Godzilla (Limited Edition)
Stern, 2021
Halloween (Blood Sucker Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2021
Halloween (Collectors Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2021
Halloween (Standard Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2021
Rick and Morty (Blood Sucker Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2020
Rick and Morty (Standard)
Spooky Pinball, 2020
Scooby Doo (Blood Suckers Edition)
Spooky Pinball, 2022
Scooby Doo (Collectors Edition)
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Idk if it's been said, but Little Shop of Horrors would be fun. Feed balls to a singing and dancing plant monster. Maybe have it rotate to show multiple states as Audrey gets bigger over time.
They are/were remaking the movie before covid.
Quoted from benheck:"Buying" implies a price of more than ZERO DOLLARS was offered.
So deeproot stock in exchange?
Let me go vacuum my carpet first, then I can roll around laughing.
Quoted from digitaldocc:I own RZ and had TNA for a while. Love spookey games. However, I think it's crappy that I had to make a decision in only a few hours without even a gameplay stream. Then when I saw people selling their spot in line that just made me sick. Must say I'm not really feeling the illusion of scarcity business model.
Is it really an illusion if they're only able to build X amount in Y time frame?
It's not like Stern LE's where they could make thousands of them if they wanted.
Quoted from digitaldocc:I see what your saying about how Stern has the ability and that Spookey is a smaller shop. Couldn't they have adjusted their production run after seeing what a hit R&M was? IDK.
Maybe, but then you're pushing back the next game and the team working on that probably wouldn't be thrilled. Heck Ben's game at CGC is partly due to him getting squeezed out of the production schedule.
I’d be into it if the player is Michael Myers going on a murder spree. Chase insert victims around, escape from being chased, break out of confined areas.
Idk. I just want to see a pinball machine where you’re the bad guy (see also my pitch for a Jaws game where you’re the shark).
Also helps deal with the fact that Michael Myers is a total blank slate.
Quoted from Zablon:Only thing is, the majority of players don't care about co-op, multi, or tourney play. Pinball is mostly a single player experience. Mostly.
I once heard Lyman Sheats say that over 80% of pinball games played are single player based on audits from field tests.
Lots of people genuinely don’t know how to start multiplayer, let alone more advance play features. Heck even the flashing start button trips up some people.
Spooky also made real fake Haunted House Party cabs to troll…
But agreed what they recently shared was probably legit
I hope they do the thing of showing the underside off before the top. That was fun to figure out. Some people got pretty close in guessing the top side.
Quoted from Rarehero:....or it sells crazy like GB and these comments won't age well.
It’s probably somewhere in between.
Beetlejuice wasn’t Ghostbusters big, but it was a hit that spawned toys, a cartoon series, a recent musical, etc. Like saying the name three times is just as ingrained into pop culture subconscious as “don’t cross stream”
Munsters never escaped its era of a 60s show of a non-traditional family being just as relatable as any other family. (Thanks for solving racism Munsters!)
Isn’t Franchi doing something for JJP now? Off topic, but that could be an ok title for JJP. People want to see ambitious mechs with Beetlejuice which isn’t Spooky’s forte (so far).
I'm just a bit too young for He-Man nostalgia. Now Power Rangers...kung fu action and transformer like toys
Just let Franchi re-do the Munsters with his Beetlejuice art, change Herman to a Beetlejuice sculpt (hit him three times = say his name), Spot can be one of the sand worm things, and the Grandpas lab can be the miniature town diorama.
Hollywood is remaking Beetlejuice for a reason. It's firmly in the pop culture subconscious
Eventually Stern will circle back to the theme once they're done mining other peak nostalgia properties.
Gimmie a The Warriors. Get back to Coney Island fighting gangs along the way. It’d have the best attract callout…
Quoted from Sunsfan:Holy crap fighting your way through the gangs. The DJ call outs and the soundtrack
That would be awesome
I’d love to see something like the Elvis upper playfield, but as a train station
Shoot a turnstile spinner to go up the ramp to the station, use an upper flipper to shoot into a train door opening and closing. Load up the gang and it dispenses balls, maybe like the Ghostbusters ramp that dips under the playfield.
A train map could show the progress with branching difficulty paths.
Quoted from Chetrico:I watched Army of Darkness last night. Yes, that would definitely make a great pin with so.e of the best call outs ever! My wife wasn't too happy that I watched it with my nine year old daughter though... I used "it's a comedy" angle, but she didn't buy it.
Next time just talk about the method of making a pretty good looking movie with little budget. That’s how I got away with showing Evil Dead 2 to my ten year old nephew
It’s a lot less scary when you’re pointing out things like miniatures, forced perspective, fireworks for explosions, reversing footage, cheap rubber dummies/props, and other low budget tricks.
Quoted from razorsedge:Could be less conflicting than you're thinking maybe?... like CGC do Scooby or Gremlins ... Spooky do AoD or Freddy the 13th ... different customers for a large part perhaps.
Stern can't make enough games atm ?
I'm just saying. It costs a lot of money to develop a new title and you only get one reveal. Why shoot their wad twice? One reveal is enough to get at least a few hundred orders to keep the manufacturing busy enough for months.
Quoted from razorsedge:Two different manufacturers aren't they?
Also different genres is different customers generally.
CGC is well overdue. Is kaneda next gonna be saying that coming CGC colab title is Duck Tales!?
Seems there is Plenty to go around so long as there's not too much stepping on each others toes. Anyhow.
Yeah, but they're busy manufacturers. CGC has a Cactus Canyon remake to build, a Ben Heck/Spooky collaboration game to work on, and then one or two other original games to do. They already have plenty on their table.
Maybe American Pinball has the capacity. But again...why invest so many resources to design two new games to show off at the same time? It goes against so much conventional wisdom.
Of course there is some benefit to not putting all their eggs into one basket....which is why announcing a TNA 2.0 run around the same time would be a pretty safe way to hedge bets.
Plus there are a lot of loyal Spooky buyers who can't afford two new games at once. So TNA again makes a lot of sense if there are going to be two games being ran at once.
Quoted from benheck:I'm not revealing the theme. But I will say, this is real art, and none of you have even been CLOSE with guessing what it represents
Finally a Glenn Close pin....hope it's The World According to Garp!
Aladdin makes more sense as a game than Lion King
It’s just generic go on an adventure and occasionally stop the evil wizard.
Lion King is…Hamlet. It would be amusing to watch the game eject a bunch of balls onto the playfield and a mournful Simba says “time to get up flipper” while the flipper is dead.
Quoted from benheck:The 90s haven't been cancelled Disney just has nothing left to strip-mine from it (so now they make origin movies about women who skin dogs)
They’ve also been redoing all those wonderfully hand animated cartoons into modern CGI live action stuff. Haven’t seen any of them, but people seem to like those? At least curious enough to try them out.
Hollywood and pinball are similar in some ways. They’re both really into big bets on nostalgic properties. The demographic is a bit different, but not that dissimilar. If Hollywood is willing to toss a couple hundred million on a nostalgic reboot, the theme probably has some merit for generating pinball sales. Of course it still depends on if a sensible game can be formed from the original story elements, or provide a backdrop for new adventures. And hopefully provide inspiration for a unique mech or two.
He Man is too old for me. Spooky has an adult swim relationship. I present this close enough gem
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnfdy
Too bad that show didn’t get picked up. Just a little before AS had the budget for it.
Also while we’re just listing themes for the boredom of it
I recently binged the Harley Quinn cartoon and the whole time watching it I though it would be a great theme. Very funny adult show, good art direction, exceptional voice cast, could translate well to a game, lots of obscure DC jokes for comic book nerds, and checks a lot of boxes in representation that pins don’t normal do (female leads, its super feminist, and has had GLAAD nominations).
Make the pin or don’t, but if you have HBO Max I highly suggest giving the show a go.
Maybe I just want to hear Ron Funches do call outs for a game.
Quoted from oneballjab:I’m on it!
Been meaning to give it a watch, Batman the original animated series is one of my all time favourites.
You’ll appreciate some homages to it
If Spooky doesn’t want to do He Man maybe American Pinball should. They just did a game with Mattel through Roger Sharpe
Or Stern who does deals with Netflix and have their own Sharpe.
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:Deleted post
Almost all the posts I got modded for were because of "the other b-word"
Very touchy subject around here.
Quoted from mrclean:This thread has become Ground Hogs day... perhaps that would make a good pin ?
[quoted image]
Operators would hate it. The player drains and just keeps getting another ball until they stop being a selfish prick.
Quoted from Beechwood:I am sorry to all the Scooby lovers out there, but what the heck? It's not that great at all. I watched scooby doo when I was a kid because we had three channels and nothing else was on. It's ok... but nothing more. As a pin? Oh no. No.
I think it’s such a great theme
1) it’s recognizable and nostalgic - countless people watched this show as a kid, and now many with their kids
2) it lends itself to a game very easily - keep the team together or split them up to look for clues and solve a multi-staged mystery story (think of how good Whodunnit could be with a modern controller)
3) the art style is clean with memorable designs and could allow for many unique old-man-in-a-mask options
4) they still make the show and there is a ton of existing assets to pull from, and could get unique call outs from the modern actors that do great impersonations
5) it’s a light hearted and campy theme that could allow for a lot of humor with some occasional spooky elements. Sure Scooby Doo isn’t scary, but a pinball machine based on an actual horror property isn’t going to be scary after a few plays anyway
Quoted from zene10:Please, please, please - 3 channel pin. Wizard mode - select channel 3 or 4 for your pong, odyssey 2000, Atari 2600 or intellivision, Betamax or vhs.
This reminds me. If people want a Weird Al pin…
E5505C10-0612-4D1C-8DBF-0B91D51388B5 (resized).jpeg
Maybe not a great theme idea, but rules wise you could do whatever as you fill the programming block with content while trying to save the TV station.
Quoted from Billygrippo:It’s the same reason we all have game rooms. We’re trying to recreate childhood memories.
Those were some of my favorite moments in life when I was a kid.
That or trying to feel like 22. People who don’t make that extra room a game room make it a home bar instead. (The smarties do both!)
Quoted from Zablon:Cargo Ship Simulator VR. Take my money!!!
These two games need to form babby
https://store.steampowered.com/app/48804/Ship_Simulator_Extremes_Cargo_Vessel/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/939450/Forklift_Simulator_2019/
I don't think Ben has said no to Freddy or Halloween.
I don't care for either theme, but they seem up some people's alley and it's definitely something different than what is normally sold these days.
A Halloween game where you're Mike Myers chasing around teens could be fun... Or even if he's the one you're fighting, it lends itself well to a game because he always gets back up for another fight. Maybe have a Dr Loomis sound alike as a narrator since Myers is a blank slate.
I still don't think a "horror pin" is a great idea. The game won't be scary after a few plays, besides the occasional loud noise to startle the player. Alien and TWD do a decent job with atmospheric music and low lighting to kinda give it a scary ambience.
