That was pretty neat. Thanks for the link. I had never seen foosball videos.
My observation is that foosball allows for the PBP commentary style since it is basic what each player is trying to do-score a goal and block the other person from doing so. The speed of play only dictates when the comments come and describing which group of men made or blocked the shot and what is the game score and set score. It’s always the same basic theme.
The commentator did a very professional job IMO, but there were some terms I wish were explained as a first timer, but I expect the lingo would become more clear over time.
In pinball, on a simplistic level, we know player A is only trying to outscore player B, but the paths to doing that are extremely varied. Commentators have a very difficult task, especially on modern games. They have to try and figure out what the player is going for and the speed at which things happen can be fast. Knowledge of the rules of the game is huge and there could be times where the commentators might be not sure why a player is doing something.
Nobody knows every rule nuance of every game and there is no one correct way to score. It also might not be obvious what the fastest path to a score is, unlike say chess, where there is only one “best move”. In pinball, the best path for a particular player might be the safest shot sequence for him, or what he is focused on, whereas the commentator might say, “I am not sure why he is doing that, I would just shoot for x”.
I also feel pinball commentary has a lot of filler talk that seems to be inside chat for “members only” rather than the general audience. But that is understandable, because it is very hard to talk nonstop about what is on the screen. People are more comfortable telling stories or chatting casually.
Anyway, I like seeing the pinball commentary develop. I would love to see pinball reach a level of national coverage. I appreciate the folks at PAPA tv and the tourney players who commentate for us viewers.
Things are constantly looking up for pinball.