NEW PROJECT: Interactive Online Pinball Tutorials!

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#1 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Greetings fellow Pinsiders!

I hope this thread finds you all in a wonderful mood. I just wanted to announce what I've been working on for the last month and a half:

...drum roll...*crash*

Interactive Pinball Tutorials!

Here's some background:

So ever since I got bit by the bug and joined the hobby (a little over a year ago) - I've found myself often frustrated by the lack of informative and entertaining pinball tutorials. PAPA's videos are great, don't get me wrong, and IPDB's rule-sheets are top notch - but sometimes I feel lost in the long walls of text and I'm not really able to visualize the features of the machine that are being described. In addition, whenever friends or family are over and they see my one and only machine (IJ '93) - I found myself explaining the game and pinball in general (that it actually has rules and goals...etc.) about a hundred times before the night is through :-/

This got me thinking...I'm a commercial filmmaker...I have the resources...Why don't I just create an exciting in-depth interactive Tutorial/Overview of the pin, make them available on YouTube for pinheads like me, as well as integrate a tablet (flash) or flat-screen television (DVD) at each machine for veterans and those new to the hobby to interact with before they play or while someone else is! An interactive video serves by 1) Giving them a far better understanding of the rules/machine and 2) Serving as a kind of a "hype trailer" for the machine - before they even play it!

*DISCLAIMER*

Please note: The Tutorial and YouTube channel are NOT complete. I still have a fair amount work to do. The "William's Original Promo" section is complete and I'm working to get the "Game Music" finished here soon. I'm going to write the script, film, and contract professional V.O. artists for the rules and table history section - those sections will be the meat of the project.

P.S. I'm hoping to do these interactive tutorials with every machine I own - so, with my mind set on a TZ next, that'll probably be next on the docket! Also, still looking to film that documentary. Just waiting for some slow time at the studio.

Ok, without further ado here's the Main Menu of "Alex's Pinball Tutorials - Indiana Jones '93"!

Let me know what you guys/gals think!

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#5 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Quoted from mwong168:
I like what I see so far and can't wait to see more. I also like the idea of making it available on a tablet too. Keep it up!

Alright, so I was thinking of making it an app and placing on a small tablet at the bottom right of the machine under the glass (with the proper part of the glass cut out for interaction) - Essentially replacing the price card with something digital!

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#6 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Quoted from chocky909:
never mind

Never mind what? lol

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#7 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Bump for visibility!

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#13 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Quoted from mof:
Great idea. Web-based training is ideal nowadays. I like how pinball arcade has a 200-step sequence to train you on each of its games. Make sure you study how they do their training. Of course, they only release 2 games a month, so this won't help with your personal problem with IJ training.
Not much to comment on since you just made a nice introduction. One beef I have with ALL tutorials is to remove soundtracks 100% of the time, otherwise you force me to turn my heavy metal off in order to learn something (which is a rather rude thing to force on me)... So, for now, I'd invite you to turn off the IJ music. Also, you get a much better critique of any visual value with the sound off. People might like your tutorial for the sound alone, and not learn anything. challenge yourself to make a great visual tutorial and leave the pavlovian soundtrack out of it.
I'd say try to keep this simple so you can re-use work from one game to the next. Figure out how much of the training is generic to all pinball, and how much is particular to IJ. Think "re-usability" for your second game, or even other people wanting to use your work.
I am also working on a "pinball academy" for my friends so they can improve their pinball skills for any machine when they come over to my arcade, so I appreciate your problem and proposed solution.
-mof

Great points here. I think for the main menu, I'll keep the IJ theme just for dramatic purposes but on the actual rules and scoring portion I'm definitely going to have to consider a No music option or make it with no music whatsoever. I DON'T think I'm going to focus on strategy for these tutrials - obviously I'll touch on it here or there, but I think they'll be kind of a third party addition (perhaps they pop-up during the rules explanation).

Quoted from jdoz2:
I would be very interested in these. I hope enough people express interest in it to get this going.

That's what I'm hoping. While I'm doing this for myself in a way, I don't see it going far without some sort of community support...I am hoping the community jumps on board. I'd love to go even further than tutorials in the future (area documentaries, personal profiles...etc.). Again, I do this for a living.

Quoted from ShootForSlrValue:
Sold. Also, I viewed this on my ipad and legit tried to push the "play all" button. I applaud you for your work! Good luck!

Haha! I wish annotations worked on mobile! Hopefully they will soon!

Quoted from callmesteam:
Fantastic idea. Williams Pinball Hall of Fame on the Wii is what got my wife and I into pinball. Before that, it was just 'keeping the ball alive'. In that game, they have step by step tutorials for each table (it's now The Pinball Arcade, and they are still doing great rule explanations). Once we saw those and learned what to shoot for, and why, the world of pinball opened up to us. On a similar note, the Pinball 101 DVD/App brought those type of tutorials to life on real games with real footage.
This could be the next step! Teaching people how to play different games. The community just raised $700 for Bowen to type up a list of AC/DC rules, this app or series would actually show close up footage of the shots, with tons of history and background. His PAPA tutorial videos are a ton of fun to watch, but he's also blowing through them in 15 minutes. Breaking it down in an app, where you can watch how to complete X mode over and over until you understand it is huge.
I'd love to see this come to life. I subscribed and watched your other video. At first I thought it was a sample tutorial and was going to write that you were using too much film footage, then I realized it was the promo trailer! haha...
Don't let this thread die! It's a killer idea and the menu is wonderful. Put together a tutorial for one table, and maybe take it to Indie-Go-Go to raise money for a series or DVD?

Just bought the app you speak of! I'm going to look into it! I might just do the Indie-Go-Go! Still gauging if it should be an app or a DVD...how much I should charge...should it be free...all these things still spinning in my head.

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#14 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Quoted from mof:
I am also working on a "pinball academy" for my friends so they can improve their pinball skills for any machine when they come over to my arcade, so I appreciate your problem and proposed solution.

Perhaps we could join forces? Thoughts?

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#15 10 years ago

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IndianaPwns

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Concord, NC

12y 53,400 607 4 8

Quoted from callmesteam:
Don't let this thread die! It's a killer idea and the menu is wonderful. Put together a tutorial for one table, and maybe take it to Indie-Go-Go to raise money for a series or DVD?

Has the pinball community ever had any success with indie-go-go or kickstarter?