Quoted from Chet_Hardbody:does the blues brothers hold up for millennials? Been meaning to watch it but it's a bit before my time.
It holds up pretty well in my opinion. It's not especially hilarious or anything, but there's lots of fun musical numbers with numerous cameos and a surprising amount of destruction and destroyed cars.
Quoted from blueberryjohnson:Assuming this is true, perhaps enough attention to demand has been raised for these pins to eventually be made, a la Iron Maiden
I believe The Pinball Company has/had the rights to the Scooby Doo Pin. They're the ones who hired Spooky to make Jetsons.
Quoted from benheck:Scooby-Doo done like the Jetsons pin? That dog won't hunt.
Take 'er out back and put a bullet in it. I WANT CHA TA GO SHOOT THAT OLD DANE DOG!
Yep, only made 100 out of the 300 they were originally going to do. I think Scooby Doo has better resonance than the Jetsons, but it's not going to sell if it's of a similar level playfield and code design. Maybe an ok location game, but I think they were just selling to mostly home buyers.
TPC still has it prominently display on their site, so they haven't sold all 100 in 4 years (and it's a bargain compared to some of their other games)
Quoted from benheck:A pin isn't a lunchbox. You need FAR more assets than a "lunchbox license" to do a theme justice.
Also a reminder, a lot of the pinflation comes from the added cost of licensing content for that damn LCD ya'll wanted. Or creating from-scratch assets such as new Jurassic Park. (man that's a great game BTW)
Do you think a new non LCD game is too much of an uphill battle to sell? Dots are a lot more simple and Stern stuck with those for Heavy Metal's limited run, which has several other cost cutting measures. But it would definitely look dated in a dealer's showroom.
The remakes can get away with it because they're remakes. I really like how CGC games update the dots with better dots, which seems like a nice sweet spot (similar to a video game remaster, it's what your brain remembers the game looking like).
Haggis needed at least one screen because plain numeric score displays don't cut it anymore. Even the faux-EM games by Stern have a small screen in them.
Some think millennials like pinball because it's retro and throwback, so dots definitely tap into that vibe
From a gameplay perspective, I would say the main benefit of the LCD is it can display a lot more relevant side-information to the player instantly and flipping through instant information is much quicker. But I don't think that many games really benefit from this sort of constant information.
Iron Maiden's power pyramid and AIQ's avenger levels come to mind as good uses. Those features work better because they're on the player's mind more. It'd take so long to flip through all the AIQ trophies and achievements on a dots display. But something like a Led Zeppelin would be totally fine as a dots game (and probably better since the assets they have are so-so).
Quoted from docquest:Yeah right, I couldnt believe what they fit in my box. [quoted image]
A retheme of Diner but with the DE Tommy blinders?
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:agreed, this is the only time I find the LCD is an asset.
I still enjoy the practicality of the DMD.
The way I 'feel' about is the same way Television is leaning towards practical approach rather than virtualizing everything with a green screen. A good example is Mandalorian, which brought the world of Star Wars back by bringing all the practical effects used back in the 70s with a good mix of modern technology and almost no green screen (not sure if it wasn't used at all).
I think the LCD adds another layer to the game that should not be replacing the DMD. I appreciate a well done DMD animation more than I do LCD gimmicks...
just my opinion.
Uhh… You should see how they filmed that show. It’s all virtual sets
A Taco Bell pin would be fun and look good next to their Dominos pin
How many ways can you combo the same seven ingredients into different meals? Fourth meal multiball. Live mas extra ball. A swinging bell toy like ACDC. Game writes itself. (Although I have no idea what you do with the display)
Quesarito is what I miss. It was a burrito but with a quesadilla as the wrap. It was such a dumb thing, but my god it was amazing at 2am.
Taco Bell says you can still order them if you use the app but not off the drive thru menu which makes zero fucking sense. I don't need to install whatever bullshit they have to get my drunk food as long as the chalupa is on the menu.
BWW ain’t no thang.
I think I’ve eaten at Hooters maybe three times in my life, all between 17 and 21, and each was a massive gut bomb. Not from being too spicy, just awful food.
I had some hot chicken with a Ghost Pepper sauce at the kind of place where it’s the novelty, they ask you three times if you’re sure, and remind you that there’s no refunds or much they can do for your own stupidity. That hurt on the way out but didn’t totally wreck my insides. Felt like a burn mark on the top of my mouth the size of a quarter for a half hour though.
Quoted from chad:For all the new people searching Taco Bell the first time and are led to this thread. Would be funny if it made its way to othe media that deep root was making that game.
You mean if you googled Taco Bell it takes you to this thread? That has more to do with Google knowing your browsing history, interests, etc
Mine doesn’t do that. But I also don’t sign into Google services.
I hope they do the thing where they show the bottom of the playfield again. That was fun and amusing to watch people try to figure out the top side.
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:So how does it work for Fang Club members and early access to the next pin? Will Spooky email you to purchase? Thanks
They'll announce the game and the dates it will be for sale for members and the public (if any are left). Fang Club members get a few days to login and purchase or call Spooky directly before the public can place orders. Pretty sure it's the same website for both, but not sure since R&M sold out to Fang Club members
But you get a few days between announcement and the order banks opening. It's not "here it is and it's for sale now" if that's what you're worried about.
You can also start trying to get on a distributors list if you rather go that route instead.
I think one of the things Ben mentioned before, and you can see in the video but they don’t say specifically, is that this will be serial RGB lighting.
The pros is a reduction in wiring. Everything(?) will be lamp boards with a I/O for power and data line daisy chains. I think they’re avoiding those large custom lamp boards so you only need a couple of this extra boys if you did have an issue with a lamp. The large unique and custom boards are cheaper than the single board, but it means less custom stuff for the owner (and Spooky) to deal with. They’re even on connectors instead of soldered on like the individual bulb boards Stern uses in spots.
The only major issue with serial is if one of the points in the chain breaks, all the stuff behind it can fail too. But again, easy to replace the one where the chain breaks compared to more unique boards. They can also have some issues with EMI. But that can be designed around.
JJP had a lot of issue with serial RGB lighting in early Woz runs, but Ben sounds pretty confident about his new design in reliability and cost.
I know the Pinotaur will be MPF compatible. Is the next Spooky game built on that?
Quoted from benheck:Yeah wait a few weeks I guess? We will be making a video discussing the Pinotaur in detail as well as having API documentation for developer interface.
Looking forward to it. This stuff is neat. Just consider it a few questions and talking points for your video.
I really liked seeing all the feedback that Spooky addressed in today’s video.
Quoted from PinMonk:Well, I would love to agree, but I seem to be at a disadvantage at present. Hopefully that changes soon. Juneteenth being Federally recognized didn't even take this long!
Boo! That took 155 years
Quoted from benheck:Probably still faster than Deeproot...
The Grand Canyon formed faster than that money pit
Quoted from gstellenberg:I'd wager PinMonk's data is all anecdotal too and based on the machines he's used for testing and discounting all of the differences between those machines. The variances in his Stern data, even across machines using the same coils, suggests the same. When we do the challenge, we'll need to do it on a table... just control circuits and flipper mechs, with scopes connected to the digital drive lines and temp probes on the coils. It'll still be empirical, but the environment will be much more controlled/consistent across samples.
Spoiler alert... I've already done all of this and know the answer. I do occasionally work on this stuff in my day job.
- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com
Maybe make a video of your testing rig and results? I'm sure you could make a very scientific rig with constants like how much they're being flipped.
It does seem weird that there would be so much variability amongst Stern games since they're all presumably using the same flipper code. Even amongst similar coils there's a lot of variability in a small sample size, which is likely just the minor differences in the mechanisms and how they were put together.
And of course there's the aspect that Gerry is trying to make and sell the best pinball controller he can, and PinMonk is trying to sell cooling addon kits
Quoted from Zitt:You know tna2 Is not a title Ben would design. That be a 80% @notrashcouger title.
Im confident it isn't TNA 2.0
TNA 2.0 isn’t a new game. It’s the original in a standard cabinet and with some various changes under the hood.
TNA is eventually getting re-ran and makes the most sense for a secondary line. Pinball Life has even had some of the new parts listed for a while.
Quoted from Zitt:Spooky doesn't go back to old titles. Acnc was a fluke because a distributor did something weird. Doubt tna2.0 Is in the cards, looks like Scott has moved on I'm sure
I don’t know why you’re arguing this
https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PBL-600-0473-00
Lots of entrances to the subway and the exit near the i lanes.
Multiple LEDs under inserts using serial lighting
A three bank in the middle
Italian bottom variant
I see a flipper mech, a pop?, and a controllable drop on the upper playfield and maybe another single drop.
Curious about the bottom left corner. Some sort of cut out and nearby coil there.
Is that another drop target bank on the middle right
Couple roll over switches and some stand ups.
Quoted from Pinash:If the subways feed to the in lanes, the servo driven towers must be a creative way to elevate the ball back onto the PF, without obstructing the inlanes? Like a flush flat topped elevator that lifts up and the ball dribbles out?
Lots of inserts and lamps around this area as well
I’m not saying it’s what it is, but all the subways down the left and right with multiple holes makes me think of Scooby Doo characters running between doors in a hallway. That’s not what this is (?) but that would be a crazy mech if they ever do a Scooby Doo pin
Quoted from SLCpunk2113:Is it just me or does it look like the mechs in yellow are mounted to a different plain than the mechs in red?[quoted image]
stacked and loaded
upper upper playfield
Quoted from Honch:I have no idea how you would even do callouts for either of those themes? Other than Jamie Lee Curtis, screaming, I'm drawing a blank.
Camp, Crystal lake could make for an interesting playfield design.
Dr Loomis would be a good character to narrate a Halloween pinball adventure
Little introductory speech to set the mood, warnings about what Michael does and where he’s going, a not-mad-just-disappointed tilt callout, etc
Quoted from Zablon:So..here's a question that's been rattling around in my head since the person posted pics of what they thought the PF looked like.
Other than Funhouse (which is only a skill shot) are there others that have shooters on the left? Also, why isn't actual shooters on the left a thing? Right hand biased designers??
It seems pretty obvious it's for right handed people. It's also tradition at this point and pinheads hate change.
I kinda wonder if left handed people are better at hitting the STEP skill shot stuff on Funhouse than right handed.
Quoted from chuckwurt:Putting the shooter rod on the left would definitely open up possibilities for new kinds of layouts.
Would it really? It just mirrors the playfield. So the left has some wasted space for a shooter lane instead of the right, and kickbacks would be on the right instead of left.
That said it may throw off a lot of experienced players aim since everything will be slightly to the right of center instead of slightly to the left of center. Some Lawlor games are noticeably off center, and of course there are the odd balls like Spy Hunter and Gold Wings.
I feel pretty confident in what the next game will be based off what Ben has said it's not and the handful of clues dropped by Spooky.
At this point I'll be pretty surprised if it's not Halloween.
