VERTICAL ARCADE
These overlays (sometimes known as bezels) display art on top of the game you're playing. To use them, you need a PC or Raspberry Pi (or other compatible system) running some version of MAME and the associated game software, as well as a widescreen (16x9) monitor mounted vertically. To display the overlay while playing a game, download the artwork file for that game overlay (it must have the same filename as the game), place it in the Artwork folder within your MAME directory and launch the game. (For instance, the software for the game Magic Sword is called msword.zip, so it requires a file in the Artwork directory also called msword.zip.)
All overlays are 4K resolution (2160 x 3840), and listed dimensions are for the game screen, relative to a 4K vertical monitor. The actual game screen size will depend on the resolution of your monitor.
Most of the overlays include multiple presets that let you choose the size of the game screen, access a "dark" version designed to look more like a dark arcade, and sometimes other options. To choose a preset, press Tab while running the game to bring up the MAME menu, select Video Options, and select a preset from the list.
Some overlays include Curved presets designed with a curved screen port, to better simulate the look of a CRT monitor. These presets work best if you are using a geometry shader that adds a curved look to the game screen. For an optimal experience, you may need to adjust your shaders to match the curvature of the screen shape in the overlay. If you are not using a geometry shader, you are using a shader that adds a curved bezel, or if you prefer a rectangular screen port, choose a Straight preset where applicable.
Wacko was wacky in a variety of ways, most noticeably with its oddball cabinet design, which tilted at an extreme angle (yes, this is what the cabinet looked like). The game itself puts you in control of alien Kapt. Krooz'r, previously the star of 1982's Kozmik Krooz'r, and tasks you with eliminating monsters in a sort of matching game variation of Robotron: 2084. You must shoot the monsters in pairs, and as the levels progress, shooting non-matching creatures creates even weirder mutants. The control scheme uses a trackball for movement and a joystick for firing, but it plays acceptably with two 8-way joysticks.
Xenophobe innovated on several fronts, with a unique cabinet design and a game concept that puts three players in the same game but allows them to move around independently thanks to a three-way split screen. The game sends a crew of space officers into a series of alien-infested ships to take out the space vermin (or Xenos), gather whatever valuables are left behind and then (optionally) destroy the ship before moving on to the next one. Xenophobe borrows cheekily from Alien and various other sci-fi properties, creating a universe that is both challenging and a lot of fun to play. The arcade game used flight sticks with two buttons whose functions constantly changed – watch the bottom of your section of the screen to determine what they do as you go.
Zwackery was an oddity in mid-80s arcades, combining excellent and expressive graphics with surprisingly complex gameplay and controls. Players step into the robes of Zachary Thwacker, a wizard on a quest to save a lovely princess who has been turned into a frog. Along the way you'll encounter crows who love to drop things on your head (and then turn into flying eyeballs), aggressive mushrooms, gargoyles, guards, devils, skeletons and ultimately a dragon, all while trying to defeat the Evil Ghoulum. Zwackery requires near-ambidexterity to master, as you control the wizard with a flight stick with two buttons corresponding to your sword and shield, rotate your sword/shield arm with a spinner, push the spinner down to pick up items and pull it up to cast spells.
We included this game because it's a cult classic, but it is very difficult to play on MAME without a two-button flight stick and a push-pull spinner. If you can find a way to play it, it's something special.