Play Meter
Issue: 1982 January 01 - Vol 8 Num 2 - Page 69
factors to be dealt with, but if the
game had three more cards on the
board (ala Big Game) there would
have been a big difference.
As it stands now, a player gets a lit
number only when an entire bank of
drop targets are made, when the ball
is on the field. This is almost a
penalty for those less skilled in
directing their shots and also a turn-
off for those who may complete a
bank only to have it be lost when the
number lit has already been made.
My suggestion would have been to
keep the present card as a master
card, so to speak, and offer three
other cards or even four, which
would have tied in each drop-target
with a letter or number or some
other emblem so that a player could
have been rewarded just by hitting
some and not all of the targets. The
end intent would have still been to
complete entire banks to light the
master card, but there would have
been something for the average
player, with maybe some bonus also
built into this type of approach which
would have fully loaded the game
and kept all areas alive for increased
scoring potential.
Otherwise, the machine doesn't
supply enough of a rest in terms of a
shot back to the top or even a return
to the plunger, making it more of a
gun-and-run effort that thrusts most
of the action on the flippers given the
layout of the features. It's too bad
because the potential was there,
although once again one must be
aware of whatever the problems
were and the obstacles in getting the
game out on budget.
RATING:##
And that's it for this time around.
Pinball is alive and well, no matter
what anybody thinks. Players will
come back and pop their money in
when the games are worth it and
incrementally earnings are up over
the past years although video still
manages to lead the way for now.
Upcoming are some of the efforts
already mentioned.
Until then, my best to those I had a
chance to see at Chicago recently
and my regrets that time was so
short that I couldn't touch base with
everyone I would have liked to. I
even left one day short of the show
only because of a feeling of
homesickness and the desire to be
with Zachary Nathaniel who is now
already five weeks old. Well, at least
Ellen cooperated by delivering early
so I wouldn't miss the show entirely.
We'll just have to time it better next
time. Anyway, as usual, be well and
prosper and have a Happy New
Year!
•
PLAY METER, january 1,1982
(continued from page 67)
gloom for tlipper games are in fact
right in their assessment of the
future. Well, I'll tell you; I was
encouraged by what I saw and how
the people flocked around to see
what was coming up. However,
more important than specific
machines at the show, was the
general mood that seemed to
pervade the atmosphere.
'Lack of excitement'
I didn't sense the excitement that
is usually so much a part of the show,
with people racing around saying,
"Did you see so and so's booth?" or
"such and such a machine?" Instead,
everyone kind of went around the
booths and exhibit halls pretty much
knowing what any of the "surprises"
might be and getting a general feel for
what was being offered.
Part of this reaction might be that
many people I talked to expected far
more innovative equipment than
what was offered. After all, how
many maze games can an operator
look at and consider buying, if he
already has what he thinks is enough
of this type of game? Or the knock-
off retreads of previous efforts, re-
packaged and "improved" to have
you think they're something different
from the original.
However, don't get me wrong.
There were some innovative games
on the floor, but, by and large, the
year seems to point in a direction of
status quo for the time being, before
someone ventures into the next level
and plateau that will lead the others
who are less willing to take chances.
It's the nature of the coin-machine
industry and has been throughout its
history, although I'm sure that there
were some who expected video to
somehow be different and transcend
the norm.
But things don't work that way
and so the show was kind of flat in
terms of an overall sweeping
enthusiasm.
There were the singular achieve-
ments such as Gottlieb's triple-level
p layfield. Haunted House, the
pinball machine that integrated all
aspects of playfield design and
should prove to be a good, strong,
novel approach to tap. In addition,
the same company broadened its
scope with Caveman, a pin-vid
hybrid that gave basic flipper play
with a built-in screen in the hopes of
attracting all types of players with the
opportunity to try both formats
within a single game. It should prove
to be a good novelty machine for a
beginning and open up new areas for
pinball and video to be meshed
together, further expanding the
horizons of those things that are
possible and those which can be
accomplished.
