Even after personal accounts from people about the video we still can't just talk about the game. Have to have drama cheerleaders. Fine, I give up, let's talk about it.

I give two shits if anyone wants to critique anything I've ever done. I'm a professional designer in a public facing job, if I didn't have thick skin about it I'd have quit for another career a long time ago. If you don't like my work, then feel free to say so. I've heard it all. And my ego isn't so big that I can't hear good ideas too, if you have a good suggestion and I'm free to take advantage of it then hat tip to you, and I'm going to use it.

That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt my feelings, I just get over it.

I've never been shy about critiquing other things, and I'm not a fucking hypocrite, so go ahead, give me the same treatment. Look back through this thread, please point out where I've ever freaked out over people saying harsh things about the playfield or backglass. I'll admit it if I'm wrong, I can't remember doing it. Prove me wrong though. Plenty of people had comments, shouldn't be hard to find them.

I never attack people personally. It's never personal. I had harsh things to say myself about Game of Thrones for instance (I was hardly alone in that!). I never said anything but respect for Greg Freres as an artist and a person.

And you know what? I found out that he was really taking the criticisms personally, and so I apologized to him, in person, at Expo. Not behind a keyboard anonymously. Because I felt like maybe I'd contributed to that, and crossed the line into being actually mean spirited. I critique because I want things to be better, not because I want to tear things down. Upsetting someone you admire doesn't feel good, at least to me. I had to rethink things.

I've tempered anything I've said since then, it was a learning experience, I can't lie. Greg told me a lot about what they went through on GOT, and man, it didn't sound easy at all. I thought I knew a lot about working with big brands. I was wrong. Pinball is something else. I can admit to being wrong, I sure as hell don't know everything.

And I'm learning that first hand on Alien. Do I wish that things were different on this game? Absolutely. Of course I do, I wish we had all kinds of freedom. The Alien standard backglass isn't even my design, I just remade something that someone else started. I tweaked the details as long as I was starting from scratch on it, but it's not my work. Doesn't matter that it's not mine, just made it the best I could given the reality of things.

If a hand drawn playfield, from me, or even someone with more talent than I have, was an option I'd gladly make that happen. I'm the creative director on this game, if part of that mean directing another artist to do some of the work that would be fine. Unfortunately the process didn't allow for that. It is what it is. You might not want to hear it, doesn't change the facts.

The final package is going to be great, I truly believe that. It's taking forfucking ever, it's been frustrating as hell, and yet there's still a killer team doing really great work, and it sucks that we can't show the progress.

So I get the frustration. Truly. I share it, and if I was free to say more I'd give you an earful, believe me.

Meanwhile people just want to make it personal, and I'm burned out on it. Can I handle it? Sure. But it wears you down, and sucks the fun out of everything after a while. I've spent over a year of my life trying to help Alien come to life, and people want to attack my job. Spread lies. Put words in my mouth. Come at me personally. I'll ignore a lot, but only so much. If you want my attention badly enough you can get it if you try hard enough. Come after me hard enough and I'll give up on ignoring and push back. That's as much as I'm going to say on the topic, some things don't deserve attention given to them.

I honestly feel like just shutting down my Pinside account and walking away, I'm sick of feeding this. I dunno, maybe that sounds cowardly, but fuck, I have a life and I'm busy with it, and I just don't need this kind of drag on it. It's just pinball, it's supposed to be fun. Talking about art is fun. And if it gets a little bitchy and whiney hopefully we can learn and dial it back. And I truly believe that games are better for our complaining now.

One day when you are at an expo, ask Doug Watson about the adventure concerning that art for Demolition Man.

The studio would only give the vaguest answers on why the art kept getting rejected for like 8 months. Nothing would satisfy them, and no one you could speak with could ever give a reason.

Make sure you ask him in person to get the "whole story", super funny.

I went overboard on that thread, I drained it shortly afterwards to keep myself from being a dick any further in it. It's a personal button for me that's easy to press, my industry gets tired of the "free contest" stuff. It makes us feel devalued and like people are getting ripped off. If you're not an 'insider' it might not feel that way, but it's a really common cause on my side of the fence.

