59 replies to this topic

[templarjh]

On a side note, I would rather have seen Tron.

This. I thought Avatar blew goats. Still, this is a smart license to pick up, and should be pretty evergreen. There's gotta be a sequel in the pipeline to the film, so the machine should stay relevant for a few years.

Definitely agreed on Tron and pretty much agreed on Avatar. I didn't totally hate it, but I don't quite understand its popularity. They could have done worse with a license though, I guess.

Ok actually no, thinking about it a little more, I'd have preferred any number of other ideas. Maybe we'll get lucky and their next will be an Avengers theme, if they're not worried about overdoing Marvel licenses.

[Shockman]

My opinion.

Avatar was spectacular in a visual sense, but as a story, though classic, was unoriginal, and told many times. Fern Gully comes to mind, and believe it or not I just opened a new tab to link to it (Fern Gully) and the first link was indeed agreement on this connection. Avatar in my opinion, was little else than a screenplay.

[faralos]

i agree, the wow effects were astounding but didn't the Final Fantasy movie; (the spirits within) also deal with 'saving the planet'? i didn't even see it in 3D and still the graphics were incredible. amazing what computers can do (and a bottomless budget) so anyone have a screenie of the playfield yet? and who is gonna' do the pin? we don't need the rom if we have the field, we can always 'fudge' the script as it's (imo) the play NOT the rom packs that make a game great

[rob046]

To defend Avatar. I absolutely loved the movie, even though I'm smashing on the Stern licensing department a bit, that is only cuz they are late to the party. I think Avatar is kinda a no brainer. In fact I didn't think Stern would be able to land such a huge license, though maybe they got a discount for waiting this long!
The movie is an assault on the senses.

I was fine with the story. Yes its been done before. But EVERY story has already been told. There is a saying in the movie business that there are only a few stories to be told. Maybe a dozen basic stories, maybe 50? I forget the exact number, but its no more than that.
Example. Boy meets girl, they hate eachother, then through a series of crazy events they find that they were meant for eachother, they live happily ever after. End scene. How many thousands of movies use that story?
I don't want to spoil avatar for anybody who hasn't seen it yet, but it also follows 2 basic storylines. Love & war. Been done a million times.
So is it fair to criticise a movie cuz the basic storyline has been told before? No.
A lot of critics use that line to dump on many movies that they can't find any flaws with, but its unfair.

It is how each movie tweaks the basic storyline that makes it good or bad. In this case, I think Avatar did a great job taking an existing story & tweaking it to feel original, or as original as possible considering everything has been done before. So a good story, maybe not all time great, but good, combined with all the other aspects of the movie (the visuals are just jaw dropping), all combine to make it a top notch film. I believe Avatar will be in 70 years what the Wizard of Oz is now. An all time classic that took movie making to a whole new level.

Perhaps one of the best movies, or the best, of all time...Shawshank Redemption.
How come people didn't complain about that story being old & already done a million times?
Guy goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit, does time, eventually breaks out & sticks it to the man. he gets his justice in the end.
Yup, that story been told a millions times both before Shawshank, & since.

Its the way they tweaked that basic tale, along with the score, great actors, & being well shot...that made the movie great. Nay, I might even argue that the story would just be "OK", but Shawshank has those few moments in it that just wow you, take the film to a new level. Him crawling through that sewer pipe to freedom was so well conveyed, & it ate at the nerve of every person who watched that scene. It tapped into a primal senses of just how far humans are willing to go for their freedom. Without that scene being what it was, the movie probably isn't what it is today, cuz that is what everybody remembers.

So movies these days, you just can't come up with much original story that hasn't been done. However, i saw a film the other night called Mr. Nobody. Wow, about as original a story as you'll see, sure it has some elements of basic storytelling, it has to. But to get that original, they really had to think way outside the box. & that kinda has its own curse in that it makes the movie more niche than maybe they would like, or some people just can't follow it very well. It is that odd, but comes together nicely in a 2 1/2 hour marathon. Never has a movie made me feel like I lived a lifetime while watching it, but in a good way.
It could be a love it or hate it film, but if you don't mind going for a bit of a head trip & are into philosophy, it should hit the spot.

[The Trout]

Avatar fails (to me) not because the story is weak and been done (better) before, but because the characters are about as interesting as a box of rocks. I don't care about ANY of them. They just aren't even remotely engaging. And God, the lead guy has no charisma whatsoever. How Sam Worthington got a movie career I'll never know.

[krambal]

A new pic... it does not appear to be a Steve Ritchie design.

[epthegeek]

Looking at this thing just makes me realize how much more I like hand drawn line art graphics on pins than printed photo-realistic images. Art like Cactus Canyon, Pinbot, Earth Shaker (etc, etc, etc), hell even the Stern Simpsons. It's so much cleaner and sharper looking for a pin than this stuff.

[bolt]

Thanks for the new picture krambal.

