Epic Pinball

Last updated
Epic Pinball
Epic Pinball UK CD Cover.jpg
CD cover of Epic Pinball: The Complete Collection
Developer(s) Digital Extremes
Publisher(s) Epic MegaGames
Designer(s)
  • James Schmalz
  • Joe Hitchens
  • Terry Cumming
Artist(s)
  • Robert G. Depew
  • Joe Hitchens
  • Mikko Iho
  • James Schmalz
Composer(s)
  • Robert A. Allen
  • Joshua Jensen
Platform(s) MS-DOS
Release
  • NA: November 1993
Genre(s) Pinball
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Epic Pinball is a 1993 pinball video game developed by James Schmalz and published by Epic MegaGames. The initial release pre-dated Schmalz' Digital Extremes name. The game is played seen from a 2D top-down view within a scrollable window with plain raster graphics in 320x240. It was noted for being programmed entirely in x86 assembly language [1] for MS-DOS systems. The game was re-released on GOG.com on November 30, 2017, with support for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux pre-packed with DOSBox. [2] [3]

Contents

Tables

The game was originally distributed on floppy disks in 3 separate packs of 4 tables each. The original shareware version (and an early retail version) included only the original "Android" table. Later shareware versions and retail versions contained an updated version called "Super Android" (although it is still referred to as "Android" in the game, the table was changed to say "Super Android").

ReleaseTableNotes
Pack 1"Android"Included in "Retro Pinball".
"Pot of Gold"Designed by Terry Cumming.
"Excalibur"Modelled and based on a pinball table from the 1970s. [4]
"Crash & Burn"Included in "Retro Pinball".
Pack 2"Magic"
"Jungle Pinball"A tribute to Epic's earlier game Jill of the Jungle .
"Deep Sea"
"Enigma"
Pack 3"Cyborgirl"Designed by Joe Hitchens.
"Pangaea"Included in "Retro Pinball".
"Space Journey"Designed and illustrated by Pixel of Future Crew.
"Toy Factory"Designed and illustrated by Pixel of Future Crew.

Another table, "African Safari", was included in the "Full Edition" (the CD-ROM version), in addition to the tables from the three packs above.

Development

Tim Sweeney saw some impressive 3D demos done by a group of Finnish developers that were members of the PC demogroup Future Crew and sent Mark Rein to Finland to recruit them. They declined except for Misko Iho who travelled to the US with Mark, bringing back an unfinished version of a pinball game. [5] Unable to convince them to allow Epic MegaGames to finish the game, Tim showed the unfinished game to James Schmalz in Canada. James developed Epic Pinball (with six pinball tables) from scratch in nine months while he was in college. Tim and Mark kept in touch with James to ensure he was on the right track. [6] The graphics were created using Deluxe Paint II and the music was composed using Scream Tracker. [7]

Releases

In 1993, the first registered game included only the first two pinball packs. The following year, xLand Games distributed that very version under the title "Fliper". [8]

In 1994, the "Crash & Burn", "Jungle Pinball", "Enigma", "Cyborgirl" and "Deep Sea" tables were released as individual games by B&N Software and its child company Strange Ranger.[ citation needed ]

In 1995, all three packs plus the exclusive "African Safari" were released on CD.[ citation needed ]

In the mid to late 1990s, individual tables were given away as free floppy diskettes to customers of Blockbuster Video upon renting 2 or more items. The promotion lasted only for a few months. [9] [10]

In 2011, the game was partially re-made by Fuse Powered Inc. for Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platforms. The game, re-titled as "Retro Pinball", features updated versions of three tables from the original game. [11]

Reception

Epic Pinball was a major commercial success for its creators, [14] whose internal figures placed it as the third-best-selling shareware product of all time. Designer James Schmalz said in 1999 that Epic Pinball was more successful than anyone imagined it could be. [15] According to Epic's Tim Sweeney, it was the publisher's top-selling shareware game ever, and Schmalz earned "more than a million dollars from the shareware royalties" in its first year. [16] Ultimately the game sold more than 200,000 copies. [17]

Computer Gaming World in 1994 stated that Epic Pinball was superior to the development team's commercial Silverball and "overall quality is very high". The magazine concluded that the $45 registration fee was a good value for eight boards, as "very few commercial alternatives offer as much without causing your wallet to Tilt!" [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Rise of the Triad</i> 1995 first-person shooter video game

Rise of the Triad: Dark War is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Apogee Software in 1995. The player can choose one of five different characters to play as, each bearing unique attributes such as height, speed, and endurance. The game's story follows these five characters who have been sent to investigate a deadly cult, and soon become aware of a deadly plot to destroy a nearby city. Its remake was designed by Interceptor Entertainment and released by Apogee Games in 2013. The shareware version of the game is titled Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins.