But my reaction wasn't helpful, I admit it. I apologized to Charlie for it.

That's cool. You probably should have undrained it, and apologized in public for it since it was so overboard, but diff'rent strokes & folks as they say.

That's a cool word...I like it

Sooo, Since you went there...are you going to address the snitching on Chris claims?

It's kind of a serious thing to some of us...

I think everyone had heard enough from me, better to just take care of it personally. Chuck told me I sounded like a 12 stepper.

On that note though, I'm not draining this thread, but I think it's time to take a break again. Clearly trying to bring it back to talking about the game is useless, and it's just making me frustrated. Sorry, I tried.

I suggest going back and paying attention to the fact that people in this thread have seen one of the videos, they're real, and they described things you might not have known. Best I can offer for now.

You've turned your hobby into a job, and as they say that doesn't always work out so well.
JJP called Stern a fraud & went to start a company, and found out pinball was really hard.
Jared was a lively energetic poster, went to Stern and pretty much disappeared.
LTG doesn't seem to post nearly as much as he used to.
You used to critique every piece of art and font that came out on a new machine, so you went to make one and found out it's hard, because companies don't let you do what you want.

If companies ever try to hire me to be a snotty little smart ass I'll try to say no to them.

Yeah, the thing about a train wreck is the train is expected then to GODDAMN STOP.

This is all I see when I visit the thread... It is unfortunate that every employee of every pinball manufacturer has to receive the same abuse on Pinside. Aurich, you make an important point gleaned from personal experience: most major game design decisions are *not* made by the person doing the end work, and blaming them for the end result is not only misleading but it is unproductive, and continuing to do so will feel like a personal attack.

For *&#@ sake it's a brand new and exciting game in development, what could possibly be negative about that?

That's exactly it.

Pinside is so disrespectful to every manufacturer's representatives, that it is no surprise that there is only a single company left posting any information here.

"How come Stern does not just answer our questions here on Pinside ???????????"

I say we take this thread and...

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Reading this stuff, I am thinking, ' does this kind of stuff happen in other hobbies' ?!

I do think constructive critique is a useful tool to aid the development cycle.

Heck, I think pinside could have stopped the Pin being made if it had been shared in stages

Back to Alien.

It's the immersive factor I am most looking forward to - playing it in a dark room. All those spooky Alien sounds. Lets hope it's ready for Expo.

Over 10 fuckin' paragraphs and you still dodged the question.
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Did you call another man's workplace to tattle or did you not?

Wow...

This is one game that has been all over my radar since announcement...but this thread and some of the personal inside details being shared are just flat-out weird. You look at companies like Stern, and I'm really beginning to appreciate their closed-door professional approach to business.

This Alien thread is turning into a huge turnoff. I know I should probably just drain it, but I keep hoping that some new info about the game is contained in the new posts. As I said pages and pages ago, I had earmarked 2016 pinball money for this game...but I've decided to go a different the direction this year, rather than wait --- and a large part of it has to do with some of the weirdness that's getting laid-out here.

I'm actually starting to feel sorry for Andrew Heighway...if it were my company, I'd be livid.

I agree with Stones. Mods should clip Andrew Heighway's posts... put them in a new thread and start this thing all over. This thread needs to be erased.

Andrew just said the other day around 3 months until we see something. The only new info is some people saw the secret video, and can describe it to others; somehow not the weirdest thing in this thread.

That's cool...and if he hits that target, great. But we also heard there would be a reveal over a year ago. There's a point to which the reveal should be the reveal...no promises of dates...just say "we're working on it" and show it when it's done.

It's cool man...dodging the ? and ignoring both yours and my requests have given us the answer to this one...

I enjoy checking in on this thread, even most of the nutters that have fun here, and I felt like sharing my enthusiasm for this title as well as an attaboy to those involved on this project.

