So why did Stern scrub Avatar?
skbrothers
I've now seen the movie twice in IMAX 3D and loved it each time.
Why did Stern drop it as a pinball?
Steve
mnpinball
My uncle came visiting from Colorado this week on vacation, he's a
software engineer for HP for 25+ years in also making some very
important choices in marketing. Smart guy, I told him of the recent
developments of Stern and the past theme choices like 24, CSI, WOF.
He even said with a multimillion $ movie of the size and proportion of
Avatar being a Sci-Fi flick with the name recognition of Cameron was a
definite bad move on Stern's part.
I don't understand why it was nixed because of how far into the design
it was followed through other than the timing of $ issues and Steve
leaving the company.
At least we can have Iron Man. BTW: it will not be a re-theme ;)
pinball-rise-of-the-machines
embodiment of liberal cliche.
War against nature loving and peaceful tribal peoples.
War for the sake of mineral rights. A crafty parallel to the "War for
oil" mantra. An anti-corporation and evil capitalist message is
probably woven in somewhere.
You have the racial subplot in a Us vs Them tried and true worn out
plot. They even give the lead alien character a latino accent for some
reason. Im sure that resonates with the story somehow considering how
they want to relocate her and her people.
I don't have the stomach to see this liberal garbage anymore.
Max Badazz
> embodiment of liberal cliche.
OMG, get a life dude. So what pinball machines do you own? What do
you contribute other than being a political troll?
>I don't have the stomach to see this liberal garbage anymore.
I don't think anyone here on RGP can stomach your stupid posts anymore
Chris (in NH)
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/maxbadazz
pincorrect
<pinballfo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Probably because Gary Stern realized that AVATAR is an animation
> embodiment of liberal cliche.
>
> War against nature loving and peaceful tribal peoples.
>
> War for the sake of mineral rights. A crafty parallel to the "War for
> oil" mantra. An anti-corporation and evil capitalist message is
> probably woven in somewhere.
>
> You have the racial subplot in a Us vs Them tried and true worn out
> plot. They even give the lead alien character a latino accent for some
> reason. Im sure that resonates with the story somehow considering how
> they want to relocate her and her people.
>
> I don't have the stomach to see this liberal garbage anymore.
For those who aren't aware, this guy has to use the strawman argument
"liberals" as an alternative to actually debating the merits of the
ideas of the movie plot. If he simply calls it "liberal trash" he
doesn't actually have to justify how destroying an innocent
civilization in the quest for natural resources in any way conflicts
with his bloated sense of moral superiority.
skbrothers
I'm interested in learning what happened to this title.
Steve
pincorrect
Possible answers are:
1. Licensing fee was too high
2. IP group demanded too much control or too many restrictions on use
of the brand
3. Gary Stern underestimated the value of the license (which remains
to be seen.. as entertaining as the movie is, it could be forgotten
six months from now - the one thing that gives these movies longevity
is good characters and that was the weakest link in the movie)
4. Market research showed that the demographic that appealed to the
film did not match the target audience of the machine. (Remember, he
is still building machines for the operator market, not the HUO
market, and RGP is probably not an accurate representative of the
target market)
5. When the time came to decide on the Avatar license, Gary's Magic 8-
Ball turned up, "My sources say no."
6. Gary is saving his resources so he can pay the licensing fee for
his next machine: "Alvin & The Chipmonks: The Squeakwel"
mnpinball
> He even said with a multimillion $ movie of the size and proportion of
> Avatar being a Sci-Fi flick with the name recognition of Cameron was a
> definite bad move on Stern's part not to do it.
The license was secured and Steve R did post many a threads here on
the amount of time he involved himself with the development, script
reading, preliminary screening of the pre-production. Stern was full
go on this.
Rare Hero
> The license was secured and Steve R did post many a threads here on
> the amount of time he involved himself with the development, script
> reading, preliminary screening of the pre-production. Stern was full
> go on this.
....and then..... ???
Greg
Mark Clayton
design staff.
-Mark
-----
http://pinballpal.com
Herb
> And then Steve got shown the door along with much of the Stern
> design staff.
>
> -Mark
>
>
>
> Rare Hero wrote:
> > On Jan 3, 9:58 am, mnpinball <mnpinb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> The license was secured and Steve R did post many a threads here on
> >> the amount of time he involved himself with the development, script
> >> reading, preliminary screening of the pre-production. Stern was full
> >> go on this.
