Shamefully ripping off a common thread on Pinside, but it’s a totally different crowd over here, so I’d love to know - what are some pinball themes you’d love to see? Or even just something you’d like to see implemented in a game, whether in the ruleset or the playfield. Is there a license or concept you think would grab a new generation of pinball players? I find this kind of stuff sort of fascinating.
I’ve spent way too long doodling over a Christine game. I just think it’s the perfect confluence of ideas - you get your 80s throwback with the pumping music, potentially fast, flowy gameplay, and a really simple, immediate concept (collect victims, then defeat the car). Plus, there’s so many concepts that can be played with - a Darnell’s garage with a light-up sign that opens to set up a third flipper shot, a “wrecking yard” set of bumpers with a magnetic crane that locks the ball, a burger joint that plays ironic doo-wop and gives you mystery awards. There could be a pair of headlights where the speakers usually go that blind you at key points, and a pair of eyes on the backglass that grow spookily demonic as you progress.
1- buy a fish tales and remake it into a Moby Dick theme
2- totally custom machine - a Riot Grrl theme with a bunch of Bikini Kill / Le Tigre songs, a “Girls to the Front” eight ball multiball, and a mode progression themed around buying a rock club and rebuilding it
Weird Al theme. As for game play ideas, how about a single target that ends multiball when hit, sort of a lesser version of Karl’s ThunderTilt - - an avoidance item, placed so it’s not too nasty. Hit it and the game halts, the balls drain, and one ball returns to the shooter lane to resume single ball play.
Rick and Morty. My dream implementation, throwing cost and technical feasibility out the window:
Cabinet roughly in line with a Williams-era wide-body. Small lower playfield with 3-4 upper playfields laid out in a staggered/terraced manner. Each playfield would be themed to a different scene, and have at least one kickout/ball eject to serve as a “portal” endpoint. With the multiple playfields, I picture almost a horizontal pinball circus.
Oh man, this would be rad. You could do Italian prog metal, like Goblin’s music for Dario Argento, in the modes and later sequences, and frontload it with inviting and sarcastic faux-classical or zither music or something. I was thinking about something like this - a sequel/follow-up to Arabian Nights, where you play out various Canterbury Tales modes, with crunchy medieval folk music a la Steeleye Span, intricate art (light up the stained glass window to access the “big feast” wizard mode), and funny callouts.
An Arkanoid pinball. 2 flippers, 20 sets of 3 bank inline drop targets. Power-ups collected from completing rows and columns: Up post between flippers, laser smart bombs, weak flippers (easier returns), instant 3-ball mulitball.
Either Idiocracy (brought to you by Carl’s Jr) or another Kingpin, based on the movie. I like humorous themes. KIngpin’s wiz mode would be The Showdown.
I was gonna say Futurama, but someone beat me to it! Well…Futurama! Maybe one day I’ll go the KME route and make my own Futurama pin, with blackjack and hookers!
I’ve wanted to do a classic solid state style pin that looks like it’s been beat up in a bar fight for a couple years. Somehow it should appear as though everything is broken but of course be working perfectly and not actually broken. Theme would be some Blacksploitation era hero like Foxy Brown or TNT Jackson.
Airwolf. 'nuf said. (Only downside is Ernest Borgnine is no longer available to do new sound call outs, but I bet Jan-Michael Vincent would do it for like a hundred bucks!)
