Faced with the rise of video games and the fall of the arcade, just a few years ago it seemed like the pinball industry seemed on its way out. Wow have things changed. Today, pinball is undergoing a renaissance as new manufacturing startups enter the scene, competitive leagues spread throughout the country, and game designers begin to experiment with the classic formula. Case in point: The new Ghostbusters pinball machine (yes, it’s based on the original movie and not the reboot), which comes from Stern pinball, the oldest and largest company still making the games. To get a better understanding of the new game, I spoke to designer John Trudeau—an industry veteran who created classic games such as Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Machine: Bride of Pinbot—about what it was like making the game, and where the industry is headed. So, tell me about the new Ghostbusters game. Let’s see. What’s not new on this? We really had a great subject to work with. The movie was just full of material that translates really well to a game. Our question on developing the game was more or less what to leave out. We had a good time with it, that’s for sure. The genesis from the movie to the game was fairly smooth, actually. We have a couple of new features that we brought in that were perfect for the ghosts. We have magnetic slingshots that don’t have any physical moving parts. We put a magnet under the play field to pull the ball away from the rubber band instead of having a kicker in there. It looks like the ghosts control everything. We also have an EctoGoggles feature, which actually gives you, the player, an image on the playfield that’s kind of holographic. You see an animated ghost of some style. We’re still playing on it as far as what we want to put in there, but you can shoot the ball right through the image. It’s pretty nice to see. You’re looking through a two-way mirror, essentially. You’re seeing the reflection of a LCD screen that’s actually above the play field. It’s the Pepper’s ghost illusion, right? I believe that’s what it’s called, yes. It’s becoming standard to release multiple versions of the game. You’ve got the less expensive pro and then the premium/limited edition versions. Do you start with the basic model and then add on features for the premium ones, or do you start with the dream machine and then see what you need to strip away for the less expensive one? Which direction does it typically go? Personally, I go with designing the full-boat game. It’s much easier to pull things out than it is to make space for something to go in. I’ll start with full-boat version, and then we’ll pick and choose and fight our wars that way as far as the budget’s concerned.
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