This topic is closed.
I have decided to end my relationship with Heighway Pinball. I am not the game designer on the Alien project. I made the initial playfield drawing and created concepts for 4 new playfield toys. The drawing can change drastically as the game develops. Andrew announced that the game would be ready in April and I can't possibly agree with this. I've seen the video that he submitted to FOX and if the game turns out anything like this it will be great.
Sounds to me like Dennis thinks that Andrew's estimate of Alien being ready by April is extremely optimistic, if not downright unrealistic.
I'm gonna miss having new Norman designs to look forward to but wishing you the best!
Quoted from RobT:Sounds to me like Dennis thinks that Andrew's estimate of Alien being ready by April is extremely optimistic, if not downright unrealistic.
Oh man, this is not good news. Look what happened to the Hobbit after Joe Balcer left. The designer of a game needs to remain until production begins. Is there no chance of a resolution?
Quoted from solarvalue:Oh man, this is not good news. Look what happen to the Hobbit after Joe Balcer left. The designer of a game needs to remain until production begins. Is there no chance of a resolution?
Pretty sure that would've been hashed out in private prior to this post having been made.
Quoted from solarvalue:Oh man, this is not good news. Look what happen to the Hobbit after Joe Balcer left. The designer of a game needs to remain until production begins. Is there no chance of a resolution?
I agree. Having another designer come in to try and finish what another designer started is far from ideal.
I seriously doubt that there is a chance of a resolution since this was posted publicly by Dennis.
I'm surprised to see that Nordman left, but I'm in no way surprised that another pinball manufacturer has likely set unrealistic production dates.
C'mon Dennis.....we all know the real reason. Elvira called and she's ready to start designing the next game! 
Hey Dennis
I love your work. Thanks for the fun!!! More to come. Everything is beautiful, in its own way....
Quoted from Chambahz:I heard he was fired for playing pinball at work!
; )
i heard he insisted on coinmechs being included 
I never thought Aliens would be ready by April anyway, but Dennis leaving the project is shit, really like his pins. Hopefully Andrew can keep it all together. Damn it. 
The great irony here is that per Dennis' post above it appears that him leaving was due largely to the unreasonable expectation of having the pin done/ready by April, but nobody here thought it would be done by then anyway.
People are going to be much more upset with Nordman leaving than they would be by having Alien delayed by several months.
Quoted from RobT:The great irony here is that per Dennis' post above it appears that him leaving was due largely to the unreasonable expectation of having the pin done/ready by April, but nobody here thought it would be done by then anyway.
People are going to be much more upset with Nordman leaving than they would be by having Alien delayed by several months.
Agreed......I never really thought I'd see the game shipping by April, and wasn't the reason I preordered at all.....it was because of Theme, Nordman, and Heighway " appearing" to be very no nonsense in their approach.......guess we'll see......." As the pinball turns"....soap opera... 
Quoted from RobT:The great irony here is that per Dennis' post above it appears that him leaving was due largely to the unreasonable expectation of having the pin done/ready by April, but nobody here thought it would be done by then anyway.
People are going to be much more upset with Nordman leaving than they would be by having Alien delayed by several months.
The thing that is continually disappointing is that these manufacturers can't even seem to come close to their manufacturing date predictions. If they would just be honest with themselves (and customers) there wouldn't really be an issue.
I don't think most people are ordering these games because they want to have them as quickly as possible. Most people like the themes, what they see, and want the game to be as good as it can be. Timing is not the most important issue. Quit spouting BS, take the time you need, and get it done right.
That is F ing terrible news. Depressing. I love my Wh20. I love the Alien theme.
Of course I just sent my deposit in last week.
Sometimes in pinball I feel like I'm walking around, bent over, with my hands permanently attached to my ankles. Get the picture. 
Quoted from sammiesguys:If they would just be honest with themselves (and customers) there wouldn't really be an issue.
Times 1000.
Quoted from sammiesguys:Quit spouting BS, take the time you need, and get it done right.
Times 10,000
I'm feeling like an idiot right now.
Andrew was telling everyone April at expo with Dennis at his side, so I wonder what the hell happened. We may never know, I guess.
Andrew does have a team to finish this thing, but it won't be "a dennis nordman game" which is a bummer. I guess technically it will be "from a Dennis Nordman design".
Quoted from sammiesguys:The thing that is continually disappointing is that these manufacturers can't even seem to come close to their manufacturing date predictions. If they would just be honest with themselves (and customers) there wouldn't really be an issue.
I don't think most people are ordering these games because they want to have them as quickly as possible. Most people like the themes, what they see, and want the game to be as good as it can be. Timing is not the most important issue. Quit spouting BS, take the time you need, and get it done right.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!
Quoted from iceman44:Of course I just sent my deposit in last week.
Sometimes in pinball I feel like I'm walking around, bent over, with my hands permanently attached to my ankles. Get the picture.
This isn't even funny, it's down right sad. I sincerely hope that Heighway can keep moving successfully forward and still release a great pin ASAP for all those who have laid pre-order money out on the line. Good luck to all those involved and I hope everything works out.
This is sad. Hopefully, as Dennis said, if it turns out anything like the video submitted to FOX that he saw, it will be great. My hopes are with this.
Quoted from iceman44:That is F ing terrible news. Depressing. I love my Wh20. I love the Alien theme.
Of course I just sent my deposit in last week.
Sometimes in pinball I feel like I'm walking around, bent over, with my hands permanently attached to my ankles.
The amazing thing is it took you so many years to figure that out. 
rd.
Quoted from rotordave:The amazing thing is it took you so many years to figure that out.
rd.
You know RD, you are correct sir! I can't believe I've spread my cheeks for so long, and its been a dry run at that. 
Well this stinks. I expected Alien to be my first Heighway game. Who knows, maybe it still will be, but this is terribly deflating news and shifts my perspective from highly confident to skeptical at best.
Dennis, your playfield drawings were killer and looked like a ton of fun. Can't wait to see what you come up with next. Thanks for your past work and continued contributions. Fun stuff.
Dennis you're the man, your pins are 25% of my (modest) collection and I couldn't be happier about that. To me you represent the funky and quirky side of pinball, where the ramps don't go in straight lines. Sorry you're here with bad news this time around. Hoping to hear good news about Woah Nellie next year. 
As for the game ... I think Alien is a killer license. You could do much worse than having Dennis Nordman sketch out the way, though it's never encouraging when a designer doesn't see things through all the way, we've seen how that can work. Here's hoping for everyone that it works out this time.
Either way the end result is what counts. I honestly don't understand how anyone pre-ordered without even seeing the art and pictures of the game. Takes more than a drawing to make a pin, as we keep learning! Just a good reminder that we do ourselves the best favors by being a little more patient.
*checks pockets*
Yep, glad I kept my money right there now.
Alien was the first one I really gave a decent consideration (read: about 30 minutes) of pre-ordering. Good thing I slept on it.
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