> Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem
wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem?
The Economics of Pinball (2009)
21–30 of 32 posts
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#22> Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem?
"Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem. The WGTTC problem is where a machine has adjusted down to a low replay score because it is mostly played by novices. "
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#23> Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem?
"Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem. The WGTTC problem is where a machine has adjusted down to a low replay score because it is mostly played by novices. "
ah ty, sry for some reason my brain didnt parse the lowercase, then acronym being the same thing :(
a strange name though, how does a wizard going to a cinema reflect novices playing a pinball game?
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#24This article is very misleading. Pinball has gone through many eras, and it is true that Addams Family in 1992 was the high water mark, but there's an equivalent peak in late 70s for the EM (Electromechanical, think gas-station price cylinders scoreboard). The article mostly talks about the SS era (Solid State, think 7-segment display scoreboard) which dipped a bit from the late 70s but ended in the late 80s early 90…
https://www.multimorphic.com/ I have yet to encounter one of these in the wild, but these look to combine a digital playfield with modular physical components. It is pricier than regular tables, too-- $15k for the base table and 3 modules. It does have new features like real time competitions and the whole electronic playfield.
I've played a Lexy Lightspeed and it was definitely interesting, but had a lot of reliability issues, and ultimately I didn't think it was that fun—I play pinball for the physical nature of it, the digital stuff feels like an AR gimmick. That said, a really well-designed game could change my mind.
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem. The WGTTC problem is where a machine has adjusted down to a low replay score because it is mostly played by novices. "
ah ty, sry for some reason my brain didnt parse the lowercase, then acronym being the same thing :( a strange name though, how does a wizard going to a cinema reflect novices playing a pinball game?
Many Cinemas/Multiplexes will have a a room full of video games (and previously some pinball machines). These will be mostly played by novices who are playing a game while they wait for their movie.
Since these novices are not very good the replay score will be automatically tuned down on those machines. Which causes a problem if a "Wizard" starts playing on them since he will easily reach the replay score. Thus the machines need to be programmed to react quickly to a sudden increase in player skill level.
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#26This article is very misleading. Pinball has gone through many eras, and it is true that Addams Family in 1992 was the high water mark, but there's an equivalent peak in late 70s for the EM (Electromechanical, think gas-station price cylinders scoreboard). The article mostly talks about the SS era (Solid State, think 7-segment display scoreboard) which dipped a bit from the late 70s but ended in the late 80s early 90…
When sales declined quitting pinball was an obvious choice for Williams as they had the huge gambling machine market where they already were making much more money.
Stern made the pinball market work because it has gone extremely commercial, with licensed themes to attract casual players and layered game rules to attract advanced players.
That is the only way to survive in the pinball business, it’s a difficult, risky business with high upfront costs and short production runs to recoup the costs. You can only afford a few flops before you’re bust.
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem. The WGTTC problem is where a machine has adjusted down to a low replay score because it is mostly played by novices. "
ah ty, sry for some reason my brain didnt parse the lowercase, then acronym being the same thing :( a strange name though, how does a wizard going to a cinema reflect novices playing a pinball game?
Pure speculation on my part, but I would hazard a guess that it's a call out to the song "Pinball Wizard" by The Who (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball_Wizard). Some pinball wizard goes to the movie theater where it's common to have a few arcade and pinball machines in the lobby and racks up an incredible high score that is unbeatable by your average movie-goer while waiting for popcorn. This discourages other customers from playing and the high score is adjusted down to encourage more play.
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#28This article is very misleading. Pinball has gone through many eras, and it is true that Addams Family in 1992 was the high water mark, but there's an equivalent peak in late 70s for the EM (Electromechanical, think gas-station price cylinders scoreboard). The article mostly talks about the SS era (Solid State, think 7-segment display scoreboard) which dipped a bit from the late 70s but ended in the late 80s early 90…
Oh, I do like the electromechanical machines of the 70's. All the clanking and grinding and clunking and burned out lamps made it real.
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#29This article is very misleading. Pinball has gone through many eras, and it is true that Addams Family in 1992 was the high water mark, but there's an equivalent peak in late 70s for the EM (Electromechanical, think gas-station price cylinders scoreboard). The article mostly talks about the SS era (Solid State, think 7-segment display scoreboard) which dipped a bit from the late 70s but ended in the late 80s early 90…
https://www.multimorphic.com/ I have yet to encounter one of these in the wild, but these look to combine a digital playfield with modular physical components. It is pricier than regular tables, too-- $15k for the base table and 3 modules. It does have new features like real time competitions and the whole electronic playfield.
Wasn't that the same idea of the Williams Pinball 2000 machines (Revenge from Mars and Star Wars Ep1)?
Re: The Economics of Pinball (2009)
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Later designs would allow the threshold to rise quickly to combat the wizard-goes-to-the-cinema problem. The WGTTC problem is where a machine has adjusted down to a low replay score because it is mostly played by novices. "
ah ty, sry for some reason my brain didnt parse the lowercase, then acronym being the same thing :( a strange name though, how does a wizard going to a cinema reflect novices playing a pinball game?
The next sentence addresses that:
"Then anytime an above average player gets on the machine, he’s getting free games all day long."
Since the replay score is set based on the top percentage of scores, if the majority of players in the movie theater (novices) lower the average score, a good player (wizard) is more easily at the high end of the score distribution, earning free plays consistently.