In terms of pinball, the MON
AMOA has never been a real
disappointment, although the efforts
of Zaccaria, InterFlip, Universal,
Recel, Playmatic, Sonic, and others
are truly missed. There always
seemed to be something going on
such as the changeover of Chicago
Coin into Stern, the unveiling of Big
Game with its "new" size and seven-
digit scoring. The year Gottlieb went
"blue" and brought the world
Cleopatra. The dazzle of Williams
with Steve R's Flash and Black
Knight, a talking Disco Fever and
more gaudy booths with beautiful
girls. Even Atari and Game Plan
made their own waves at different
points in time. And, lastly, Bally
which everyone vied with for
elaborate set-ups and equipment to
match, such as Xenon complete with
its own display cabinet and girl, Flash
Gordon with Ming's head and strobe
beckoning passersby, a talking Kiss
with seven-digit scoring and much,
much more.
This time around, besides S tern's
dramatic video jukebox and the
horizons it opens up for this medium
of ·entertainment over the long haul,
maybe the only other revolutionary
development was Williams' Hyper-
ball. Some may pass it off as just
another "shooting game", but to
those I urge them to look again.
It was a marvel, incorporating
what had been a staple of the
industry for so long, with some new
technology and packaging for a
dynamic product that's sure to usher
in imitators and further development
in this area. Although the cabinet
may appear pinball-inspired and
even the backglass may harken
thoughts of this genre, the play and
strategy are anything but similar to
video or pinball.
For many years the old-timers I
always seem to gravitate to, have
talked about coming up with a gun or
rifle game to fill a very real void in the
marketplace, but none have yet to
successfully incorporate their dream
into a viable and real creation.
However, with this entry, Williams
has crossed the barrier with a
machine that, for me, takes video to
the next step with more interactive
play and involvement in a game that
you'll be hearing a lot about in the
coming months. Suffice it to say, for
now, that it is a milestone in much
the same vein as Gottlieb's
Caveman can be over time. More
later.
69
game had three more cards on the
board (ala Big Game) there would
have been a big difference.
As it stands now, a player gets a lit
number only when an entire bank of
drop targets are made, when the ball
is on the field. This is almost a
penalty for those less skilled in
directing their shots and also a turn-
off for those who may complete a
bank only to have it be lost when the
number lit has already been made.
My suggestion would have been to
keep the present card as a master
card, so to speak, and offer three
other cards or even four, which
would have tied in each drop-target
with a letter or number or some
other emblem so that a player could
have been rewarded just by hitting
some and not all of the targets. The
end intent would have still been to
complete entire banks to light the
master card, but there would have
been something for the average
player, with maybe some bonus also
built into this type of approach which
would have fully loaded the game
and kept all areas alive for increased
scoring potential.
Otherwise, the machine doesn't
supply enough of a rest in terms of a
shot back to the top or even a return
to the plunger, making it more of a
gun-and-run effort that thrusts most
of the action on the flippers given the
layout of the features. It's too bad
because the potential was there,
although once again one must be
aware of whatever the problems
were and the obstacles in getting the
game out on budget.
RATING:##
And that's it for this time around.
Pinball is alive and well, no matter
what anybody thinks. Players will
come back and pop their money in
when the games are worth it and
incrementally earnings are up over
the past years although video still
manages to lead the way for now.
Upcoming are some of the efforts
already mentioned.
Until then, my best to those I had a
chance to see at Chicago recently
and my regrets that time was so
short that I couldn't touch base with
everyone I would have liked to. I
even left one day short of the show
only because of a feeling of
homesickness and the desire to be
with Zachary Nathaniel who is now
already five weeks old. Well, at least
Ellen cooperated by delivering early
so I wouldn't miss the show entirely.
We'll just have to time it better next
time. Anyway, as usual, be well and
prosper and have a Happy New
Year!