>
> > ....and then..... ???
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
Would be nice for then to pay Steve what they owe him first.
Lloyd Olson
would Stern ever consider doing anything that had half a chance ? They seem
to have other plans for the company. LTG :(
"skbrothers" <skbro...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:dced00fc-393d-4a6f...@c34g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
Lloyd Olson
"skbrothers" <skbro...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:31de2ccc-af8b-464e...@m25g2000yqc.googlegroups.com...
chuck
SR would probably be the only one here who really knows. Unless the
decision was made after his departure.
pinball-rise-of-the-machines
You and your "strawman" should go on a date you use him so much.
Second:
Get your quotes right. I said "Liberal garbage" NOT "Liberal trash".
Third:
Put your doubts to rest about Cameron's agenda. He thinks that the US
are the only ones in history who displaced the original natives here.
(WRONG...happened throughout the history of ALL countries throughout
time.
Question is.....who did the original natives displace? Or are we
allowed to think that deeply. Guess not.
quote:
Cameron said: ''I see it as a broader metaphor, not so intensely
politicized as some would make it, but rather that's how we treat the
natural world as well.
''There's a sense of entitlement - 'We're here, we're big, we've got
the guns, we've got the technology, we've got the brains, we therefore
are entitled to every damn thing on this planet.'
Rubicon
<pinballfo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Probably because Gary Stern realized that AVATAR is an animation
> embodiment of liberal cliche.
>
> War against nature loving and peaceful tribal peoples.
>
> War for the sake of mineral rights. A crafty parallel to the "War for
> oil" mantra. An anti-corporation and evil capitalist message is
> probably woven in somewhere.
>
> You have the racial subplot in a Us vs Them tried and true worn out
> plot. They even give the lead alien character a latino accent for some
> reason. Im sure that resonates with the story somehow considering how
> they want to relocate her and her people.
>
> I don't have the stomach to see this liberal garbage anymore.
Troll.
What are you like 14 or something? You're boring. Come up with new
material.
btrip
<pinballfo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> First off:
>
> You and your "strawman" should go on a date you use him so much.
>
> Second:
>
> Get your quotes right. I said "Liberal garbage" NOT "Liberal trash".
>
> Third:
>
> Put your doubts to rest about Cameron's agenda. He thinks that the US
> are the only ones in history who displaced the original natives here.
> (WRONG...happened throughout the history of ALL countries throughout
> time.
> Question is.....who did the original natives displace? Or are we
> allowed to think that deeply. Guess not.
>
> quote:
>
> Cameron said: ''I see it as a broader metaphor, not so intensely
> politicized as some would make it, but rather that's how we treat the
> natural world as well.
>
> ''There's a sense of entitlement - 'We're here, we're big, we've got
> the guns, we've got the technology, we've got the brains, we therefore
> are entitled to every damn thing on this planet.'
>
>
> http://tinyurl.com/yb9e7ox
>
> On Jan 3, 12:23 pm, pincorrect <icor...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > > I don't have the stomach to see this liberal garbage anymore.
>
> > For those who aren't aware, this guy has to use the strawman argument
> > "liberals" as an alternative to actually debating the merits of the
> > ideas of the movie plot. If he simply calls it "liberal trash" he
> > doesn't actually have to justify how destroying an innocent
> > civilization in the quest for natural resources in any way conflicts
> > with his bloated sense of moral superiority.
And that makes it liberal trash?
J. Weaver Jr.
> Troll.
>
> What are you like 14 or something? You're boring. Come up with new
> material.
"Troll"? With "new material"? Good luck with that. :) -JW
cody chunn
creative and support staff that would have worked on it.
--
-cody
--CARGPB4
[Note: Following any advice given in this message
may result in property damage, minor injury, serious injury or death.
Follow advice at your own peril.]
"skbrothers" <skbro...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:dced00fc-393d-4a6f...@c34g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
Rare Hero
<pinballfo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> ''There's a sense of entitlement - 'We're here, we're big, we've got
> the guns, we've got the technology, we've got the brains, we therefore
> are entitled to every damn thing on this planet.'
