Play Meter

of U.S. operators, we learned
that the games he rated the
highest were in turn usually the
games that, according to our
readers, earned the most. As for
ideas on running pinball tourna·
ments, check this month's Coin·
man for some interesting ideas.
And nearly every issue is like
that - with articles on how to
promote your games whether
they be your pool tables, air
hockey tables, or whatever. And
our "Technical Topics" section
provides mechanics with useful
technical information.
joystick because the quicker
response time enchanced the
realism (and , therefore, the ex·
citement) of t he battling star·
ships. The buttons also proved to
be more reliable than the joy·
ticks tested and should give
operators a more reliable and
profitable product.
Likewise , the lack of outer
space artwork was another much·
discu sed topic. We decided to go
with the present design because
t hose involved in the project
t hought that the solid black
background around the screen
enhanced the feeling of being in
outer space. At one time we had
artwork of battling spaceships,
but the action in the artwork ran
a poor second to the action on the
screen.
I hope this sheds light on
que tion you or your readers
may have. Once again, let me
t hank all of you for your kind
words of encouragement. Live
long and prosper!
Tom Stroud
Cinematronic8, Inc.
E) Cajon, California
The Force
I would like to thank Ralph
Lally, Gene Beley, Robin Min·
near and Coinman of t he Month,
Maurice Terry for picking our
pace Wars game as a hit at the
AMOA show. Their many kind
words are greatly appreciated at
Cinematronics and did much to
boost our morale. May the Force
be with all of you .
There were several questions
a ked of Cinematronics in these
piece , and I will be glad to
an wer these for you. The
que tion I am referr ing to are (a)
how did a small company like
Cinemat ronics end up with such
an advanced game? (b) why are
t he tar hips controlled with
button rather than a joystick?
and (c) why t he lack of artwork
on the cabinet?
A to how Cinematronics end·
ed up with Space Wars, I would
like to say that we were sharp
enough to go out and find it and
put it into production; but,
unfortunately, that was not t he
ca e.
pace Wars' inventor, Larry
Rosenthal, came to us only after
being turned down by t he giants
in the industry- like Bell Tele-
phone, Edison Power and Light,
and Polaroid. Cinematronics was
a mall company t hat recognized
a breakthrough and decided to
take a chance on it. Our acquisi-
tion of pace War wa the old
American combination of guts,
luck, and foresight.
The decision on the starship
control and cabinet design were
made after many long discussions
by tho e involved in the project.
Buttons were chosen over the
PLAY METER , February, 1978
ARCADE
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