I agree Freddy has a lot more personality if you want a pin that taunts you with one liners, but I don't think Halloween is the awful choice people are making it out to be. (TBH I don't *love* either)
I said it weeks ago but Dr Loomis being the narrator works for the pin. Michael Myers being a blank slate whose only attribute is that he gets up every time after getting knocked down actually works for a main bad guy in the pin (other than he's quiet - but again, Dr Loomis is there to guide the player). Or, I would love it if they went down the route where the player is Myers and you are stalking and killing teens. That would be interesting and different and skip the issue of Myers being a mute.
It could be an awesome haunted house like playfield.
Regardless, if this game is as packed as it seems...I think people will just be glad to have a pin loaded with new mechs and upper playfields like we rarely get. The market is insanely hot. I don't think they have an issue selling 1,000 of these. I wouldn't be surprised if more than half are collectors editions
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:Art work alone would be lackluster and the teaser pic of the art doesn’t show anything related to it possibly being Halloween, or even Freddy
What the hell are you guys seeing in that limited section of art that limits it so much? It's just a random bit of nothing to troll you guys
Quoted from joetechbob:Playing as the villain would be super dark and awesome!
My dream theme is Jaws with two primary play modes. One as the sheriff (yawn) and one as the shark fucking up shit. I'd love to see a little coral reef lower playfield with swimmer leg drop targets and one of those lighting effects that makes it look like water.
Quoted from Oneangrymo:Im with you man, I hope this is just one big tease, the shirts w/ evil dead, freddy, jason, halloween and all that and then boom! Jaws!
Freaking awesome!
They haven't teased Halloween though 
Quoted from Morgoth00:Have there been any pins where the shooter lane runs under the playfield and pops up later, to clear up some space? Wouldn't have to be concerned with mylaring it then
P3 doesn't have a shooter lane. The balls drain, get kicked up a tube towards the back where a 15 ball trough is, and balls come into play from the playfield module area.
I love Galaxy Quest. Not sure if it's the best license to tie itself to for whacky Star Trek inspired space adventures (Futurama)
But the nice thing about Spooky is they don't need to sell a few thousand units of a title like Stern. They can do some more niche properties
Is that Dr Loomis narrating the game at the end of the trailer...
I've had a few ideas for things I'd like to see in the game. I'd like to see a version where the player is Myers chasing people around, but I'm thinking it's going to be more Myers chasing the player around the playfield and randomly attacking them in a multi level house like environment.
Maybe some of the mechs are things like cellar doors opening to pop a ball out, an ambulance toy that Myers breaks out of, a slashing knife, a place to hide in a closet, a tombstone that goes up and down, a jack-o-lantern ball lock
I'm always hyped to see a new pin and really want to know what those in/out lane mechs are.
Quoted from Mudflaps:They are both slashers, but they’re worlds apart.
You root for Jason in F13. He kills a bunch of scantily clad idiots in weird, creative ways. When there’s a kill, the audience cheers. Same for Nightmare.
Not so with Halloween. You’re rooting against Michael Myers. No cheers when there’s a kill because the tone is serious and scary.
I love Spooky, but I wonder how they’re going to control the narrative of this game. I’m sure the layout and art will be stellar.
I think it also really changes the style of the game and the key difference should be the player is being chased or is doing the chasing.
Mike Myers chasing around the player in a haunted maze like house seems natural. And being Jason and laying out vices and traps to kill teens around a summer camp would be really neat.
I'm glad they at least confirmed the theme. Now we'll only get a couple Scooby Doo requests a day. Look forward to seeing these mechs and an upper-upper playfield.
Quoted from lpeters82:I'm guessing that 99% of the general population has no clue that Jason wasn't the killer in original Friday the 13th.
99% of the general population doesn't even know what Friday the 13th is
Quoted from Zablon:callouts and how the theme integrates is what I'm curious about.
I'm going to go ahead and say it's Dr Loomis doing the callouts because it makes sense, Luke liked my comment stating that a few days ago, the trailer ends with Dr Loomis talking. And then toss in some random screams and such
Quoted from canea:What if the entire game was the purge though? Does Michael Myers do anything besides kill people? (Not hating on the genre - if this was Friday the 13th my deposit would be down already).
He stalks people and breaks out of places. But I'm leaning towards Myers will be the antagonist and not the protagonist
Quoted from lpeters82:I'd be curious to know the actual percentage, but I'd take the over on 1% knowing about Friday the 13th (the Movie). Either way from that percent, I'm guessing a high percentage of those only know Jason or "the guy in the hockey mask".
Oh yeah, more than 1% knows what it is. I'd guess maybe 30% of people could pair Jason and Friday the 13th. In context my comment makes more sense, but I see why it was poorly worded now.
Quoted from yancy:Hope you like scoops.
some of them are probably for holes from the upper playfields
The artist has some cool stuff on his site if you want a look at his portfolio. Good stuff and definitely has other stuff with themes certain people would love on a pin.
I'm mostly curious about how well the nail the spooky ambiance of Halloween. The pin isn't going to be particularly scary after a few plays, besides random loud noises, but some games like Alien and TWD do a great job of making an oppressive feeling with the sounds and lighting.
I'm also kinda curious about the video screen and how they utilize it. Honestly, I wouldn't mind it if this game was dots instead of LCD (or some other original art). Its been a few years since I've seen it, but I don't recall a lot of memorable scenes that make sense for pinball. It's a lot of slow build up. The most memorable stuff is like the first person POV opening, Laurie being stalked, and a small handful of jump scares and on screen deaths.
Again, super excited to see how the design team tackled this theme.
A fun match screen could be something like Myers being knocked over the balcony, and when they go to look down it's the match number. Or maybe a pumpkin gets carved, turns around and reveals a match number. Or just random stabbing and a bloody match number shows up.
It's fun to think about this stuff.
Quoted from Smack:A lot of the movie takes place between a series of houses on the same block, so maybe what look like scoops on the left side are houses? That would be more interesting to me to take place in the neighbourhood vs in a single house.
If neighbourhood the asylum could be referenced in an upper playfield or higher up on the playfield or something.
Maybe it's like a small set of houses, and you hit the ball in one to "enter that house" and then the upper playfields react accordingly (diverters, rules, and such)
Quoted from Colsond3:In my retheme, even though I won't have the luxury of all the bells and whistles of a DMD or LCD pin, you are playing as Michael and the goal is to kill people. Laurie Strode is the end game.
So maybe Spooky takes the dive with me.
So can you actually kill her at the end? Does the game end at that point? Or does she always get away to keep the game play loop going?
I like the idea of being Myers. But the pro to Myers being the antagonist is he can be knocked down but never actually defeated, so it can play indefinitely. Though games that have an actual ending are pretty cool too.
Quoted from Betelgeuse:Is Spooky pulling a Family Guy / Shrek on us? Is Halloween just the un-family-friendly theme?
I think he's just pulling your leg
Quoted from SpookyLuke:Bet I'm not
Oh fun then
Do we finally get Scott Danesi's Haunted House Party?
Quoted from jandrea95:I need to quit my job to figure out how im going to afford all this shit.
Im ignorant, did Stern do this at the same time?
Jersey Jack asked them to do it a few months after Family Guy because he thought they weren't selling well enough. I remember an interview, maybe on TOPCast, where FG was just slow out of the gate before it sold what they were expecting to sell.
I’d say Rick and Morty is spooky. The episodes are often about cosmic horrors, existential dread, and tackles other depressing matters. Rick is the uber man and is utterly miserable.
Its just making fun of all of it along the way.
I’m still pretty surprised by the whole two game thing
Is it two games on one machine or a reskin variation?
Will there always be 1,000 Halloween variations (standard, BS, CE) or will some of the other theme cut into this number? What’s the cap on the other game?
And then of course, how different is it really? All new art, sound, video content, playfield cosmetics etc. seems expensive if it’s a niche title.
Are we getting Bela Lugosi Haunted House Party?
Maybe it’s Gamera. Some of those movies are public domain and it’d be a great troll to put out a Gamera at the same time as Godzilla
I would guess it’s some random public domain movie
Maybe the same basic game but with some cosmetic differences to make it look like the Spooky factory is the setting
Quoted from jwilson:Presumably they've been working on this since R&M was released, perhaps before - not sure I understand why they're still waiting for approvals more than a year later.
Well it probably took several months to get a layout finalized, then they can start locking down the art, then they can start getting approvals and going through any revisions. And somewhere in there they also have to figure out all the screen and audio assets.
And that’s all at a small company that doesn’t have the organizational experience or dedicated staffers working on these tasks full time like Stern
It is what it is. They finished R&M ahead of schedule, but this game development didn’t also finish ahead of schedule.
Quoted from blueberryjohnson:EDIT: When I wrote this I thought I was responding to the latest comment so didn't need to quote!
Army of Darkness is not a horror movie. People only talk about it as one because it is part of a trilogy that contains a straight up horror movie (ED) and goofy one (ED2). AOD is a campy action comedy with skeletons.
Entries in movie franchises usually stay within the same general genre (even if there's a lot of execution variability), but not always.
Question: What are examples of other franchises that contain movies from different genres?
Jaws almost did. The first one was a suspenseful thriller, the second one leaned much more into the screaming teen horror tropes, and the original proposal for Jaws 3 was to be a comedy (Jaws 3 - People 0). But they got cold feet and did Jaws 3D, which is certainly funny in ways it’s not supposed to be. Really bad decision in retrospect. And Jaws 4 is best not mentioned
I’m still guessing some random public domain thing
Original theme would be interesting too I suppose (and fits the niche category)
It kinda tempers some of my expectations on the mechs being particularly unique to Halloween/horror if the other theme isn’t horror. Could have been fun to see a butcher knife slashing mech as a ball stop (sorta like GOT) or a Jack-o-lantern ball lock. I’m sure the mechs are still new and different. And then I start to wonder, what came first the mech or theme.
I’m also still curious if there is a cap on the other game or if it cuts into the 1,000 Halloween units.
Also I wonder if Stern will reconsider some rethemes depending on how well this goes over
Munsters was such a waste of a good shooting layout. Gimmie The Beatles without the expensive license.
Quoted from Cantabkiwi:How did Spooky get Bill Cosby out for their 2nd release- Cosby Show or Fat Albert
Where’s PinkMonk with another joke about Trudeau
It’d have the same screams and eerie silence with heavy breathing sounds of a Halloween game.
Quoted from blueberryjohnson:If it were they wouldn't be having to hold off on the reveal to wrap up final licensing things.
Maybe. But I think they’d want to show off both at the same time so people could make up their mind about what they want.
Layouts of stuff like MM and AFM have some striking similarities, but they’re games that are laid out around their primary unique mechs. There’s only so many ways to put about 7 shots on a playfield in a fan like layout that most players enjoy.
The core formula is center toy/mech, an outer orbit, a left and right ramp, and a few tighter shots/targets squeezed in.
See also Stranger Things by Eddy and a ton of John Borg games.
