Ok whatever. Believe what you want.

You are the smartest/greatest person I’ve ever come across! How’s that?

Time to pump the brakes.

It’s condescending And demeaning to act like he needs to be treated like a “charity case” so he can have a “little better time in life”.

Guy seems like he’s happy and lives a pretty good life.

Project pinball is a worthy charity. Go raise some money for them.

Your work is now done here.

What did your outreach efforts entail, @greatwichjohn? From this line it sounds like more than an email to the licensor and follow-up reply to Alison.

There will not be a Go Fund Me or Trailer Park Boys pinball machine. Moving on to my pod & it will be a Private Build unless others release info or pictures until Texas in March 2023.

The end!

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This is all I said in my reply last Saturday, same with giving it until Friday.

Deadline is now 1 week. If not I move on to another title. I continue to reach out to the boys also. But your response sounds negative. On a strict build program for SXSW & TPF show in Texas March 2023.

I did not reach the boys personally or any other actors. I asked a friend to talk with the director, & my personal friends came up empty. Who knows what goes on here with the hatred to anything I am trying to do. Same with people going on with Jon Norris. Really if you have no interest in the Trailer Trash pinball machine build, maybe enjoy your life doing something else. I am moving forward, & I am sure there are many here trying to kill it off!

Ok GWJ actually made one improvement on his plan since initial announcement. As I understand it …

Aug 31 is deadline for being a mini-whale with buy-in @ $11k. Interest after that date is too late, they missed it. Currently there is 1 mini-whale interested. If any more are found they join before Aug 31. Then that is the number of games being made. So 1 mini-whale is 1 game. There won’t be a gofundme and the public option discussed is dead.

Earlier GWJ had 3 mini-whales interested if theme was TPB’s. He collected zero dollars and these people fled. Now he has one party interested party in TT with Jon Norris as the designer and he’ll be building one game. I hope $2k is required at time of signing up. No money paid means no real investors. Payment would indicate you have one mini-whale. In addition to collecting some money up front from a mini-whale, you need a contract signed spelling out your intent, deadline, promises, milestones etc.

There is no need to talk about building up to 9 games. No, one investor equals one game. As to who owns the one game I am less sure. I think a John owns it and will auction it. I don’t think investor gets it (please correct me if wrong). Stating again - 1 investor means 1 game made. And that one investor will be the only one receiving updates.

Now we can think about the plan … one investor means $11k coming in if completed. That will need to pay all bills, including paying for game designer Jon Norris. You will probably need to get an artist to get a bang up job. There should be some legal fees required and should be budgeted. The deadline remains TPF 2023.

Ease on those brakes, pumping them will spill your drink. No charge for the good advice.

Thank you, my work really is done here.

I am sure Fomo will kick in soon. Same with my previous whales might join again. I know some people did not want TPB, & might be interested in a Adult Pin Theme. Time will tell over the next 3+ weeks.

Well the “advice” was what’s it worth, “no charge”. Lol

But drinks on me Kojak if I see you sometime.

Wrong. Remember, GWJ said he was going to reuse ramps, so he didnt" Have to reinvent the wheel".

Yea, reinvent everything else though!

I am no conspiracy theorist.....but to have received a C&D letter, I have to believe that some asshole copied some of John's posts and his intentions and sent them off to the license holders for review. If John is claiming that he never got in touch with any of the boys, then how in the hell would they have known that was what he wanted to do and ultimately fire off a C&D? No one fires off a C&D for an interest or inquiry.

Something smells extremely foul here. That is some low shit.

Deal!!!

This pretty much sums it up.

I’d say that’s a given here. Even though the “C & D” was not from their attorney in a formal letter the tone sounds like that is exactly what happened.

John, you get a completed game to TPF and I will make sure you have a cold beer in your hand for the entire event. I will also have chef prepared, Crow on a stick for the rest of us.

Pinside can be cruel and insensitive at times but not everybody is personally against you here. Use the heat for motivation.

Yes, feasible this is what occurred. But nefariousness need not necessarily apply here. All Allison had to do was type "trailer park boys pinball" in a google search and all would have been revealed. See below.

I was trying to get John to realize that his approach (let me publicly announce I am looking for a whale for TPB) was not the right one to follow if a TPB license is what he hoped to secure.

If Allison was a halfway decent licensing agent, the C+D would have been sent ASAP.

Again I doubt John will see it that way. He is not one to recognize his mistakes, even when blatantly pointed out.

My question is has Jon Norris seen this thread (or the Ballerama one for that matter). And if so why is he not running for the hills too ?

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Maybe you got to ask yourself if I build 1-10 pinball machines in 6 months. Some people will look bad. People here think I am the track long shot that likely will never win a race. Time will tell.

My final thought on TPB. The partner responded quickly & was likely open to the idea. The woman looking after TPB got spooked by someone, not me. So think want you want, I am not some crazy idiot trying to bother the boys. Looked for interest in doing a TPB build, & looking for proper ok & licensing. No big deal on my part, I got my answer quicker than the deadline. TPB pin is dead.

An easily Googled public solicitation of $100k to build multiple copies of a game you don't have a license for - yeah that'll get you a C&D. She already said no, then came a warning. John, read the friggin room buddy. (Sorry, let me translate to boomer: Take a hint!)

As I've mentioned several times, John could get himself into further financial straights with these dumb moves.

