"I need a miracle every day" - Grateful Dead

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I can't quote everybody's post, because I agree with so many of them. But I'll say this: Even if anybody on the GOT design team didn't watch the show, the backglass/cabinet characters have something missing: MOVEMENT!

The characters appear much too calm and relaxed. It's as if a photographer had asked them to pose for an inspirational bible soundtrack album cover. To those who inserted WMS 90's backglasses, I agree 1000%! Even if the movies they were based on were bad, the art was superb. So much action, movement and urgency in the imagery.

Most of the BGs shown here were by Doug Watson (JM, DM, Shadow, HS2, T2, AFM, etc), who was KING of utilizing the rule of 3's to it's maximum. I hope that somebody will come up with some good alternatives (cough, cough, Aurich, cough cough), assuming they don't get into trouble with the license.

Ha! Its on the way, it should be here in about 15 minutes!

Aurich's already said he's out due to Stern's position on this type of thing.

FINALLY, something to look forward to in this thread.

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Way to save a thread Flanksta. Nice...

Did you also notice how the dragon was missing from the game in the video?

I will get the LE. But $ to € will burn a big hole in my wallet. The cabinet artwork is awesome. The playfield looks like it could be a lot of fun. But yes it is ugly.
I don't understand why STERN didn't used the german company "Karakter" to do the artwork of the playfield. This game could have been perfect!

http://karakter.de/wordpress/projects-post/game-of-thrones-5/#/projects-post/game-of-thrones-5/
http://karakter.de/wordpress/projects-post/game-of-thrones-4-2/#/projects-post/game-of-thrones-4-2/
http://karakter.de/wordpress/projects-post/game-of-thrones-3/#/projects-post/game-of-thrones-3/
http://karakter.de/wordpress/projects-post/game-of-thrones/#/projects-post/game-of-thrones/

Wait... you're saying the lights BLINK?

Omigod... LE LE LE LE...

Don't forget Stargate. One of the best, in my opinion.

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Unless the code is some of the best ever written and the layout compliments it, with many modes and dots tying in key scenes from the TV show, I don't know if I can get excited about this.

GOT was a dream theme for me, but the amateur playfield Art has all but sapped my enthusiasm for the game. The playfield art is by far the worst Stern has EVER made. That is saying something with how awful T3, POTC and Sopranos are, to name a few.

I used to think IM was pretty ugly too PF wise, but it looks like a damned masterpiece after playing tonight after looking in horror at GOT for a few days.

Won't say "I'm not buying GOT" entirely over the art, but I was in for a LE on this game as soon as it shipped prior to the PF reveal on theme and designer alone. Now....maybe a premium at a much later date after code is polished and I've played it to death.

Too expensive maybe?

The artwork looks very naive. IMO.

Who did this?

I actually think POTC is the best playfield artwork Stern had done, prior to MET and KISS.

Don't click those links if you don't want to be sad about what could have been. Clean this up and make it the side art for one side of the Premium? Yes please:

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That stuff is killer.
Still scratching my head wondering who approved what they went with.

While I don't have as much of a problem with the art as most people on this site, if they went with this style the LE's would be completely sold out by now.

NICE!!! Too bad it isn't a rusty colour to match the LE

I keep hoping stern posts some "just kidding!" gif or something, makes me sad, stern made a GoT gottlieb game

Anyone else see a picket fence every time you look at the LE translite?

Nope. I see a hot chick, a chick with an Afro and a guy that had breast cancer.

This is what it should have been!!! I have read the books but never got into the series. I had high hopes Stern was going to make a statement with this game to compete with JJP, timing was perfect, but it is cookie cutter for them. Game play may well be great but I can't justify that kind of cash unless the whole package is there.

This game lacks any sort of wow factor. No great toy, no great art, no great features to justify that price and the pro really is just a location game.

I agree. But it will likely still play great. Too bad, and they are making 700 of them. That's 200 more than the 500 of the ELVIS Gold that Stern made. Its funny that I just picked up a NIB ELVIS GOLD last weekend--11 years after they made the "500". I see similarities in GoT and ELVIS. Both SR games, with 4 big flippers and an upper playfield. This last week playing the NIB Elvis has been a real treat and I suspect it will be another keeper pin, just as GoT will likely be.

I anticipate the GoT to be as frenzied play as ELVIS during MB with their two playfields of constant action and four full size flippers...each with art that only a mother would like.

interesting comment below the video
"will it include sound clips from the show"
Sterns reply was "yes". So presumably there are proper call outs on this one.

Aurich, I'd love to see you revisit Demolition Man.

If true that is great news!

It's a Stern machine, without a doubt. But I really really dislike this incentivizing the upgrade by altering gameplay. It's a disturbing trend that really can turn people off. It's a good thing they cant DRM pinball machines...

Sadly the boardgame art looks hot in comparison to the playfield art that's now in place

@all those upset at the lack of characters on the playfield
Sterns Star trek also has no character faces on the playfield, this has not harmed the gameplay or the machines popularity

Greg Freres.

