Roger Sharpe | |
---|---|
Born | Late 1940s |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Wisconsin, 1971 |
Roger Sharpe is an author, editor, professional pinball player, game designer, and activist. [1]
Sharpe gained notoriety following a 1976 New York City hearing where he provided a demonstration to members of the Manhattan City Council, that pinball was a game of skill rather than a game of chance, and therefore not subject to legal prohibitions on gambling. [2] While working for GQ Magazine, he was recruited by the Amusement and Music Operators Association to testify, and successfully predicted the position of the ball in a machine arrayed for the council and media in attendance. Speaking at the hearing, Sharpe said "Look, there’s skill, because if I pull the plunger back just right, the ball will, I hope, go down this particular lane." [3] Following Sharpe's demonstration, the council voted unanimously to lift the existing ban on pinball. [4]
In 2021, MPI Original Films announced they were developing a film based on Sharpe entitled Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game . [5]
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1971 with a degree in marketing, Sharpe took a position as editor with GQ Magazine. [4] [6] He has written for The New York Times and authored a 1977 book entitled Pinball! (photographs by James Hamilton). [6] He served as editor of 1980s publication Video Games Magazine. [7]
He continued working in the industry, including designing a number of pinball machines, such as Sharpshooter and Cyclopes, which both bear his likeness. [6] He was co-founder of the Professional Amateur Pinball Association, [1] and has been described as "among the greatest players in the world and one of the architects of competitive pinball." [4] He serves as co-chair of the International Flipper Pinball Association. [8]
Sharpe has two sons, Josh and Zach, who have also participated in competitive pinball. [6] Both sons work in the gaming and pinball industry, and the trio all remain active in advocacy and coordinating pinball competitions, all variously considered among the top players in the world. [6]
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design.
Gottlieb was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for creating a vast line of pinball machines and arcade games throughout much of the 20th century.
Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for Berzerk. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1986 as Data East Pinball, is a manufacturer of pinball machines in North America.
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire is a 2003 pinball game developed by Jupiter and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It was first revealed at E3 2003. The North American release was done to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the North American release of Pokémon Red and Blue. It is based on Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and is a sequel to Pokémon Pinball for the Game Boy Color. In some ways, it plays like a traditional pinball game, where the objective is to get a high score by keeping the ball in play as long as possible and hitting bumpers. In keeping with the theme of Pokémon, it features Pokémon collection, where while the players play pinball, they must also capture the eponymous creatures.
Baby Pac-Man is a hybrid maze and pinball game released in arcades by Bally Midway on October 11, 1982, nine months after the release of Ms. Pac-Man. The cabinet consists of a 13-inch video screen seated above a shortened, horizontal pinball table. The combination fits into roughly the same size space as an upright arcade machine. 7,000 units were produced.
A glossary of terms, commonly used in discussing pinball machines.
Patrick M. Lawlor is a video game and pinball machine designer.
Pro Pinball: Timeshock! is an action video game developed by Cunning Developments and published by Empire Interactive for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It is the second game in the Pro Pinball series, and is themed around the concept of time travel.
Pro Pinball: Big Race USA is an action video game developed by Cunning Developments, published by Empire Interactive and distributed by Take-Two Interactive for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It is the third game in the Pro Pinball series, and is themed around travelling around the United States in a car, similar to the Williams physical table Red & Ted's Road Show.
Twilight Zone is a widebody pinball machine, designed by Pat Lawlor and based on the TV series of the same name. It was first released in 1993 by Midway. This game is part of WMS' SuperPin line of widebody games alongside Star Trek: The Next Generation and Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure.
Johnny Mnemonic is a 4 player pinball machine from August 1995, manufactured by Williams Electronic Games, Inc. A total of 2,756 units were produced.
UltraPin is a Multi-Game pinball arcade game that holds 12 digital recreations of Williams Electronics real pinball games in a single pinball cabinet. UltraPin is built in a traditional style pinball cabinet to look and feel like a real pinball machine. It has two LCD screens, a 19 inch LCD for the back glass and DMD, and a 32 inch LCD for the playfield, and it uses Windows XP Embedded for its operating system.
The Flintstones is a pinball game released by Williams in 1994 and based on the movie of the same name which is based on 1960–1966 animated television series of the same name. This machine is not to be confused with another pinball machine, a redemption game, based on the TV series and also released in 1994, manufactured by Innovative Concepts in Entertainment (ICE).
Virtual Pinball is a follow-up to EA's 1983 title Pinball Construction Set from the same author, Bill Budge, released 10 years later for the Sega Genesis. One to four players can choose from either 29 premade tables or design one using in-game editor tools. Designing options include ten different backgrounds and six themes, and a player can choose where objects are placed, the style of music, and the ball speed. Virtual Pinball lacks the unlimited floppy disc storage used by the original, and the ability to create self-booting disks that can be played without the construction set software.
The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard is a pinball machine based on the rock musical The Who's Tommy, based upon the band's 1969 rock opera album of the same name, which was also adapted into a 1975 motion picture. The machine features twenty-one songs from the musical sung by original Broadway cast members. The game was designed by Joe Kaminkow, Ed Cebula, Lonnie D. Ropp, and Lyman F. Sheats Jr. The machine was built using Solid-state electronics type components. The backbox of the machine has a dot matrix display with animations by Kurt Andersen and Markus Rothkranz. 4,700 machines were manufactured by Data East in January 1994.
Play Meter was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. Lally II and it is published in physical form by Skybird Publishing on a monthly basis. Together with rival publication RePlay it chronicled the arcade industry from its nascency, through market fluctuations like the video game crashes of 1977 and 1983, and the rebirth and maturation of the medium through the 1980s. It is the earliest example of video game journalism, establishing such practices as individual video game reviews and the ten-point assessment scale for video game reviews.
Rescue 911 is a pinball machine designed by Bill Parker and released by Gottlieb in 1994. The game is based on the TV show of the same name.
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball is a 1990 pinball game designed by John Trudeau and Python Anghelo and released by Midway. It is based on Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. This is the first of only two licensed pinball tables ever to feature the Looney Tunes characters.
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games or merchandisers.
Lyman F. Sheats Jr. was an American pinball champion, game designer and coin-operated game operating system software engineer who had worked for Bally, Williams, and Stern Pinball, among other companies.