(Topic ID: 75135)

Can you name any games with borrowed playfield layouts/toys?

By mof

10 years ago


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  • 77 posts
  • 50 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 10 years ago by mof
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There are 77 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 2.
#1 10 years ago

5000+ designs later, it's gotta be tough to come up with an original playfield layout. It's such a small space to design for. You need a device to shoot the ball, the ball needs to drain somewhere, and you gotta have something cool to hit.

Have you ever spotted a copy or 'near copy' of another PF layout?

Today, I was browsing a few PF layouts on ipdb, and I came across a layout that looks almost identical to the layout of my favorite pin! I was very surprised. Start with games in your collection, and see if you can figure out what inspired them.

1) If you can think of a game that borrows its layout from another pin, then name it. Let's figure it should have an 80%+ match to another layout (Sometimes there are ramps instead of orbits for example.)
2) If you know of a toy or gimmick that is was borrowed from another game, name it.
3) Use some sort of wording or symbol to show that one game leads to the next game, such as A --> B (A leads to B) -- so newer members don't have to look up release years after reading your post.
4*) You get bonus points if you take an extra 5 minutes to grab the operator manuals (or ipdb playfield pics), and take screen captures of the two playfields you think are so very alike, and post them, so your viewers can see your point better.

It would be very cool, if when the thread is over, we can find a few games that are NOT mentioned at all. Those would be games that possibly have very original designs. Likely we'll find many? I don't think so...

I'll name a few to get started. But first, here's a good post to help jar your memory to check on some "Firsts"
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinsiders-christmas-quiz-on-pinball-history

have fun!
-mof

#3 10 years ago

Diner borrows it's PF layout from Taxi and Blackout.

(Blackout + Taxi) -> Diner

Whirlwind borrowed spinning discs from Fireball

Fireball -> Whirlwind

-mof

#6 10 years ago

NGG & Monopoly feel the same to me but with some different toys on each.

Steve

#7 10 years ago

Grand Lizard = single level Solar Fire

solarlizard.jpgsolarlizard.jpg
#8 10 years ago

Family Guy and Shrek seem very similar

#9 10 years ago

Many designers reuse elements from other games they've designed.

#10 10 years ago
Quoted from QuarterGrabber:

Family Guy and Shrek seem very similar

As does Grand Prix and Nascar

#12 10 years ago

No Fear = T2 (without the pop bumpers).

#13 10 years ago

A few in terms of similar playfield layout:

Whirlwind & Jurassic Park
Theatre Of Magic & The X-Files
Funhouse & Tron

#14 10 years ago

Most games that Pat Lawlor designs seem to share common elements

#15 10 years ago
Quoted from PinB:

Congo & Tron

FTFY

#16 10 years ago

Sheriff/Lawman share the playfield with Atlantis. Different rules though. Bally's Champ shares the PF with Sky Kings.

#17 10 years ago

Tron copied from FH. Xmen from SG. Borg I heard was a bad attempt at cloning Lawlor by Williams, but they cast him out as an unfit abomination. Gary was there with open arms - "there there child, come with me, you'll fit in nicely with us".

#18 10 years ago

Bally BMx and hard body. Same layout.
Gottlieb eldarado, solar city, target alpha, all same layout.

#19 10 years ago

The ones that come to mind right off the bat are Flash and Skateball and BMX and Hard body.

#20 10 years ago

Don't forget Canada Dry, El Dorado City of Gold and Gold/Lucky Strike for that layout too. I'll go way back to 1947 for a playfield pair, Maisie and Flying Trapeze.

Steve

Quoted from mrgone:

Gottlieb eldarado, solar city, target alpha, all same layout.

#21 10 years ago

Austin Powers / Iron Man

#22 10 years ago

Andromeda and Old Coney Island are taken from Sharpshooter.

#24 10 years ago

I always thought Jurassic Park looked like a backwards Funhouse. funjurassic.jpgfunjurassic.jpg

#25 10 years ago

MM and LOTR

#26 10 years ago

Jurassic Park and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are similar layouts, but play completely different.

#27 10 years ago

Game Plan Sharpshooter, Old Coney Island and Sharpshooter II. The first two are so alike they both use the EXACT same three ROM set (just a mirror of each other.) Sharpshooter II uses two of the three same ROMs, the third ROM is different because of better sound.

Firepower & Firepower II are essentially the same layout.

Assuming you do not care about EMs where there was a replay and AAB version of the same game.

viperrwk

#28 10 years ago

Rack-A-Ball, Bowling Queen and Mibs.

#29 10 years ago

SM was done as sort of a tribute to AFM.

#30 10 years ago

Jurassic Park and Frankenstein and Indiana Jones(Stern)

Simpsons Pinball Party and Southpark

#31 10 years ago
Quoted from DCFAN:

SM was done as sort of a tribute to AFM.

AFM from MM

#32 10 years ago

MET from MM?

#33 10 years ago

Austin Powers and Attack from Mars almost identical shots

#34 10 years ago

XMEN as a reverse layout of Tron.

#35 10 years ago

High Speed and Secret Service are very similar.

#36 10 years ago

AFM / MM.

But EM's did it all the time. Gottlieb would make a new game like every month or 2 months. just slap a different art package on the same playfield 3 or 4 times. Sometimes more.

Ever see El Dorado/target alpha/solar city ?

Pinbot and Jackbot?

#37 10 years ago

JP and Adams Family

#38 10 years ago

Grand Prix and Liberty Bell, basically identical layouts, not sure if the rules are similar.

#39 10 years ago

LAH and Jurassic Park are very similar. The games were made by Data East one after the other. Both have ripper shots, two scoops, captive balls, multiple modes started at scoop, etc.

#40 10 years ago

There are just way too many to name.

#41 10 years ago

A lot of Steve R. titles feel the same to me.

At the end of the day, these machines are necessarily made to enter contests for original design...they were made to attract attention and coins in pizza shops, malls, and bars. So borrowed design only makes sense.

I agree with TomGWI... there are to many to name

#42 10 years ago

Gottlieb's Pro-Football and Gridiron. Identical playfields. Only differnt artwork. Machines manufactured 4 years apart.

#43 10 years ago

Gameplan Sharpshooter and Gottlieb Sky Jump are pretty darn close.

sharp1.jpgsharp1.jpgSkyjump10.jpgSkyjump10.jpg

#44 10 years ago

MB, AFM, MM, LOTR, Sopranos, TF, MET, RFM..
All share the same basic layout: Orbits on both sides, left and right ramps that feed left or right accordingly, and a funny toy or gimmick to shoot in the center.

#45 10 years ago

All pins are pretty much copies of something else now days. Not a whole lot of real estate to build on. I think designer's try to take the already been done stuff that's been proven great over the years,& mix them around instead of trying something totally new to stay clear of the "this layout sucks" that might come back & bite them. Smart thinking if you ask me.

#46 10 years ago

Blackout and Warlok.

#47 10 years ago

I think it's harder to find games that have several fully original ideas. That's no problem though.

#48 10 years ago

Where can I find an operator's manual for Tron to review the playfield?
-mof

#49 10 years ago

Did Whirlwind borrow it's upper flipper jackpot shot from any game?
-mof

#50 10 years ago

Skateball and Flash

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