EPISODE #77 – SPECIAL EDITION OR A FORUM OF INFLUENCE
Coast2Coast host Nate Shivers moderated a talk with a bevy of pinball luminaries last weekend at the Midwest Gaming Classic in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Shivers recorded the event, and it has been released as Coast2Coast Pinball Episode #77.
Nothing ground-breaking is discussed here–Steve Ritchie is the king of innovation, John Popaduik places theme/art above all else, Ben Heck likes to hear himself talk–but its cool to hear the interactions (or divisions?) between the old guard (Trudeau, Ritchie, Freres) and the new boutique designers (Emery, Heck, Kulek). The talk DOESN’T devolve into a reminiscence about the good ol’ days at Williams, which is refreshing and disappointing all at the same time. Stern employee Trudeau, when asked about innovation, said that it all starts on the playfield, in other words dismissing JJP’s innovative backbox LCD screen (or just providing a reason why Uncle Gary hasn’t adopted the technology yet?). Stern employee Ritchie wouldn’t acknowledge the Wizard of Oz by name, instead making reference to it as “the girl with the red shoes”, and claiming (perhaps rightly) that you can’t milk any excitement from the theme. Tanio Klyce is probably a name unfamiliar to most among the other giants on the panel…but you’ll be familiar with him after the podcast as the guy who rambles on and on and on and basically has very little to say. But can you blame him? He’s on a panel with some legends and is probably a bit out of his class. If nothing else, its great to hear Popaduik pontificate about pinball. He exudes brilliance. His is a voice noticeably absent from Clay Harrell’s old TopCast interviews, and I’m not sure I’ve heard him speak about pinball in its other forms in the past few years. From what I gather, he saves his communication energies for those that have committed to put down $16,000USD for a pinball game that has not yet been built.
Nate doesn’t have to do much moderation–the 50-minute set unfolds through the kinetics of the speakers–but its great that he was able to record the event for his podcast. Give it a listen.
CREDIT DOT 