# Game Ogre

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2008-01-07  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/shrek.html

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball announced a limited-run Shrek-themed pinball machine in January 2008, featuring a re-themed playfield originally designed by Pat Lawlor for Family Guy. The new game will use the same core layout but with new artwork by John Youssi, sounds, and animations. Initial production is planned for 500 units starting in early February 2008.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Stern will re-use the Family Guy playfield layout designed by Pat Lawlor for the Shrek machine — _Official Stern announcement reported by Pinball News_
- [HIGH] Artist John Youssi will create new artwork for Shrek, just as he did for the Family Guy original — _Direct statement in article about artist assignment_
- [HIGH] Initial Shrek run will be 500 machines but could be extended if demand exists — _Stern official statement quoted in article_
- [MEDIUM] Family Guy's theme was widely seen as a potential turn-off and only appropriate for adult audience — _Community assessment stated in article context_
- [HIGH] Shrek production expected to start early February with delivery mid-month — _Production timeline stated in article_

### Notable Quotes

> "In a return to earlier ways, Stern will re-use the playfield layout designed by Pat Lawlor for Family Guy and re-theme it with new artwork, sound and dot matrix animations."
> — **Pinball News (reporting Stern announcement)**, January 7, 2008
> _Core announcement of Stern's strategy for Shrek production_

> "Although many players enjoyed Family Guy's gameplay, the theme was widely seen as a potential turn-off and only appropriate for an adult audience."
> — **Pinball News**, January 7, 2008
> _Explains rationale for re-theming Family Guy playfield with Shrek IP_

> "A Shrek-based game addresses these concerns and extends the life of the design beyond the remaining Family Guy re-runs."
> — **Pinball News (reporting Stern rationale)**, January 7, 2008
> _Articulates business logic for playfield re-use strategy_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer announcing Shrek limited-run pinball machine |
| Shrek | game | New pinball machine theme based on Shrek film franchise; 500-unit limited run planned for early February 2008 |
| Family Guy | game | Original Stern pinball game whose playfield layout will be re-used and re-themed for Shrek |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer who created the playfield layout used for Family Guy and now being re-themed for Shrek |
| John Youssi | person | Artist creating new artwork for Shrek pinball; previously created artwork for Family Guy |
| Pinball News | organization | Source reporting Stern's Shrek pinball announcement |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Playfield re-theming strategy, Limited edition production runs, IP licensing and theme selection
- **Secondary:** Historical pinball design re-use, Adult vs family-friendly themes in pinball

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.5) — Article is factual reporting of announcement with some community context but minimal editorial opinion. Neutral tone explaining business rationale for re-theming without strong enthusiasm or criticism.

### Signals

- **[design_philosophy]** Stern adopting playfield re-use strategy with theme transformation to address Family Guy's adult-audience positioning limitations (confidence: high) — Article explicitly states re-theming as solution to family-unfriendly theme perception while extending design lifecycle
- **[licensing_signal]** Shrek major IP licensing deal enabling full playfield re-theme rather than cosmetic changes typical of special editions (confidence: high) — Article notes that total re-theme using major license like Shrek is unusual compared to typical special editions
- **[personnel_signal]** John Youssi continues as artist on Shrek after Family Guy, maintaining visual continuity through re-theme (confidence: high) — Explicit statement that Youssi created both Family Guy artwork and will create Shrek artwork
- **[announcement]** Stern officially announces Shrek pinball machine with Family Guy playfield re-theme, 500-unit limited run, early February 2008 production start (confidence: high) — Direct announcement reporting from Pinball News with specific production timeline and unit count

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## Transcript

Date: 7th January 2008.

Stern are to make a limited run of Shrek-themed pinball machines.

The game will feature the loveable ogre and the supporting cast of characters from the movies, but the playfield design will not be totally new.

In a return to earlier ways, Stern will re-use the playfield layout designed by Pat Lawlor for Family Guy and re-theme it with new artwork, sound and dot matrix animations. Artist John Youssi will create the new artwork for the game just as he did with the Family Guy original.

Although many players enjoyed Family Guy's gameplay, the theme was widely seen as a potential turn-off and only appropriate for an adult audience.

A Shrek-based game addresses these concerns and extends the life of the design beyond the remaining Family Guy re-runs.

Stern have said their initial run of Shrek games will be 500 machines but that could be extended or repeated if sufficient demand is found to exist.

Backglass image courtesy of Pinball Sales

While special editions of new Stern games have become commonplace over recent years with games such as Black Spider-Man and Elvis Gold Edition aimed at the home collector market, a total re-theme is less common and using such a big license as Shrek makes it all the more unusual.

Pat Lawlor's NASCAR was re-branded as Grand Prix outside North America but that was part of the plan from early in the development cycle. It was re-versioned once again into Dale Earnhardt Jr. fairly recently but that was mainly an exercise in cosmetic changes with new playfield, plastics and cabinet artwork while the playfield design and rules remained unaltered.

The most recent total change of theme was the range of NFL games created from the 2000 Striker Xtreme design but once again, the third movie in a trilogy has been the trigger for a new pinball - just as it had been with Terminator 3, Austin Powers, The Lord Of The Rings and Spider-Man.

The Family Guy layout is obviously designed with reference to the Griffin family and their individual characteristics, so playfield toys such as the beer can Brian stands upon and Stewie's pinball machine will need to be re-worked to seamlessly tie them into Shrek's world.

It has been suggested the mini-playfield will become the Gingerbread Man's, while Donkey will take Brian's position,Shrek replaces Peter, Fiona takes over Lois's role and Chris turns into Puss-In-Boots. However, those substitutions still create a problem for the mini playfield where each character's name is spelled out with playfield inserts. While some names work (Shrek/Peter, Fiona/Chris, Lois/Puss) there aren't too many three lettered character names to replace Meg.

Shrek is expected to start production in early February with delivery around the middle of the month.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0b15db60-3e62-4f0c-925c-ff5cc0ca7388*