John just hunker down, make something generic and bring it to TPF. Stop moving your start dates and goalposts and just get to work!

There you go. Prime suspect.

So clueless. He clearly stated IF he got approval that was the plan.

“Further financial straights”? Lol

Time for you to hunker down and worry about your own game Ben. Take a hint!

I like turtles

That sounded more like a polite "please stop asking, we're not interested" than a proper cease and desist.

There's absolutely no way she was spooked by you... Why wouldn't they want to do biz with a bankrupt guy without any investors to pay for their licensing fees that would cost a minimum of $25k paid upfront.

Earlier in the discussion you mentioned reusing ramps from another pinball machine, is that still the plan or are you going custom?

Good luck!

Meaning not be the existing Norris design.

Maybe this ^^^ explains it.

Lol, no one is going after it. Everything transpired exactly the way a bunch of us told you it would.

-You tried to sell a licensed pin before you had the license. Instant rejection for doing that.
-You’re trying to badger the talent when they have people to handle their licensing. Instant rejection.
-You don’t have a pinball factory nor have you shown you’re capable of making this product.
-You’re you.

OMG, you threatened them?! They’re the ones that would be doing YOU a favor. Jesus Christ…there are a lot of egotistical maniacs in this hobby, but then add an astronomical lack of self-awareness - and we’re in another territory. You are a horrible business person, you have no ability to lead a pinball machine project, and I have no idea why Jon Norris is wasting his time with you. After Derp Poop, you’d think he’d be able to see another horror show failure. He must be desperate, I dunno.

For what?!?! You’re not a brand! You’re offering something that you aren’t capable of making. No one rational fears missing out on your trash. Literal trash.

John, for the love of all pinball, put all of this shit behind you and just get rolling on your plans for Trailer Trash.

That is the simplest of plans there is.

I now revise my estimate....we would have been fully funded in 5 days

Yes, agreed. The money was there. Even Ben was going to throw in money for this.

My read is they're responding ONLY to John. He even told them he was trying to reach "the Boys". Quote below is what he posted about what he sent the person:

We know from what's been stated by others in this thread about how licenses normally go, and their time frames, that John was saying nothing like that to them, and talking about 1 week deadlines, and ready to start a build, and shows he was going to bring it to.

I don't see how they could respond in any other way than "shut it down".

Whatever becomes of this trainwreck of debacle, at least John is getting a hell of a lesson in Internet etiquette.

1. Dont post pm's
2. Dont post correspondence w/ license holder
3. He knows what a Gofundme is.
4. Learning FOMO. <-- This one got Ice as usual!

I really can't make heads or tale of what John said or didn't say to them. Either way, it completely blew up on him.

Who won the Kentucky Derby this year?

John, here is the harsh reality. You will never build 10 pinball machines in 6 months. Your continue to mock yourself by saying you will build up to 10, but you really only want to build one or two. No one is going to invest in anyone who makes statements like that.

You had real opportunity that was easier for you to shit all over because you had no clue and didn't want to make any effort to figure out how a gofundme works. That is just pure ignorance or laziness. In your case, probably both. Jeez, for a gift of $10 grand, to chase a dream, I would be able to recite the gofundme rules in 24 hours.

Now what do you have? Zilch. No Whale(s), no TPB license , and not a single guaranteed dime. But hey, you can hang the C&D letter on the wall like an award! No joke, I would!

You have a real designer in Jon Norris. How long do you think he will hang around and put up with crap like this or deal with your constant kicking of the can?

Stop the nonsense, get your ducks in a row for 1 or 2 machines and get to work.

Just for clarity. My GoFund donation was coming based on you controlling the purse strings and advising John.
It was a generous offer from you.

Sometimes I think I'm missing out on an epic thread, then I see it has 50 pages to catch up on and I'm like...nah I'm good

I'd be curious to compare GWJ's licensing inquiry with how a proven professional like Roger Sharpe does it.

This will get you caught up.
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So things are going better than I thought they would

Holy hell! That was a reply he sent to the agent? With all the tripe posted I thought that was just an update for the masses…

Oh man John. I said in the beginning when I was the only one sticking up for you a manager and secretary is what you need. Stay in the shop and do what you do best because this ain’t it.

Yup. John you're not cut out for this. By my account you lack every skills required to manage a project of any type, let alone something as complex and awful as pinball.

Need money? Use your resume (a pulse) and go get hired by someone who actually knows how to run a business. You're not leadership material whatsoever. Again, not trying to be mean (even though it's mean) Just trying to save yourself from disappointment, like telling a kid standing on a roof he can't fly like Superman.

Yes, I would have control the distributing of funds based on progress, just like the SBA does. It would have been goal oriented.

How do I donate a Michaels Gift Card to John so he can foam core up a design? Follow up question: how safe are the foam cutting tools for people who are six beers deep?

I just gotta know what the grand blurred vision is

Based on my experience, when he contacts them either he already knows them or they likely know of him. And he certainly does not give them a deadline nor would he go around those who manage the license.

But has he learned anything?

Yes Ben I am just a idiot that has zero pinball building skills. Said & proved I am no Roger Sharpe. But when you got nothing, you got to go it alone. Good thing I have a team to help out, you guys can give them all the credit.

At this point I don't know who's more crazy John for believing in this craziness or for us hoping when we can educate John on his craziness.

Lose lose.