Still wondering where all the hate is coming from. How could anyone seriously expect Karakter- or Zombie-Yeti-style artwork given the history of Sterns playfield art. Take MET out of the equation (as that was "guest artist" work by Donny, most probably driven by Metallica themselves) and look at the playfields over the last 10 years. They are more or less all ugly as shit, with the trend going more towards generic designs in the last years which is for sure a side effect of the inserts being able to show different states by color changing leds.

It might be lazy, but it's 100% Stern. Actually I kind of like the PF as I feared Stern would be going back to slapping the characters on the PF, ruining great themes as they did e.g. on TRON.

The big surprise for me is how innovative the layout is for a SR pin and how loaded the playfield is with toys. I expected another fail after mediocre machines like WWE, TWD or Mustang and am pretty much blown away by how well designed and loaded this game is (I don't care for Pro-Versions of Stern pins, so my comments are not about the cheap choice version).

People really need to do a reality check before setting their expectations for new Stern pins.
GoT offers much more than anyone could have reasonably expected from Stern.

If any modders take this idea and makes it awesome they’ll have my money. New playfield decal and slingshot plastics will help a lot.

It’s obviously just a sketch (that I wasted almost two hours on ), but is doable with major tweaks (for example, looking at it now I don't think it needs the two big swords).

It works on the Pro as well, finally giving that game a representation of the most recognizable object in the entire series…totally crazy that the throne isn’t on the playfield!

Stern may have tried this and there could’ve been a licensing thing where HBO told them not to cover up the throne, who knows. To me it’s a no brainer to present it as the centerpiece of the playfield underneath house sigil insert lights that go out as they’re eliminated from the “game of thrones.”

Unfortunately it doesn’t solve design problems elsewhere and has to be in the general style as the rest of the playfield as to not stick out like a sore thumb, but hey…what else can you do short of sanding it down and starting from scratch?

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Your right but there is a difference between naive and ugly.
I don't expect a very cool looking pin with hand drawn artwork or something. It's Stern...but I didn't expect such a childish looking pin for a theme like Game of Thrones neither.

If Stern could go nuts with the theme and had all the freedom, they should be brave and stuck with the apron artwork and make it look antiquity and unique. Maybe the pinball world need some new designer for this work. This just looks lazy and not very exciting, dynamic or enthusiastic.

Such a simple idea to make the throne central on the playfield and yet Stern missed it.

pretty sure they will say ANYTHING right now in order to try and right the ship on this one. With Stern I think the only safe bet is to not believe it until you actually see it (i.e. treat it like code)

Wow based on that video they *really* need an LEDOCD.

Not sure if this has been posted but Steve Ritchie has spoken.

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Then Stern should probaly get their shit together and show the real physical thing if Steve thinks it is so different from the rendering...

Wow. I will be the first to admit that I made comments about ppl bashing the art and stern

But. SR just dropped the ball hard. No doubt they all heard about the comments of the art. He had a chance to explain why they went with it.
But instead. Just said rendering

Wow.

Sooooo, if this is the case, we are looking at a place holder? He is implying that a "rendering" is something that won't be the real thing? If that is the case, this is really good news, right?

Having met and talked to SR several times, I can tell you he's pretty sharp and he doesn't pull punches. His comment could mean that in real life, it plays even better and looks even worse than you think. I'm sure he's not thrilled that people hate this first look at the art, but in the end I'm positive he designed a great player and won't hang on one aspect of the pin that was probably mostly out of his control.

I read it as the images released of the PFs are renderings, but the physical game will have the same art. He's saying it looks different (and implying it looks better) in person. They wouldn't release unfinished artwork when pitching a $8000 LE. Even though what appears to be the final artwork is very poor indeed

This is good...the swords are identical and looks like a proper coat of arms now. Good job.

Flame on, but I think SR deserves the benefit of the doubt to see if what he says here is true. I think he's at least earned that much.

He's no Facebook shill just posting marketing hype....

Huh?

How is this any different than any recent Stern release? The initial pics are always a rendering.

I agree, I am happy to see SR double down and defend it. Shows he cares and put his heart into it. Likely the art "is what it is" and was the last thing to (quickly) get done, but that isn't what he spent 2 years on.

If the art changes on this thing perhaps there is still some visual hope?
My wallet anxiously awaits the answer

Nice work. Maybe Stern couldn't do that, but it's just a proof of concept that if you rethink that central area so it has a little life the whole playfield gets stronger.

I'm sure Steve Ritchie is frustrated, and probably pissed off at me, but I'm still looking forward to playing his game. You can't blame him for the art. Just wish that Stern had put a little effort into backing him up.

Steve Ritchie's FB reply did not address the previous posters comments about the lack of GoT references in the art.

He just got defensive saying the guy had "NO IDEA."

The poster explained what was missing in the art that Stem deliberately posted to the public.

Snapping back that the observer has "no idea" is not a useful nor professional response to a valid concern.

Is the rendering a depiction of a different playfield? That would really be stupid to misrepresent the game like that, and then get mad at the public for commenting on it.

I think you could have, perhaps, misinterpreted "no idea"

Here's my interpretation:
Example:
FB Guy: "those images posted don't look that great"
SR: "Oh, tose were just computer renders. You have NO IDEA how great this will look in person!"