# Past Times Pinball History Ep 4: Gorgar

**Source:** Past Times Arcade  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2023-11-21  
**Duration:** 2m 25s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uJgUGsoT1w

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## Analysis

Past Times Arcade showcases a 1979 Harry Williams Gorgar, the first pinball machine with synthesized speech technology. The game features seven words (Gorgar, speaks, me, hurt, you, and beat) designed by Barry Alsler, with artwork by Constantino Mitchell and sound by Eugene Jarvis. The host demonstrates how Gorgar combines these words dynamically during gameplay.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Gorgar was the first game with synthesized speech in pinball — _Past Times Arcade host, describing Gorgar as historically significant and 'the very first game with synthesized speech'_
- [HIGH] Gorgar contains exactly seven words: gorgar, speaks, me, hurt, you, and beat — _Host explicitly lists the available words and states 'We have gorgar, speaks, me, hurt, you, and beat'_
- [HIGH] 14,000 units of Gorgar were released — _Host states 'They released 14,000 of these units'_
- [HIGH] Eugene Jarvis designed the sound for Gorgar — _Host credits 'the sound Barnyard Eugene Eugene Jarvis' and emphasizes 'most importantly the sound'_
- [MEDIUM] Barry Alsler designed Gorgar — _Host references 'designed Barnyard Barry Alsler' though the 'Barnyard' prefix context is unclear_

### Notable Quotes

> "I say most importantly because this is the first game with synthesized speech."
> — **Past Times Arcade host**, ~0:45
> _Emphasizes the historical importance of Gorgar's audio innovation_

> "So while there's only seven words, you think about how this helped transition into the audio and the voice that we have in today's The Games."
> — **Past Times Arcade host**, ~8:30
> _Places Gorgar's innovation in historical context, showing how it influenced modern pinball audio design_

> "This was historically significant the very first game with synthesized speech."
> — **Past Times Arcade host**, ~5:15
> _Direct statement of Gorgar's historical significance_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Gorgar | game | 1979 Harry Williams pinball machine, first with synthesized speech, 14,000 units produced |
| Harry Williams | company | Manufacturer of Gorgar (1979) |
| Barry Alsler | person | Designer of Gorgar |
| Constantino Mitchell | person | Artwork designer for Gorgar |
| Eugene Jarvis | person | Sound designer for Gorgar, created the synthesized speech system |
| Past Times Arcade | organization | Content creator and arcade operator hosting this video series |
| Nick | person | Co-host/guest participating in the Gorgar demonstration |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Synthesized speech technology in pinball, Gorgar game mechanics and audio design, Pinball history and innovation
- **Secondary:** Audio evolution in pinball from 1979 to present, Game production and design credits

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Host is enthusiastic and reverent about Gorgar's historical significance; celebrates the innovation with clear appreciation for the engineering achievement

### Signals

- **[technology_signal]** Gorgar introduced synthesized speech synthesis to pinball in 1979, representing a fundamental shift in how pinball machines could communicate with players (confidence: high) — Host explicitly states 'this is the first game with synthesized speech' and notes how it 'helped transition into the audio and the voice that we have in today's games'

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## Transcript

Today's game feature is a 1979 Williams Gorgar. They released 14,000 of these units designed by Barry Alsler, artwork by Constantino Mitchell, and most importantly the sound by Eugene Jarvis. I say most importantly because this is the first game with synthesized speech. So Nick we're going to start this up and you're going to hear a little bit about it. So there's seven words that are available in this game. We have gorgar, speaks, me, hurt, got, you, and beat. And they would mix those combinations to say certain things. So if I hit start right now, gorgar speaks, and we're going to hear the heartbeat. And as the game goes on, we can hear more of that heartbeat. It'll go a little bit faster. So if I shoot the ball, let me show you a few things that we can demonstrate the sound. That wouldn't be a good start. If I hit the four targets here, one, two, three, listen to it Nick. Knee hurt Knee hurt Also something fun we hear the same if I head up in this the pit There a magnet underneath that catch it Watch this Me hurt So this was historically significant the very first game with synthesized speech. If we lose the ball here, we have this one set to five ball for a tournament. Two more. We actually heard two there. We heard, you beat me, because that's what he says when we get a match. And we have a match here in the back. At game over, Gorgar says, Me, Gorgar, beat me. So while there's only seven words, you think about how this helped transition into the audio and the voice that we have in today's games.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 46db3ae3-550f-4285-8a7c-632f1bfc2520*