We get asked this a lot. In all honesty, we want to go to as many shows as possible. Not to promote the game, really, but just because we love going to shows. Seattle is definitely on our list of places we are really looking to visit, and being that it is in June helps us out a bit because there aren't any other shows conflicting with it or anything, not to mention that the game will be much more mature (maybe even complete, who knows). As far as the PHOF in Vegas, I spoke with Mr. Arnold about donating games to be put on display there, but that was over a year ago, so I will be getting ahold of him again in the coming months to check up on the situation and see what he has to say about it currently.

We always love hearing that people are liking the same ideas that we like. These are some of the things we've always felt were kind of missing in pinball, and again, we're loving the positive feedback!

This has come up more than we thought it would, as well. This is somewhat embarrassing to say, but we never really put much thought into foreign power issues and such. We have had an overwhelming amount of interest coming from overseas, so we will do whatever we can to find a way to make the game work in other countries, as well. I will be contacting the manufacturer of our power supplies to see if they offer foreign power solutions, and I will try to get a definitive answer before pre-orders open up so all of our European and Australian friends can get on the list confidently without having to wait for an answer before signing up.

We do have plans, they are currently being carried out, it should be better than some other machines, and yes, it is all hand-drawn. As soon as we have some Predator-related samples to show off, you can bet they will be posted right away.

We're hoping for a simple solution to this to work out. When you place a pre-order, your name goes on the list in the numbered position you request. If you have no number preference, it will go into the next available opening, numerically. The order in which the orders are placed will be taken into consideration, as well. In short, the machines will not be produced in their numerical order; they will be produced in the order in which pre-orders were placed. Whoever placed their pre-order first will get the next game done, whether they picked number 2 or number 250.
When your game is about to go out onto the shop floor, you will be contacted in advance. You make your deposit and the game gets built. Once the game is done, you simply pay the remainder and get your game. If you need to opt out of your pre-order, you can just contact us before your game is coming up and let us know. Of course, your pre-order spot and number would go back up for grabs, as well.

We are working towards getting completed games going out the door late this summer. Realistically, I would have to project sometime around late August/September/maybe October.

We can talk about pinball all day. This is what we love to do

Shortest possible answer: We are. More detailed answer: We have a local contractor building our cabinets and cutting our playfields with a CNC machine out of some really nice kind of maple wood. I wish I knew exactly what it's called, but I am just not a woodworker by any stretch of the term. I can find out, if anyone would like to know, but I can tell you the stuff is way nicer than any other pin cabinet I've seen. After the playfield is cut, it goes out to a local graphic specialist to have the artwork applied and clearcoated, then comes back to us for assembly. It's something of a grueling process, but it's necessary to maintain professional levels of quality that won't wear off in a small window of time.

Absolutely. I'd honestly like to get the first one moving before really discussing the next one, but I can tell you that, as long as people are interested in pins we're making, we won't stop making pins. Our company profile is set up that way on purpose. We are listed as a non-profit entertainment company, so any revenue that flows through our company needs to stay within our company. This means that every time a Predator goes out the door, we're that much closer to not only making another game, we're that much closer to getting our own fancy CNC machine, silk-screener, injection molder, etc. Whenever something else like that lands in-house, that's one less thing that has to be contracted out, and drives the cost of games down ever further.

LCD in the backbox and playfield have been/are being done already. We're not ruling them out altogether, but until a design needs something like that, we most likely won't be adding it. WOZ seems to have great presentation with their backbox LCD, and the new P^3 project from www.pinballcontrollers.com creator Gerry Stellenberg has been getting great reception and reviews with its LCD mounted under the playfield and unique ball tracking application, so I think those areas are pretty well covered for now. We're not really trying to revolutionize anything here, we just want to take an approach to the idea of pinball we all know and love and simply make it as refreshing and fun as possible.

We are actually pretty decided on the theme of our next game already, though we may always change our minds, I guess. Don't mean to disappoint, but I don't want to lead you on, either, so I can say pretty confidently that the next game will most likely not be an older idea such as the things you've mentioned here. Our next game is going to be very...well...let's just say you'll be very surprised.

