(Topic ID: 251803)
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Quoted from Rdoyle1978:I wonder what the point would be. This still looks like a (non-shooting) retheme of ToM
The AP version has so much going for it compared to this mess
The art on the Houdini that American pinball ended up selling to me and many others looks like late 1990s computer era opengl styled graphics technology garbage. For many the steampunk photoshopish characters do nothing for them, hell they are insulting to look at. So, for many of us knowing that a jpop version, with actual good art and not so psychotic tight shots on it was the original path leaves us baffled, annoyed, saddened and kinda scammed by what Houdini was actually released. Side note, sure I'm happy the bastard version of Houdini was made for many reasons, but delete its gimmicks and rarity and its more of a reject game than a classic.
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:I could not possibly disagree more, but we're all entitled to our opinion, right? Caveat emptor!
Yup, one man's eyesore is another's masterpiece.
Quoted from bobukcat:Page has been deleted, seriously does anyone believe AP would produce another Houdini machine when they just stopped production of the one that actually shoots, is coded, has no shots that don't go anywhere, etc.?
It'd sell better than poker running robin hooding valkyrie flying sherlock holmes...
Quoted from konjurer:Art is obviously subjective but I think the Houdini art package is some of the best in pinball. I was blown away when I first saw it in person. API stayed historically true to Houdini and his life's work with the exception of the Victorian/Steampunk elements but that twist looks as bad ass as hell.
People who bitch about Houdini having tight shots and yet don't say the same about Stern's tight shots have ZERO credibility. You can say Houdini has no flow but the shots are not miles tighter than some of the shots on many Stern ramps.
The Jpop/Matt Andrews artwork isn't terrible but it doesn't hold a candle to APIs final artwork.
What tight stern ramp shots other than 1 on Ghostbusters?
Quoted from delt31:Does anyone here dispute that Houdini was not a market failure? I wouldn't think so considering the market on that is even worse then APs follow-up title which is also falling apart so could this version really be any worse?
I would have loved to see more of it considering my opinion on Houdini matches the market.... It's not good.
Those sentences are hard to understand...
Any pinball machine made that doesn't make a company a profit after research, development and production is a failure. If American pinball made a profit on Houdini and Oktoberfest somehow then congratulations! If they didn't then things need to change on their end. American pinball has a prime opportunity to read this forum to find what buyers actually do and don't actually want. The ball is in their court.
Quoted from konjurer:KISS's right ramp and the warp shot on ST come to mind. I would hope that every game has some difficult shots. The reputation that Houdini got about too hard is unfounded based on the trunk lock shot. I had a KISS and the right ramp is way harder to hit consistently than the trunk lock shot.
You're hilarious I'll checkmate that Warp ramp with Oktoberfest's long 3rd flipper ramp shot. I've done 2, 3, 4 in a row on the Warp ramp.
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:I am a huge Houdini fan, but I guess I have to agree with this. The original theme needs to be SO good that it transcends the lack of a known property ( a la BTTF). Houdini is really amazing in the rules and mech department but the community is so quick to turn on a game, they started out in a big interest deficit with the theme (and which could be argued was not even their choice), and the JPop stain only further hurt. The fact that they proved everyone wrong and put out a game before the end of their first year (hey DR!) may not have translated into sales.
It’s funny - it does seem spot on that the buyers out there say they want innovation, but they really just want LCD screens on the same old game they played as a teen. That’s totally fine - but the company who gets that will have the most sales.
Nobody asked for the funky cabinet head, 90s computer style opengl graphics looking produced art, tight shots and or a Houdini theme. Funny that many more want Theater of Magic huh?
Quoted from bobukcat:Not really "funny" at all, this hobby is largely about nostalgia and nearly everyone considers the B/W games to be the pinnacle of what was. If you really play TOM much though you realize it's pretty repetitive and lacks depth. I would argue that AP could have done a generic magic-themed game and it would have faced the same issues as Houdini because "it's not TOM". You mention graphics but are the dots on TOM that much enthralling or entertaining than the LCD animations on Houdini, I would argue the answer is no (especially with a plasma DMD) if you really remove nostalgia from the equation.
FWIW I'm not sure how many people would really give a f@#$ about the different backbox design, it's not like you need a prop-rod to transport the game like Starship Troopers or that it's extra wide, it's just scrolled. Whoop-de-do Basil! Tight shots are good for a home use game in my opinion but I get it that it could / does turn people off when you're dropping $1 or $.50 per game and you drain all three balls in one minute, game should have shipped with more generous ball saves to address that IMO.
Yeah Sega showcase backbox is brutal logistically (the locks are trash too in it, I screw it in place with a bracket). I'm in the small group that likes the appearance of the showcase backbox but it was a failed project.
To me the Houdini backbox is silly as hell but unique, in a 1 game collection it looks so so, but looks strange as hell in a standard pinball lineup.
Quoted from benheck:I like AP's backbox too. It looks cool.
John's Houdini wasn't a game. Shots to nowhere, targets in places you couldn't hit, static laser cut "toys" that did nothing. It was a proof of concept built like a final product whose only goal was to trick a company into bailing out Magic Girl.
Its really a wonder how a designer who has made good layouts basically forgot how to be a designer?
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