Pinball Aficionado is my personal labor of love and is for you, the pinhead, the pinball fan, the aficionado. It is for everyone, from the person who is just entering the hobby and is trying to understand what all the hoopla is about, to the seasoned collector with 30 years of experience under his or her belt. Enjoy!
On August 8th I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Stern Pinball and tour the factory. I was headed to Illinois to see family and had the opportunity to stop for a bit in Chicago and thought "Why Not?".
Me at Stern
So I messaged the great Jody Dankberg (Stern's head of Marketing, really awesome guy btw) and got everything set up. What an experience! As soon as I got out of the car and walked up to the building I see this group coming toward me:
I went nuts!!! I ran up to them, shook their hand, chatted them up and took their photo LOL. Greg is responsible for some of the most recognizable pinball art of the last 30 years. Steve R is known as "The King of Flow" for his distinctive pinball designs, Mark is a program manager and is known by fans to have helped create the great game "Scared Stiff" during his time at Williams Pinball. Chuck is the senior electronics project engineer, who used to be the electronic engineering manager at Williams for decades. Finally, Steven M is production art manager at the company, and worked on Star Trek with Steve Ritchie, Greg, and others. After meeting that group, I went inside (some of my family was with me) and got ready for the tour. We were herded into the company showroom/arcade where we saw the latest games they had produced.
ACDC LED Pro was real flashy, speaker panel is cool looking in person.
Here's the new Swinging Bell toy for this version of ACDC Pro
It's a simple pendulum that attaches at the base and uses the target (no optos or code revisions needed)
Shot from the top (I want one for my game now heh!)...
Metallica Pro, looking nice and BRIGHT....
Gary's Stand-In watching us play...hehe
After we played for a few mins, our tour guide came in.... The amazingly knowledgeable and friendly Jack Benson!
Heeeeere's Jack!
Jack was awesome! He is one of Stern's newer programmers (his first project was coding Mustang...wait what?!) and now he's busy working on the ST Code update, holy cow! He knows a TON about pinball and was the best tour guide as we proceeded to go through the factory.
Star Trek cab waiting for its playfield...
I only got a few pics in during the actual tour, as Jack was telling us everything and I kept asking him questions and we were moving fast. The two principal games that I saw being made was a ton of ST Pros and several Iron Man Vault Editions, (there were a few ACDC Pro's and a Mustang Pro getting completed, but ST and IM just dominated the line it seems).
After the tour Jack took us back to the arcade room and then told us to wait a minute, and next thing I knew, my jaw hit the floor! George Gomez, John Trudeau, John Borg, Mark Weyna, all legends of modern pinball design stopped in and we chatted, it was surreal, like a dream!
We started talking to all of em, and it was great, talked about game routes, operating, collecting, arcades, bars, design philosophy, their time in the industry, it was great, really really great! These guys, and their teams, and everyone they work with are responsible for some of the greatest and most respected pinball machines of the last 30 years, and it was so gratifying to meet them, the minds behind these great games! After that, they all had to get back to work (bummer.......) and we were escorted out to get back to the rest of our trip.
Stern Pinball
It was a great time at Stern, and I want to publicly thank everyone that I met and made this visit possible: Jody Dankberg for making it happen, Steve Ritchie, Greg Freres, Steven Martin, Mark Weyna, Chuck Bleich, Jack Benson, George Gomez, John Borg, John Trudeau, and though I didn't get a chance to talk to him as he was busy, I'd like to thank Gary Stern. Finally, I'd like to thank all of Stern's very hard working employees on the shop floor for keeping pinball manufacturing alive and well in Chicago, to all of you, from the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!
I was talking to someone the other day who loves pinball (has owned games, and maintains games on location) and yet she told me that she'd never had the chance to play "Ripley's Believe it or Not" before. That made me sad, as it's one of my favorites from Stern Pinball. That gave me the idea to do this showcase (which we'll do for a random game every now and then) here on Pinball Aficionado. This is not a review, just a showcase, taking a look at a game you may or may not know about, so that if you ever come across one in the wild, you might be more inclined to play it.
