Awesome Wizard of Oz (Jersey Jack) pin news!

stevenp61

New member
Joined
Jun 24, 2009
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
5
Location
Florida
Just read this at pinballnews.com: JJ signed up Keefer (Keith Johnson) as programmer for the WOZ pin project! This sold me; I sent in my deposit. ALso, Roger SHarpe is on board with the JJ team.

Personally, I'm hoping for a conceptual sequel to the LotR game: a flexible pf with various intersecting paths/diverters, and a deep mode-oriented ruleset so you can progress through the adventure. This game might look pretty darned sweet with video clips on the LCD too!
 
I love everything Jack is doing....except the theme. I'm hoping this is successful so we can see what pin #2 will be.

...however the reality is the arcade scene is still weak, ops already don't care too much for pinball - will they want one that costs almost twice as much and has all the 90's pin complexity? We all know that most ops don't clean or fix pinballs....say what you will about the recent Sterns, but they stay working and clean!

I hope I'm wrong and this begins a new chapter of the American artform of the game of pinball!
 
I don't understand why they had to re-do an existing theme anyway? The most sought-after pinball machine of all time (MM) is a unique theme. If I was going to design a game, I'd create my own intellectual property to base it on, then I'd have the beginning of a franchise (like Pac Man, Zelda or Mario Bros).
 
I don't understand why they had to re-do an existing theme anyway? The most sought-after pinball machine of all time (MM) is a unique theme. If I was going to design a game, I'd create my own intellectual property to base it on, then I'd have the beginning of a franchise (like Pac Man, Zelda or Mario Bros).

Several reasons: public recognition (and WOZ has iconic status), already had license rights, easier to design a pin from a known story, can make good use of existing video clips for the lcd, etc. etc. And the 'franchise ip' model doesn't work in pinball--each game tends to be distinct from the others, apart from those based on movie sequels of course.
 
Several reasons: public recognition (and WOZ has iconic status), already had license rights, easier to design a pin from a known story, can make good use of existing video clips for the lcd, etc. etc. And the 'franchise ip' model doesn't work in pinball--each game tends to be distinct from the others, apart from those based on movie sequels of course.

There are several pinball-based franchises that seemed to do well, including the Attack/Revenge from Mars, Dr. Dude/Party Zone, Rudy/FunHouse/Road Show, Pinbot, etc.

I understand why they did it. I just think if they really wanted to emphasize pinball, and not just the game as a vehicle to ride someone else's intellectual property, they'd come up with something original.

I really don't see much innovation here, and that's a shame. Look at how much resistance there still is to P2K. I think the fatal flaw of these pinball companies is continuing to pander to the old pinball market, which shrinks more and more each day. P2K on the other hand, was a really incredible technology that was never fully-utilized. If Gene can get Wizard Blocks going, I would bet it will blow the doors off of every other pinball project in the last 10 years.
 
Back
Top Bottom