Is Charlie into Gargoyles? Seems like it’d be way after his time and before his kids.
Lots of good cartoons of that era to tap into for us millennials though. Surprised more of them havent been getting rebooted, though the Animaniacs was ok and a Pinky and the Brain would be a great niche title.
Quoted from Zablon:I hope we see something more soon. Beginning to feel like that tease was a bit early...
I think we’re just super hyped and it feels like it’s taking forever, where as you look at their Facebook and are reminded they haven’t teased that much for very long. The showed off the underside a week ago, confirmed the (main) theme only 48 hrs ago.
They’ve been good at tossing us a few bones so far.
Quoted from benheck:Yes. Time moves quickly here. Like that dimension Rick threw wine into.
That’d be a fun additional dimension to code into R&M. Go into W1N3 and all timers speed up or slow down.
Quoted from insight75:Big Mouth? Thats not horror.....
That show is horrific to Puritans
Quoted from Betelgeuse:How about a multiplayer game where one player is Michael and the others are the victims. The Michael player could control certain aspects of the game with their shots and change how the other players needed to react.
My dream Jaws game has a 3 v 1 mode
Three people pick from Sheriff, Fisherman, Ocean Biologist. The Sheriff clears beaches of people (limiting how much the shark grows in strength), the Fisherman damages the shark to try to kill it, and the Ocean Biologist tracks the shark to find it quicker (ie less shots to make progress). Together they can slow down the shark with barrels.
Someone else is the shark, who gets stronger by eating people and tries to sink the Orca ship.
Quoted from Colsond3:I found what you are looking for!!! But the flips are misaligned
[quoted image]
I really dig the wire form through the hockey mask.
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:I guy stalks and kills people. How much content can there possibly be? Thinking there’s a lot there kinda sounds like lunacy.
Maybe you’re not creative?
People love games like AFM and MM because they have simple yet satisfying game play loops.
It doesn’t take a lot of content if the core loop is fun and sprinkled with a few different things along the way
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:Nice going to personal attacks. Typical. No sound argument but personal attack. That was then and this is now. Content is part of it and if you think it’s not go flip some old solid state pins. When people pay top dollar for a pin they want more content and modes. Please explain other modes besides Michael killing someone or someone trying to get away from Michael.
Bruh, you have a Monster Bash Remake. Don’t tell me you don’t spend top dollar on games that don’t have a lot of content
That’s another great example of a simple game with a very satisfying gameplay loop.
The Mist is great. It hits you over the head with its themes, but I love it when people were the real monsters the whole time.
Big part of why The Thing and Dawn of the Dead are so good.
Quoted from Zablon:okay Spooky, the natives have moved past excited to restless. Next phase is burning the village, raping the cows, and pillaging the women.
I’d rather see Trogdor burning down thatch roof cottages.
With some themes, people really build up the game in their mind between confirmation of theme and reveal of game. Some end up disappointed because their mind goes racing with dozens of ideas that aren’t in the actual game.
There’s a decent amount of people here who can’t even think of what a Halloween game could be. I’m sure most of them will be blown away because they have such little expectation of what can be done with the theme. They’re teasing a pretty loaded game with stacked playfields to lay out a Halloween game.
Quoted from TechnicalSteam:Meanwhile....... At the evil marketing labs of Stern, American Pinball, JJP, Haggis and American Pinball people are taking notes of what they should be building...
I hope Stern takes the lesson of put out the Beatles with a cheaper license
Quoted from benheck:Don't need to. Red letters against an orange sky would look awful.
And be hard to see from across the bar for color blind guys like myself (although I’d walk up to any pin I see)
Looks great. Really like the look of the upper upper playfield spinner shot. Neat little bit of flow.
Rules don't have to be super deep as long as the core gameplay loop is fun and the toys and shots are enjoyable, see people still paying big bucks for AFM and MM.
And even if this game is simpler, that's fine too. TNA is super shallow but people love it because it's easy to understand and difficult to master.
But I'm seeing a few different multiballs, some modes specific to each of the upper playfields, and some various Jack-o-Latern modes hinted at. And I like the tease of the wizard mode being something sorta like Alien Invasion on TSPP where you're trying to relock all the balls. It seems to have enough content to keep most players interested. Bowen is somewhere in the rafters to suggest ways to keep the player interested in doing all the different things.
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:Charlie said on the Super Awesome Pinball Podcast that the total number of games combined is fixed at 1,750. The actual allocation will be order based. So there could be 1000 UM’and 750 Halloween’s or vice versa’s. I think Spooky’s guess will play out
No it's 1250 Halloween and 500 UM. The variability is how many are base, mid tier, and collector tier within the 1250 and 500. You can buy whichever you want until the spots are sold out.
Quoted from Rarehero:I think people are REALLY misusing the word "shallow" these days. People are using "shallow" to describe games with amazing rules, just because they're not math-chess tomes that you need to get a degree in to enjoy a game. Shallow used to mean that a game pretty much had NOTHING going on...no nuance, no real thought put into the rules...it "worked", basically. Like DE BTTF...the only real rules in that game are 1. Hit the drops 2. Lock ball 3. Repeat 4. Multiball....and that's it. TNA, while a simple layout, has SOOOOO much nuance in it & a brilliantly written ruleset that works perfectly with that playfield. The rules are leagues beyond what we traditionally called "shallow". Shallow as an insult...a moniker so we knew that a game was shitty & would get boring quickly.
Disagree then. The loop is hit the keypad standups to light a reactor, shoot the scoop to start a reactor, get the ball into the core for a bit, then hit the destroy target(s). Then repeat 8 more times. That is shallow to me. But I also think they're a very good set of rules because of how focused they are. They are elegantly simple and let you focus more on just playing than trapping up to consider a half dozen options that you could be doing.
I don't think it's controversial to say TNA is shallow compared to its modern peers. I don't see much point in comparing it to the depth of thirty year old games.
I guess maybe shallow has a negative connotation compared to "simplistic," but shallow is fine if the loop is fun.
Quoted from Beechwood:It's like on a Steamy hot summer day. Sometimes it is more enjoyable to sit in a shallow pool with a drink in hand than diving/swimming around and doing all that work to stay afloat.
Yeah, TNA is a lot easier to play hammered than messing with the infinite stones on AIQ.
Quoted from Rarehero:I don’t disagree with the sentiment (other than there is other nuance in the game like the Denesi lock/Multiball, keypad rules, the increasing difficulty, etc) …but in recent years, there’s a faction of people who now insult almost any great game as “shallow” if it’s not Math Chess. It’s just the wrong term to use for great games.
Then what do you want to call it? It's just semantics to convey that there isn't a whole lot to the rules to learn. TNA is one of the simpler games this past decade, along with Munsters and The Beatles (and the Jetsons and Dominoes). Led Zeppelin somehow manages to be shallow and math chess at the same time.
They are great looking playfields. My only nitpick is they don't cover up the LED strip very well.
I'm assuming it's just an adhesive stuck along the sides of the upper playfields. It's a clever spot for them, but I don't like seeing the actual LEDs and copper pads where the strip would be cut... It's acceptable but it's like seeing switches/lamps on a game where they do a poor job of hiding the wires. It stands out compare to how detailed some of the toys/mechs are, like how the upper upper playfield has nice wood details all over it to make it better blend in (very nice touch)
That said, I don't really know how to make them look better while remaining very affordable and easy to construct.
Quoted from Beechwood:I believe Spooky said they are individual LED's not a strip
It's a typical LED strip. You might have mistaken them when they said they were individually controllable. Also I noticed they don't have the flashers on the backwall covered, which may or not be an issue for some players. Maybe some 3D printed bats or something could go on top of them? Or just more pumpkins
Quoted from Roostking:They already addressed this. There is a slight ledge or something so you dont see them directly. I would assume if Spooky workers aren't throwing a fit about the LED's, and they have played the game, then we shouldnt either, based on a few pics and a short video. But, people who havent even seen anything about rules are already saying its shallow, so theres that as well.
Pinside detectives at work!
Well it's good they're not in the player's eyeline
And Idk about the latter. Sometimes it's helpful to get a fresh set of eyes to look at something and ask a few questions because the team has been working on it for months. Rick and Morty got a few minor changes after the first few batches came off the line because of player feedback.
They basically don't get to field test games anymore and only a few dozen people tops can give feedback on stuff like this. I'm at least trying to be constructive with criticism than simply assuming the game will have poor-code/lack-of-content and fretting over the unknown.
Quoted from Zablon:I think fretting over the unknown on a 9k game is completely legit. As legit as you questioning the LED's on something you haven't even seen in person.
I take the Stern philosophy that code can be fixed later. The hardware is what it is.
Quoted from wackenhut:Most people have not even heard of Ultraman, but will choose it because of the lower quantity. This is pinball for you. Do we know how many of Ultraman are going overseas (aka Japan)?
I like Ultraman because it's a campy kaiju goodness. Has nothing to do with the quantity.
I do wonder how many flippers there will be on this theme. Most flipped machines have much more popular themes and rarity does not equal value.
Quoted from flynnibus:Never seen P3? Tho there it's a whole scoop, and has smoother transitions. Space Shuttle, Space Station, etc all had a drop in front of a ramp.
Drops in front of ramps is not new - drop BANK - that may be more unique.
Vector had two sets of 3 banks in front of the ramp. If you didn’t clear the first set in order left to right or vice versa, then it pulls up the second bank which is closer to the flippers and more dangerous.
Quoted from kciaccio:Going to be a funs shop job in the future! lol
Hopefully it’s easy to take a part. A pro to the designers having come from the actual assembly line
Could they just add some extra balls to the subway trough as part of initial setup and they never fully empty during gameplay? It'd probably need some extra optos though to avoid getting too confused about where all the balls are.
The drop targets are supposed to be translucent They each light up. Putting stickers on that reduces the effect
Quoted from Ramrod215:They seem to be the same targets at rick and morty. They have stickers and light up. I'm sure someone will mod some stickers just remember to buy two sets
touché I forgot about those
Quoted from Rarehero:Houses are ONLY $500k somewhere?!?! What magical fairy tale land do you live in?!
My house was 179k when I bought it. Now I get cash offers of 290k only 5 years later. But I'm fine where I'm at till my wife is done with medical school. Plus I really like the extra workshop on the property that keeps most of my games and projects that aren't house worthy.
I'm a pesky millennial and my first computer was a 486. An IBM Aptiva I believe. I have a vague recollection of using DOS and Windows 3. I remember my mom killed it trying to install a 56k modem, so we bought one of those new fangled Windows 98 machines (another IBM, can't remember the model). My dad worked for the phone company and we were among the first houses in our city with an ADSL connection in 1999 or so. Just in time to teach my dad the joys of Napster and a CD burner.
Quoted from Zablon:Might be nice if they were a touch lighter...
