The days of walking into an arcade and putting your quarters on the line for a virtual street fighting throw down are long gone. Still, a few video game cabinets have survived in bars — from the lone Golden Tee machine that only gets used during a blue collar lunch hour or a bar centered around video games. But wait! Here comes a new challenger! And if you win your bout, the machine will pour you a victory beer.
Created for Big Boss Brewing Co., Beercade is the first-ever beer-dispensing arcade game that takes the snore factor out of beer sampling. Instead of being served by a distracted bartender, wired beer rep or harried festival worker, beer lovers get to fight until the end for a sample of Big Boss’ most popular beers.
Beercade was created in-house by independent advertising agency McKinney from the Flash-based game The Last Barfighter. Players choose one of five characters representing the five year-round Big Boss brews: Hell’s Belle, Bad Penny, Angry Angel, Blanco Diablo and High Roller. In what looks like a standard biker bar, the players fight in three rounds using basic fighting moves like punches and kicks, as well as signature moves like fire throwing, unicorn horn impaling and butt slaps. The best player of the three rounds wins, and a sample of beer is automatically dispensed via the Beercade taps.
“Beercade uses a custom-made system that re-utilizes certain retro nostalgic arcade machine user actions for its concept,” explains McKinney Creative Technologist Adam Carroll. “Its coin slot has been replaced with a few drip trays, cupholders and motion sensors to accept a cup in place of a quarter. When we started, we were trying to find a way for retro arcade machines to live again, and when we brought the idea to our client Big Boss Brewing, they jumped on board.”
“The Last Barfighter is a latest tool in the Big Boss arsenal. It’s a secret weapon that really showcases our beer brands in a fun, interactive, beer-dispensing video game with retro-cool appeal!” said Dave Roger, Big Boss Brewing’s marketing and distribution manager. “We plan on featuring the Last Barfighter at events that help raise funds and awareness for our charitable partners in the communities we serve.
