Episode Summary

David and Ron are going to finish what they started last month. As mentioned in the previous podcast, from 1975 to 1980 Bally were breaking sales records. It seemed that Paul Faris’s art team could do no wrong but by 1981 the gaming industry’s footing was feeling shaky.

In an effort to hold ground and boost sales Bally push out some of their most creative works ever. The Class of 1981 was, and still is, the pinnacle of pinball art.

Join us as we talk about Xenon’s tube shot and sound package, polaroid pictures, Kevin O’Connor’s jeep,  Claude Fernandez stealing design ideas from Steve Ritchie, Margaret Hudson being a trail blazer for woman in pinball, annoying in lane/out lane designs and the peak of Bally’s stunning art design. Also, did you know Kevin O’Conner had a jeep?

Episode Summary

John Borg or as he’s affectionately known as ‘Borgie’, entered the industry as a mechanical engineer building ramps and ended up being a designer on some of the fondest remember nostalgia pins of the 1990’s.

Join Ron and Dave as they chat about Borgie got to hang out with movie stars, review some cool mechs, discuss Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman, designers getting scripts to some of the biggest 90’s blockbusters in advance of the film, chat about a cougar attack (like the animal) and watch as the industry flamed out.

Episode Summary

Pat Lawlor is a pinball statesman. He has a long lumbering and detailed way of explaining himself. This deep and controlled thought process is why Pat’s pinball designs and mechanical toys are so detailed and dedicated to being exciting. Some would call Pat a pinball academic, others say he’s a prickly fella.

Join us this month where we talk ramps, ramps, Dave talks about his Tron a bunch… in a Pat Lawlor episode (?), more cool ramps, Stern’s 2000s, Pat’s move to Jersey Jack and the strange Shrek/Family guy pin!

Episode Summary

Dwight is one of pinball programming’s most important figures. Throughout the 1990’s Dwight worked on some of the best-selling games of all time, added a level of polish not seen before, brought a new level of fun and uniqueness that continue to influence programmers today.

Have fun this month where we chat ‘Dwight Speak’, Riverboat Gambler, taking pride in your work, the Star Trek Door, the final years of Williams and Dwight’s transition to Stern Pinball.

Episode Summary
By the Early 1980’s Pinball was dying. Sales in Pinball fell from peaks of 9-10,000 units to 900 units in 2 years. Video was on an upward trend and that is where the coin op industry began to focus. Only 1 full time designer remained at Williams by 1982, Barry Oursler. To help fill in the production line some of the designers from the late 70’s reappeared.

Join us this month as we discuss Barry Oursler, Paul Dassault, the battle of the Bi-Levels, the ‘Gar Family, Tony Kraemer, hidden back glass art and whatever the heck Time Fantasy was!

Episode Summary
Pat Lawlor has a demeanor which has rubbed some the wrong way over the years. Let’s face it, as a designer you need to get strong personalities in line, meet corporate deadlines, push your creative vision to the edge and have the confidence in yourself that your product design will sell. Maybe part of that reputation was created in his early career in the Williams Pinball Shark Tank.

Join us this month as we discuss Pat Lawlor joining William Pinball, Larry DeMar’s double dippin’, fun child-like pinball designs, Whirlwind, that creepy shutter mech, what Python Anghelo thinks of Pat, proving the naysayers wrong, and yes, the record breaking Addams Family.

Episode Summary
George Gomez has created some of the most well received pinball machines our hobby has ever seen. He got his big break with Williams Pinball, but the current Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Stern Pinball had a big career before the silverball. His mixture of experience prior to pinball built his unique style of pinball creativity. In fact, one of the toughest critics around, Python Anghelo called George a “good guy and very passionate,” Woah!

Join Ron and Dave this month as they follow George Gomez from the Cuban Revolution to Midway making games like Satan’s Hollow, Tron, and Spy Hunter. Then in a shift to toy company Marvin Glass and eventually Bally-Williams where he made a splash right away in the shark pool! Look out, this episode has an hour of arcade talk…    

Episode Summary

Barry Oursler is a William institution. As a designer he kept the line going at Williams during the massive decline that the coin op industry experienced in the early 1980s. He designed 35 games including Space Shuttle, which ‘saved pinball.’ During the decade after Space Shuttle, Barry continued to design and collectively sold over 135,000 pinball games for Williams during his tenure. Barry WAS Williams in this era.

Join Ron and Dave as they talk about Barry saving pinball… or did he? Hit pins such as Space Station, FIRE!, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dirty Harry, Junkyard, amazing mechanical wonders, the controversies around Popeye Saves the Earth and Jack*Bot, and Barry’s legacy to the hobby we all love.

Episode Summary

Pinball was suffering in the late 1990’s. Home gaming consoles dominated households. In the decades that preceded the 90’s, people ate at home and went out for entertainment; society was changing. As a result, arcades suffered. Pinball needed something to jump-start sales. They needed to draw in a new video game that would engage youth. Pinball 2000 was the answer to that call.

Join Ron and Dave this month as they talk about how Pinball 2000 was created, Pat Lawlor and George Gomez vs. JPop, Pepper’s Ghost, Adam Rhine and animations, Neil NiCastro-Unmotivational Speaker, Lucas Films’ NDAs, Dave’s hatred for Jar Jar Binks, and how Jar Jar tanked, nearly killing pinball.

Episode Summary 

When we last left Steve Ritchie, pinball was dead. It was done. Williams, gone. Bally, gone. Gottlieb/Premier, gone. The last manufacturer standing was Sega which ended up being sold to one Gary Stern and became today’s Stern Pinball Inc. Steve Ritchie was ready to make a return to pinball after a hiatus, but the pinball landscape was different than when he left. He soon showed everyone he still has the touch. 

Join us this month for a super-packed episode as Ron and David talk about Terminator 3, that strange Elvis mech, the epic Spiderman game, everyone getting let go in 2008, the perfect version of Terminator 2, aka AC/DC, a section about Star Trek that goes on far too long, what the hell happened to Star Wars, the underrated Black Knight toy, the barren Led Zeppelin, and the recent Jersey Jack coup!