Toronto, ON
JJP made newbie mistakes, explained by the seniors that left (Balcer, Freres, Nordman). Keith was probably made the lead, that would explain the lack of art direction.
(Topic ID: 107222)
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The Hobbit
Jersey Jack, 2016
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But one thing is for sure, the lead who took over had no experience in this sort of thing. The table feels homegrown and amateur, right down to Matt's bad sculptures.
Quoted from PinballMikeD:Didn't realize Balcer left JJP, who designed TH then?
That's the big question, and I'm theorizing that it might be the last big kahuna that was left standing, Keith.
Quoted from John_I:Balcer left JJP after the playfield design for TH was basically "complete".
According to Balcer's quotes, he intended to have a very interactive Smaug, which explains the layout. When it became clear Balcer's Smaug wasn't going to happen, he probably wanted to redesign the layout like any decent designer would want, and I'm wondering if Jack felt that too much time and money was already spent to go back to a new whitewood. We have no clarity on what made Balcer quit, but it must be Jack's choices that did it. And Freres/Nordman, they must have been a part of all this inner turmoil.
Quoted from PBINTHESOUTH:Aurich, I hear you in many of your opinions, but heck this is the Hobbit... hairy bearded characters in brown clothes/Golumn/swamps/frigid/dark mountains all make for dreary scenery... LOTR has some green and orange colors, but it's still the same dark/green/muckey background..
WOZ is totally different, yellow brick roads/candy land colors/pink good witches/etc...
LotR has some nice colors on the playfield, along with some storytelling.
And unlike TH, it has enough inserts to customize a colorful light job.
Quoted from juanton:Lol. I'm not a fan of led's at all.
The second image I posted to you seems pretty warm to my eye.
Quoted from Hazoff:The fact that LORT's really is a fantastic pinball machine is not helping. Those pictures are making me miss mine a lot. I hope Stern makes a VE, at the very least I probably will have one again.
If Stern released a LotR VE in late december, Jack would cry
Quoted from juanton:I don't think it would matter. One of the reasons we ordered TH was to sit next to LOTR. I personally don't want TH to be another LOTR. I want TH to be a different pin altogether. I still think it will be a great pin before we ever get it. If I didn't, I would cancel my order tomorrow.
uhm, no. I don't think most buyers of TH are OCD'ing. And there are many who still want a nib LotR and a TH, but only have the need for one Middle-Earth game.
Quoted from fuko:I actually really like the look of the Hobbit films. The sets are all beautifully lit, and the landscapes are very colorful despite the predominance of earth tones.
Ya the Hobbit movies are more colorful then the Rings movies.
Quoted from Lotr-Hobbit:Hi. I am a simple person and simply a Pinside neophyte. Take my opinion for whatever little value it is worth, but here is my observation. For the purpose of full disclosure, I own LOTR with the latest code, and I am paid in full for THSE. LOTR is number 6 on the pinside 100 list. I played a LOTR yesterday, built in 2003, without any code updates. It was a real privilege and eye opener. Imagine if JJP had released that same LOTR at Chicago last week. What would the pinball faithful say....................?????
-nice game with decent cabinet art and a great theme, though some of the playfield print is kind of fuzzy (good so far)
-lots of ramp shots and a complex, deep code (still good)
-truly theme based, with great integration of game, play, and theme (actually, very nice)
- disappointing Paths of the Dead nudge field, which really should have been a mini play field with its own flipper like some of the subsequent Stern games (oh well, nothing in life is absolutely perfect)
-Balrog bash toy which lights up and roars when you hit it. It DOES NOT TALK OR EAT YOURBALL. but it is still cool because the Balrog was cool in the movie (really??? How about more animation? We expected more).
-Baradur tower kind of buzzes electronically, particularly at the end of the Destroy the Ring sequence. (Was this intended, or is it simply an electrical short?)
-Palantir with an exposed drill hole and poor back lighting. THIS MUST BE A PLACEHOLDER FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
-Poor code with disruptions of game flow and some stupid play situations like when the Balrog blocks the center ramp to the ring when the Start Mode light is on.(there is more wrong than just the code).
-if you angle the game a bit higher, play will be faster and better(that's the down side of producing a game with so many ramps and not enough (rapid return) drop targets.)
-fun game, but how many times do I need to hear Gimli to say "the path of the dead" before I vomit???
-with the depth of this story and all of the possibilities for this theme, could the brilliant pinball gurus not come up with something better??? I think I will cancel my order and buy RCT by Pat Lawler when it comes out instead (truly, no offence Pat).
SOUND FAMILIAR????????? Give JJP and TH a chance. They still have a superior, game changing product with superior clear coated cabinetry, superior lighting with with RGB LED's, superior wide body design, and a great theme. Oh, and an LCD screen with true video, not a little DMD. Wake up people, the DMD went out with the pager and the typewriter. Sent from my I-pad. Cheers!
You mention all these gimmicks that you think represent high-end, but they're actually easy to implement. That doesn't take talent. Whereas the things Aurich brings up cannot be done by throwing money at the problem, you would actually need a real pinball designer to do the job.
With LotR, George Gomez didn't leave in the middle of production, and it shows.
With TH, Balcer left in the middle of production, and it shows.
Quoted from PinPatch:Everyone can wish for hand drawn art and stain glass window looking play fields but remember the machine's title is
The Hobbit: Motion Picture Trilogy.
So me thinks no licencor, which specifies having motion picture trilogy in the title, is going say no worries make it look like a stain glass window or in fact a cartoon!!
Aurich already mentioned the limits of the licensing.
Anyways, this very thread depicts another Middle-Earth motion picture table. It has many of the elements Aurich mentioned. It's not just about cartoonish representations, he's also asking for a depicted narrative and a more pinball-like art direction.
Quoted from karl:Yes, the playfield have a cold and dreary feel to it (without lights at least) but so does the movies.
Peter Jackson went with a much colder look for the Hobbit movies than lotr and I think jjp captured that same feel as the movies on this playfield.
The Hobbit trilogy is more colorful than the drab and dreary Rings trilogy. This was even mentioned in a Peter Jackson interview.
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