With how much less wiring, PCBs, and etc... a lot of games feel too light now. Sometimes I think about putting a sandbag in the bottom of my Sterns to give them a little more heft to feel like an older game.
Calling it now the next double offer will be 1500 Scooby's and 1500 Breaking Bads.
Mystery Machine toy on Scooby and meth cooking RV on BB. The flippers start to twitch a bit when Scooby is scared or Jesse needs a fix. Collect Scooby Snacks or Blue Sky for power ups.
edit: also I'm very amused by the idea of a flashlight toy you load "batteries" into for clue search frenzy, or a toy that looks like a glass pipe to load "drugs" into for meth frenzy.
Pokemon would lend itself so easily to a pinball adventure. Go around the world, fight 8 gym leaders then take on the elite 4, collect and trade monsters, swap them out during battles for advantages/disadvantages. The game writes itself. I have a lot of scribbled down notes somewhere about my ideas for a Pokemon game.
Mario would crush it on location (case in point the old shitty Gottlieb version still crushes on location). I'm not sure how good of a game it could be since the source is just jump, run to the right, and have different power up suits as you go through 8 maps and castles. There's not a lot there that would translate itself well to a pinball ruleset like Pokemon could.
Castlevania could be fun. ACNC reminds me a bit of a Metroidvania. A map to explore and get items to make certain things easier.
Quoted from Zablon:Very much a thing and surprising no one has ever done anything since TZ powerball...
Avatar LE has a powerball
Colored balls and a game that could tell what color is hitting what. It would probably need to use a camera(s) with image recognition to actually work right. Not sure what kind of theme that would work well with.
Bally made Gold Ball, but it kinda cheats by only having either a silver ball or a gold ball in play and never both. (It has a neat trough to figure out which is which)
When I think of Zelda, I think of puzzle solving and I'm not sure how well that translates to pinball. (I was also never really into Zelda, so I'm not very imaginative of what it could be.) Maybe it's like a Metroidvania approach of go do the thing to earn key items and then play the "you solved it" tune as part of the fanfare of finishing the mode. That then opens up other modes to attempt.
Anyhow I could envision the main playfield as the world map with a few different entrances to go to a lower playfield for dungeons or an upper playfield for temples.
I don't think action video games lend themselves well to pinball rules. That's why I think Pokemon works best. It's already coming from a JRPG turn based system, so stop and go is built right into the experience. It's also a series meant for kids, so it never gets that complex. But rule nerds could still really make it elaborate while keeping it simple enough for non Pokemon fans to follow along (eg anyone can understand that a water monster has advantage over a fire monster)
Quoted from Aeolus7:Great point. I'd think more along the lines of the RPG elements, which I think would translate really well to pinball. Collect a key (Shot A), use it to open door/chest (Shot B), get special weapons & unlock a mode (Shot C), to defeat boss mode. I'm not a designer/coder, but that's sort of what I envision as a massive Zelda fan. Alice Cooper has something comparable with collecting items to better defeat monsters, etc. Mandalorian has the shop where you can by armor/weapon upgrades. We're on the right track!
Granted I've only played it a handful of times, but isn't ACNC basically Castlevania? Metroidvanias core concept of explore a map, get new items that let you go look at other parts of the map seem like a decent jumping off point for pinball adventures
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:I envision a Zelda pin to play like the original NES dungeon crawler. Navigate a map on the playfield a la JP, arrive at dungeons and hit lit shots to progress through, collect weapons/ potions items etc that can be used against bosses / enemies (activated by lockdown button) pops and slings collect rupees to be cashed in after boss is defeated (bonus x multipliers) collect fairies for extra balls and reduced hit requirements on boss battles. Each dungeon requires more shots than the next to complete. Boss battles play out in multi ball and certain weapons work better on certain bosses. Collect all of the triforce pieces to unlock battle Ganon Wizard mode, defeat him and ride out victory laps with the princess. Would really make for an incredible pinball experience.
[quoted image]
It'd be fun if one of the items was a lantern/candle that changes the game lighting from bright to dim to off. Maybe that's too difficult and it should only apply to insert arrows guiding you to finishing the mode.
Maybe doing a particular combo (could be custom to each dungeon) gives you the compass which lets you skip right to the end of a dungeon, or at least reduce how many shots to get to the end of it.
Quoted from Aeolus7:Kind of, my understanding of ACNC is you progress through "rooms" of the castle to battle monsters. One of the objectives is to collect items in order to help you defeat monsters more easily. I have one on order, but haven't had much play time on it yet! You're right, there's some Metroidvania aspect there, though you're not really using items to unlock things like Samus does. More of an optional objective in this case to make battles easier, which I guess is how secondary items work in Castlevania, so we're not to far off here. Regardless, totally agree the Metroidvania-style elements would translate well to pinball, and it wouldn't be all that different from what we do now in modes (shooting lit shots, qualifying modes, etc), just different terminology and objectives. As younger designers/coders get involved, I think we'll see more of this kind of thing.
You're right. It's not really gating off areas then giving access, it's more about doing extra stuff to make other things easier.
Really it's I see the map in the game and just instantly think Symphony of the Night
Quoted from benheck:Oh. I was kind of thinking Outrun. The map was my idea. I do love me some SOTN though!
Oh yeah, I see that now. Although those games are more of a Christmas tree with multiple ending locations
It also kinda reminds me of the diamond design that is best typified by Telltale Games like The Walking Dead. The story branches into two distinct paths, but they converge back to the same point like a diamond shaped path.
Quoted from Rarehero:TNA is different. It had been played at shows and had a hype built up already. Not the usual way games are revealed/sold.
Also….it sold 550 units. I forgot how long it was for sale, but it was not some instant sales hit.
Granted good enough for another run in the future now that lots have played it.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:Seemed liked it worked out Ok for Medieval Madness.
You mean one of the most highly acclaimed games of all time with a large nostalgic factor that was one of the most expensive used games on the market before the remake? Seems obvious why that one worked. (Fun fact: NBA Fastbreak came out the same year and out sold it)
Cactus Canyon remake will be interesting because it doesn't have the same acclaim or nostalgia factor for it. It's got a lot of interesting mechs, but most people know of it because it is rare/expensive and the last traditional WPC game. Are people into cowboys? Idk.
Quoted from Zablon:The point I think people are tryign to make is, operators are not the primary consumers now. It is home users. Operators buy almost everything that comes out. Home users have to pick and choose. Factories do not want the 'wait and see' approach. They are taking major advantage of the current FOMO to get people to hand over the money before they have much info on the game.
This is EXACTLY why DR, and other failed projects have been able to take advantage of people.
And when a home buyer is at a dealers show room or looking at their webpage, they are naturally going to gravitate towards licensed themes that they already have some attachment to. Just like a random bar goer might notice a theme they like and try out pinball (vs pinheads that will play whatever)
Licensed themes do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to attracting a purchase/coin-drop
Ultraman is almost an original theme considering how relatively unknown it is in America. But it has the benefit of lots of cheap video assets and a campy kaiju vibe that most people can quickly pick up on. It's not some Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland where you're collecting xenon gas while fighting aliens and dracula on carnival rides and whatever else is on that purple neon pupu platter of nonsense.
Quoted from benheck:It's obfuscated somewhat by the decline in arcades over the same period, but the latter half of the 90s is also when B/W did a LOT of unlicensed themes.
What was even licensed after 95? Fastbreak? Episode 1?
Yeah Fastbreak and Scared Stiff. Two of their best selling games of the mid to late nineties. And also Monster Bash, which outsold their other original themes besides MM and AFM (just barely)
Quoted from Beechwood:Sega.
Apollo 13
Batman Forever
Baywatch
Godzilla
GoldenEye
Golden Cue
Harley Davidson
Independence Day
Lost in Space
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Maverick
South Park
Space Jam
Star Wars Trilogy
Starship Troopers
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The X-Files
Twister
Viper Night Drivin'
This was about Bally Williams.
Data East/Sega/Stern has barely done any original themes at all. Joe Kamikow knew what got coin drop.
Quoted from ultimategameroom:Ultraman relatively unknown in America?
Im 50 and my girlfriend freaked when the Halloween/Ultraman machines were announced. She asked if we could get one of each! We watched Ultraman and Godzilla growing up in the 70’s and 80’s.
Did you have cable tv growing up?
Maybe it’s an age/location thing.
Well I'm 33 and was only vaguely aware of the character. I was totally unaware of it being an imported show in the 60s. It was not a show on cable TV when I was growing up (at least not to my knowledge). The pretty similar Power Rangers was the flavor of the day.
I mostly learned kaiju movies through MST3K. I was kinda expecting a Gamera pin.
Quoted from Beechwood:I am 51 and never heard of Ultraman ever. I remember Speed Racer as a kid though.
Yeah, Speed Racer was on for me as well.
Lots of Japanese imports were being brought over as a kid. And I'd love a lot of them to be pinball themes. Dragon Ball Z would be excellent. It's goofy as shit with lots of silly action and pro-wrestling style over the top personalities who often had multiple "stages" that they would change into over a fight. Perfect for pinball!
A lot of anime would translate well to LCD screen animations since they tend to be fairly simple on the actual animation aspect
Quoted from TechnicalSteam:Weird Al seems like the perfect grail for a Pinball Company to pick. Though I'm not sure how the licensing part would work.
This is something I've toyed with as an idea for a home-brew pinball them as the assets are out there and UHF..
I'd like to see it done better by some folks with some experience in this racket. UHF --- poifect.
Drink from the Water Cannon.
Weird All UHF is a cornucopia of sample material itself.
Hell maybe this is my unicorn... Just need more time......
There is just so many paths one could tread even if someone picks up on the niche. It worked for him it would be Elvira huge.
Really surprised it hasn't happened or been prototyped already by Williams and Bally.
Agreed that for a Weird Al pin that doing UHF adds much needed story and structure to the rules beyond being a playable jukebox
A lot of the modes could be very silly in the vein that it's just random stuff trying to fill a TV programming block while Weird Al songs play in the background.
I do kinda wonder what the licensing is like for Weird Al songs. He does get permission and pay a royalty fee to the artists he parodies, but I think he does it out of a professional curtesy than actually being required to do it. He may insist on getting approvals from the various original song artists if the song is in the game.
I only dabble a little with modern anime, but it's like anything else. There's good stuff, ok stuff, and rubbish. There's A LOT more of it than there used to be. There are so many random niche interests with an anime show if you go looking for it.
But saying it peaked in the 90s is just being snobby about what else is around now, like old fogies that only want to listen to Skynyrd and Warren Zevon because everything else is presumed crap because they don't try anything new.
Quoted from pinbutterball:I get that. It can be done again and should.
Then go make a homebrew and get people excited enough to buy it.
Quoted from Roostking:Haha, you just called Mvdp whatshisbucket a boomer.
Classic!
If I was going to call someone a boomer then I'd say it.
I'm just saying...lots of new stuff is good too if you give it a try. Like rarehero mentioned though, modern anime can be intimidating because of just how much of it there is. The comparison to trying to get into comics is very accurate.
