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TWIP – Deadpool Stream, Zombie Yeti Interview, Medieval Madness XL Display?, JJPOTC Ships, New Guns N’ Roses Machine in the Works?

TWIP – Deadpool Stream, Zombie Yeti Interview, Medieval Madness XL Display?, JJPOTC Ships, New Guns N’ Roses Machine in the Works?

— This Week’s Top 5 Stories —

1. Deadpool Pinball Gameplay by Dead Flip

Following the reveal of Deadpool Pinball from Stern, last week we saw the first reveal of Deadpool Pinball gameplay! The stream took place on Dead Flip’s Twitch Channel and was a high quality stream of the Pro Edition of Deadpool.

The Deadpool team was there for the stream, along with Jack Danger in a full Deadpool costume.

And hey, was that a Golden Girls shirt? And a Godzilla shirt!?

We’ll be doing a Deep Dive into this machine later this week on TWIP, stay tuned!!

2. Zombie Yeti Interview

Jeremy Packer (AKA Zombie Yeti) joined This Week in Pinball’s Podcast last week – check out the full episode here! Here are a few of the highlights from the interview:

On the long crazy journey of the creation of the Deadpool pinball machine:

After Ghostbusters…Deadpool was brought up, and this was actually before the [first] film came out by the way…it was sort of a slow start at that point – I think it was six months after Ghostbusters was safely out that we even started the early concepts and ideas for that one. The short version is – I think I had one or two pieces that were maybe going to be locked in and final, and then all of the sudden it was “we’re putting this on hold”, and that was 2016, so it went on hold until spring of 2017 maybe. From my perspective, the whole long start and stop thing – it happened twice to me. That [the first time the game was put on hold] was more of because of the slate of games that were coming…that was business decisions. Then in 2017 it got hot again…I literally had an entire playfield sketch getting ready to submit, and we were going to have a phone meeting. It was going to be Greg [Freres], Tanio [Klyce], … myself, JT [John Trudeau]. We all get on the phone…everyone but JT. And I said “is JT getting on this?” and…Greg went and asked around said he didn’t call in sick or anything but he’s just not in. And later that day that I literally get a mugshot texted to me from someone…it was just devastating. All of the goodwill, all the energy that Tanio and myself in particular had put into this. I can’t even describe it. Not only was it sickening…it was like “this is tainted”. There was a period of time where Tanio and I were debating whether we continue to be a part of this thing. And that was when George [Gomez] came in. He believed in the project, he had a lot of passion for it. He said “We’re going to do this right, we’re going to start over, it is going to be costly, but that is what we’re going to do.” And I kid you not, within two weeks he had a design put together from scratch…and he started building the excitement again.

On Tanio:

He’s not just the lead programmer…he is a lot of the brains behind the story. He’s a huge comic book nerd like myself. The craziness of this game – a lot of it has to do with him.

On John Trudeau’s design:

ZY: I can assure you that everything was scrapped…when I went in to see the original whitewood, I made a joke…and my joke was this – I said “Wow, this is fascinating. You took all of the feedback from Ghostbusters and you decided to take the most negative aspect of that and focus it into the main feature of this game.” And let me explain why, it had a ramp that would come up right in the middle of the playfield that would literally just send the ball – just airballs. It was nothing but airballs. I could’ve been fun I’m sure but…

On Deadpool’s messages on the playfield:

Jeff: So you mentioned there were some bubbles where he’s saying different things, like “At least it’s not another movie themed pin!”, and…what was the other one…

ZY: “I like to think of pinball as glass over a world!”

Jeff: Yes – were those your ideas?

ZY: Yes – so I put those in and I honestly expected them to be changed [laughs]. I thought it was funny and it was meta. And the glass over the world thing was a joke in my head all along…I was thinking Deadpool has a different outlook – he doesn’t look at it as a world under glass, but a world trapped under glass. Not a positive, just a goofy little joke. Honestly I didn’t expect it to make it in.

