* ByDesign Games Status Update
August saw ByDesign busy on various upcoming titles, as well as a few side projects for private clients, and even a brief though long overdue respite as we closed for a short holiday along the Mediterranean coast.

In addition to the efforts hinted at in last month’s updates, ByDesign has done certain work that, let’s say, advances the aesthetics of combat in the cold depths of unforgiving space, as well some components of the meta-AI for a game revolving around environmental choice. As they’re for private clients, who knows if either will see the light of day, but they’re interesting projects for sure!

* Game Review: Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
Joe here. People close to me know that I love pinball. Despite Pinball being popularly considered worlds-apart from video games, I consider good pinball design a pure form of design, and often cite Pinball as one of the few interactive experiences that exists truly as a microcosm of life... and for good reason. The short version goes like this: in Pinball, as in the physical world, sometimes you can do no wrong, every shot you take works and you score big... other times no matter what you try, the ball quickly finds it’s way down the drain...

There are many other aspects to the above Pinball-As-Life supposition, but rather than draw it out further, I’ll make the point... If you like Pinball, and you own either a Nintendo Wii, a Sony PSP or PS2, go buy Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection right now!

Released March 27, 2007 for the aforementioned platforms, the title contains some of the greatest pinball tables ever designed including several by the masters of the form; 2 early works from “The Master of Flow” himself Steve Ritchie, as well 2 from arguably the greatest Pinball designer who’s ever lived, Pat Lawlor (one of the few remaining pinball designers making tables today), among other tables. In addition, Larry DeMar of Pinball, Defender & Robotron 2084 fame, added his adept skills to 3 of the 10 tables.

The 3D re-creations of the tables are well executed, though as purists understand there is no comparison to actually playing a good pinball table in real life. However, if you’re on the go or don’t have space in your home for the real thing, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is as good as it gets! A few words on 4 (of the 10 available) tables, highlighting 2 pinball design masters;

2 Steve Ritchie Designs :

Firepower (1980): Originally programmed by the great Eugene Jarvis (computer game pioneer and designer of Defender, Robotron 2084 & the popular Cruis’n series) this table is noted, not only as the 1st table to use solid-state electronics (imagine that pinball tables used to be 100% electro-mechanical!) but also the 1st game to incorporate flipper-controlled lane change (thank you!), and feature 3-ball multi-ball; a design staple of nearly every table designed after Firepower. An early work by Ritchie that clearly shows the potential of the latter genius to come.

The Black Knight (1980): Originally programmed by Larry DeMar, The Black Night is another early solid-state table, and to this day one of the fastest smoothest flowing tables ever designed, as well as the first pinball table to incorporate a 2-level playfield. To play it, is to know it, is to love it.

2 Pat Lawlor Designs:

FunHouse (1990): Co-Designed & originally programmed by Larry DeMar, this table is perhaps best known for it’s clever and endearing toy, Rudy the talking ventriloquist dummy, who would base his relationship with you on how well or poor you’re doing in the game ( “I’m not happy anymore!” ), this excellent table is faithfully reproduced. Your objective is to get locked into the FunHouse after midnight, when things go crazy! I won’t write more about the table’s compelling feature set, as you can read well enough the details on other sites. Only to say that I have very fond memories of playing this table back when I started my career in video games in Seattle in the 1995. They had one installed at the now defunct Wizards of the Coast arcade on University Ave. and I enjoyed very much earning the high score while unlocking its design secrets, night after night. Rudy (voiced by Mortal Kombat creator and present designer Ed Boon) to this day, has a warm, if not slightly twisted, place in my heart.

Whirlwind (1990): I could write an entire book on why this is one of the greatest tables ever designed (and would gladly do so if asked!) My fondest memories of this table are also from the same time I’d started my professional video game design career. One of the more shall we say “vested” employees at the large software developer where I had begun my video game design work, had a tremendous arcade & pinball collection, some of which occupied an otherwise empty office down the hall from my own. It was there I fell in love with Whirlwind... not only for its novel and interesting theme (players help navigate a storm, as the storm builds in strength to unlock multiball) nor only for its awesome toy (a working blower fan fixed atop the table’s backglass that activates & blows through your hair during multiball) but for the table’s sublime balance of speed and playability. Every playable element of this table is perfection; nothing out of place, nothing missing, nothing overdone. While Whirlwind does garner a healthy amount of respect amongst Pinball aficionados, I still consider it to be a very-much-underrated table.

Sadly we’ve yet to see a video pinball game that includes THE WORLDS 2 GREATEST TABLES (both also by Pat Lawlor, no surprise!) but such tables still make a good amount of money as physical objects of entertainment, so it’s no wonder!


Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection also includes other noteworthy tables as Space Shuttle (1984) (originally programmed by Larry DeMar) as well the classic Gorgar (1979), Pin*Bot (1986) and Taxi (1988) (by noted designer Mark Ritchie of Pinball & Golden Tee Golf fame) tables; the Wii & PSP versions also include the quaint mechanical table Jive Time (1970) and the often overlooked Sorcerer (1985) (also designed by Mark Ritchie).

While nothing beats playing “the real thing”, having these most excellent and revered tables playable in the palm of my hand is like a dream come true. Definitely worth the price of admission!


Last note, as I’ve often said, if you want to make better video games... learn good Pinball design (from the greats); it’s all right there on the table!

__________________

That’s all for this round from your friends at ByDesign Games. If you like what you see, let us know by posting in our forums!

ByDesign Community & Support Forums
http://www.bydesigngames.com/forums

As always, you can further help us spread the word by telling your friends, your family, your colleagues and their pets all the good stuff we’re up to here! Just click Tell A Friend from the panel on the right and you're set!

Until next time, stay cool and all that jazz!

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." [Albert Einstein -- Physicist, Humanist]

Tagged with: Design, Game Reviews