Quoted from skink91:I really do want to listen to something new that’s great… just firmly not convinced anything new of substance musically has come out in the last couple decades. Please let me know what it might be… I have tried and found it all to be shite.
Idk what you like but Thundercat’s It Is What It Is was my favorite new album of 2020.
Quoted from McDoom:Hey Spooky, I love your games. I would love to see "The Warriors" get made at some point.
(Lots of ass-kicking content to use).
Can you dig it?
Can you dig it?
CAN YOU DIG IT!!
[quoted image]
Recently I was thinking this could be fun and translate well. I saw it was on HBO Max and rewatched it today.
The game would be to travel back to Coney Island represented by subway maps. The opening of the movie has great cuts of colorful subway maps and shots of trains going through platforms to use. The player would fight various gangs and police, taking different paths to get to the next station (think Stern JP). There are so many weird and interesting looking gangs that could be different modes. It could be randomize where gangs spawn on the map to keep it fresh. All the while the mysterious woman on the radio comments, guides, and occasionally taunts the player.
Toy wise I picture something like the Elvis upper playfield but you’re shooting the balls into a subway train door that opens and closes. Also there’d be a turnstile spinner on the ramp to this upper playfield train platform. As a side objective, a spray paint can bash toy would leave Warriors graffiti around the city (could include player initials for playing well in certain areas that other players see in their game). A radio tower would have a flashing beacon whenever the mysterious woman is speaking and sit over a mode start scoop. The CE can have a radio toy for cosmetics with a moving VU needle.
I thought it’d be neat to have an optional prologue mode to cover the beginning of the movie. Just a shortish and more cinematic mode where the Warriors go to the meeting in the park (shoot the train), play some movie clips where Cyrus is shot and police raid the park. An 8 ball multiball starts where you try to get as many balls/Warriors back onto the subway to get away from the scene.
(In the movie the Warriors send 9 people to the park, 1 is jumped in the chaos, and 8 start the trek home.) There could be various end game bonuses and multiballs for getting as many of the 8 Warriors home as possible, and bonuses for doing the prologue.
Otherwise the game starts after the scramble. After you get back to Coney Island you play and finish the “Come Out To Play” Wizard mode. Then the player is free to travel around the city and go to the parts of the map they didn’t before.
Quoted from Zablon:Marking this for in 10 months...
Yeah...stupid productive Spooky with their smashing sales successes. We wont have much to speculate on for at least a year
So a lot of people are saying they want a Nightmare on Elm Street pin. I had never seen the movies, although I got the gist through pop culture osmosis (in particular Scary Terry in R&M and that one Treehouse of Horror segment that legit terrified me when I was 8). I plowed through all of them over a couple days, curious about how well it would translate to pinball. It would need to be an original adventure, because I don't think any one particular movie would be great for pinball.
Here are my two cents while I kill time between meetings
Elm Street 1 = the original. The production values are pretty low but it works well enough. It sets up the basic mythos and rules of the franchise. I didn't love it, but I respect it for the originality of the idea and starting the franchise. It's solid
Elm Street 2 = super gay. Not in a derogatory way, but actually gay. Some of it is a bit problematic in 2021 lenses, but all the subtext makes it more interesting than some of the later movies. I didn't know this going in and halfway through the movie I had to take a break to make sure I wasn't imagining it. Then I saw it was intentional and is considered a somewhat important work in gay cinema. It breaks certain rules of the franchise and is mostly ignored in cannon (probably for the best). They recently made a documentary about this entry and I want to check it out.
Elm Street 3 = easily the best one in the franchise. If you only see one, this is the one. Best production values in the series. Interesting and great kills. Does a great job expanding the mythos and rules of the franchise. Freddy's personality is fully realized by this point with a nice blend of menace, vulgar antagonism, and funny one liners. The only one I would consider re-watching.
Elm Street 4 = solid follow up to 3. It's fine
Elm Street 5 = interesting premise but incredibly boring. Only one fun kill that is a rip off of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Elm Street 6 = what is this slapstick train wreck? Did they realize they were killing the franchise during production and decide to go with it for the name of the movie? It's like a dark comedy that isn't funny (Carlos's kill is a little amusing). Its tone is all over the place. The highlight is when it's over and they do a montage of all the iconic moments from the previous films during the credits. Seriously, what happened? It has a Roseanne and Tom Arnold cameo FFS.
1-2, 4-6 are on HBO Max. I thought it was weird I had to go rent 3, but it's the best of the franchise so I guess it's not that surprising they're milking it.
side note: Eight Ball Deluxe is in 3. There is what appears to be a 60s William EM pin in 6 but I couldn't ID it and didn't see it on some of the sites that list pinballs in movies.
I need to go try to find the Gottlieb machine. It looks like it has some neat toys on it.
Yeah I'm actually looking forward to watching it tonight. I heard it was sorta like Scream before Craven did Scream.
But it doesn't seem to be recognized as part of the core cannon/
I've also been working my way through the Friday the 13th movies so I can fully appreciate the dumbness of Freddy V Jason
Quoted from rotordave:Unfortunately, like most Gottlieb Sys3s, it’s sorta bad.
They had some good layout ideas - but has been stated by guys who worked there, they only had a crazy 3 months to get the games from paper to factory floor. Williams had 18mths.
The software programming really lets those pins down.
I think if someone was able to redo the software, some of those System 3s would be ok pins.
rd
Yeah that's how I feel about most System 3s
I really like the layout on Street Fighter 2, but it's such a bad game... (decent earner though)
The layout looks meh on Nightmare, but the toys seem pretty good with the boiler, Freddy spitting up a ball, the weird face/soul targets, the claw flipper, and claw save. Looking at a rulesheet I see some ok ideas, but I'm sure there is no balance to any of it.
Quoted from sven:I agree on the first (great layout with lots of possibilities), kind of agree on the second (it's so lineair, too linear for at home), and I can understand the decent earner-thing (it's clear what to shoot for and I think it's really fun and addicting to play some games, just not for many, many, many games, so I think in the long run it's only fun for home use in a larger collection of games.
I think it would be a great playfield to make new rules for though.
Back on topic: where're those video's?
I wouldn't have said SF2 is too linear as being an issue, although I guess it is now that you say it. It's more that it's incredibly easy and the scoring balance is god awful. Plus the music and sound effects stink compared to the arcade game.
UHF the Pin. Save the TV station by playing TV modes that parody/homage classic pinball games and the like. Do well for a higher audience ratings and finish with a big telethon fundraiser super jackpot.
Quoted from spooky_dj:Pretty sure it's going to be powerpuff girls
Mojo Jojo Multi-Jo
If they do another dual release, UHF and Nightmare on Elm Street could both have a TV set toy you lock balls into. They could both say "welcome to primetime, bitch!" when you lock a ball
Only mostly joking...
I wonder how much licensing approval back and forth you'd have with Bruce Willis when depicting his hairline.
It's kinda neat on something like Futurama you could get one voice actor like Billy West who can do custom callouts for multiple characters like Fry, Farnsworth, Zoidberg, Zap, and Nixon (who is obviously the bad guy in the game)
He's also on cameo if you just feel like hearing Zap yell "velour jackpot"
Speaking of voice actors. Do a Scream and Scooby Doo dual release. Matthew Lillard can do voices for both
Quoted from lpeters82:I was wrong, this thread is still fun. Add Bioshock and Doom to the list of video games with great lore. One game can have a water feature, one can have a fire feature.
PS: What was the last video game based theme, Street Fighter???
Rollercoaster Tycoon
Quoted from trecemaneras:Dark Souls pinball. Flippers have a stamina bar and you can't flip for 5 seconds if you run it out.
(to be clear, I do not think this would be a good idea )
That’s basically in Mandalorian already as an optional method of play
TNA probably is their best overall game. Rick and Morty would be if it shot better.
I wouldn't mind another all original single level playfield if it had bumping music, great light shows, and simple to understand but difficult to master gameplay. (Which sounds like it may happen at another manufacturer based on some rumors)
Quoted from guitarded:When you hit your shots it shoots fine.
That's like saying a broken car works as long as you're going down hill.
It's a clunky layout that needs a lot of minor adjustments to make it shoot "fine". I don't think that's a controversial opinion. It's cool if some people like it, but it isn't some great shooting game and it does hurt the overall enjoyment level.
Quoted from Zablon:They layout was never the issue. The issues were build specification issues. Thus all the tinkering. Shots are tighter than Sterns for sure, but that's a whole other discussion. The game itself plays fine once the build issues are worked out.
If a layout has to be so precisely built and tweaked, it's not a very good design
It's like the subway on Halloween/Ultraman needing to be perfectly pitched and level to mostly work. It's a poor design.
Quoted from Zablon:Agree to disagree on this. I'm not saying that having to tinker is a good thing, but this goes into my "it's another discussion" comment regarding Stern and their uber wide shots.
It's not about the shots on Rick and Morty being too tight or whatever. Alice Cooper shoots fine with all of its tight shots. Rick and Morty is just clunky...
Quoted from benheck:Played the new Spooky game "Bible Adventures Mana Truck Adventureland" yesterday, it's pretty cool!
Not sure what people are gonna think about all the dildos on the artwork. 3-4 might have been OK, 15 is pushing it...
Is there at least a large variety of dildos? I’d hate to see the same couple of dildos lazily copied and pasted all over.
Is it too late to have the left outlane kickback dildo changed to purple?
Hopefully Spooky has all the shooter rods before shipping games this time. I’d hate to have to use my own…
I'm not going to argue with the price of the game because pinball is expensive to make, stuff costs more now than it did then, and Spooky has more overhead than last time.
But what I don't get is why non-refundable deposits on preorders are necessary anymore?
They made sense when people were heavily customizing their games. They made some sense when people got to pick which trim.
But these TNAs are all the exact same. Nothing is going to change in terms of ordering parts. Make them and then put them up for sale when they're ready to be sold.
I can see an argument for securing places in line. But why make the deposit non-refundable? The same thing is going to be built regardless... And why $2,000? Spooky should go to a bank to fund buying parts, not their customers.
Quoted from jjga:Wouldn't that increase the price of the games even more, which seems to already be a sticking point?
Yeah but $2k barely pays for playfield and its elements. So they’re already borrowing money to build them before final payment. (Or they don’t need to externally borrow money at all…)
But its mostly the non-refundable or transferable nature I don’t like. Just impose a penalty fee to transfer. Like $100 since it’s mostly about paying someone to change some shipment details. There’s not the same headache of yesteryear of trying to find someone who wants a specific trim built to custom specs. $2k seems like a huge penalty if you suddenly can’t buy the game, especially considering the game will likely still get built and sold to someone else.
Quoted from lpeters82:I just want to make sure this is clear. The initial payment can still be transferred to a new buyer, it's just not possible to transfer the initial payment from one game to another game...no change from our prior policy.
Complaint rescinded!