So, do you have your Big Buck Hunter pre-ordered? They made it just
for you! You get to play the superior white man w/ a gun who destroys
all the inferior lifeforms for fun! Looking forward to your review of
Stern's newest game.
Greg
blubbo
Avatar already went passed $1 billion in world wide sales. Only the
5th movie to do so. That would have definitely been a good pinball
theme. . .
Very incredible movie in 3D if you haven't seen it.
Stephen
Anyone remember when pinball had it's own original IP's? With it's own
characters, settings and stories? It's pathetic when one entertainment
medium is reduced to licensing an IP from other mediums for every
single new release. Stern has to have some sort of art department. Who
is moving the movie press pack images around the playfield on
photoshop? Buy them some paper and a couple of pencils and ask them to
think up something that isn't being handed to them via their IP
contact.
Sorry. Getting bac on topic. Steve Ritchie mentioned it at PPE and it
sounded like a really great missed opportunity. :(
skbrothers
Pretty impressive...
I honestly wasn't all pumped up to see this flick, but my wife made a
"surprising" push for it. I'm glad she did!
Now I wish there was an Avatar pin to play somewhere....
Steve
skbrothers
> I think they had to axe whatever new title was next as Gary fired all the
> creative and support staff that would have worked on it.
>
> --
> -cody
> --CARGPB4
I think Cody pretty much hit the nail on the head with this.
Avatar was in the wrong place at the wrong time for Stern.
Maybe it could be repackaged and released for the sequel...and trust
me, they'll be a sequel!
;-)
Steve
Lloyd Olson
Titanic is at 1.8 billion world wide, so Avatar could pass it to be highest
grossing movie ever. LTG :)
"skbrothers" <skbro...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:c8dfdf1b-5e35-44a4...@f5g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
OTTOgd
Geez. The thought of new Steve Ritchie potential-gem pin tossed aside
is a darn shame. Perhaps Steve could re-acquire the rights, create a
pre-order plan and rent Stern's operation for a limited run?
Jonny O
>
> - Show quoted text -
Dumb.
Captain Neo
But it was visually beautiful and has a good message that human nature
has to remember.
Another movie that is awesome for insightfull human nature is District
9. Which is original and brilliant.
milt
> Tried a cursory RGP search but nothing really definitive showed up.
>
> I've now seen the movie twice in IMAX 3D and loved it each time.
>
> Why did Stern drop it as a pinball?
>
> Steve
I'm guessing it was the rights that killed it. Of course, we'll have
people say its all Gary Stern's fault and he's a big idiot and he needs
to quit ruining pinball. He needs to just shut down Stern and make room
for someone else that knows what they are doing, etc.
Did that cover all the usual Stern bashing arguments?
Jonny O
> Anyone remember when pinball had it's own original IP's? With it's own
> characters, settings and stories? It's pathetic when one entertainment
> medium is reduced to licensing an IP from other mediums for every
> single new release. Stern has to have some sort of art department. Who
> is moving the movie press pack images around the playfield on
> photoshop? Buy them some paper and a couple of pencils and ask them to
> think up something that isn't being handed to them via their IP
> contact.
>
> Sorry. Getting bac on topic. Steve Ritchie mentioned it at PPE and it
> sounded like a really great missed opportunity. :(
I think Pat Lawlor had some insightful words here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21644
--------
(Interviewer) Do you think that the modern pinball market can support
only games with popular licenses? Is there really no room for titles
like No Good Gofers or Red and Ted's Road Show?
PL: "The answer to that question is much less obvious than it appears.
In America for the last, oh, say 20 to 25 years, kids are mercilessly
marketed to. Then they become adults with those values. We now raise
everyone to believe that a well known corporate "thing" is far
superior to a less known item.
Case in point: there is a fairly well known study where little kids (I
believe five year olds) were given two lunches. One came in a
McDonald’s bag, the other came in a plain bag. The kids were asked,
"Which one tastes better?" They universally answered the McDonald’s
one.
The fact of the study was that the same food was in both bags. No
difference. Nada. The moral is this.... if you are a large company
like, say, Disney, you can afford to show new product because you can
back it up with advertising. If you are not a large company, you
cannot push through 20 years of programming in the American public,
that your product might be fun (or tasty ).
So, the answer is, right now we take the easy road to sales and tie in
with the well-known item. For the consuming public, it works (and
fools them) every time.
