In Pandora FMS we love video games

Pandora FMS employees choose their favorite video games

A long, long time ago, almost before Pandora FMS green color became part of the rainbow, a revolutionary idea came from the heart of the company: creating an arcade machine, like those of arcades, so that our staff here could play at breaks, like they do at Google offices.

This extraordinary fantasy flowed from the brain of one of our former workers, Miguel de Dios, to whom, although he has the name of a western movie character, we owe everything. He got the supplies and ordered the components from the company. In his free time, also as a hobby, he began to make it.

Once assembled and fully programmed, the light that overflooded our spirits shone and the fun began. Since then, and in the absence of getting a human foosball, it is an essential part of our well-being and fun in the offices.

To show you that you should not take our love for this machine lightly, we are going to ask those who are really into it in our company what their favorite game is, where they played in the golden age of arcade games and what is their personal record in any of them.

–Dimas Pardo López, Communication.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

My top is: 1) Street Fighter II. 2) Tumblepop. 3) Metal Slug.

Where did you play?

La Rosa Arcade. My father sent me to mass and I would spend masses there. I could spend the whole the morning playing with the few coins my grandfather used to give me on Sundays. I loved that place. Then it became the meeting point before going out to party at discos and thousands of motorcycles gathered at the door. Then came the times when everyone had a console at home or preferred internet cafes. They had to close it and now it’s just a bar in my hometown.

Did you seta a record

Honestly, I wasn’t very good in any of the games. I preferred to watch the older ones play. It was exciting. Much more than watching soccer or motorcycle racing on TV. There were real machine heroes. The Lottery man once arrived with quite a bunch of coins. I remember that we were all there supporting him and we celebrated all together when he won.

-Sara Martín, Human resources.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

Ghosts ‘n Goblins.

Where did you play?

At a friend of my mother’s who had four real arcade machines at home and a pool table. I used to spend my childhood evenings with a couple of friends there. Then I discovered Counter-Strike and I started going to the internet cafe in my neighborhood.

Any records?

I think I still have the record for Pang in a Majaelrayo arcade, I should go back to see if it is still around.

-Eduardo Corral, Projects.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

I always loved Golden Ax, although I was very bad at it in general. I also spent quite the time on Metal Slug and Street Fighter II.

Where did you play?

Well, I played in an arcade in Ferrol a long time ago, almost as much as it has been closed.

Did you set a record?

Well, unfortunately no records. Also, it was hard, because it used to be very crowded so there was no time to fully devote yourself to any game. It was tough being a skinny kid in an arcade full of teenagers trying to play tough.

–Manuel Montes, Development.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

One game I fondly remember is Outrun. You drove your convertible, with the sea at the background… it was kind of cool. But the most exciting ones I remember are Street Fighter for the competition between players and Pang for the fights when I played with teammates. They were epic.

Where did you play?

In my time, games were not a game. You see, in arcade games, when I was fifteen, the room was full of hormones. Each game costed an important part of your weekly allowance, but more important than money was social status: if you played a game very well, you were admired by everyone.

Did you set a record?

I played ping pong in the arcade holding the paddle with two hands. If you can consider that some kind of record or virtuosity… there you go!

–Ramón Novoa, AI.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

Street Fighter II, without a doubt!

Where did you play

In summer, my brother and I always saw the arcades when passing by an ice cream parlor, but at the time people did not approve of arcades. So when we managed to save a few coins and sneak out to play a couple games, it was something very special.

Any records?

As I say, arcades were not entirely welcomed. I guess because of ignorance and because they would see it as a waste of time (and money). I speak of my acquaintances, of course. So the record was just that, getting some coins, running away and playing.

–Kevin Rojas, Projects.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

My favorite game is Metal Slug, ALL versions. The time I have spent learning the strategies of my enemies!

Where did you play?

I have played both at arcade places and at home with the magical MAME (multipurpose arcade machine emulator). I have two brothers, and we played all three on the same keyboard… That was worth seeing!

Did you set any record?

I think I set a record in a game I played in an arcade, one of these beat ’em up like Streets of Fury, but in 3D… But one day it disappeared from the arcade I went to. Since I didn’t know the name of the game and I was always player 2 (my brother was older), I called it “the girl’s game”. Years later, I found out that the game was called Die Hard, and it seems to be a game from a Bruce Willis’ movie.

-Sancho Lerena, CEO.

The arcade game that you liked the most?

When I was just a little boy, I was so into arcade games. My favorite one was Double Dragon. When I was just a 10 year-old boy, I could spend about half an hour playing with a single coin. Another one that I really liked was Operation Wolf, where you had to shoot with a machine gun aiming as if it were real, but it was quite a hard one and I always ended up getting killed quickly. Another one that I loved was “Shinobi”, for the martial arts and stuff, but it was also quite difficult.

Where did you play?

At that time, I used to spend the afternoons in town playing in the arcade, but also in the bar where my father used to have coffee. It is funny how the smells and sounds of that time remain attached to memories.

Did you set a record?

The real challenge was to play not so much the ones I liked but the ones that lasted the longest so I could play more with less money.

And that was the list of games our Pandora FMS colleagues loved the most. It does not seem coincidental that the love we have for these recreational adventures matches in time and space with the adorable memories that we keep of playing them. Good old times when a game was a community fight, you against the machine as exciting as it was momentous. Not surprisingly, there were people watching, and your weekly pay was literally at stake.

You can tell us about your favorite arcade games and your adventures playing them in the comments below or on social networks. We will be there to make fun of your low score or to celebrate any Tetris or Super Pang record.