Now let’s just talk about how you have to pay for a membership for the right to preorder a game….
Quoted from wcbrandes:This is like selling rooms in my hotels and then saying sorry no refunds or moving to a different date, but you can sell to some other person that wants to stay in the hotel! Go cancel your next room at a meeting and lets see how you react when they tell you sorry find a buyer for that said room!
Sorry but your arguments in the business world do not make a bit of sense!
Because you’re selling time utilizing a facility. Someone cancels an order, they still have a product they can sell to someone else.
What We Do in the Shadows is an awesome show with some fun lines, but not too sure how it would translate into a game.
That said, I think Matt Berry is hilarious and would do a phenomenal job providing callouts/narration for a game.
Quoted from Zablon:I agree Matt Berry would be great for callouts. I would actually put IT Crowd over What We Do in Shadows as a better pinball theme. No idea if either would actually sell, but it'd be entertaining.
Now I'm thinking about Stern's Godzilla with Matt Berry as an English tv reporter (I like the dry voice actor for Godzilla a lot too). Or Jurassic Park as a snarky nature documentary narrator.
He reminds me of Phil Hartman's uncanny ability to elevate an average line into comedic gold.
Ok I did think of one fun idea. Collin Robinson mode.
All GI lighting goes gray.
phase one single ball, timed, shoot shots to dim inserts/areas until they are off. Interject random Collinisms as he drains peoples spirits
Phase two multiball battle the emotional vampire collecting jackpots based off performance in phase one. Collect sjp to finish.
Phase three riding the bus victory laps.
Quoted from SpookyBug:Shhhhh Ben is busy coding guys. He shouldn't be in here crushing everyone's licensing dreams!
Bossman done found out. Don't believe Ben when he minimizes his current window when you storm in
time-theif-fire-him.gifMy loose recollection was several years ago The Pinball Company got the Jetsons license and it was implied they also had Scooby Doo. That's how the Spooky Jetsons game came about.
No idea who has the Scooby Doo license now. I'd think The Pinball Company would have let it expired instead of trying to renew it.
Scooby Doo is a great theme for any manufacturer.
The Links Awakening remake is soooo good. Really liked its unique art take. Also just a very good Zelda game
Quoted from lpeters82:Yes, please. Anyone have a good number for Mark Hamill. He needs to taunt you as The Joker.
Mark Hamill does a great Joker. Watching the Harley Quinn show, I've enjoyed Alan Tudyk's version of Mark Hamill's version of The Joker.
For those who think Scooby is too kiddie
https://www.polygon.com/nycc/23392767/velma-nycc-trailer-scooby-doo-mindy-kaling
I like the voice cast... Skeptical of the premise though
Quoted from brerspidur:So has everyone given up on the next title? It's gotten quiet in here.
It's not shipping till next fall/winter and there seems to be a consensus on what the theme will be, so...it'll be quiet for a while
Quoted from Betelgeuse:Did I miss something? Spooky is not making any games during the first 3 quarters of 2023?
They're still making Halloweens, Ultramans, and TNA's
Ben Heck mentioned he was coding Spooky's late 2023 release...so I expect the reveal to be next late summer and start shipping that late fall.
Quoted from Betelgeuse:Yes, but HWN/UM is only a couple dozen units from being completed. People started getting SEs a few weeks ago. It also seems they are on track to complete TNA by end of year, give or take. There must be something else in the works.
Guess we will find out soon enough. Maybe they do have an early release in 2023. Idk what Eric Priepke is working on at Spooky. It could be that?
Quoted from Shapeshifter:I am going to guess that Eric will code Scooby and that is a big selling point.
I have a lot more faith in Eric making a fun Scooby Doo game (although I'm still a bit skeptical of that being the next theme vs what people really want to see). I think he has a lot of creativity and a better eye for game design than Fawzma. Granted Bowen helped with R&M, but Eric showed he had a lot of cool ideas in CCC.
Quoted from PinMonk:Seems like kind of a rushed promo. They didn't even animate the balls rolling when they were going between the doors, and that would have taken like a 30 second job in after effects or whatever they edited this in.
Crossing my fingers and toes Spooky buckles down and pays attention to the details to make this a great game.
The crude edges works much better for this theme considering the source material’s animation quality.
I’m honestly surprised it took this long for someone to do Scooby. It’s a huge multigenerational hit. My baby nephews love Scooby
Quoted from Aurich:You seem to want this:
[quoted image]
But that's not what a pinball looks like when moving. The reflections don't spin, they stay stable while the ball spins, which you really don't see. Like so:
[quoted image]I mean no offense, but what they did is actually paying attention to the details if you want to get pedantic about it.
If you don't care for the look that's cool, but it's accurate!
Good gif
I can sorta see Monks point about how they perfectly move side to side. Maybe if the edges were a little less perfect or if they added some very minor vertical motion?
The ball looks a little too perfect if that makes sense? Especially compared to the slight defects of the original art. Maybe lowering the FPS and adding a grain filter would help merge the new with old
Quoted from Aurich:There was talk of it 5 years ago. I'm glad it didn't get the Jetsons treatment. I don't mean this in a rude way, just being honest, it's a theme that deserves a better game than that.
Yeah the Pinball Company had the rights. Guess it’s a good thing Jetsons bombed because it would have likely been a similar “just shoot all the major shots a few times” type depth.
Quoted from Rarehero:LOL, it’s based on Hanna-Barbera TV animation. Cheap = accurate. HB would have just slid around a held cel of a pinball if they were animating this.
Yeah I think the crudeness of the original works to Spookys benefit where they don’t have a large animation team to really perfect everything. And I don’t mean that in a “they’re lazy or careless” way
I think changing the frame rate would help. It would make it a bit less smooth side to side. HB was probably animating 4-6 frames per second back then? (If that much)
Also I realize it’s probably a special kind of annoying to hear about how crude Halloween animations look, then to hear the Scooby Doo ones are too well animated lol
But I think they need to lean into how HB animations are of a certain quality.
Plus all we have to talk about is a) the theme in general b) the snippet of art (looks great) c) how they got the voices of everyone and d) the one small bit of animation
I feel the same about the doors opening and the ball going into the back of the van. It would look more like the source material to lower the animation frames.
Last I’ll say about the animation,
I do think using the doors in a hallway bit with a ball is clever
I assume based on the animation of a ball being loaded into the back of the van, there will be a physical ball lock Mystery Van?
Quoted from Rarehero:A panning object would have been shot on 1s (24fps). Sure it’s 1 drawing without any animation, but pans are always 1s or they strobe.
Even when there were other animated cells in the same scene? Like wouldn’t the ball have originally matched the running animation cell movement? They wouldn’t be shot separate
Quoted from PinMonk:Yep, seriously. When that's all there is, what else is there to pick apart? It's the first whiff of what Spooky's doing for their new pin, and it's a simple trailer with mostly text on canned video. I would hope it was perfect. It's just okay.
But I'm very happy they got Matthew Lillard for Shaggy. NO idea why he wasn't used in that newer Scooby Doo show. HE IS Shaggy. No one else alive comes close.
They can also build a relationship with Lillard for when Spooky eventually does Scream 
He’d be perfect to narrate that theme
Pinball nerds amirite
It’s like in Parks and Recreation where Leslie has an open forum and its people yelling at her.
“These people are members of the community that care about where they live. So what I hear when I’m being yelled at is people caring loudly at me.”
I try to be respectful and helpful, but I’m not perfect.
It’s clearly because the ghost balls are actually criminals in ghost disguises, and they would have gotten away with it if it werent for you pesky analytical pinheads.
Quoted from PanzerKraken:Wouldn't they need to start production real soon? They seem to have about finished up HW/UM's production and TNA will be done very soon too, they will need something on the line at their factory soon, they can't have a factory not doing anything for a long period of time, that's alot of paying employees to do nothing. So that should mean production of Scooby would likely be starting up fairly soon.
No I meant after Scooby. Late 2023 release for sure. Random guess that it’ll be Scream because I know it’s a dream theme over there. Bonus, now they’re working with a voice actor who had a major role in Scream.
I don't want to belabor this point, but I do think it's worth bringing this up again since it hasn't really been brought up around Scooby. (And I won't bring down the hype thread by this "negativity" of pointing out serious issues last time Spooky sold a game)
There was some hesitation around the Halloween/Ultraman design at launch. One of the hesitations was who was the rule designer.
Quoted from MikeS:Anyone know who the lead designer and coder are on this one? I'm assuming that Bowen is on rule design?
Quoted from blueberryjohnson:Looks cool. Surprised not to see Bowen's name included in the rules credit for Halloween. Ultraman exclusive?
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:I am not hot for the rule set on this, I’m afraid to say. No Bowen on rules hurts bigtime.
So Spooky tries to reassure potential buyers
Quoted from SpookyCharlie:Ya'll know we have Bowen here right? He'll be consulting.
Quoted from SpookyLuke:I guess it's a good thing Eric and bowen are still consulting on rules
The community being relieved by that
Quoted from Venom77:Bowen is the man!... Incredible person/player.
Quoted from Jediturtle:Bowen watching his back just gives that much more confidence.
Quoted from Venom77:Speaking more in terms of code/gameplay. Obviously the machine looks great physically. Wont lie Bowen involved gives me enough peace of mind to buy! No offense to anyone else in the process.. just saying its BOWEN! One of the best ever!
I'm not sure what the story of this photo is, but keep this in mind
Quoted from SpookyCharlie:This is Bug... Bug is at his desk with rules in front of him. On the other end of the headphones on Slack chat, is Bowen Kerins double checking Bug's rules. Bowen has more world championships than you.
Any questions?
[quoted image]
Now Bowen's version
Quoted from bkerins:I no longer work with Spooky Pinball. The first time I saw the layout, the art, and the rules for Halloween and Ultraman was the first time you saw it, publicly. After it was revealed, I gave Spooky some advice on what they could or should do with these games, based on video. I have not played either game at all, and I have not seen my suggestions implemented.
What they do with my advice is entirely their decision. I am not involved in any way. That is not what I would have preferred, but that is what they chose.
Let's be clear: Spooky announced and then put Halloween/Ultraman up for sale within days. They did not post any gameplay videos for over a month after sales were opened. They outright lied to potential buyers to reassure them.
Now some of the buyers are happy with their game, which is great. But it doesn't change the fact it was sold under false pretenses.
I understand Spooky might be cautious about saying too much now. Scooby might be by a new coder and some people will feel some fear, uncertainty, and doubt. But I want to remind Spooky of how they botched dealing with that last time, because it was a pretty big fuck up in my personal opinion.
Quoted from Roostking:Im not rich and the fact they mentioned Bowen was INDEED a point that swayed my decision to purchase Halloween.
The pin is badass and im 100% happy, but yea, left a somewhat sour taste.
It was the only reason why I was interested in Ultraman. Dodged that bullet I suppose. I can get one for a bargain now though...