Ripley's was designed by Pat Lawlor and his design team, and released in Spring of 2004 by Stern Pinball.
The Stern 2004 sales flyer front (thanks to IPDB and Stern for this image).
The Stern 2004 sales flyer back (thanks to IPDB and Stern for this image).
The game is chock full of material (talk about a loaded playfield)!
Ball view of the Playfield...
It features not 1, not 2, not 3, but 6 POPBUMPERS, two playfield magnets, multiple diverters, 6 standup targets, 3 flippers, a shrunken head toy, a secret temple device with it's own built in dot display, two ramp systems with 5 ball paths to three separate exits, 2 spinners, 3 scoops, including one with an old school vari-target and up-kicker! Phew! That's a mouthful.
The Vari-Target and the upkicker with its wireform...
The Shrunken Head...
Ball Return with one of the exits at the bottom...
If you look at the layout, it's similar to other games designed by Pat Lawlor (I guess it's true, there's only so many ways a ball can get to its destination lol). Many have compared the layout to his Twighlight Zone game from 1993 (that game also had some similar scoop, ramp, flipper, and pop bumper placement).
A shot of the Secret Temple (with its screens) in the back, and three of the pop bumpers in front...
Artwork on the game was by John Youssi, Lawlor's main artist guy on most of his collaborations. The artwork evokes an almost 1930's adventure theme, with exotic and mysterious locations and items featured in a dazzling array of comedic colors. Interestingly, the game's look was pulled from the Ripley's source material and not the television program that was popular during that time period with Dean Cain and Kelly Packard; I for one am happy with that decision, as the original source is more iconic and not as fleeting as a reality TV show. By the way, could this mean, in some roundabout way, Kelly Packard was technically screwed over by them twice? (For those that are unaware, she was going to be featured on Golden Cue in 1999 but the game got a re-theme and she was dropped) Eeesh, oh well, regardless glad they went with the hand drawn artwork for Believe it or Not!
Whoa, stuff looks pretty big from down here....
Ripley's has some very funny sound effects and quotes thanks to the efforts of Chris Granner, sound guy extraordinaire. The shrunken head comments on your play, the idol makes farting noises, game has planes, boulders of doom, even slot machine sound effects. Did I mention the fire walker screams when he burns alive (wha?!?!), tons of fun for everyone I say ;)
Rules were done by both Lawlor and Louis Koziarz, and it's mode based, meaning you need to complete all 7 continents (modes) on Robert Ripley's quest to reach the secret 8th continent of Atlantis (final wizard mode). It's a classic Lawlor mode setup, with the added feature of the secret temple toy. This toy employs a great tic tac toe system where certain ramp shots light a 3 by 3 grid and completing tic tac toe unlocks certain awards that can really help you along. Game also includes the Believe it or Not feature, a neat twist, where a novice player can side step certain requirements and get later game goals faster, and more easily.
Coming out right after the release of both "The Simpsons Pinball Party" and "Lord of the Rings" (two of the most beloved and produced machines in modern Stern history) people expected lightning to strike thrice and yet Ripley's had the unfortunate experience of falling short of those two giants in the eyes of many pinheads and pinball aficionados at the time. This was because the rules, while deep, were not as complex as those two previous games, and the ball movement wasn't as "flowey". This lack of flow was not helped due to a purposely weak right upper flipper (as originally intended by Pat Lawlor). Though its strength was improved upon with a code update, by then it was too late, and as a result of the weak flipper and lack of flow, the game got a bad rap in those first crucial months, and sales flopped. The game would be closed out by Stern, and distributors were left with many unsold units in their warehouses.
Years later, thanks to a resurgence in pinball, and a chance inclusion of this game on The Pinball Arcade app for console and smart phone, it has been rediscovered, and people who had bashed it 10 years ago, and had not played it as it's somewhat uncommon, are realizing how solid of a game it really is, and so prices for the title have been up.
RBION on the Iphone...
As this is not a review, I'm not going to grade the game, just want to say that it is a solid game and if you ever see one, be sure and try it out, chances are you won't be disappointed!
