No quarters—or movie tickets—required

Any film fan knows the rule: Say Beetlejuice's name three times and he appears. But what if you had to spell it three times against a countdown clock, choosing from randomly cycling letters, with a sand monster appearing if you fail?

That was just one of the ways that mechanical engineering students reimagined classic 1980s movies for this year's annual Spring Freshman Design arcade at Johns Hopkins University, held last week in the Great Hall. Though born long after the decade in question, the first-year students developed 16 games based on films like Field of Dreams, Airplane!, and Poltergeist, showcasing a blend of creativity and engineering skills.

Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University

"The students did a fantastic job on their games. People kept coming up to me throughout the afternoon saying how impressed they were with the creativity and engineering abilities of our students," said Steven Marra, a teaching professor in the Whiting School of Engineering's Department of Mechanical Engineering and creator of the annual event. "I was a little concerned about how the '80s-movies theme would go over with the students, but I think they enjoyed it and learned a little about that golden era of cinema."

Some classic films from that golden era, like Hoosiers, were reimagined to resemble classic arcade games—like making basketball shots— while others, like The Princess Bride, focused on a specific scene.

"You choose whether to swap the chalice, like (the character) Vizzini does, and then choose the one you think Wesley hasn't poisoned," explained Patrycja Potrzasaj, whose team created a game based on that iconic battle of wits. "The chances of you winning are exponentially decreased the longer you play."

Thinking outside the box—or movie frame—one team turned to 9 to 5's chart-topping soundtrack hit song, rather than its visuals, as inspiration for their game.

"Most people know the audio for it, but don't know the actual movie," Duncan Stadler said of his team's game, where the aim was to play against the song's beat by hitting electronic drums. "I've always wanted to make a music-based game like Guitar Hero, so this was a perfect opportunity."

As the crowd filled the Great Hall to near-capacity and the games emitted familiar bleeps and bloops, one sound familiar to old school arcade veterans was not heard—the clinking of coins.

"The best part of this is, unlike in the '80s, no quarters are required," Marra said.

Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University

Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University

Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University