came across this article which was interesting
As always when you design a pinball machine there are a lot of things that never make it to the final product.
These are the words of the designer Brian Eddy:
"AFM was the most different. It had one big feature that didn't make it into the game. The saucer in the middle of the playfield was originally suppose to move out and around the playfield.
It started (rested) right where the static one on the final game is. It had a telescopic arm that allow the
saucer to move out about 18 inches onto the playfield and a pivot that would rotate it right & left.
So it basically could "move" around the whole playfield (hence the open playfield area in the final design).
It also had a target hanging down from the middle of the saucer that you could shoot from
any angle. We ran out of time to develop it and keep it cost effective.
It was also a reliability issue and to make it rock solid would have required a lot of testing time.
The Martians also started out like the string push toys (you push the bottom of a platform and they
jiggle/collapse). When you would hit them they would fall to pieces. We couldn't make it reliable (String would always break to soon) so we found this really flexible plastic and made them jump up/down.
Not quite as effective but still a lot of fun to watch and very reliable."
The prototype motherships had a clear dome (green on the production ships) and a lighter shade of grey.
The six smaller spaceships on the playfield should initially have 8 LEDs around the flasher dome but this idea was too expensive.
The mold for these ships was already made so the holes for the LEDs are still there.
A kit to remake this cool light effect can be bought at UFOPinball.
The Video Mode has been programmed by designer Brian Eddy himself and the idea is taken from an old
computer game called "Sabotage".
See artist Doug Watsons´ pictures of the original backglass painting and Martian sculpture on his website.
Doug Watson is also the voice talent used for the Martians.
Below are some questions answered by Brian Eddy:
What did you do to get inspiration for the design? Did you watch any Sci-Fi
movies from the 50´s?
Yes, I watched a TON of very bad 50's movies to get "in the mood" and pick
up on the whole era. Some were really really bad but all had that 50's
flavor so they were great reference. Movies in general were a lot slower
moving back then. I bought just about every cheesy movie I could find. Most
of them were so bad they were funny. I think 4 of them were actually pretty
good (Forbidden Planet, War of the Worlds, The day the earth stood
still,EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS).
The movie "Mars Attacks" was released about the same time as AFM.
Was AFM a way to get around the license costs
related to movie tie-ins, or was it just a coinsidence? The Martians have
some common features...
Not related at all. The Mars Attacks trading cards from the 50's were a good
reference but we didn't know about the movie until the game was close to
done. Hollywood always has thousand of movies in the "possible" stage at
anytime. We knew the trading cards were being shopped as a movie idea but
never thought it would actually get picked up and made. It was and the
timing was good for us but the game didn't have anything to do with the
movie other than they were both based on the cheesy Sci-Fi movies of the
50's. The Martians are a combination of all the Martians from movies during
the 50's and actually look a lot closer to one of the movies from the
50's(can't remember the name). So just a coincidence...but a good one on our
part because we did of course catch some of the hype from it and
Independence Day.
Which is your favourite pinball game of all time?
"That's too tough of a question. I like a lot games for different reasons &
it depends on my mood. Some of my favorite games (that I didn't work on)
are: Elvira:Scared stiff, Black Knight 2000, Adams family, Gilligans island
(simple but fun), fish tales, White water, Pinbot, probably a lot more I
can't remember right now."
Which is your favourite pinball game of your own designs?
"Hmmmm...Probably AFM. I like the theme of AFM a bit better than MM but think
MM is a more interesting game to play and has a better playfield. I also
programmed a bunch of games. Indiana Jones and The Machine are my favorites
from those."
Which is your favourite Pat Lawlor pin?
"I don't actually like too many of Pat's games. Bonzai run, Funhouse, and
Addams family are the only games I like. I think most of his recent games
are way to complicated for mass appeal. His best games were when he worked
with Larry Demar."
Do you have any pinball machines of your own?
"Yeah, I have about 12 now I think. I have all the games I programmed &
designed. The only game I have that I didn't work on is Scared Stiff. I
would like to get a Fish tales someday..."
Are the AFM and MM playfields identical to your early scetches or did
you have to exclude/change some parts due to production costs?
"AFM was the most different. It had one big feature that didn't make it into
the game. The saucer in the middle of the playfield was originally suppose
to move out and around the playfield. It started (rested) right where the
static one on the final game is. It had a telescopic arm that allow the
saucer to move out about 18 inches onto the playfield and a pivot that would
rotate it right & left. So it basically could "move" around the whole
playfield (hence the open playfield area in the final design). It also had a
target hanging down from the middle of the saucer that you could shoot from
any angle. We ran out of time to develop it and keep it cost effective.
It was also a reliability issue and to make it rock solid
would have required a lot of testing time. The Martians also started out
like the string push toys (you push the bottom of a platform and they
jiggle/collapse). When you would hit them they would fall to pieces. We
couldn't make it reliable (String would always break to soon) so we found
this really flexible plastic and made the jump up/down. Not quite as
effective but still a lot of fun to watch and very reliable. I'm sure there
are more things....
I was getting wiser by the time I did MM and most of the features made it
into the game. I did want the Castle to "explode" more then it did but otherwise
it's pretty close from what I remember. I think I had 4 trolls at one
point also but the cost monster and space issues killed them. The whole
castle was tough to make work in Manufacturing because of the wide tolerance
of the molded plastic. I'm sure more things changed but it was pretty close
to what I envisioned.
The Shadow also changed quite a bit. It had along of things that we couldn't
afford or design in time. The trolls were a variation of a feature I
originally wanted on the Shadow."
Many thanks to Brian Eddy for answering these questions.