---------
I work with high school and grammar school age kids quite a bit and I
can attest to Pat's comments. When kids these days buy something
"generic" by choice, they're often doing it to be "unique" or
"ironic", not because they percieve it to be a good value and the name
brand stuff is overpriced.
Frank J
business, I think the statement should be more like: Gary fired all of
the creative and support staff to keep the company viable and open
until he could find financial support to attempt to stay in business.
The loss of Avatar may have been a result, but I'd rather stay
positive and think that the decision (as unpopular as it is) will
allow Stern to restructure and stick around for awhile.
Gary had a history with all of the people that were let go. Anyone
here think letting friends and coworkers go is easy?
Flame suit on...
Frank - SE Wisconsin
Magic Mike
into production. Steve has the completed CAD playfield layout on his
website:
http://steveritchiepinball.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24
Mike
Jonny O
> Another movie that is awesome for insightfull human nature is District
> 9. Which is original and brilliant.
I agree. In the long run I think District 9 will be the better
remembered and regarded film. The story is far more compelling and
intelligent. The special effects and the action are top notch and fit
perfectly. If you enjoyed that, you should check out Children of Men.
I had a fun time with Avatar in 3D, no doubt, but I was mentally
ticking off every single action film cliche from 1985 - 2000. The
characters are very one-dimensional and predictable. If you strip
away the effects (or just tone them down), Avatar is a very average
film (my opinion, of course). And it just didn't seem to have the
personality of say, Aliens. (But that may be because I saw Aliens as
a kid and there's the nostalgia factor.)
All that said, I think Avatar would have made a good pinball. The art
could have been "out there" ala Barracora. And maybe just maybe it
wouldn't use the old DMD and a LCD with some great animations
instead.
machine.slave
far better products out there, but it's the name association and
"status" attributed to them that sells their product, not the product
itself. Same with iPhones.
Anywho, Steve's Avatar blueprints do look great.. hopefully Stern
bought the layout for a later release.
pinballjim
> Why did Stern drop it as a pinball?
Personally I think Avatar would have been a poor theme choice for a
pinball machine. What are you going to do? Bash the big tree or bash
the corporate space ships?
Stern would have slapped non-original art on another typical Ritchie
shot, post, shot, post, shot, post, shot playfield.
skbrothers
Would love to know what the big toy would have been on this one.
Maybe a large gunship that would launch multiball...not that that has
never been done before ;-)
I'm sure Steve had something cool lined up...
....as stated on the classic Tootsie Pop Commercial "The world may
never know"
Regardless there would likely have been alot of action figures strewn
about (ala LOTR). Not the biggest fan of that approach, but it works
I guess.
Steve
Les Manley
<pinballfo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Probably because Gary Stern realized that AVATAR is an animation
> embodiment of liberal cliche.
>
> War against nature loving and peaceful tribal peoples.
>
> War for the sake of mineral rights. A crafty parallel to the "War for
> oil" mantra. An anti-corporation and evil capitalist message is
> probably woven in somewhere.
>
> You have the racial subplot in a Us vs Them tried and true worn out
> plot. They even give the lead alien character a latino accent for some
> reason. Im sure that resonates with the story somehow considering how
> they want to relocate her and her people.
>
> I don't have the stomach to see this liberal garbage anymore.
>
>
>
>
> > Tried a cursory RGP search but nothing really definitive showed up.
>
> > I've now seen the movie twice in IMAX 3D and loved it each time.
>
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
Wow...and here I just thought it was a sci-fi flick that looked cool
in 3D. I will have to go back and watch it again so I can look for
political undertones throughout the film so I can ruin the experience
for myself.
Les Manley
> According to CNN today. 352.1 million domestic, over 1 billion world wide.
> Titanic is at 1.8 billion world wide, so Avatar could pass it to be highest
> grossing movie ever. LTG :)
>
>
> news:c8dfdf1b-5e35-44a4...@f5g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > Wow...$1Bill already?
>
> > Pretty impressive...
>
> > I honestly wasn't all pumped up to see this flick, but my wife made a
> > "surprising" push for it. I'm glad she did!
>
> > Now I wish there was an Avatar pin to play somewhere....