<i>Unreal</i> (1998 video game) 1998 first-person shooter video game

Unreal is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic MegaGames and Digital Extremes and published by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows in May 1998. It was powered by Unreal Engine, an original game engine. The game reached sales of 1.5 million units by 2002.

<i>ZZT</i> 1991 video game

ZZT is a 1991 action-adventure puzzle video game and game creation system developed and published by Potomac Computer Systems for MS-DOS. It was later released as freeware in 1997. It is an early game allowing user-generated content using object-oriented programming. Players control a smiley face to battle various creatures and solve puzzles in different grid-based boards in a chosen world. It has four worlds where players explore different boards and interact with objects such as ammo, bombs, and scrolls to reach the end of the game. It includes an in-game editor, allowing players to develop worlds using the game's scripting language, ZZT-OOP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unreal Engine</span> Video game engine developed by Epic Games

Unreal Engine (UE) is a series of 3D computer graphics game engines developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game Unreal. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres of games and has been adopted by other industries, most notably the film and television industry. Unreal Engine is written in C++ and features a high degree of portability, supporting a wide range of desktop, mobile, console, and virtual reality platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epic Games</span> American video game company

Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, Maryland. Following its first commercial video game release, ZZT (1991), the company became Epic MegaGames, Inc. in early 1992 and brought on Mark Rein, who has been its vice president since. After moving the headquarters to Cary in 1999, the studio changed its name to Epic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Sweeney</span> American video game developer (born 1970)

Timothy Dean Sweeney is an American video game programmer and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Epic Games, and the creator of Unreal Engine, a game development platform.

<i>Shadow Warrior</i> (1997 video game) 1997 video game

Shadow Warrior is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive. The shareware version was released for the PC on May 13, 1997, while the full version was completed on August 25, 1997 and released in stores on September 16, 1997. Shadow Warrior was developed using Ken Silverman's Build engine and improved on 3D Realms' previous Build engine game, Duke Nukem 3D. Mark Adams ported Shadow Warrior to Mac OS in August 1997.

<i>Pinball Fantasies</i> 1992 video game

Pinball Fantasies is a 1992 pinball video game originally developed by Digital Illusions and published by 21st Century Entertainment in Europe for the Amiga home computers. It is the sequel to Pinball Dreams, which was released earlier in the same year on multiple platforms. In the game, players can choose between any of the four available playfields, both of which have their own thematic and main objectives in order to obtain the highest score possible.

<i>Jill of the Jungle</i> 1992 video game

Jill of the Jungle is a trilogy of scrolling platform games released in 1992 by Epic MegaGames. It followed the method of distribution used by Apogee Software, where the first game is freely available and promotes the purchase of the additional episodes. The three episodes are Jill of the Jungle, Jill Goes Underground, and Jill Saves the Prince. They were combined into Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy a year later.

<i>Pinball Dreams</i> 1992 video game

Pinball Dreams is a pinball simulation video game developed by Digital Illusions and originally released for the Amiga in 1992. It spawned several sequels, including Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions. The MS-DOS port was digitally released by Rebellion Developments along with its sequel and Pinball Mania on February 22, 2011 on GOG.com with support for Microsoft Windows. It received an OS X build on April 23, 2013; and a Linux build on August 19, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital Extremes</span> Canadian video game developer

Digital Extremes Ltd. is a Canadian video game developer founded in 1993 by James Schmalz. They are best known for creating Warframe, a free-to-play cooperative online action game, and co-creating Epic Games' Unreal series of games. Digital Extremes is headquartered in London, Ontario. In 2014, 61% of the company was sold to Chinese holding company Multi Dynamic, now Leyou, for $73 million. On May 22, 2016 Leyou exercised a call option and increased their stake to 97% of Digital Extremes for a total consideration of $138.2 million US. On December 23, 2020, Tencent bought Leyou for 1.3 billion dollars, which included the majority stake in Digital Extremes that Leyou held.

