Hi Pinside, there are so many ideas of new pinball titles that our fellow pinball enthusiasts come up with on the forums and I've made my suggestions also. We all may hope to see a specific theme that we would like to see come into fruition someday, but come to the realization that it will probably never happen. So many of us either build our own from scratch, which is without a doubt an amazing accomplishment and something I cannot do or pick up an already existing machine that has a layout and rules that they can integrate their own theme to. This project I took on of converting a Devils Dare into a Hellraiser Pinball machine started well over a year ago and always knew it would be a system 80 game with a layout that I liked. The donor game DD wasn't in the best or worst shape when I got it just a players game at best. For me it was the perfect candidate to re-theme, If a game is in excellent condition it is my personal belief that a re-theme of such an example wouldn't be appropriate.
Here are some of the New features that will be added to the original design by Tom Szafransky's already great game. If your familiar with the movie Hellraiser then you are well aware of the Lament Configuration aka known as the puzzle box or just the box. Having a functional transforming puzzle box was a must if I were to do this even close to right and for me with no robotics or mechanical experience took a bit of trial and error but I made it through and it will transform. The box will make one maneuver each time you complete a 5 drop target bank and lock a ball . Once you've completed the box then multi-ball will begin. the Characters I've chosen to be in the game are Pinhead, Chatterer, The Engineer and Kirsty. Kirsty is basically the player of the game and like the movie she "mistakenly" opens the box and is introduced to her new unfortunate friends, this will be relative to starting a game. Once the game begins the intimidation at every turn becomes kirsty's fight for survival and to undo opening the box by reversing the maneuvers and lock the cenobites back into the puzzle box. Completing drop target banks and spot targets get you the player closer to finding the cenobites protected secret algorithms that lock them away.
At the ball lock saucer on the left there will be an up-kicker that sends the ball into a wire form habitrail that travels across the playfield and ends up on the right side in-lanes which will give the player control to get the ball in a position to rollover either in-lane to light up the spinner shot/ball 2 lock or prepare for two ball multi-ball . Originally it would take some nudging or chance to get the ball to rollover these in-lanes but i wanted it to become something to shoot for. There are a few other surprises I have but I'll save them for the near future to share.
The original rules of this game are quite easy to understand but not necessarily easy to accomplish. I'm hoping it comes out to be a fun game , I've commissioned professional illustrator Brian Allen to do the playfield Art were almost done with that, I have expert pinball tech Matt Malone in my corner to integrate or connect the new features into the game. Looking forward to getting this done and sharing this project with you . thank you !!
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Thank you metal-mods. Rdoyle1978 The Engineer was a must have because he’ actually chases Kirsty which is the feel I’m trying to accomplish in this game. The pics I put up are not the finish product. The Backglass will most likely be a real Backglass printed on the glass. The photo is a translite . But I’ll keep the pics coming.

Yes Matt ! Once the Playfield is printed and populated it is going to be quite a project from there.I Couldn’t of taken this on without ya. Much advanced thanks .

Hi and thank you ! So yes I would like to use this product to cover the apron. I was considering either using this or the same brass etching technique that I will use for the lament configuration (the puzzle box) but the apron is quite large and it would make more sense to use your product . please let me know what type of file you need so I create the template from scans. The apron is 24" wide by 8" . thanks again.

Here is a short raw video of the puzzle box's 1st three maneuvers in action. The box is 2 3/4 inches (1/4 smaller than the screen used box) And had to be 3-D printed smaller so that when reached full elevation it would not exceed 6 inches or it could hit the glass. It is in two parts, one will remain stationary and the 2nd be the movable part that is connected to the motors (in this video it is literally just resting on the metal tubing. The box will be sanded smooth and brass etchings will be used in its place to replicate the screen used prop as close as possible. there is still work to be done on the mech, for example both motors will need an adjustable speed control so that it transforms at the same speed as the movie and be connected to the game using triggers and or relays. I'm always open for any suggestions or ideas to make a better game. thank you !

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Thank you !

Thank you! I'll take the compliment, just hope it turns out worthy of such a comment. I'm hopeful that even non fans of the movie will be excited to see the transformation during gameplay. That "what is happening moment" is what I'm shooting for.

Thank you Metal-mods ! The first mech I made was a little long so I had to re-design it but initially had trouble trying fitting the mech under the playfield.

Thank you guys! Both of these quotes will be used in the game and thanks for the support, I hope so.

Thank you , Freeplay 2022 ? Ill keep going. maybe it'll show up there.

