GameSetWatch has an interesting interview with pinball designer Pat Lawlor. I didn't know, or I had forgotten, that he now designs for Stern, though he seems pretty unenthused by what they're doing there ("so CSI is going to have a skull?" "Uh, yeah, it has lots of things. Including a skull").
The part I found surprising was his defense of the Pinball 2000 platform. I mean, I see what he's saying about how pinball would need to adapt to a younger arcade-going audience to be viable, but Pinball 2000 strikes me as having been such an obviously flawed attempt in that direction. It sacrificed the most viscerally satisfying part of pinball (especially in Pat Lawlor's tables), the physicality of the balls interacting with the different features, in order to make it more video game-y in the most superficial way (add a video screen!). It's like if your hot dog stand were losing business to the new sushi place across the street and you tried to compete by not cooking your hot dogs.
In conclusion, someone please give Pat Lawlor the resources to make more games like No Good Gofers, but do not under any circumstances let him run your business.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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1 comment:
Oh, I didn't know you were still "doing" that pinball "thing" or I would OF sent you this earlier today. I've never even heard of "Pinhorse" sounds pretty "cool".
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