On Easter Eggs:

ZY: …We got to the pop bumper area, and we thought maybe we’ll put some ninjas up there. And George said something like “You can put ninjas all over the place, whereever you want” and I thought “Brilliant, we’ll just hide ninjas everywhere.” And so there are literally ninjas hiding and popping up – you can see on the playfield there is one right behind the giant Deadpool’s head to the left. There are tons of those. I haven’t done a count, but I know there is over a dozen. There are some hidden underneath plastics.

On backglass art:

Jeff: Am I right that the premium and the LE are the same backglass except that the LE is mirrored?

ZY: Sadly it is true, and you guys can all blame me for that. I chose to devote the fast track time that I had elsewhere, and I really didn’t have time to get back to trying to come up with another one. It is because of what happened.

On the Godzilla theme:

ZY: There is the whole Godzilla thing, right? I want to comment on it just for me personally, from the outside looking in. Keep in mind, I don’t work at Stern so I don’t know the ins and outs. Unfortunately in this case I know enough…

Jeff: And you’re friends with people at Stern, and you’re also friends with Charlie…

ZY: Yes yes…I kind of knew both sides of what was going on. And I can tell you this much. The theme itself – and I don’t know anything about does somebody have it or does somebody not have it, you can all read about that – but the theme itself has been talked about at Stern since I was on Ghostbusters. So it’s not like somebody was just like “This is a crappy theme, but we don’t want Spooky to have it.” I don’t think that exists there. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word or anything detrimental…

Jeff: About Spooky you mean?

ZY: About any – yeah, about Spooky. Greg Freres and Chuck are great friends too. I think the way this has been spun, is just that. It has been kind of spin. Because everybody likes the David vs. Goliath. It makes for firepower for the haters of Stern, and it is firepower for the supporters of Spooky…here is the bottom line. Nobody is evil at Stern that is making the games…I think every company is trying to do the best work that they can…let me put it this way. TOHO is an international property…and here is the bottom line, they want global distribution. And who are they going to go with if they want global distribution? …I just want to tell people it definitely not what it is made out to be.

Jeff: Stern is the mothership, so they’re going to get a ton of praise and a ton of criticism.

ZY: Sure, and I’m not saying don’t criticize. I just want to people to know – as someone that is independent – I don’t know anyone there with any insidious plot to take advantage of anyone or to not do anything but give the best product they possibly can.

…

Jeff: Not to get on a tangent, but when I talk to people from This Week in Pinball, pretty much everybody I talk to has an agenda to some degree…

ZY: …let me ask you this, did the info you got about that story come from Spooky or Stern?

Jeff: No…you’re talking about different reasons people leak certain things at certain times…

ZY: Sure – if it is in your best interest to make people think something a certain way then sure you’ll do it.

On a possible new pinball machine with Zombie Yeti artwork:

Jeff: Are you working on any other pinball machines currently?

ZY: I turned down what would’ve been the next project. That was a hard decision, but I talked it over with Greg, and he agreed that it would probably not be good for me – as far as with this schedule that’s been never ending. Having said that…it doesn’t mean that I might not be on at least one other…I have to watch how I answer that…

Jeff: Are you taking a break right now from pinball?

ZY: No, no, no. So there’s your answer…one of the things I would love to see is other artists from other disciplines taking a stab at things in the pinball world. That is one thing I’ve been talking – since before I worked for Stern, that is one thing I’ve talked about wanting to do. And I might be able to help make that happen at some point. I don’t know. We’ll see. That would be interesting to me…

If I decide – and I’m not saying I’ve decided not to – if I decide to do another pinball machine, it is going to be with Stern, there is no question. They’ve treated me very well, they’ve been very nice, they’ve been fantastic to work with.

NOTE: Sorry for the audio quality on this one! Had a minor mishap that happened which caused it, but we’ve got it fixed for next time.