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
Problem with this is that they don't adjust numbers for inflatation or
even the higher dollar 3D theaters now where they charged you for
glasses and that is factored into the ticket cost. With prices
constatnly going up, in a few years, it will be the norm to break a
billion dollars. I mean even Gone With the Wind from 1939 in today's
dollars earned a staggering $1,450,680,400. Just think of that with
the lack of accessible theaters and advertising back then that a movie
could do that. In 20 years, even "Anaconda 9: The Search for a Big
Snake Again" will earn over 1 billion. It is a watered down movie
market these days for sure and those numbers don't mean what they used
to.
Woz
Look like SR took the drawings for T2 as a starting point for what
would have been Avatar.
Woz
goatdan
Dude, just don't even think about national health care when you see
the movie! The democrats have taken over!
(I have no idea how this was turned into a political thread, but why
not... right?)
goatdan
has. I mean, I saw very little about it and wasn't that excited about
it before it came out. After it's release, I was convinced to go see
it in 3D at the movies, and while visually stunning, I did not find
anything about the movie that really screamed BLOCKBUSTER! to me. The
amount of money that it has made is staggering, but for me it is at
least partially because I don't understand who is constantly going to
see this again and again. The story is predictable and has been done
in slightly different ways before, it's just prettier this time
around. I left feeling like it was a good movie and I was glad that I
went, but with no real want to see it again.
So, clearly, I'm in the minority it seems.
But anyway, just because Stern had or might have had the license, so
what? Stern had the license for the Dark Knight, which earned $533
million domestically, where most pinball machines are sold. Avatar
has currently earned just slightly more than half that, and who knows
-- maybe it will challenge it in the upcoming weeks, although I doubt
it -- worldwide, I'm certain it will smash all records, and has
already smashed the Dark Knight record there. But Stern had the Dark
Knight license, and again -- it failed to set the pinball world on
fire.
Why does anyone think Avatar was the golden bullet? And, as others
have already mentioned, I think that the theme of Avatar would be
difficult to implement in a way that connected to players in a pinball
machine like the way that the Dark Knight or Indiana Jones can
translate. Between the two, regardless of what the final box office
numbers are, I think Iron Man is a MUCH better pinball choice, even
though I think it's box office will be 1/3rd to 1/2 what Avatar is.
jar155
The political and social commentary were extremely easy to pick out
when watching Avatar, but I didn't care. I loved the movie and thought
that the 3D effects were incredible. I've found that you can quite
easily enjoy things that convey a message you don't necessarily agree
with. When I watch James Bond I don't sit there and think, "they're
advocating murder and deception rather than diplomacy!" and then just
shun the movie. I enjoy it for what it is...entertainment. Also, even
if we disagree, I think it's far more interesting if a director tries
to convey some sort of message in their film rather than just trying
to tell a good story that also happens to be politically and socially
neutral.
But whatever...
I think the pinball machine could have been a winner. The theme is
perfect. It's a shame we'll never see it.
kirb
> I'll say this -- I'm surprised that Avatar has done as well as it
> has.
They put this one out at an off season in the theaters. It might not
have stacked up to summer blockbusters, but they were smart to put it
against nothing of substance during the holidays.
Kirb
mnpinball
You call Sherlock Holmes NO substance !!!!!!! How dare you ;)
John In WI
Because EVERYONE's golden bullet is the machine that could have, but
never got made (Avatar...Wizard Blocks....etc.)
Speculate all you want, but nobody will ever know.
brokenvette
Sherlock Holmes was a good movie. I am now a SH fan and I want to read
the books.
Pinballace
on two machines, Big Bang Bar or Flipper Football...we know how that
one ened.
Lloyd Olson
Flipper Football out the door first. And even if BBB got out first, probably
wouldn't have stopped the money problems Capcom was facing as the industry
disintegrated. LTG :)
"Pinballace" <pinba...@raidersfan.net> wrote in message
news:605efbf3-2565-409a...@s3g2000yqs.googlegroups.com...
PinAffliction
cody chunn
widebody through. Ick. Not a good movie, IMO.
--
-cody
--CARGPB4
[Note: Following any advice given in this message
may result in property damage, minor injury, serious injury or death.
Follow advice at your own peril.]