Hello gjm , yes there are quite a few things happening in regard to the playfield art. The Illustrator (Brian Allen) who was very excited to take this project on as a hellraiser movie fan, is presently now working on the background art for the playfield. The 4 characters (Pinhead, Chatterer, The Engineer and Kirsty are completed at this time so i'm leaving Brian to it and should be done within a few weeks.

The Art is going to be Printed directly to the wood playfield and most likely clear-coated by myself. when the time comes, I will post some video of that process. it should fall into the catagory of "such sights to show you".

If you or anyone has any suggestions or "must haves" in this re-theme please share, the only thing in stone at this point and quite unchangeable is the playfield art, BUT, I may be able to sneak something on the playfield last minute without driving Brian too Crazy. Tell me your thought. thanks again-Clint

Here is a another peek at the playfield art of The Chatterer. There is no background art yet but soon there will be.He will be located on the left side of the playfield at the area presently known as the captive cave and will now be referred to as the Chatterer’s Lair where we have a cutout on the playfield where a figure of the Chatter Beast will under the playfield and only visible when it’s time to lock a ball. Any suggestion for background ideas are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks!

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Yes! Awesome avatar. Before coming to my senses And hiring an illustrator, I was considering doing some of the art myself this was going to be the centerpiece on the playfield.

Thank you!

Hello people, it's been a short while since I've posted an update on the Hellraiser re-theme and I'm glad to say that the playfield art has been completed and the file is in my possession. I'd like to share a few pics with you guys to get your input. I know Brian (Allen) worked very hard to get this playfield as close to my description as humanly possible, (quite frankly i drove him a little nuts ) but I have one shot at the art before it gets printed on the playfield then clear coated. I'm very pleased with what he's done, what do you guys think? (Suggestions, must have's, etc.) keep in mind i still haven't selected insert colors, some borders may be missing and the plastics (shown in blue in one pic, stone in another) may be changed, looking for suggestions.

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Thank you folks for all your input on this, I appreciate your forthright input here, ( Jappie was especially polite) there is still some time for adjustments and tweaks that are going to be made for I am still working on some details before sending this out to print on the playfield (within the next 30 days). I'm glad to see some of our fellow fans still quite passionate about the classic film and its characters. Early on when i chose to have the art appear to have a comic art style appearance, I realized that the artist rendering may not emulate our favorite villains and the actors that portrayed them exactly. let's face it none of us could accept any other actor besides Doug Bradley for the roll of Pinhead-lead cenobite, the love for these classics run deep.
The colors for the inserts have still not been chosen and many have suggested to use Clear on all of them and change the bulbs, and i may do that in some sections (drop target areas). There is the opportunity to use color matching inserts to help the player connect the dots so to speak by using the colors to determine where to shoot and what could be the result, so I'm open to suggestions on that. Thanks again!

Thank you Jappie, I agree it would be great to have that all the characters from the film, they all stopped me in my tracks for one reason or another. The few of the contributing factors were trying to keep the game rules a little less confusing along with the difficulty I had with integrating the theme to the game rules or the Doner game (Devil's Dare). The budget was also something to keep in mind because each character can add hours more of work and illustrator hours can add up quickly. The plastics are still fair game for art and they could certainly be snuck in there somewhere. I'm open for any suggestions on this. I was considering putting Butterball and the female cenobite on the two right side pop bumpers. The left pop bumper will be visually blocked to some degree because the Functioning Puzzle box will surely block it when it extends upward.

Thank you rOnin.

Still can't stop chuckling about the "yes i dare" comment, LOL. Of course, I'm here to interact with whomever wants to add something to the project, positively, negatively (to a certain degree of course) or indifferent. So, I'm pretty aware of how intense this theme is, more so the reason to take a deep breath and remember this is pinball, where throwing in a little humor, couldn't be a bad thing. I did in fact have the original text from the 2nd film in there but then remembered that when I started this project that I was seriously considering going a very different route, a humorous route in fact with silly callouts and puns etc. that would make the game a little more inviting and fun for different age groups and even those who have never even heard of the film.
I'll never forget when I had a Freddy pinball how my little ones would cautiously walk right by it, they did not want to play this machine nor look at it. I expect this machine will have a similar effect on some. Anyway, I clearly chose the more serious route however I don't believe a little subtle humor could ever be a bad thing. Each of the characters are holding a Sphere (except for Chatterer) that is clearly a pinball. This is just another level in the Labyrinth where Kirsty, pinball and the cenobites meet.