Restoring Count-Down
I’ve been attempting to alternate project difficulty levels with the arcade restoration queue, partly for financial reasons (the pain in the ass projects also tend to be the most expensive), and partly to stagger the overall punishment thrown my way. With the relative ease of the Neo-Geo MVS and Missile Command projects, I figured it was time for a doozy.
Pinball fascinates me — not only did those guys (and as far as I can tell they were all guys) have to contend with standard aspects of game design such as gameplay, pacing, and theme, they had a slew of mechanical engineering and physics issues to deal with on top of ‘em. I wanted a project pinball machine, something I could tear apart, learn a little bit about, and restore. Earlier this year, I found it: a 1979 Gottlieb Count-Down. Cosmetically rough, but complete. The game wouldn’t start (not unusual for a System 1, as I’ve learned) and had electrical and mechanical issues, but that’s part of the fun, right?
Here’s the cabinet as I began the initial cleanup and teardown.
Past owner touchup number one: several thick coats of latex white on the normally orange backbox. Luckily, aside from a few errant paint drops, the backglass itself was in fantastic shape.
Past owner touchup number two: spray can + lack of restraint =
While the playfield wear wasn’t horrible, the insert rings, the rocket cone, and a handful of other detail areas could all use repainting. There were lots of ball swirls to work out, too.
Next up, playfield touchup.
Filed under pinball, restoration | Comment (0)link love 080309
I got one of these this weekend. It smells like my childhood and model trains.
Ben Heckendorn’s scratch-built Bill Paxton Pinball (heh) is beginning to show some progress.
The Edge of Reason: The Tim Langdell Story.
Hurray, a new post at Damn Interesting! Hurray, the book is out!
Filed under gamedev, MLP, pinball, video games | Comment (0)link love 06-12-09
Looking forward to a weekend of beer, tools, sandpaper, and paint. Oh, and a date with my wife.
TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball, the fascinating story behind Pinball 2000, is now available on both iTunes and Netflix. You can buy the dvd, too.
The Making Of: Asteroids. Keep doing these stories, Edge! [via Arcade Heroes]
Scribblenauts: How a Nobody Game Became the Talk of This Year’s E3.
And finally, a Harvard psychiatrist explains Zombie Neurobiology.
Filed under arcade, MLP, movies, pinball, video games | Comment (1)link love 02-13-09
Okay, so now you’ve got your Madcatz FightStick, and you want to mod it. Go here, and here.
David Rosen of Wolfire Games has been releasing a series of game design tours… Aquaria is his forth.
Joystiq visits the Pinball Hall of Fame. Also, Tim Arnold has purchased a new building, so the whole place will be moving up a couple blocks sometime in the near future, doubling the space for pins and arcade cabinets.
This is all over the internets, but just in case:
add Emoji to your US iPhone. 
link love 01-13-08
Back from drinking too much over CES week edition!
Orioto’s megalomaniac thread of ambitious HD remake wallpapers.
GSW interviews pinball designer Pat Lawlor, one of the few pinball designers still in the business of designing pinball games. Also neat: JAMMA 1986.
IndieGames’ Best Freeware Shoot ‘em ups 2008.
With SF IV on the way, it’s time to put together an arcade stick! The question is, do I buy something, make something, or mod something?
Filed under art, MLP, pinball | Comments (2)
