(Topic ID: 165417)

Anyone have any Game Plan knowledge or history?

By dmbjunky

7 years ago


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#1 7 years ago

I was at a yard sale today and the lady sold me a Game Plan Megatack marquee for a dollar. I didn't know Game Plan made any video games. I looked up a video and it was a simple Space Invaders/Galaga style game.

It made me wonder if anyone knows how the company got started, who were the main players in production and why they closed? They made some pins that had pretty good art like Attila the Hun and Captain Hook and I know Roger Sharpe worked with them to make Sharpshooter. I'd love some interesting stories. Thanks.

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#3 7 years ago

Thanks for the link. Any others with some insight into the workings of Game Plan?

#4 7 years ago

The graphics and gameplay look VERY similar to Centuri's Challenger.

#5 7 years ago

Their pinball Solenoid and Lamp boards work similar to Bally/Sterns. At least they chose the best at the time to emulate and made the boards slightly different to not get sued. Some of their playfield parts are similar to Sterns.
Several of their full sized pins are very similar in layout. As if they took Sharp's initial idea and modified it for the next game, then mirrored it with a minor change, then mirrored that one, etc...

#6 7 years ago

There are a few who talk Game Plan...mostly pinball...keep bumping this.
I am trying to get back to my project-Game Plan-Star Trip-Pinball cocktail table.Man there is a guy who helps all with Game Plan...cannot remember or find his posts with a quick search...he will eventually chime in !!!
Keep bumping it-also do a post/search at RGP Google groups.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Plan_(company)

#7 7 years ago

Yeah I thought some of the more knowledgeable older guys like BK and Dayhuff would come with their stories of Game Plan but maybe they are as much in the dark as I am. I enjoyed the conversation we had on Alvin G. Is Roger Sharpe on the forum? Maybe we should have Josh get him to tell some stories.

#8 7 years ago

bumpity

#9 7 years ago

http://www.gameplanpinball.com/history.shtml

http://www.gameplanpinball.com/forum/index.php/topic,38.0.html (note--Lock Ness surfaced on ebay in 2010, so I'm not sure how valid this story or claims are)

#10 7 years ago

Thanks for that. Very interesting. Anyone else?

4 weeks later
#13 7 years ago

Oddly enough I have a minty Attila the Hun. There is a guy in Ohio that makes batches of Game plan mother boards. I installed one and it is a cool game. Of course it is a definite era piece. It looks great in our showroom. It shows people that there were quite a few different pin makers over the years. I do wish they (Gameplan would have gotten the Loch Ness pin into production. It was clearly a commandeering of Creature (not nearly as good) with the hologram of the sea monster.

-J

#14 7 years ago
Quoted from PinballAlley:

Oddly enough I have a minty Attila the Hun. There is a guy in Ohio that makes batches of Game plan mother boards. I installed one and it is a cool game. Of course it is a definite era piece. It looks great in our showroom. It shows people that there were quite a few different pin makers over the years. I do wish they (Gameplan would have gotten the Loch Ness pin into production. It was clearly a commandeering of Creature (not nearly as good) with the hologram of the sea monster.
-J

How could it be a "commandeering of Creature" when it came out 7 years before Creature?

#15 7 years ago

you are right!!!maybe it was the other way around.

#16 7 years ago

Hey I just found this thread. I am working on a SSII MPU2 right now under the guidance of Bob Kane. Reviving this beast from an assault from battery (see what I did there?). Anyways, I replaced the damaged socket and the board still will not boot consistently. But I am getting intermittent flashes now. I also converted the ROMs to 2716 and replaced them. Learning how to solder on boards is fun!

#17 7 years ago

I have some documented history, owned machines, and still have parts.

Soup to nuts, it is much shorter than companies like Zaccaria.
On par with Inder and LTD.

Roger Sharpe is a member of this forum.

LNM did not sell on Ebay in 2010, it was a private sale. I know the first, second, and current owner who bought the game. It currently resides in California.
It was not destroyed, and is not a myth like EM Bigfoot which cannot be found.

I uploaded 86 photos of LNM to the PinSide directory.
I also uploaded a photo of my personal prototype backglass.

Let me read these posts for detailed questions.

#18 7 years ago

That LNM story is wild. I've been on Pinside for quite a while and hadn't heard of it before. Cool thread.

#19 7 years ago
Quoted from xTheBlackKnightx:

I have some documented history, owned machines, and still have parts.
Soup to nuts, it is much shorter than companies like Zaccaria.
On par with Inder and LTD.
Roger Sharpe is a member of this forum.
LNM did not sell on Ebay in 2010, it was a private sale. I know the first, second, and current owner who bought the game. It currently resides in California.
It was not destroyed, and is not a myth like EM Bigfoot which cannot be found.
I uploaded 86 photos of LNM to the PinSide directory.
I also uploaded a photo of my personal prototype backglass.
Let me read these posts for detailed questions.

I was kind of looking for info on how the company started. Were there ties to other companies? I know they started with cocktails in the 70s but I was amazed to find they branched out into video games in the 80s.

What well known names worked for Game Plan? I know Roger Sharpe, John Trudeau and Ed Cebula made some designs for them. I know from IPDB that Paul Faris and George Molentin did art for some games.

How did the company end? It was probably a product of pins losing favor in the mid 80s. There seemed to be more than one company that went out of business during that time like Stern. Then there were others who were bought out like Bally and Gottlieb.

On IPDB's listing for Attila the Hun, they mention that '81 Game Plan ceased operation but returned in '84 when there was a resurgence in pinball.

2 weeks later
#21 7 years ago

With the potential "Game Plan peeps" following this thread, I thought I would link this topic: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spinner-graphic-for-sharp-shooter-ii-by-game-plan#post-3359651
I need a pic of the Sharp Shooter II spinner. Please help if possible.
Thx!

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