What attracts me to this pin is its theme. Alien/s. I'm a big fan of the franchise.
I have the Alien games and movies.
I have Alien art prints and sculptures.
I have Alien trinkets and toys.
But what I don't have is a big expensive retro entertainment omage created out of the Alien/s universe.

I want this pin to be true to the movies it's based on.
I want to be moved when I play it.
I want the sounds to make me feel anxious.
I want to cringe at the ruthlessness of the animations and videos.
I want the call outs to involve me as a player.
I want my playing choices to be both rewarding and punishing.

I want Heighway to succeed in all of these areas.
I want to be fully immersed in this universe when I'm playing.
I want Heighway to demonstrate the reverence this theme deserves.
I want to put this pin in my home and daydream about getting back to it when I'm at work.

Someone here previously mentioned the appreciation of the lost art of anticipation a while back.

Well, it's not lost on me. I get it. I've been looking forward to this pinball machine since first announcement. Nothing will change my attitude in the next 3 months.

I look forward to the reveal. After seeing the pics of the OMG quality of the big Alien interactive head toy that's going to be shoehorned into the playfield, my expectations rose another full notch.

My my my, what another wonderful day waiting for my toy to be born. I'm not a pinball zealot like so many here. I have one other pin and little interest in any others. It's a TWDLE, and I have an appreciation for the immersiveness built into all aspects of it's theme that it resoundingly offers.

But I am so very enamoured by the theme this pin is based upon. Don't fail me Heighway team, I can't be the only one that is self admittedly so nutty over the theme you are so lucky and fortunate to be working on. Don't let me down and may success and good fortune find you amongst this project!

Carry on.

Ya know what…let's all drop this. Nothing good will come of it.
Let's all wait for the game and not assume anything.
Let's be nice.
Please.

who cares and why is it in the "official game thread"? move on. drop it. let it go. water under the bridge. blood from a turnip. kids these days...let's leave reality TV on reality TV and agree that it sucks and has ruined society.

Alien updates. Official thread. Game info...concentrate man, try really really hard.

You forget what forum you are on. Pinside has allowed posts on all aspects of pinball very openly, including the discussion of evident and reported behaviour of employees of pinball companies and the companies themselves. Just look at the forum discussion history on Jared and Jody with Stern, Jack with JJP, Zidware, SkitB, PPS/CGC, Dutch Pinball, etc. It is nothing different or new with Aurich and Heighway and shouldn't be. Skip/ignore the posts if you don't like it.

This is my last post till aug, I don't care what Aurich did to Kaneda if anything and vice versa, I don't mind delays because I'm sure its happening and for me its been a year and a half since my deposit which isn't bad, the main thing is after seeing FullT and knowing Andrew is an Alien enthusiast I just don't see it being shitty, infact quite the opposite, its fucking Aliens. Now for some that might not be a big deal but for me and many out there its major, I like GB's but it was a film that was most popular to me when I was a preteen, TH and TBL do nothing for me as almost all current themes, at least Stern tried something cool with TWD but then theres a SciFi Horror pin like Aliens coming which is really a rarity in this hobby and something so special for those of us who have to endure all this family friendly horseshit, I mean I can understand the thread derailing before Andrew stated 3 months to a reveal but now its just foolish, I think its time for the mods to close this guy down and start fresh maybe mid July or so. Andrew stick to the license parameters and take ur time, I read the JJP threads for #3 and #4 with things like Toy Story and Harry Potter, then Stern with Aerosmith and while I like Star wars the lastest installment didn't leave me too excited for a pin, TBL and Dominos come on man, I'm glad some who like those themes are getting a pin they want but again, its fucking Aliens.

It was me. I called, what I assumed was his babysitter, and made sure they weren't lapsing on giving him his crazy pills and daily diaper changes.

I enjoy listening to the interviews on K-holes Pinball Podcast, but the "rants" are seriously pathetic. If a guy has been banned from 2 of the most popular Pinball/Arcade internet forums, there's either a problem with the rest of the world or with him.

Aurich chose to discuss it with pinside.
I quoted his words for you to "concentrate on". Try really really hard.

