Game of Thrones - 14 big pics

Captain B. Zarre

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Apr 16, 2013
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Tann, Star Trek was also criticized for its art heavily upon reveal, but people later discovered the layout and software of the machine were amazing and it quickly got a position in the top 20 on Pinside.

My opinions still remain the same on GOT. I'm not a fan of the art or theme integration, but the layout looks really nice and packed with flow despite being barren. Hopefully, Dwight Sullivan will do a good job on the table's software.

Looked at the instruction card and it looks like at the beginning of the game, you can select your House and it will determine other scoring objectives during the game (ex. Doctor Who if you could only select one doctor per game). Also, it looks like there's a bit of strategy / risk + reward involved in trying to get as many playfield multipliers as possible, then cashing them in using the front button. Can't wait to play it! :)
 

invitro

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May 4, 2012
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Tann, Star Trek was also criticized for its art heavily upon reveal, but people later discovered the layout and software of the machine were amazing and it quickly got a position in the top 20 on Pinside.
The layout of the table it's a toy version of is amazing.
 

karl

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May 10, 2012
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I wouldn't go so far as to say that the software on Star Trek is amazing ;) It is not unusual that a new Stern get high ranks on pinside. Wait 5 years and see if it will still be top 20. I doubt it.

The software was horrible for a year. Then it got okish. Another 6 months later it got ok. The software was the reason that I sold mine. That game just gets so boring after awhile. And I know I am not alone in my criticism of it.

Great flow, though and I have never played a pinball machine with smoother shots.

Back to GOT. The thing that bothers me the most about what I have seen is the messy playfield art. Nothing I like about it at all. Their use of colors, Those big shield inserts, a total clash of to many different art styles and almost nothing on the playfield tells me that I am playing a GOT game. Those fighting soldiers on the upper playfield looks totally out of place with the spears poking up. It all just looks so damn messy.

Bad cabinet art is something that I am getting used to with Stern, but the Pro backbox side-art and translite is probably the worst I have ever seen on a pinball machine (Le is a little better)

For all that I know, the game might be super fun to play. I surly hope so ;)
 

Metalzoic

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I wouldn't go so far as to say that the software on Star Trek is amazing ;) It is not unusual that a new Stern get high ranks on pinside. Wait 5 years and see if it will still be top 20. I doubt it.

The software was horrible for a year. Then it got okish. Another 6 months later it got ok. The software was the reason that I sold mine. That game just gets so boring after awhile. And I know I am not alone in my criticism of it.

Great flow, though and I have never played a pinball machine with smoother shots.

Back to GOT. The thing that bothers me the most about what I have seen is the messy playfield art. Nothing I like about it at all. Their use of colors, Those big shield inserts, a total clash of to many different art styles and almost nothing on the playfield tells me that I am playing a GOT game. Those fighting soldiers on the upper playfield looks totally out of place with the spears poking up. It all just looks so damn messy.

Bad cabinet art is something that I am getting used to with Stern, but the Pro backbox side-art and translite is probably the worst I have ever seen on a pinball machine (Le is a little better)

For all that I know, the game might be super fun to play. I surly hope so ;)

I'd have to say that the playfield is possibly the worst playfield art that I've ever seen. At least the worst of any I can think of.
 

invitro

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I'd have to say that the playfield is possibly the worst playfield art that I've ever seen. At least the worst of any I can think of.
Have you seen Party Animal?

Which Sterns have substantially better playfield art? (I'll go with AC/DC, Metallica, RBIoN, and KISS, for starters.)
 

invitro

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Bad cabinet art is something that I am getting used to with Stern, but the Pro backbox side-art and translite is probably the worst I have ever seen on a pinball machine (Le is a little better)
Have you seen the Hardbody backglass/translite? Party Animal? (I could come up with probably dozens that are much, much worse...)

I don't much notice cabinet art. I mostly notice the playfield art. Stern has had horrible playfield art on most machines going all the way back to Sega. Twister is awful. Is GoT worse than Twister?

