Replicating a Control Panel for the Legendary Tempest Arcade Machine

In the early video arcade game scene, Tempest was special. Its pseudo-3D radial graphics made the gameplay exciting and created a feeling that you were zipping through space at light speed. You can, of course, play Tempest today with MAME or any number of other emulators. But you’re only getting part of the experience if you play with a regular keyboard or gamepad. The full experience would require controls like those that were on the original cabinet, which is why Hans Jørgen Grimstad built a replica arcade control panel for Tempest.

Tempest’s unique gameplay necessitated some unconventional controls. Whereas other arcade cabinets might have a joystick and a button or two, the Tempest cabinet had a big knob that players would twist in one direction or the other to move their starfighter around the outer perimeter of the game field. There were also two buttons: “Fire” and “Super Zapper.” Grimstad’s goal was to recreate those controls both tactilely and aesthetically. That included printed graphics in the original style, complete with play instructions.

Grimstad owned a real Tempest arcade cabinet back in the ‘90s, but it stopped functioning and he didn’t have the skills required to repair it at that time. Now he’s playing Tempest on a dedicated MAME emulation machine with a monitor in the portrait orientation. However, his previous experience with the arcade cabinet meant that he would never be satisfied with substandard controls.

This replica control panel is quite accurate, down to a reproduction Tempest “spinner” knob made by Oscar Controls (a product that is now discontinued). Grimstad constructed the frame with a bent sheet metal shell held in a 3D-printed support structure. He drilled holes in the sheet metal for the controls and added graphics printed on adhesive-backed Lexan. Rubber molding strips give the edges of the 3D-printed ends a vintage feel.

With the panel fabricated, Grimstad added the inputs and associated control boards. The spinner contains an optical encoder and the buttons are standard fare (Atari “volcano” buttons). They connect to the emulation computer via Ultimarc Optipac and Ipac control interfaces.

Grimstad reports that the controls feel very satisfying and that the reproduction spinner knob accurately matches the tactility and responsiveness of the original arcade, resulting smooth gameplay that simply can’t be matched by other control options.