Manufacturer | Williams |
---|---|
Release date | January 1979 |
System | Williams System 4 & 6 |
Design | Steve Ritchie |
Programming | Randy Pfeiffer [1] |
Artwork | Constantino Mitchell |
Mechanics | John Jung |
Sound | Randy Pfeiffer |
Production run | 19,505 |
Flash is a 1979 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams. There is no connection between the game and the comics character.
WMS Industries, Inc. is an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. WMS traces its roots to 1943, to the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
This was Steve Ritchie's first game for Williams after leaving Atari, after he was finished developing the Superman pinball for Atari. This game was known for having the first background sound for a pinball game, as well as the first pinball game to use flash lamps. [2]
Atari SA is a French corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972, currently by Atari Interactive, a subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Steve Ritchie designed about 90% the game on a cocktail napkin during a flight, while flying from Atari to Williams. The game also broke the factory production record at Williams and is still Ritchie's biggest seller. [3]
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink, which is either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. There are various types of cocktails, based on the number and kind of ingredients added. The origins of the cocktail are debated.
Defender is an arcade video game developed and released by Williams Electronics in 1981. A horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, the game is set on an unnamed planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; Defender was Jarvis' first video game project and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids.
Eugene Peyton Jarvis is an American game designer and programmer, known for producing pinball machines for Atari and video games for Williams Electronics. Most notable amongst his works are the seminal arcade video games Defender and Robotron: 2084 in the early 1980s, and the Cruis'n series of driving games for Midway Games in the 1990s. He co-founded Vid Kidz in the early 1980s and currently leads his own development studio, Raw Thrills Inc. In 2008 Eugene Jarvis was named the first Game Designer in Residence by DePaul University's Game Development program. His family owns the Jarvis Wines company in Napa, CA.
Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977-1985, and was known for 1980s Berzerk. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1999, is a creator of pinball machines in North America.
Christopher P. Granner is a freelance music composer, best known for composing music for video games and pinball games.
Patrick M. Lawlor is a video game and pinball machine designer.
Steven Scott Ritchie is an American pinball and video game designer holding the record for best-selling pinball designer in history, and has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and long smooth shots. As of 2017, Ritchie suffers from Meniere's Disease and has had his hearing slowly reduced over the years. Steve is the older brother of fellow pinball designer Mark Ritchie.
Black Knight is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics. Ritchie designed two sequels: Black Knight 2000, released by Williams in 1989, and Black Knight: Sword of Rage, released by Stern Pinball in 2019.
High Speed is a pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics in 1986. It is based on Ritchie's real-life police chase inside a 1979 Porsche 928. He was finally caught in Lodi, California on Interstate 5 and accused of speeding at 146 mph.
The Getaway: High Speed II is a 1992 pinball game by Steve Ritchie. It is a sequel to 1986's popular High Speed.
Firepower is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams. The machine had a production run of 17,410 machines.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics.
Spider-Man is a pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie and manufactured by Stern Pinball that was first released in June 2007. The table encompasses all three films in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, which in turn were based on the prior comics and television series.
Brian P. Eddy is an American game designer and programmer, best known for designing Attack From Mars pinball for Midway and programming FunHouse and, with Larry DeMar, The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot. While at Williams Electronics / Midway Games, he also designed Medieval Madness, and programmed Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure.
Black Knight 2000 is a 1989 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics. The game is the sequel to the 1980 pinball machine Black Knight. It was advertised with the slogan "He rides again." and features a black knight theme. 30 years later, Ritchie would design a third game in the series for Stern Pinball, titled Black Knight: Sword of Rage.
High Speed is a pinball simulation video game developed by Rare for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and published by Tradewest in 1991. High Speed employs the game engine that Rare previously developed for Pin*Bot (1990).
Mark Ritchie is an American pinball designer and video game producer. He is best known for his successful pinball designs from 1982-1996. He has continued to work in the coin-operated amusement industry, currently serving as production coordinator for Raw Thrills, Inc. / Play Mechanix, Inc. Mark is the younger brother of fellow pinball designer Steve Ritchie.
Elvira and the Party Monsters is a 1989 pinball game designed by Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla and released by Midway, featuring horrorshow-hostess Elvira. It was followed 1996 by Scared Stiff, also designed by Nordman.
Sorcerer is a 1985 pinball machine designed by Mark Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics. The table is placed in the "Internet Pinball Data Base Top 100 Rated Electronic Pinball Machines" chart.
F-14 Tomcat is a pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics in 1987. It features an F-14 Tomcat theme and was advertised with the slogan "It's fast. It's furious. AND IT FIGHTS BACK!".
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