I'm still wondering if anyone will claim that GoT is much worse than previous Stern/Sega playfields... (I hope I didn't miss such a claim above!) I have a feeling that a lot of people have higher standards for GoT than other licenses, which is strange to me. :)
 

dtown8532

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Apr 10, 2012
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Have you seen the Hardbody backglass/translite? Party Animal? (I could come up with probably dozens that are much, much worse...)

I don't much notice cabinet art. I mostly notice the playfield art. Stern has had horrible playfield art on most machines going all the way back to Sega. Twister is awful. Is GoT worse than Twister?

I'm still wondering if anyone will claim that GoT is much worse than previous Stern/Sega playfields... (I hope I didn't miss such a claim above!) I have a feeling that a lot of people have higher standards for GoT than other licenses, which is strange to me. :)

Not the alternate Hardbody BG...:p
 
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karl

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Have you seen the Hardbody backglass/translite? Party Animal? (I could come up with probably dozens that are much, much worse...)

I don't much notice cabinet art. I mostly notice the playfield art. Stern has had horrible playfield art on most machines going all the way back to Sega. Twister is awful. Is GoT worse than Twister?

I'm still wondering if anyone will claim that GoT is much worse than previous Stern/Sega playfields... (I hope I didn't miss such a claim above!) I have a feeling that a lot of people have higher standards for GoT than other licenses, which is strange to me. :)

Yes! At least Twister had some references to the movie. Almost all the Sega games had bad/cheap looking art but that is no excuse for this mess of a got playfield. The strangest thing is that they now have much more competent art personal on their pay-list. It pains me that Greg Freres, the legend who did Fathom is responsible for this thing (not sure if he is the one who did the playfield)

Regarding Hardbody and Party Animal: You seem to forget one small detail. Those games (that are from a different time, almost 30 years ago) all had a cheesy theme to go with the cheesy graphics. Why not compare it to something relevant, like the hobbit. Another new medieval licence based on a popular movie.
 

EldarOfSuburbia

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Yes! At least Twister had some references to the movie. Almost all the Sega games had bad/cheap looking art but that is no excuse for this mess of a got playfield. The strangest thing is that they now have much more competent art personal on their pay-list. It pains me that Greg Freres, the legend who did Fathom is responsible for this thing (not sure if he is the one who did the playfield)

Regarding Hardbody and Party Animal: You seem to forget one small detail. Those games (that are from a different time, almost 30 years ago) all had a cheesy theme to go with the cheesy graphics. Why not compare it to something relevant, like the hobbit. Another new medieval licence based on a popular movie.

So we're all ripping GoT and praising(?) The Hobbit. Remember the outcry over how that looked when the first art and playfield shots appeared from JJ? And how immeasurably it improved with subsequent iterations?

Sadly Stern is more of a production line than JJ and this would appear to be the finished product with GoT :(
 

invitro

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Yes! At least Twister had some references to the movie. Almost all the Sega games had bad/cheap looking art but that is no excuse for this mess of a got playfield.

Regarding Hardbody and Party Animal: You seem to forget one small detail. Those games (that are from a different time, almost 30 years ago) all had a cheesy theme to go with the cheesy graphics. Why not compare it to something relevant, like the hobbit. Another new medieval licence based on a popular movie.
SoT most definitely has references to the TV show. I get that you guys don't like how it does its references. I'm not making any excuses at all for the GoT art. I just don't see how it's any worse than most other Stern or Sega games, going back twenty years.

Freres didn't do many duds, but he did do Hardbody, and he's listed as one of four artists on the 2013 Star Trek. I'll bet that Stern gives its artists much less time to do their work than Williams did, and Stern probably forces its artists to use computers, unless a time limit does that.

Hardbody and Party Animal are almost 30 years old, but you didn't say worst art in the last 30 years, you said worst ever. And their art is bad not because it's cheezy (cheezy isn't necesarily bad, I think?), but because it's so ugly that looking at it makes me feel nauseous. (I think GoT is pretty cheezy itself: it's about boobs, blood, and medieval stuff.)

Any other pinball machine's art is a relevant comparison to GoT. I certainly agree that the GoT art is worse than the Hobbit art that I've seen (but not by a lot), but you guys are making some claims that are much stronger, like being the worst art to ever deface a pinball machine :). That claim is certainly bonkers.

