We have many reasons to love Tom from Hand Baked Arcade, and not only for his unique and lively vintage and retro gaming nights and installations. Get to know him better here and keep an eye out on our blog for future dealings with have lined up with this fella….

Photo credit: Jen Dale

Qype: Ok, in with the big question first: what’s your favourite baked food?

Tom: My wife-to-be’s cakes and cookies. (Did I mention yet that my wife is Italian? – Eamon)

Qype: Obviously you have a penchant for vintage gaming, but do you think new, easily accessible technology has hindered creativity?

Tom: I’m not sure easily accessible technology hinders creativity but a lot of games are designed to be as realistic as possible nowadays. People crave ultra-realistic visuals and immersive, solo game play but these games do not have the pick-up-and-go appeal for casual gamers. With the help of the new download network for current generation consoles and the lust for retro games, independent, bedroom coders have a chance to bring back that appeal.

Qype: Sonic or Mario?

Tom: Sonic without a doubt, brought up on Sega.

Qype: Blur or Oasis?

Tom: Both can be erased from the planet.

Qype: Do you own all the gear you bring to your events? Has it reached obsession levels yet? Do you stay up all night scouring eBay?

Tom: Yes I own all the gear at my events, from the tables through to the consoles, TVs and projectors. Obession levels kicked in a while ago but I am not simply buying everything I see nowadays, being a little more selective! Ebay plays a part for certain items that I want, but boot fairs are the real deal.

Photo credit: Sarah James

Qype: I am not permitted to write a blog posts without a reference to my Italian wife. And the best I can come up with here is to ask you are there any classic games or kit that actually originate in Italy? [A poor and tenuous effort, I know]

Tom: To be honest… I dont know, my brain is not wired to retain that kind of information!

Qype: Your events are so much more than people gathering to play games. The installation at The Future Gallery last year was epic, what was the thinking behind that?

Tom: I was approached by the gallery after they found out about my previous event at Pure Groove in East London. They came along and loved the installation and vibe so asked me to re-create it at the Future Gallery. It’s the only time the Hand Baked Arcade has been set up in such a crisp art gallery and it worked very, very well. Multiple projectors, tonnes of other screens and consoles and a hell of a lot of people through the door.

Qype: What’s your favourite London hidden gem?

Tom: The only places I return to in London are night clubs and my favourite is probably still Corsica Studios in Elephant and Castle. Though for my arcade installations it may well be the Star of Kings in Kings Cross, my next event Button Bash on the 4th of June is to be held there.

Qype: Paul Hardcastle’s 19, now that’s not something we want to revisit is it?

Tom: Not particularly, but more so than Blur or Oasis.

Photo credit: Jen Dale

Qype: So, for the uninitiated out there, what can one expect from a night out at Hand Baked Arcade?

Tom: Expect to see a vast amount of original video games consoles across a multitude of screen sizes from small TV, through to large projector screens. With background music supplied by Hand Baked Records you can assure an eclectic, electronic soundtrack to the friendly gaming vibe. All games are always free to play and flight cases full of cartridges are available to flick through.You may well find yourself in a nostalgic heaven playing games that you may not have seen for 30 years!

Qype: Do you have plans to take it beyond London? Festivals this year?

Tom: This Friday Hand Baked is going out to the The Parrot venue in Carmarthen, West Wales to provide DJ’s and then on the Saturday there will be a Hand Baked Arcade installation throughout the day. The Arcade will also be seen at the Arcane Festival in Oxfordshire on the first weekend of September. We now have a nine-metre geodesic dome and all the trimmings, so we are available for further festival bookings.

Qype: Most irritating Londoner?

Tom: David Cameron

Qype: You now have 45 seconds to tell us about your next project, or anything else that we need to know about Hand Baked Arcade……..

Tom: My largest installation to date, BUTTON BASH, is on the 4th of June at the Star of Kings and runs from 8pm – 2am. There will be many consoles not seen at any of my previous events, allowing a much larger number of simultaneous players. Entry is only £4 all night but be sure to get down early as the previous events have been very busy.