Just thought his 12 paragraph post was a lot to say w/o answering the obvious.

I wasn't going to say kaneda's name, and I wasn't going to discuss anything going on with him. Don't feed the trolls etc.

Kaneda emailed me tonight, said that he thought things had gone too far, he admitted his role in it, and asked if we couldn't just squash this. I thought that was big of him to do, credit due where it's deserved. No need to post the details, it's a private email, but that was the heart of it.

I told him I had no desire to "win" and just wanted peace, and accepted. I'm more than willing to just move forward, I'm truly uninterested in the drama, it's just pinball. Hopefully that's the end of it. Sorry to disappoint anyone who was enjoying it.

That seemed worth coming back to this thread to explain. I also want to publicly thank Ted. I gave him shit in private for feeling like he was egging things on, and I wasn't polite about it, and instead of lashing back at me he was a gentleman, and he's the one who brokered the peace. So thanks man, I truly do appreciate it.

If the two of us can move on can I please ask that thread do too?

Anyone that believes anything that comes out of Kaneda's mouth knowing what kind of person he is makes you a bigger idiot than the man himself.

Thank you to the people who told us about your experience with the video. Please tell us whatever you can and I hope there are more people that step up and share. If Andrew goes to 2 shows next month as planned, I'm really hoping Colorado is one of them. If I get to check out the video I'll report back what I can.

I don't know Andrew's show schedule, but I know he can't make the Pacific Northwest show. However! If you're there make sure you make it to David Thiel's talk, because amongst other things he's going to discuss making the music for Alien, and doing some cool breakdowns on how he layers a track etc. Definitely worth seeing. I don't know if he'll be showing video of the game or not, if the seminar is being streamed I guess not, and if it's not then maybe he can.

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

With no supposed updates until August, I say you should keep this playful banter up.

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Glad to hear it.

This sub topic of Chris and Aurich that has appeared and the further discussion of same will now be deemed off topic discussion moving forward and moderated. Please ask no further questions on the subject herein unless you want to do it via pm or email to Chris or Aurich.

Chris and Aurich have moved past the issue. Everyone else needs to drop it as well. Thank you.

(Thank you for your work on this Ted.)

Think I can pull him aside and bribe him to show me the video?

Thats so awesome to hear....really tired of the bullshit! Looking forward to updates....and hope to hear more from you. Way to go Ted!!

I like pinball! Games are fun! This game is going to be amazing...

It sounds like, as per the usual of online forums, that some people expect perfection on all aspects of the topic at hand (this game and its creators), but we must remember perfection is impossible to achieve. Its just not reality.

However, alien as a pinball machine is probably as close to perfection as you can get in life. Two of the best things merged into one!

Relax and always remember that what is written here is pure road rage. In reality about 1% of the drama of online impersonal chats would be spoken to one another. The digital world sure does reveal some animalistic anger. Its a bummer.

Enjoy the fact that someone was willing to invest their lives and mula into something we will all be able to have fun playing without ever having to see the true ugly side of the entertainment business... Even if the game doesn't hit all its marks, I guarantee it's still gonna be fun cause it's pinball!

Lets change the topic and perhaps encourage the creators to push it even further!

Waves goodbye...

David is a luddite who doesn't own a smart phone, but he has an iPod touch, no reason why he couldn't have the video loaded on that for the curious ...

Thanks for the info man and I will make sure to catch him!

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over

Ok.

I don't like your work.

But it's nothing personal.

I just think the PF art misses the mark a bit for me personally. The funny thing is that I don't even know what it is that I was expecting exactly, I just know that what I've seen isn't it. It seems to be on the dark side, even given the theme. I can't say that I really disagree with the description that I've seen others use referring to "clip art" either.

That said, I do expect that it will look very different once the playfield is populated with the plastics and toys, as well as the lighting effects, which can serve to bring things together a bit. Still looking forward to the (long delayed) final product!

Cool community you guys have going on here. Reminds me of when a group of anonymous got Kevin Kulek all hung up. No one ever owned up to sending that email, either.