"Jonny O" <jonny...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:90a95526-bfce-484a...@a32g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
cody chunn
Barrymore (Drew's grampa, I think). They were very entertaining, if you like
older films (which I do). Watson was a hoot. I'm sure the new one is much
different with a bunch of computerized visuals, but those early ones are
pretty neat.
--
-cody
--CARGPB4
[Note: Following any advice given in this message
may result in property damage, minor injury, serious injury or death.
Follow advice at your own peril.]
"brokenvette" <zr1...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:15200e47-b595-4d7d...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
Pinballace
> They didn't have a choice. Company politics and fudging test reports got
> Flipper Football out the door first. And even if BBB got out first, probably
> wouldn't have stopped the money problems Capcom was facing as the industry
> disintegrated. LTG :)
>
>
> news:605efbf3-2565-409a...@s3g2000yqs.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > Big Buck Hunter or Avatar...I recall another company that had a choice
> > on two machines, Big Bang Bar or Flipper Football...we know how that
>
> - Show quoted text -
We would have had a lot more BBB's to play instead of Flipper
Footballs and Gene would have built Kingpin instead of BBB. As it
stands now, we got Flipper Footballs and no Kingpins.
Steve
> On Jan 3, 1:37 pm, Stephen <theoriginaltenta...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Anyone remember when pinball had it's own original IP's? With it's own
> > characters, settings and stories? It's pathetic when one entertainment
> > medium is reduced to licensing an IP from other mediums for every
> > single new release. Stern has to have some sort of art department. Who
> > is moving the movie press pack images around the playfield on
> > photoshop? Buy them some paper and a couple of pencils and ask them to
> > think up something that isn't being handed to them via their IP
> > contact.
>
I enjoy creating original theme pinball machines, but when something
great comes along like Harry Potter or Avatar, I am all for
licensing. Licensed pinball themes get tons of free advertising and
exposure. If more people buy pinball machines with titles they know,
(do I have to bring up LOTR, SM, TSPP, POTC for some recent examples)
then the company makes more money which in turn keeps pinball and
pinball companies alive.
Steve Ritchie
Steve
> into production.Stevehas the completed CAD playfield layout on his
> website:
>
> http://steveritchiepinball.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24
>
> Mike
It's far from complete. My drawing is a cost reduced unfinished
version that had a hell of a lot of evolution to go through, as do all
pinball designs.
Steve
> A good example of this is to look at the sales of iPods.. there are
> far better products out there, but it's the name association and
> "status" attributed to them that sells their product, not the product
> itself. Same with iPhones.
>
> bought the layout for a later release.
>
> On Jan 3, 6:33 pm, Jonny O <jonnyna...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Jan 3, 1:37 pm, Stephen <theoriginaltenta...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > Anyone remember when pinball had it's own original IP's? With it's own
> > > characters, settings and stories? It's pathetic when one entertainment
> > > medium is reduced to licensing an IP from other mediums for every
> > > single new release. Stern has to have some sort of art department. Who
> > > is moving the movie press pack images around the playfield on
> > > photoshop? Buy them some paper and a couple of pencils and ask them to
> > > think up something that isn't being handed to them via their IP
> > > contact.
>
It is debatable that Stern owns the SRP rights to build an Avatar
machine. Gary breached our contract, so all bets are off.
Steve
This is a great comment! I relate totally. Some people just don't
have the imagination to let themselves be enthralled and drawn into a
movie. I came away wanting to live on Pandora. I would love to fly
on the back of one of those bird-creatures. The concept of "plugging
into the world and creatures around you" is incredible. JC showed an
overview of a huge story. I didn't go to hear the dialog. It's a sci-
fi war movie/love story, and didn't go to relish the dialog! I think
the characters will be far more developed in the sequel(s). There was
so much to the presentation of a freaky unknown planet and people,
that I didn't mind at all, and neither does the paying public. I
could sit through reruns of the movie all day.
Steve
Steve
> On Jan 3, 8:05 pm, "Magic Mike" <spiderma...@msn.com> wrote:
>
> > into production.Stevehas the completed CAD playfield layout on his
> > website:
>
> >http://steveritchiepinball.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24
>
> > Mike
>
> Look like SR took the drawings for T2 as a starting point for what
> would have been Avatar.
>
> Woz
Well, not really, but when you have to follow Gary's rules about what
HAS to be in every Stern machine, it is pretty limiting. There was a
lot more to the game in the original first pass. I sell a version of
the final dwg.
