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| - I write this because I actually care about this place. Gameworks opened in 1997. I was actually part of the opening crew. I only worked there about 6 months but I loved it so much I would make it my weekly haunt for several years. At that time Gameworks kept up with the gaming market which of course has gone down severely since console and computer gaming has become more popular. However, Gameworks was never a game room or an arcade. For the first year that it was opened you could have money deducted from your paycheck if you referred to Gameworks as either one of those in the presence of a manager. Gameworks was an experience. It's originating concept was what would happen if a bunch of 90's tweens were to find an old abandoned building that was powered by "Surge" soda. The magical new super caffeinated mountain dew alternative for tweens living the extreme.
The credit system they used was supposed to be easy on parents and tweens alike. Mom or Dad could buy a card that could be used in every part of Gameworks excluding the bar. That way a kid didn't have to carry around actual money and could play games, get a burger and fries, drink some SURGE!!!! ect.ect. Video games had cup holders and fries were served in cups so kids could snack as they played.
Upstairs there was a coffee bar, a regular bar, and a full restaurant. They had leather couches and chairs in parts of the bar and coffee bar. They had an area for retro 80's games. Most importantly they had two special attractions known as Vertical Reality and the INDY 500. In the middle of the upstairs they had a professional sound and video board with some of the latest equipment available at the time. They had actual DJ's that were called Play Jockeys controlling video and audio feeds to the 5 different quadrants of the building. During the initial year of opening I witnessed lines outside the door of people trying to get in the door . They had over a thousand people riding the indy 500 hundred each week during the summer. They had contest with great prizes like Superbowl tickets, Harley Davidson, and one Halloween they gave away a stand up House of the Dead arcade game.
Now the decline-
Every company has a vision and talking points that they pass off as their do's and don'ts. Gameworks always wanted to have staff available to assist people. The first notice of decline of course was under staffing. No longer were people greeting others, giving them a random free play on the games. Instead of running multiple lines of Vertical reality which had multiple bays they would only keep open one or two. Instead of having announcers always stationed at indy 500 a sign was put in place that said see attendant for assistance. Secondly the one golden rule they swore they would never, ever, ever, EVER BREAK... Gameworks will never have redemption games. Tickets were considered evil, instead they had a gift shop where you could buy things like shirts, shot glasses, and all kinds of other crap you could possibly find as prizes at other places. They day I walked in and saw the first game spitting tickets and the words redemption, I felt I was kicked in the nuts. The final straw would be the multiple changes to the bar. Certain liquors, beers, ect were gone. Certain specialty drinks gone. Great bartenders gone. Happy hour host and play jockey's gone. The music is now a loop, the play Jockey audio and visual station is not used. Last time I was in there the bartenders were using jigs, had no flair, and most importantly were more concerned with trying to get the one girl who was in the bar to talk to them instead of making money by serving drinks, up selling, and keeping conversation with multiple patrons. Gone was the once warm inviting atmosphere, and instead I felt like I was having a drink poured for me by a 21 year old holding a liquor bottle for the first time.
At this point the once great establishment that I have spent thousands of dollars at between 97 and 2007 has become a poor depressing shell of what it once was. You could actually close the bar, get rid of the restaurant and put a pizza place upstairs and they could probably pull off a chucky cheese gig and be more profitable then what they appear to me.
Opportunities for improvement-
It is my firm belief that Gameworks has the chance to reinvent themselves if they would try a radical approach . At this time they have at least 3 or 4 great spaces that they could potentially use for LAN gaming and console gaming. It would very easy to set up multiple consoles and a internal LAN and do a pay for the hour or day thing. Much like Howie's game shack in mesa riverview. They also need to go back to the night club ambiance after 8pm. Bring back the play jockeys and the hostesses. Bring back that feeling of warmth.
Update as of 7/21/13
Attraction rides have been taken out. Many of the non-redemption games looked in horrible shape. Seemed like nothing but driving and redemption games. #Sad -1 star
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