A soft launch of the Clarendon Street Arcade took place in South Melbourne last week.
The joint project, by Australian university RMIT’s Future Play Lab and the City of Port Phillip, sees a series of arcade games constructed, sited and tested prior to opening formally this week.
A team has developed the five games that have been installed as separate cabinets housing the Magi-10-in-1 compilation and have been weatherproofed so that they can stand alone in the street. Each cabinet is supported by a nearby store, whose employees are able to informally observe its use and report any damage.
The project is seen by the local authority as a way to encourage outdoor activities, in face of a rising incidence of Covid-19 infections. The partnership envisages some problems with the project, mainly weather, vandalism and graffiti.
The Super Street Arcade, as it has been called, has the basic aim of reactivating Melbourne’s streets post-pandemic.