3. Medieval Madness Remake – new display option?

An image was shown on this Pinside post last week that showed a Medieval Madness Remake with a larger display. It looks like the bigger display is similar to the XL display that was included with the Attack from Mars Remake Special and Limited Editions:

The photo was taken at Logan’s Arcade in Chicago, and is currently the only MMr machine that has the XL display. We are hearing rumors that this XL display may be sold as an upgrade, so people that own Medieval Madness Remake can purchase and upgrade their display. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more!

4. Jersey Jack – Pirates of the Caribbean now Shipping

Jersey Jack Pinball announced via this Facebook post that Pirates of the Caribbean is now shipping! The first one arrived at Helicon Brewing just outside Pittsburgh. Check out Helicon Brewing’s website and arcade here!

We also got a closeup of the artwork on the new disc:

As is custom, Jack himself did his legendary (version of a) “cartwheel”! Let’s go back and check out the past “cartwheels”:

Congrats to Jack and the team at Jersey Jack Pinball, looking forward to seeing more of these machines out in the wild!

5. Is a New Guns N’ Roses Machine in the Works?

The Times out of London recently interviewed Slash from Guns N’ Roses. Slash is a known pinhead. As part of the article, Slash discussed pinball:

“Slash’s life may still be driven by rock’n’roll, but the drugs, booze and wild adventures are a thing of the past. These days he leads a relatively stable existence in Los Angeles, with his two sons by his ex-wife Perla Ferrar, his girlfriend Meegan Hodges and his pinball machines. “I’m working on a Guns N’ Roses pinball machine, but I’m not a big collector. They take up too much space and the missus is always, like . . . ‘Really?’ ”

“I’m working on a Guns N’ Roses pinball machine” – does that mean that he is working on a one off custom Guns N’ Roses pinball machine for himself? Or perhaps he has a Data East Guns N’ Roses pinball from 1994, and he is doing some repairs? OR, maybe a new Guns N’ Roses pinball machine is in the works??

Here is the full article (need to provide personal info to access), or here is the snippet that talks about pinball.

TWIP reached out to Slash, but we have yet to hear back.

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August Giveaways!

Check out the August Giveaways here! There are TWO WAYS to enter for August:

1. Consider making a monthly donation via the PayPal button below or Patreon, which you can find here. You’ll automatically be entered each month you make a donation, and also get additional TWIPerks based on your giving level. Your contribution will help support this website.

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2. Donate nothing, and send an email to [email protected] to let us know you want to be entered, and include your name, address (including city and state), and email address, and you’ll be entered for that month. You’ll just have to send the email every month to be included.

See official rules here.

What is your favorite callout in Pinball?

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Identify the pinball machine pictured below for a chance to win a limited This Week in Pinball Lapel Pin! Drawing will be held monthly!

Last Week’s answer: Theatre of Magic

Email guesses to [email protected], correct answers will be entered into the drawing for the limited TWIP Lapel Pin!

— Presented By —

This Week’s Mod of the Week is the Metallica Pinball Flashing Cemetery Arch from Mezel Mods!

“New design! A staff favorite, our Metallica Pinball Flashing Cemetery arch is grey with black accents and red lights that flash during game play. The Metallica Pinball Flashing Cemetery is a perfect accent to the games cross drop target.”

Check it out!!

— To Those Who Make This Hobby Better —

Shoutout to American Pinball! Their Houdini machine and their company has had relatively few issues and drama, all while being one of the few manufacturers that are consistently communicative to customers through pinball forums such as Pinside. We look forward to future games from American Pinball!

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Have a scoop or anonymous rumor? Email us at [email protected]

Stern Pinball

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Elvira 3

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Jersey Jack Pinball

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Wizard of Oz | The Hobbit | Dialed In | Pirates of the Caribbean

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Willy Wonka? | Toy Story? | Guns N’ Roses?

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The post TWIP – Deadpool Stream, Zombie Yeti Interview, Medieval Madness XL Display?, JJPOTC Ships, New Guns N’ Roses Machine in the Works? appeared first on This Week in Pinball.

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