[matty sexy pants]

the first time i went to see avatar I was drunk and the cinema was packed so had to sit on the side in the front row and within 10 mins i had the biggest headache i've ever had in my life so i ended up just sleeping 90% of the movie, the people next to me must have been like "what the hell is with this guy??" so yeah my first experience with this movie was horrible. I then rewatched it several weeks after with this chick ive had the hots with for years and got a seat near middle of cinema and the movie was much more enjoyable. Note to all movie goer's don't watch 3d movies drunk.

As for this Avatar pinball machine i'm pretty keen to play it, it actually looks pretty decent.

[Harakiri]

If this table plays as well as LOTR i will be all over it for weeks. I do agree with Epthegeek, about feeling a nostalgia for hand drawn playfields but in this case i have to admit that the visual impact caused on the general public would not be the same. Stern could provide the artists more freedom and let them create a custom-titled old-school pinball for a change, some of their themes are horrid.

Edited by Harakiri, 29 July 2010 - 07:50 AM.

[Wizards_Hat]

If this table plays as well as LOTR i will be all over it for weeks. I do agree with Epthegeek, about feeling a nostalgia for hand drawn playfields but in this case i have to admit that the visual impact caused on the general public would not be the same. Stern could provide the artists more freedom and let them create a custom-titled old-school pinball for a change, some of their themes are horrid.

In his chat on Sunday, Steve Ritchie was saying that Gary Stern was insistent on the title being everything about the starting point for a new pin - so, it's a great pity imo, but it looks like we're not going to see an unlicenced pin for quite some time (ever again?).

Regards,
Dan.

[Harakiri]

I'm afraid so...

[faralos]

with stern being the last pin builder in the US, I can understand about the company NOT wanting their workers to be 'creative' They cannot afford to drop millions of dollars/ hours into a pin that may not sell at all, due to it's theme. So they tend to stick to tried and tested stuff like movie themes, and the like. As much as I also disagree with this that is the safest route for them to take.

[epthegeek]

If this table plays as well as LOTR i will be all over it for weeks. I do agree with Epthegeek, about feeling a nostalgia for hand drawn playfields but in this case i have to admit that the visual impact caused on the general public would not be the same. Stern could provide the artists more freedom and let them create a custom-titled old-school pinball for a change, some of their themes are horrid.

In his chat on Sunday, Steve Ritchie was saying that Gary Stern was insistent on the title being everything about the starting point for a new pin - so, it's a great pity imo, but it looks like we're not going to see an unlicenced pin for quite some time (ever again?).

Regards,
Dan.

To be fair, I'm not really harping on the themes - just the artwork. I understand that Gary thinks he needs name recognition to sell games to people before they ever even look at them. But you can do a theme with real art too. Twilight Zone, Addams Family, Gilligan's Island - etc. They didn't just print photographs on those.

[rob046]

I have to assume that Stern knows that most people would like to see a nice mix of original themes, maybe 1 a year, but it just isn't gonna happen. If I were them I'd find a way, but I'm not them, & Stern is gonna do what they do.

Its hard to dock a pin points just for being a movie license or whatever. I mean, some of the best pins ever & the worst pins ever are movie themes. TAF, IJ, TDK, LOTR rank among the all time best. But then you also got clunkers like Lethal Weapon 3 or Last Action Hero (just off the top of my head).

For some odd reason, after seeing the PF pic of this pin (though not very high rez & still some unanswered questions), I don't feel like slamming it just yet! Maybe it will be OK?
& from a pin owners perspective....so much for keeping the toys to a 1 per game minimum...& I hope Avatar isn't any more expesive than their other pins.
They just got done with this whole thing about home editions of pins (which I assume that experiment clearly didn't work, shocker!) & how they want to go easy on the toys.

Yet, it looks like they are back to normal form with this one. They have 2 pretty big, obvious toys that you can see just from that pic (& other gimmicks going no as well with magnets or whatever). In fact that robot is one massive toy! On top of that Jake has the sleep chamber.
I have a feeling the dmd & audio are gonna be top notch on this pin.
I'm actually feeling pretty good about it, I might actually nearly pay their normal price for this pin, or maybe get a used one in a year or so.

It could end up being my fav Stern pin yet. It looks like the kept the photo art to a minum, the rest being actual art? That would be nice. Shots look numerous & somewhat clear. Might not be my perfect dream pin, but as far as what I expect from Stern, it could be about the best they are gonna do for me.

Edited by rob046, 29 July 2010 - 04:47 PM.

[krambal]

A new pic with more resolution:

http://www.flippersp...emp/Avatar2.jpg

And more information;

http://www.pinballne...tar/index3.html

Edited by krambal, 29 July 2010 - 05:57 PM.

[Wizards_Hat]

Youtube video - Stern Avatar



No sounds (just some wtf music track).

Enjoy,
Dan.

[studmuff]

Youtube video - Stern Avatar

No sounds (just some wtf music track).

Enjoy,
Dan.

Hey Dan,
Thanks for the link. I have to say I'm not real excited about the game. Of course I might change mind when I play it and see the movie.

[IcePagoda]

So, it's essentially a cross between Big Buck Hunter on the left side and Spider-man on the right... hrmmmm....

[Pinbotic]

While I think the artwork on the backglass is atrocious, the 3D effect does look pretty cool. It will be interesting to see how it looks when the table is out in the public.