FUN FACTS:
Ripley's Believe it or Not began as a newspaper feature in 1919 and evolved into comics, radio programs, books, television shows, and 32 "odditorium" museums all over the world!
Original Ripley's Believe it or Not comics from the 1970's...
Ripley's is one of Keith Elwin's favorite games, if you don't know, he is currently considered one of the best, if not the best, pinball player in the world. He loves it so much, here he is doing an hour long tutorial on how to master the game and get the highest score possible for PAPA (The Professional and Amateur Pinball Association):
In 2004, "Hand's on History" a TV show from the History channel visited Stern Pinball headquarters and did a behind the scenes look at the making of this game from start to finish, check it out below!
When Ripley's was included in The Pinball Arcade, the increased exposure of this sleeper gem caused more people to take notice and resulted in a marked increase in aftermarket price (here in FL, prices rose from around $2000 in 2009 for an excellent example, to near 3000 in 2013) here's gameplay footage for Ripley's Believe It or Not on Pinball Arcade:
*Sweating...* "Man cleaning playfield parts can be tiring!"
A dirty part about to be cleaned!
Last time on Pinball Aficionado we were looking at a routed Spiderman that my buddy had picked up and decided to shop. We followed a plan of attack where we had taken photos of everything, then disassembled the playfield components, and kept them organized in clusters around the room. We then took a breath ("phew!), started cleaning the playing surface (and all the components) with alcohol, and then after everything was clean, we went and polished the playfield, and some of the components with Novus 2.
Cleaning up that playfield! ("Spiderman......Spiderman...Does whatever a spider can".....oh sorry :D)
Working on a pop bumper...
Pop bumper progress.....
Now after all that (about 6 hours in), the real fun begins....REASSEMBLY!!! (Duh duh duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!!!) This is typically the cringe-worthy moment, the "put up or shut up" the moment that you gotta put everything back in order and when you're done it all has to work! The thing about modern pinball machines, is that typically, due to their complexity, parts have to be reassembled in a specific way. You can't just put stuff in when you want to, things are placed with other things in mind, and if it's done out of order, certain things will no longer fit properly (can't screw in a plastic after a ramp is in if that plastic belonged below it for example).
Almost there!!!
I should take this time to mention that during the cleaning portion, we took a look at the playfield underside and cleaned and checked the major components down there (magnets, coils, solenoids) and replaced or repaired any worn parts. My buddy also insisted on installing LEDs, and we did that when all the above board parts had been removed.
Installing LEDs................
During assembly is where all the photos came in handy (note to self, video can be good too). I took so many pictures during the breakdown that we were able to piece it together backwards and know what components went off first, then second, etc. If you know the order of how you took it all down, then it's easier, as most parts only fit in their respective spot on the game (duh! that's how they're designed). So using the photos, having all the newly cleaned parts organized around the work area, and using the game's manual schematics as a safety net, we went and reassembled it.
So the moment of truth arrived and it was time to turn the game on, and..........................IT WORKED!
Ooh Shiny!!!
We played a game and it was great. I guess you could say.........THE DAY WAS SAVED!!!!!!
My buddy later decided to operate the game on his route at Arcade Odyssey, in Miami FL. You can see two videos (Game View and Demo) of this very Spiderman below:
View of the restored, working game today
Game being played...
Fun facts: the total shop job took just over 13 hours, which we accomplished during 4 sessions. A few playfield plastics were broken but we found replacements, all the major underside mechanisms worked after they were cleaned, and once it was finished, the game was good as new. Some people online have given grief as to the durability of Stern games, but I gotta say, in this case Spiderman seems a very durable title that cleaned up very well, one might even say......SUPER well! (har har har) ;) Till next time!!!
Ugh! I think that stuff is still on my hands........ Well, if you're just joining us Aficionados, in the last entry (Spiderman Shop Job Part 1), my buddy picked up a routed (what an understatement) Stern Spiderman pinball machine and invited me over to check it out and help him clean it. Turns out this game was extremely worn and dirty and there was so much soot and filth that we both thought it might be beyond salvation.