•
PLAY METER, january 1,1982
(continued from page 67)
gloom for tlipper games are in fact
right in their assessment of the
future. Well, I'll tell you; I was
encouraged by what I saw and how
the people flocked around to see
what was coming up. However,
more important than specific
machines at the show, was the
general mood that seemed to
pervade the atmosphere.
'Lack of excitement'
I didn't sense the excitement that
is usually so much a part of the show,
with people racing around saying,
"Did you see so and so's booth?" or
"such and such a machine?" Instead,
everyone kind of went around the
booths and exhibit halls pretty much
knowing what any of the "surprises"
might be and getting a general feel for
what was being offered.
Part of this reaction might be that
many people I talked to expected far
more innovative equipment than
what was offered. After all, how
many maze games can an operator
look at and consider buying, if he
already has what he thinks is enough
of this type of game? Or the knock-
off retreads of previous efforts, re-
packaged and "improved" to have
you think they're something different
from the original.
However, don't get me wrong.
There were some innovative games
on the floor, but, by and large, the
year seems to point in a direction of
status quo for the time being, before
someone ventures into the next level
and plateau that will lead the others
who are less willing to take chances.
It's the nature of the coin-machine
industry and has been throughout its
history, although I'm sure that there
were some who expected video to
somehow be different and transcend
the norm.
But things don't work that way
and so the show was kind of flat in
terms of an overall sweeping
enthusiasm.
There were the singular achieve-
ments such as Gottlieb's triple-level
p layfield. Haunted House, the
pinball machine that integrated all
aspects of playfield design and
should prove to be a good, strong,
novel approach to tap. In addition,
the same company broadened its
scope with Caveman, a pin-vid
hybrid that gave basic flipper play
with a built-in screen in the hopes of
attracting all types of players with the
opportunity to try both formats
within a single game. It should prove
to be a good novelty machine for a
beginning and open up new areas for
pinball and video to be meshed
together, further expanding the
horizons of those things that are
possible and those which can be
accomplished.
In terms of pinball, the MON
AMOA has never been a real
disappointment, although the efforts
of Zaccaria, InterFlip, Universal,
Recel, Playmatic, Sonic, and others
are truly missed. There always
seemed to be something going on
such as the changeover of Chicago
Coin into Stern, the unveiling of Big
Game with its "new" size and seven-
digit scoring. The year Gottlieb went
"blue" and brought the world
Cleopatra. The dazzle of Williams
with Steve R's Flash and Black
Knight, a talking Disco Fever and
more gaudy booths with beautiful
girls. Even Atari and Game Plan
made their own waves at different
points in time. And, lastly, Bally
which everyone vied with for
elaborate set-ups and equipment to
match, such as Xenon complete with
its own display cabinet and girl, Flash
Gordon with Ming's head and strobe
beckoning passersby, a talking Kiss
with seven-digit scoring and much,
much more.
This time around, besides S tern's
dramatic video jukebox and the
horizons it opens up for this medium
of ·entertainment over the long haul,
maybe the only other revolutionary
development was Williams' Hyper-
ball. Some may pass it off as just
another "shooting game", but to
those I urge them to look again.
It was a marvel, incorporating
what had been a staple of the
industry for so long, with some new
technology and packaging for a
dynamic product that's sure to usher
in imitators and further development
in this area. Although the cabinet
may appear pinball-inspired and
even the backglass may harken
thoughts of this genre, the play and
strategy are anything but similar to
video or pinball.
For many years the old-timers I
always seem to gravitate to, have
talked about coming up with a gun or
rifle game to fill a very real void in the
marketplace, but none have yet to
successfully incorporate their dream
into a viable and real creation.
However, with this entry, Williams
has crossed the barrier with a
machine that, for me, takes video to
the next step with more interactive
play and involvement in a game that
you'll be hearing a lot about in the
coming months. Suffice it to say, for
now, that it is a milestone in much
the same vein as Gottlieb's
Caveman can be over time. More
later.
69
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).