The art of classic arcade games

Electro-mechanical pinball machines from the classic era of pinball. Here, left to right, we see D. Gottleib & Company's "Big Hit" from 1975, Williams Electronics' "Pat Hand" from 1977, and Gottleib's "Sing Along" from 1967.

The game that started it all

"Pong" is one of the original video games, and was originally manufactured by Atari Incorporated and released in 1972.

Atari's space-simulation game "Star Wars," released in 1983 simulates the attack on the Death Star from the final act of "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope."

According to the Killer List of Video Games, an IMDB-like site, Star Wars is considered the No. 4 most popular game of all time.

Nintendo's classic arcade game "Donkey Kong," released in 1981.

Gottleib's "Atlantis," from 1977, designed by Ed Krynski and Jeff Brenner, with art by Gordon Morison.

Pac-Man

Of course the classics are available. "Pac-Man" is always a crowd favorite.

This solid state electronic Williams "Firepower" pinball machine from 1980 has had all its lights replaced with LEDs.

The art on the side of "Joust," on this original arcade cabinet developed by Williams and released in 1982, features a knight riding a flying ostrich.

Space Invaders art

The art on the side of one the earliest shooting games, "Space Invaders," released in 1978, was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado.

Setting up California Extreme — James Martin/CNET

Rows of silent pinball machines wait to be powered up for this weekend's California Extreme classic arcade games show.

It's not all fun and games

In addition to pinball and arcade games, there are also quirky mechanical toys, like this fortune teller.

The mechanical band

For 10 years, this mechanical band sat at Pixar in Emeryville, Calif., in disrepair.

When a few employees banded together to revive it last year, it took a lot of work. Using Arduino, an open-source microcontroller, they developed a MIDI interface to control the characters, each with a separate board. It's a work in progress, but with any luck, the band will be back together this weekend.

Test your grip

Another one of the non pinball or arcade games is a vintage "Test Your Grip" attraction.

Setting up shop

As video games are rolled in on dollies, the Illinois Pinball Company from Bloomington, Ind., sets up shop, selling pinball parts, including hard to find transistors and game art.

Loading in

The California Extreme pinball and arcade show started in 1997. Last year was the biggest year, with 504 machines loaded into the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara.

On Friday afternoon, the room was about half full, but filling up quickly.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is part of the experience for many of these gaming enthusiasts.

The enthusiasts who put on California Extreme are serious about the evolution of gaming.