Dirty Parts to Disassemble...
Despite that, we carried on. I grabbed more towels, more alcohol and got the Novus 2 ready.
Alcohol to the Rescue!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We continued to disassemble the playfield (which we detached from the cabinet and put on a workbench), and got a system going where he would unscrew a part from the wood and I would separate it in a cup or a spot on the floor with other parts from the specific playfield area where it came from. Mind you I took over 100 photographs of the playfield from every angle, and then took photos of areas of the game right before we would remove parts, all so that a record of positions would be available to help in the reassembly.
Parts were everywhere!!!
After everything topside had been removed, my friend and I proceeded to take the alcohol, apply it to the shop towels and then began to clean the filth off the surface. It's important to wipe it away onto the towel and not rub it into the wood, as that will only make things worse. The crap came off in huge quantities.
Wiping the playfield's backboard with Alcohol...
Eek! Look at that crap come off!!!
At this point he and I were sweating, swearing, badmouthing the previous owner, it involved a LOT of elbow grease to say the least. He took a towel, I took one, and we were double teaming the surface (you know, that sounds kind of "dirty" har har har), anyway after a bit we started to see the original color of the art again. You know, while we were badmouthing the previous op for his horrible maintenance, I gotta take this moment to thank and praise Steve Ritchie (the game's designer) for making a game that was done in such a way to have easy access to all the major areas for cleaning and straight forward disassembly. We weren't in a "White Water" situation here where we had to disassemble layers upon layers of playfields and ramps to get stuff off. It wasn't that bad, and that kind of thought toward maintenance seems to be a Ritchie trademark. After it was cleaned, we took clean towels and applied the Novus to them and then we polished the cleaned wood. In this case we rubbed the Novus in so that the polish would work its magic and after a ton of polishing, the game's art looked amazing!
Rubbing and wiping the playfield with Novus 2...
Despite all the dirt and soot that had been on the wood, the playfield came back to a shine that made it look new again. It was incredible! Stern's factory clearcoat is pretty impressive stuff, despite all the crap that had formed on top, the original art had been protected underneath and after the clean and polish, it came out to shine once again.
Now............Time to clean all those disassembled parts...........oh boy.............
Dirty plastic to be cleaned...
That's one dirty ramp!!!
Doc Ock waiting to be cleaned and re-installed...
Sandman waiting for his turn to be cleaned and rebuilt (that does NOT look like Lowell to me somehow...)
Next time we'll see how the shop job ended up......................
A friend of mine recently picked up a Stern Spiderman from an operating location that was looking to change up their machines. He called me to tell me about the deal and I asked him if the game had seen a lot of use. He replied "Uhh yeah." (turns out it had over 100,000 plays on it over 7 years and the operator had never really maintained the game in all that time)! I went over to look at the game and my mouth hit the floor, it looked like someone had taken the playfield, thew it on a dung heap and then proceeded to slide it down a muddy wet hill. It was BAD, like HOLY CRAP BAD! The playfield surface was greasy, blackened, worn, wear spots in places. The toys were black with filth, the cabinet was black on the inside, like magic marker black! Blackest night black, you know! I just stared at it and was like: "So......... um, where should we start?"
Top area of the dirty playfield
7 Years of service and filth
Yuck!
He and I then proceeded to shop the game out. "Shopping" is when one takes a pinball machine and cleans it, fixes it, and replaces worn or broken rubbers, balls, parts, and toys. Good operators might do a full tear down shop job like this once a year. While a collector might only do something like this when he's about to sell a game. In this Spiderman's case, a job like this was LONG overdue!!! We got some 91% alcohol (higher concentration is better, but this worked fine) some magic erasers, about 20 lint free soft shop towels, Novous Polish #2, and went to work. We started by taking LOTS OF PHOTOS of the playfield and then formulated a plan of attack. We decided to start by taking the entire populated playfield apart to the wood (this means every mechanism, ramp, plastic, screw, even the washers and posts). I grabbed some cups and labeled them by area so that pieces wouldn't be lost (there's hundreds of parts on a populated playfield, not counting everything else in the game cabinet).