I've been depressed over the state of pinball art for 15 years, at least since WMS died, and also for the Sega tables that were a little more ignorable because I could play the WMS beside them. So I'm very glad to see an outcry about GoT. I just don't understand why an outcry about Stern art in general didn't come sooner... it's probably too late to go back to hand-drawn playfield art now (other than limited editions, and I mean hand-drawn everything, including letters and numbers). :(
 
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EldarOfSuburbia

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I've been depressed over the state of pinball art for 15 years, at least since WMS died, and also for the Sega tables that were a little more ignorable because I could play the WMS beside them. So I'm very glad to see an outcry about GoT. I just don't understand why and outcry about Stern art in general didn't come sooner... it's probably too late to go back to hand-drawn playfield art now (other than limited editions, and I mean hand-drawn everything, including letters and numbers). :(

Possibly because GoT fans (of which I'm one) are far more vocal in their criticism and whining and have had a lot of practice over the years - especially for the book readers (which I do not count myself among, but I'm familiar with what's gone on).

Personally I think GoT is a terrible theme for a pinball table. Really, I don't see how anyone thought it would translate. Stick with the RPGs and episodic games that have sprung up, certainly there's got to be room for an RTS somewhere, but pinball? Jeez, I think Stern's licensing department were just looking for a fast buck on this one and it shows.
 

Kolchak357

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May 31, 2012
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That whole playfield shield section is one of the least appealing art choices in recent memory. But the art won't stop me from liking it if it plays well. I hate the bottom half of the POTC playfield, but really enjoy the game. And Ripleys is stomach churning ugly to me, but it's a great player that I like a lot.
 

karl

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So we're all ripping GoT and praising(?) The Hobbit. Remember the outcry over how that looked when the first art and playfield shots appeared from JJ? And how immeasurably it improved with subsequent iterations?

Sadly Stern is more of a production line than JJ and this would appear to be the finished product with GoT :(

Can't see that I praised the hobbit anywhere. The Hobbit has it's own share of problems(but not the art, I feel). I could just as easily have named a few other pins. ;) I name-dropped the hobbit because it has a medieval flavor like GOT. I am glad that this isn't pinside where everything is about JJP vs Stern. (thankfully) I have no agenda here.

PS! I didn't say that everything about the art is the worst ever, Invitro. Maybe I was unclear but what I meant is that the back box side-art for the pro is the most ugly thing I can remember having seen (in long while;) )

It is the playfield art decisions that bother me the most, not because it is the worst ever (sorry for bringing that term to the table) but because everything just looks like a mess to me and ugly or not, it could have represented the theme so much better.

I am still very much looking forward to the game. When we know more and see some video clips we will have other things to talk about. Looking forward to it.
 
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karl

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That whole playfield shield section is one of the least appealing art choices in recent memory. But the art won't stop me from liking it if it plays well. I hate the bottom half of the POTC playfield, but really enjoy the game. And Ripleys is stomach churning ugly to me, but it's a great player that I like a lot.

I agree. 100%
 

EldarOfSuburbia

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Feb 8, 2014
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That whole playfield shield section is one of the least appealing art choices in recent memory. But the art won't stop me from liking it if it plays well. I hate the bottom half of the POTC playfield, but really enjoy the game. And Ripleys is stomach churning ugly to me, but it's a great player that I like a lot.

Well, the York PA show is just around the corner and Coin Taker brought along a Walking Dead last year, maybe they bring GoT this year.

That said I've still not had the chance to play either KISS or Wrestlemania, that's going to be a whole lot of standing in line if all three are there.
 

Kolchak357

Senior Pigeon
May 31, 2012
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Well, the York PA show is just around the corner and Coin Taker brought along a Walking Dead last year, maybe they bring GoT this year.

That said I've still not had the chance to play either KISS or Wrestlemania, that's going to be a whole lot of standing in line if all three are there.

The same thing just crossed my mind. Hope it's there. The show is only a month away.

I still say 'Genesis ' is hands down the ugliest table and back glass ever.

The Metropolis style backglass is such a huge improvement. I've also seen pictures of Genesis with clear ramps instead of the purple. Way more appealing to me.
 

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