We'd happily take our collective asses to Jersey! Is there a show coming up sometime soon? We're still incredibly focused on getting ready for our first 'unveiling' show here, but after that I'm sure we'll have some free time for traveling. It would be cool to go to Seattle and Jersey and back in the same year. We could just jump on one of those Dream America tour buses. They allow a pinball machine as carry-on these days, don't they??

We're going to open up pre-orders here on Pinside early. Not necessarily open only to Pinside members only, so if you have friends that are interested go ahead and let them know, as well. If you'd like to get on the list, send me a PM here or send me an email to [email protected] with the following information:

Name - This will be engraved on a numbered plate on the apron, so make sure it's spelled right and it is the name of the person who will actually receive the game.

Preferred production number - Games will be marked with their production number. If there is a number you'd like to have, like an old high-school football jersey number or something, let us know. It's probably best to include 2 or 3 numbers that you'd like, in case the ones you like have already been taken.

Contact information - An email address is good to have, but a phone number is necessary in this situation.

Where you live - Country, State, City. Full address would be preferred, but isn't totally necessary.

Thanks to all of you again for all of your interest and excitement!

For some reason I was under the impression that the Allentown show was in July... We should really focus on getting out there. Of all the pinball shows I've been to, I'm sad to say I've never been to Allentown, which is a real crime, as I've heard it is one of the absolute biggest and best shows around.

Outside of the whitewood video posted earlier this week, there isn't much new to report. We've been working out a lot of bugs in the software in the last few days and it is a lot more stable now, but that's mostly just under-the-hood stuff that hasn't affected the playfield at all. The prototype (from said video) will be live at the Michigan Pinball Expo next weekend, so I'm sure there will be a lot more pics and videos floating around at that point.

It's comments like this that tell me we're doing something right. These are some of the main thoughts we had during even the earliest stages of development on the Predator. The game has to not only be good, but it has to STAY good even after playing it for years on end. If we ever come across a Predator being used as an end table in a game room, we screwed up somewhere, and this is what we're trying to avoid.

Yes, the prototype at the show will be the same one from the video posted above. A little more complete, software-wise, but still the same machine. We are hoping to have some art samples on hand for the show, but unfortunately I can't guarantee anything on that.

I've never in all my years heard a term such a that, but I'm getting a little teary-eyed, too... *sniff*

Not quite, but we are pretty surprised at how many have come in from Pinside, alone. Thanks, guys!

Not really. We don't hang out on here to watch people gush about our stuff, we really like feedback and to just talk to other people in the community. Whether we build games or not, we're still pinheads through-and-through. While we have gotten mostly positive reception here, there have been a lot of people that have seen our game and just simply disliked it altogether, called it a ripoff of other games, said we don't know what we're doing, etc. One of my favorite 'reviews' we got from another forum was a post that simply said, "This is sh*t." Probably the most constructive criticism we've had, honestly. No one has been nice enough to demand we kill ourselves yet, but the ropes are ready.
In short, if you think our game is garbage, go ahead and let us know, as you wouldn't be the first and most certainly wouldn't be the last. If our presence on the forum is detouring you, don't let us get in the way. I've posted my personal email address here publicly multiple times, as well, so if you have issues with the game where you think it could have been better or if there is a particular element you dislike, by all means send me an email and we can chat about it.

We toyed with the idea of a spinner for a while, but it just kind of ended up on the floor because anywhere it was placed felt really forced. I dig spinners just as much as the next guy, but there are already enough things on the field that simulate quick shooting guns and stuff like that, and it didn't really fit the theme as much as we wanted it to.

There's no dodging this one, you are simply correct. While the ramps on the whitewood we have are pretty crude in comparison to what the final molded product will be, this is an issue that will have to be addressed with some design tweaks. Our current thought is to change the VUK rail to sling the ball down the direction of the ramp itself, as opposed to just slamming it down into the plastic, but again, it will need to be tweaked and tested and tweaked and tested and so on. We are surprised at how well our crude ramps are holding up to this abuse, to be sure, but this just wouldn't last under heavy play conditions for an extended period of time.

Let's keep this one short.
bullshit - check!
get to the choppah - check!
aint got time to bleed - check!
stick around - check!
you ain't afraid of no man, billy - not at the moment. have an idea for it though
whatever is out there ain't no man - check!
Lastly, the infamous goddamn sexual tyrannosaurus... Let's just say that we aren't above adding in Easter Eggs

See aforementioned hint towards Easter Eggs