These cups were a lifesaver!!!
Then the plan was then to clean everything that could be salvaged, take note of things that could not be, so that replacements could be located later, clean the wood and polish it as much as possible, and then reassemble everything! Easy right?!!?!?
Errrrrrrrrr..........
Uhhh, hmmmmm.....Where did these......
Gah!!! It's on my hands?!?!?!
Gross!!!!!!!!!!
Julian Noa style discombobulated announcer voice: "Are Eric and his friend way over there heads? Will there be enough shop towels to finish the job? Will they be able to put everything back in its place??? Will the machine catch fire before everything is said and done?!??!? Find out on our next episode...I mean entry!!!"
Wow! Well after throwing that question out there (What Makes a Pinball Shot Feel Good), I was blown away by the response. Answers poured in from aficionados all over the pinball community. Tournament players, novices, collectors, operators, techs, designers, even the VP of Design at Stern Pinball chimed in!!!
Here are some of their responses:
"The best shots are the ones that can be dialed in by the player to be made with regularity and therefore be satisfying."
"Feedback- its all and only about feedback- the choreography of the event , the things you see, hear, the emotion evoked by the realization that you have: advanced, achieved a goal, completed something, incremented score, heard or discovered a piece of the story, evoked an emotion from an opponent whether real (your buddy) or virtual( the animated 3d Hulk toy you just hit). The smooth transition of the ball is a visually and aurally perceived event. Feedback- like all games is the magic." -- George Gomez (Designer, Stern Pinball VP of Game Design)
"It's about satisfaction. It's such a relief when you achieve it, like a weight is lifted off your shoulders and you're on top of the world. (Especially those difficult, timed shots worth a ton of points)."
"It feels similar to scoring that winning goal/basket/TD/Home run/KO punch and getting a rise from the audience.
Same with golf, pool or bowling. When that ball rolls a strike, or falls in the intended hole/pocket, it evokes the same visceral reaction as scoring a super jackpot."
-- Joel Cohen (Tournament Player)
"Pinball does an amazing job of letting you know that YOU are the one in control...but it also does a great job of letting you know that YOU screwed it up...love a great shot, but I also like the feeling of great ball control. To me there's greater satisfaction from a solid live catch/drop catch/cradle separation followed by a tough shot."
-- Carlos Porta (Tournament Player)
"The best shots are not too easy, not too hard, and have good feedback so you know you did something cool, or that you pushed forward in the rules of the game."
-- FLECOM (Operator/Tech/Collector)
"Not an easy question, I think a pinball design is not about one shot... its how all the shots, flow (up & down), rebounds, bounce, rest, jumps, timing, and many more factors. I guess ultimately for me a "shot" is part of a larger composition...and it is all related in some fashion."
"What makes a good shot for me is that it puts me into a Peak Experience. A peak experience is that sweet spot my mind gets into when it faces a desirable challenge, a challenge that is difficult enough to not be boring but not too difficult where it puts me off. It’s at a specific level where I have to focus at the peak of my ability. When I get into a good flow of making shots and keeping the ball alive who I am and what I think about diminish and only the pinball and the field exist. Sometimes I get so lost in that flow that the boundaries between my fingertips and the flippers disappear. When I keep shooting the shots I need to hit faster and smoother than I can think normally is what makes pinball extremely enjoyable for me." -- Joshua Fay (Pinball Enthusiast)
Wow, so from most of these responses, it would appear that the key is not so much in a particular shot, but the many things that the player experiences in tandem during a good game. Factors like challenge, rebounds, flow, feedback, sound, choreography, all play a part in making pinball feel good.
So going back to the original question, I guess that the reason why a shot might feel good even if the ball leaves your direct control lies not in a single shot alone, but in the overall design and its impact on the player and how it makes him or her feel. The beauty lies not in the single tree, but in the forest it calls home. To sum it up, here's an amazing video that I feel encapsulates all of the factors mentioned. It's called "The Last Empire" by Adrian Seifert. Check it out!
