Welcome to the Arcade Spirits developer blog. Each week I post an in-depth look at some aspect of the game, or of arcade culture in general. Today, let's talk about one of the slightly more obscure influences behind Arcade Spirits -- the classic 1980s workplace sitcom.

As a kid, I grew up enmeshed in the world of the 80s / early 90s sitcom. Night Court, Cheers, Wings, things like that. "Must See TV." I wasn't really that interested in the standard family-based ones, though -- no Steve Urkel for me. I like workplace sitcoms. There's two key aspects to these, a sense of place, and a sense of belonging.

The place is obvious: wherever everybody works. An office, a bar, a courtroom, an airport, a diner, something like that. The locale is the same every week, and you get a feel for the flow of rooms and hallways, the background details baked in which make it feel unique and lived-in. Sometimes they're populated by extras moving around in the background, going about their lives... customers, usually. It feels like a living, breathing location and not just a sterile living room or something. This is where you come back to when you want to be somewhere familiar. But it's not a home, some generic suburban house; it's got a flow and a purpose directed towards whatever the business is.

When you're there, you belong there. You're family, without actually being family. The television family consists of the friends who you're close to, the ones you're emotionally tied to, working arm in arm towards a common goal or just choosing to spend time together. There's no typical drama from being stuck alongside a parent or sibling you hate because these are the people you've selected to be your family, rather than a coincidence of birth. (Shows where the family hates each other 90% of the time and all the drama arises from that are pretty much the opposite of what I want.)

I wanted those two things for Arcade Spirits -- a sense of place, and a sense of belonging. The Funplex becomes familiar to you, and your character grows to consider it something of a home. The staff and the regulars are more than just co-workers and customers, they're your friends, your family. Even the ones you aren't actively trying to romance are close companions, willing to help you and you them. There are conflicts along the way, bumps in the road, but you work through them because keeping the family together and keeping the home intact is important.

The story is even divided up like television episodes, with each contained story being its own "Level" of the game. Unlike an 80s sitcom, though, they feed into each other serially, gradually developing character arcs and plots rather than being standalone piles of gags.

Overall, I want the world of Arcade Spirits to be something you want to come back to not just to laser-focus in on your romantic target and woo them, but to be because it's a place you want to live in for a time. Familiar, friendly, warm, and inviting. And when the credits finally do roll, I want that time looked back on fondly. I hope I can provide the same feeling I had watching these sitcoms to you as a gamer.