Steve
machine.slave
thread! It's always great to hear about this stuff from the people
who were actually involved, instead of us speculating all the time.
It's a shame it never got made, sounds like you worked very hard on
it.
Is there anything else about Avatar you can share without getting into
too much trouble? :)
Steve
> DOH! Sorry to hear that,Steve.. but thank you for responding to the
> thread! It's always great to hear about this stuff from the people
> who were actually involved, instead of us speculating all the time.
>
> It's a shame it never got made, sounds like you worked very hard on
> it.
>
> Is there anything else about Avatar you can share without getting into
> too much trouble? :)
Yes. The central feature was an early production version of the "one-
man walker" machines that the humans were driving. It could fire the
ball after being loaded at any angle (360 degrees). I had a skinny
Skee Ball type shot on a kicker that raised and lowered in elevation
to hit the desired target along the left side of the game and a 3rd
ramp that alternately fed the cannon and another feature.
mnpinball
Thanks Steve, now I am salivating. A moving loadable canon, 3rd
ramp.........say it ain't so !!!!!!!!! :)
As I said in another thread Avatar the pin could have sold CSI,24,and
WoF combined ! No question.
Retrogameconnection
>
> - Show quoted text -
So what was it specifically that killed the project? Was it the
licensing cost that Gary didn't want to pay or something else?
OTTOgd
> man walker" machines that the humans were driving. It could fire the
> ball after being loaded at any angle (360 degrees). I had a skinny
> Skee Ball type shot on a kicker that raised and lowered in elevation
> to hit the desired target along the left side of the game and a 3rd
> ramp that alternately fed the cannon and another feature.
Good gravy - that sounds awesome!
Btw, your recent podcast interview on 'A Life Well Wasted' was
great ... and hilarious! The BK unveiling story with the horse was too
much. For those who didn't hear it: http://alifewellwasted.com/2009/11/25/episode-five-help/
Looking forward to your next pin.
Jonny O
> A good example of this is to look at the sales of iPods.. there are
> far better products out there, but it's the name association and
> "status" attributed to them that sells their product, not the product
> itself. Same with iPhones.
>
I was going to mention that very product. The ipod came along when
mp3 players were a pretty mature product and somehow managed to gobble
up the market anyway. Very unusual.
They created a culture around the product - hip, creative, attractive
individuals have fun with their Ipods. The rest of those music
players are for computer nerds. This one is for "everyone else". To
a certain extent they were right - it was extremely well integrated
with itunes and the Mac.
Jonny O
LOL very good point.
frenchy
> HAS to be in every Stern machine, it is pretty limiting. There was a
> lot more to the game in the original first pass. I sell a version of
> the final dwg.>>
I wonder if having 3 grouped pop bumpers is a Gary rule, or close to
it. I couldn't see a Stern in the last year or two that didn't have 3
but I may have missed one. If that's true, it's strange since when it
was Stern Electronics he didn't have that rule (Lightning, zero
pops.) With age comes added conservatism perhaps. Or it better fits
his more recent motto, 'mechanical action pinball'? Don't get me
wrong I love pops but I can see where it would limit playfield
layouts, make them look more similar to each other.
Mark Clayton
think the movie did it any good, and vice-versa.
-Mark
-----
http://pinballpal.com
>> McDonald�s bag, the other came in a plain bag. The kids were asked,
>> "Which one tastes better?" They universally answered the McDonald�s
acarp...@madixinc.com
> On Jan 3, 8:05 pm, "Magic Mike" <spiderma...@msn.com> wrote:
>
> > into production. Steve has the completed CAD playfield layout on his
> > website:
>
> >http://steveritchiepinball.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24
>
> > Mike
>
> Look like SR took the drawings for T2 as a starting point for what
> would have been Avatar.
>
> Woz
Comparing Avatar drawing to other complete CAD drawings in the set,
this plan was not as complete as some would think. The upper middle
still needed definition and there was no notations on any inserts.
Regardless I would love to hear from Steve on how he got where he was
and what was the plan to complete.
Alan
brokenvette
So in short GS, in his short sightedness and limited vision is the
cause of his own demise?
Les Manley
Ahh...more than one ramp...how nice would it be to see that again. We
can all dream...