Alien Arena is an extreme case of arcade rarity: Duncan Brown programmed it in 6809 assembly using an Apple II+ and emulation hardware he built himself, ultimately running it on a recycled Stargate cabinet. It's a capture-the-flag duel with mines and monsters thrown in, built for two players or for one against the machine, mounted on Williams Electronics' technical base. Only one cabinet was ever made, and it stayed out of circulation for years before resurfacing for the collector community. It's not a game that influenced anything that came after, but it's a fascinating testament to what a hobbyist with enough stubbornness could achieve during the golden age of home-brew arcade.

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