Ask Clay about when **they** called the city and got Tilt-Town shut down for him.

Pinball has more assholes than any other hobby I've ever seen.

Hobbies got pretty shitty when the internet took off.

I just dusted this thing off. Gross.

https://predatorpinball.wordpress.com/

Well, not quite. The fact is that I work from a home studio nearly seven days a week. I have no need to be mobile. Weeks go by sometimes without driving my car. So $60 a month for a smart phone is unnecessary. As long as I have WiFi I have the smartphone experience.

I've asked for clearance from Fox through Andrew to show the promo video for Alien at my talk. I don't know if I will get clearance or not. Failing that I will ask for clearance to show the video on my laptop. As a consultant who has signed non-disclosure I have to be more careful than the owner of the company.

I've put together an interesting seminar organized around the concept of creating audio for game startup companies. I have done this (and am doing this) a lot. I hope to see a lot of folks at 12:30 in the seminar area of NWPAS on Saturday.
ddt

Alien should be worthy of buying just for the David Thiel soundtrack alone.

You have an amazing track record of making great pinball music ... Long may it continue!

rd

The sound on Alien is beyond awesome. I will give it a try to describe it in part 2 of my prototype video review, but I am afraid I won't do it justice David is an exceptional talent. Very glad Heighway got him on board.

Would a silent whitewood video, with no sculptures or video be possible to be shown.

There are 2 whitewood videos available, but one of them is more than a year old:

I think they switched relatively fast from whitewood to a prototype build so I am not sure if more whitewood videos exist. If they did, I probably think Andrew would have shown them here.

So I see the party is still going strong here Time for part 2 of the prototype video review. Hope you enjoy it

If you missed part 1 you can find it here https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/alien-pinball-official-game-thread/page/122#post-3159966

The Acid Burn mode is started.

The Acid Burn aniamation is also accompanied by an intense sound. It is hard to describe but for reference what to expect this is the closest thing I could find:

Listen to this from beginning to 1:30. This kind of music was in the pin but even more intense! To get an impression how intense listen to this:

and go to 0:53 – 1:15 Cinematic Loop 1

A call out is made: ‘I think it is going to eat through the goddamn hull. Come on'. I did search for the quote on the net but it doesn’t come near the intensity as used in the pin. I think David has run the quotes and music through his ‘spice it up’ module to make the call outs and sounds sound awesome.

A cartoon like picture is shown and green luminous letters are shown with the text ‘Acid Burn’. When looking at the Internet I came across this article: http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/Xenomorph_blood and the picture in the top right of the text area gives you an impression what is used in the clip. When the mode starts all GI and some inserts lights are turned very bright and this also gives a very cool effect on the ramps.

During the Acid Burn mode also the APC targets are shot. For every letter shot an animation is shown were the APC vehicle http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/M577_Armored_Personnel_Carrier is driving from the screen towards you accompanied by an animation of the letter you just shot. During the mode a kind of twilight zone riff is being played through the music that really adds something to the atmosphere.

And then………Queen's nest mode!

This mode is shown from the big screen and from what I noted the Alien word on the screen bezel is placed really well. It makes it part of the total dashboard and that is way cool. You see an animation of the queen and eggs coming out. You hear the sound of violins like in horror movies. The beacon lights are on. They turn heavily and an orange light wave is pushed into the room, together with the sound and animations it is something I have never ever seen on any pin to date. It is like you are sucked into this story, you are a marine, chaos is coming…..AAAHHHHHH. I think in this mode you have to burn eggs cause also animations are shown with fire and the sound of eggs being destroyed. This mode is I-N-T-E-N-S-E. I think people will walk out of the room, children will be evacuated……you will be on your own! The animations of the Queen are awesome. A quote is made: ‘C'mon let's go, pull back’ The sound gets even more intense and you see an Alien being on fire and her body parts being ripped off by the fire. And then…..the ball is lost. ‘That is it man, Game over man, it’s Game over!'

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Given the posts above by pinballrulez I can only imagine the super-coolness of this Aliens Pinball Machine!!!!