Quoted from SpookyLuke:2 sides to every story. We are the most honest company in pinball and we want the best for everyone. Things are not always as they seem face value. That will be my last comment on it. I think there are many great positive things to focus on!
That's great. Onwards and upwards.
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:What would you think of a company that openly aired dirty laundry concerning an ex employee on Internet forums? You would think less of that company. It’s not really anyone’s business what occurred with their business relationship. So…maybe it’s time to drop this nonsense. There are no assurances in pinball and there are no saviors. Pinball is hard.
I don't need to know the full story or dirty details. I agree, don't throw business partners past or present under the bus.
But I feel like it was worth bringing up because it was a mistake on Spooky's part during the last launch. It did affect confidence in buyers. And I don't think it's wrong to bring things like that up when the next game is being launched.
We can go back to the game before that, and look at how Spooky said Rick and Morty would be updated with new content as new episodes aired. But that didn't happen either. It was a dumb thing to say at the time. Apparently there was some rumblings about how those plans were scrapped because of the change in ownership at Warner Brothers during production. That's understandable to a degree as it was out of Spooky's control. But it's another example of where it's best to temper expectations, under promise, and over deliver. Otherwise you have people constantly requesting Snake Jazz...
They're already the third largest manufacturer in the industry. They're not a boutique, even if they still act like a start-up.
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:Spooky should be launching something June 2024 now. Wonder what it will be?
I think the next one is late 2023/early 2024. I know they're already working on the next game. I think it's Ben Hecks? Or at least he is coding it.
They made around 1750 HWM/UM and around 250 TNAs in 18 months. So making 1969 Scoobys will take 12-18 months. So late 23/early 24 announce for the next one makes sense to me.
He-Man is before my time, but I do love me some 90s Disney
But yeah. Futurama great theme. Maybe Frank Welker could narrate the game as Nibbler... How is Spooky's tube technology?
We’re speaking things into existence? Futurama. Go to different planets to drop off packages and have adventures. Different planets could do stuff like reverse flippers or high gravity (weak flippers). Drink cans of Slurm. Lock balls in Benders mouth (each ball could be a beer ingredient for Bender Brau Multiball). Plastic tube ball paths everywhere.
Also how about a lower playfield instead of an upper? Mix things up.
Quoted from ECanup122:yes
Just saw that movie in theaters. I really enjoyed it!
My two dream themes:
- Krampus - could have amazing call outs and agree that we need a Christmas pin.
- Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The 2015 Krampus? That's a fun movie. Scared the hell out of my 10 year old nephew and he loved it 
Jack Frost 1997 is a great horror Christmas bad-movie. The black turtleneck wearing FBI meathead shoots a puddle with his gun, multiple times. Super dumb fun movie
Would people buy games off those? No. But great movies to watch this holiday season.
Quoted from benheck:Hilton Jones, aka Whysnow, aka "The Pinside Pariah" is now officially acting as a consultant on the game I'm coding for Spooky (since he lives just up the road from me and we are IRL friends)
Hilton gave me a lot of advice on AMH and I welcome his input as I polish this game over the next 11 months. Though I know he's gonna be pissed that I'm using shot randomizers for some of the modes
I do like hearing how long in advance you're working on the next game. Especially if it's the theme I think it's going to be...
Quoted from benheck:15 months of code ahead of launch. I'm sure the announce/release dates have slipped as Scooby was a few months late but I'm aiming for October 2023 regardless.
I have 8 main modes, 5 sub wizards modes and 1 wizard mode in place thus far. Doing "Polish Pass 1" on it now.
I look forward to your future game
Quoted from ultimategameroom:Is there any chance there will be an adult setting with a few Monty Python Life of Brian quotes/ callouts added? It’s one of the funniest movies ever.
“ Jesus C. Stop picking you nose! “
“ you’ve got a nose like a cod!”
“ e’s not the Messiah, e’s a very naughty boy! Now piss off!”
A timed switch frenzy mode that starts with "what did the Romans ever do for us?" and then switch hits are callouts things like "the aqueducts" "sanitation" "medicine" "education" "wine" "roads" etc
yeah a good holiday like Groundhog's Day
if the next theme is what I think it is, they could easily do a Christmas mode within that theme
Quoted from Morgoth00:Munsters reboot confirmed? Look for the clues
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
Rob Zombie rebooted The Munsters, so clearly this means Spooky is rebooting Rob Zombie
Quoted from PanzerKraken:And he rebooted Halloween, so reboot Halloween incoming?
Spooky’s last game was Halloween. Halloween’s sequel was Halloween 2, which Danny McBride just rebooted
Also…
We know Ben Heck is coding the next game. Heck who is famously thirsty to convert the ignorant masses to his form of pinball based Christian fundamentalism
That can only mean Spooky’s next game must be
I really don't think the cultural zeitgeist cares about the pedophile angle. It was really only played up in the forgettable remake. Most people just know him as being scary in the first movie and then becoming progressively sillier in his kills and catchphrases in subsequent movies. It's not like the game would have to get into the lore of Freddy Kruger either...
He's such a perfect pinball antagonist
Jason is boring as an antagonist to me. He's just a blank killing machine. At least with Halloween they had fake Donald Pleasance to liven up the speech callouts.
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:Yeah, Doesn’t change the fact that the character was always a pedophile. If you don’t “care” about that…then…um…
It’s a fictional character that is evil…
Quoted from Capn12:What an odd hill to stake a claim on. It is a FICTIONAL character, in a movie.
I guess he's pretty evil with the murdering, but also a pedophile? That's too evil!
This chat reminds me of The Onion movie. There is a skit where people get together to play a murder mystery like party game, but it's revealed to actually be a rape mystery game. The one person who feels creeped out by it is reprimanded by the host saying something like "you had no issue playing pretend murder, so what's wrong with pretending a less punished crime where the victim doesn't even die?"
Good satire makes a very witty observation under the silliness
I feel like it's only hinted at/implied in the original movies. But it was major point in the 2010 remake
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:I don’t think saying anything wild when I say that it’s not a good look to glorify a fictitious Pedophile child murderer in a pin. I’m frankly surprised that there is push back on that stance at all.
I guess I just don't see how Freddy Kruger is being glorified if they make a Nightmare on Elm Street pinball machine. He's the bad guy... he's not the hero of the story
And again, most people don't think of FK as a pedophile (at least not the first thought). Otherwise companies like Walmart wouldn't be selling all this branded junk https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/freddy-krueger
I think we will hear about the next game this late fall (maybe Pinball Expo) with a winter production start.
I think Spooky will be done with Scooby before June 2024 (they got a lot more games to sell too), but they can also build multiple games at once. They finished up HWN/UM on the side and have built some more TNAs during Scooby's production run
and some people don't get why pins are so much more expensive these days vs the DMD era...
the LCD is the best and worst thing to happen to modern pinball
Quoted from PanzerKraken:Yet so far games that drop the LCD for retro style, are not cheaper....
The only one has been Pulp Fiction, which would have undoubtedly cost more if they had to license real film assets and actor likenesses (vs cartoony depictions)
the CGC DMD remakes are great value even though they're redrawing all those dots for a LCD screen
Quoted from benheck:Good point. I'd counter that if the game had movie clips and live action actor licenses it would have cost CGC even more, how much of that is passed down or saved to the customer is beyond us knowing.
or they might have spent the money on film assets but then licensed less music...who knows for sure
but the LCD would have made the game more expensive to develop and license. That's without doubt
Quoted from benheck:The depictions still have to be approved by actor/estate but yes. Some licenses you don't get actor likenesses even in the context of the movie. Which has no doubt held up some of your dream themes like Jaws or BTTF.
Listening to Roger Sharpe talk about actor rights, it seems like a lot of actors didn't even care about DMD animations because the resolution was too low to even tell who was what. Even on games like GOT that used footage from the show processed through the "dot" post effect no one cared about the likenesses. But with LCDs it's clear who's who, which means $$$
Or it's neat how companies like Funko Pop and Lego use their distinct visual style to license a ton of properties, and then not have to worry about actor likenesses and similar. They're just dressing up the generic figures in the character's iconic clothing.
Quoted from spooky_dj:I think a really nice, interactive, electronic and/or mechanical backglass could make up for lack of an LCD, if the theme didn't absolutely depend on video clips. Scared stiff and catacomb come to mind. Black hole looks neat, but isn't interactive. I think it'd be neat to have something like the instrumentation panel in ultraman, but an actual, real instrumentation panel with LEDs, 7 segment displays, dial meters, etc.
I love what AP did on the GTF speaker panel. The little green LEDs really make it pop. Even if it's just flat artwork, it looks like a control panel
The backbox is basically empty these days, but no one is doing backbox toys or animations anymore. I enjoy stuff like Scared Stiff, NBA Fast Break, and T3. They're gimmicks, but they have mostly stayed fun.
I was talking to someone who wanted to do a Price Is Right homebrew, and the backbox would be begging for something like this as a stand in for Plinko pasted_image (resized).png
Princess Bride would be ok without a LCD. Very quotable movie. It’s the audio that brings you into the theme while playing, not video.
Quoted from benheck:I had no idea Princess Bride was this popular.
Not popular enough for a Hollywood remake or even a streaming service mini series, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Quoted from MasterBlaster:I think you have to have seen it during your childhood to develop an affinity.
My son loves that movie. He is 16 now, but when he was a little tyke he used to pretend that he was Westley and I was an ROUS chasing him around.
I’ve talked to folks who I was certain would LOVE the movie (people who are into fantasy, D&D, et cetera) and they think the movie is just meh…but they didn’t see it for the first time until they were an adult.
I really think the sentimental connection with The Princess Bride happens when a person is still young (or young at heart).
I think that about The Goonies. The movie was out before I was born and I never saw it growing up. I only watched it to know why so many pinheads of a very particular age wanted it so badly. Didn't get the appeal for middle aged adults.
Where as I didn't see Princes Bride until I was in my mid twenties. I thought it was a funny movie with some cheesy charm. Anecdotally evidence and such, but I can see a lot more people enjoying the humor of The Princess Bride over The Goonies. (It probably helps one is about adults and the other is about children)
Quoted from Pugster:I think the beauty of both is they could be non-licensed concepts that would still make for a fun pinball machine. Lots of neat stuff for toys and a cool world under glass.
Yeah ultimately it's just talking about generic themes. What the game does with the theme matters more (outside of the "GOTTA HAVE IT NO MATTER WHAT" themes like OG Star Wars. Didn't matter what it did, it was going to sell a buttload)
Yeah, on theme alone...Princess Bride seems more like a JJP Family Friendly game to compliment WoZ, Wonka, and Toy Story
Dan Aykroyd is aggressively not funny
He has some moments in some movies, but overall meh. It's the other people he's playing off that are funny. He can do a straight man in a comedy routine just fine (but not as good as Harold Ramis), but other than that... he has like one decent comedic character which is that sleazy Chicagoland salesman/authority-figure
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