring virtual reality. In addition, the walls of the museum are decorated with vibrant murals, featuring characters like Kirby, Mega Man, Link, and James Bond.

Before you leave, you can spend a few tokens in ‘Pixel Dreams,” a 1980s style arcade. Your admission earns you four tokens, and more can be purchased for a quarter apiece. The arcade is lit by blacklight, blares New Wave hits, and is home to games like Punch Out!, Burger Time, Rampage, Tempest, and Joust (hooray for ostrich riding knights!).

It’s an unforgettable experience and, with as many hands on features as it includes, has significant replay ability.  I suspect I’ll be back before too long.

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