<i>Jazz Jackrabbit 2</i> 1998 video game

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a 1998 platform game produced by Epic MegaGames. It was released for Windows, and later for Macintosh. Like the first game, Jazz Jackrabbit, Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a side-scrolling platform game but features additional multiplayer options, including the ability to play over a LAN or the Internet. The game was re-released on GOG.com along with the first game on November 30, 2017.

<i>Solar Winds</i> 1993 video game

Solar Winds: The Escape and its sequel Solar Winds: Galaxy are top-down, space-themed role-playing action games developed by James Schmalz and published by Epic MegaGames in 1993.

<i>Jazz Jackrabbit</i> (1994 video game) 1994 video game

Jazz Jackrabbit is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Epic MegaGames. It was released for MS-DOS-based computers. The game was re-released on GOG.com along with Jazz Jackrabbit 2 on November 30, 2017, with support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

<i>Zone 66</i> 1993 video game

Zone 66 is a top down, multidirectional shooter released in 1993 for IBM PC compatibles as shareware. The game was created by a North American demoscene group called Renaissance, and was published by Epic MegaGames. The game shipped on a self-booting disk, so it could bypass MS-DOS and load into a custom protected mode environment.

<i>Silverball</i> 1993 video game

Silverball is a 1993 pinball video game developed by Digital Extremes and Epic MegaGames and published by MicroLeague. It is basically a set of Epic Pinball tables distributed through retail. Silverball was the first set of pinball games created by James Schmalz and paved the way for the development of Epic Pinball.

<i>Extreme Pinball</i> 1995 video game

Extreme Pinball is a 1995 pinball video game published by Electronic Arts for DOS and PlayStation. It was the first game developed by Digital Extremes, though founder James Schmalz had also previously created Solar Winds, Silverball and Epic Pinball in 1993. It was released via PlayStation Network in 2010.

In the video game industry, digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, without the exchange or purchase of new physical media such as ROM cartridges, magnetic storage, optical discs and flash memory cards. This process has existed since the early 1980s, but it was only with network advancements in bandwidth capabilities in the early 2000s that digital distribution became more prominent as a method of selling games. Currently, the process is dominated by online distribution over broadband Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epic Games Store</span> Digital video game storefront

The Epic Games Store is a video game digital distribution service and storefront operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as a software client, for Microsoft Windows and macOS, and online storefront. The service provides friends list management, game matchmaking, and other features. Epic Games has further plans to expand the feature set of the storefront but it does not plan to add as many features as other digital distribution platforms, such as discussion boards or user reviews, instead using existing social media platforms to support these.

References

  1. ↑ "Company: History of Digital Extremes". Digital Extremes. Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  2. ↑ "Release: Epic Pinball: The Complete Collection". GOG.com . CD Projekt. 30 November 2017. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (30 November 2017). "Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball land on GOG". PC Gamer . Future plc. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Epic Pinball - PC Player Review". PC Player . October 1994. p. 78.
  5. ↑ Kuorikoski, Juho (2015). Finnish Video Games: A History and Catalog. McFarland & Company. ISBN   978-0-7864-9962-5.
  6. ↑ Edwards, Benj (May 25, 2009). "From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks". Gamasutra . UBM . Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ Epic Pinball - Read This; Inside Story
  8. ↑ "Fliper (DOS)". Blue Flame Labs. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  9. ↑ "Martin Mathis' Pinball Simulation Reviews".
  10. ↑ "Video Pinball is rad. Real Pinball is rad. Talking about Pinball is rad. Be rad". 11 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Retro Pinball". Fuse Powered Inc. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  12. 1 2 "Epic MegaGames 1995 Catalog - Epic Pinball". Epic MegaGames. September 1995: 7. Retrieved 15 August 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ Burgess, Mark (February 1994). "PC Zone Review - Epic Pinball". PC Zone . No. 11. Future plc. p. 136.
  14. ↑ Lafferty, Michael. "Digital Extremes moves from the days of shareware programs to set the mark in mainstream gaming". GameZone. Archived from the original on June 13, 2002. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ Kang, Jeff (December 16, 1999). "Digital Extremes: James Schmalz Interview". Games Domain . Archived from the original on October 6, 2000. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ Edwards, Benj (25 May 2009). "From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks". Gamasutra . Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Entrepreneur". National Post . January 29, 2007. p. 50. Retrieved November 6, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Miller, Chuck (February 1994). "Shaking Those Winter Blues". Best of the Rest. Computer Gaming World. pp. 130, 132.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.