# Hall of Fame Spotlight: Larry DeMar **Source:** Replay Magazine **Type:** article **Published:** 2026-04-09 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.replaymag.com/hall-of-fame-spotlight-larry-demar/ --- ## Analysis Larry DeMar, a legendary arcade and pinball designer with 38 U.S. patents, was recently inducted into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame. He co-designed seminal pinball titles including Space Shuttle (1984), Black Knight, High Speed, Fun House, Twilight Zone, and Addams Family—the best-selling pinball machine of all time. His innovations in automatic replay percentage, switch testing, and self-healing mechanics became industry standards. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Larry DeMar has 38 U.S. patents in amusements, bowling systems and casino games — _Opening sentence of article from Replay Magazine_ - [HIGH] Space Shuttle (1984), co-designed by DeMar, Barry Oursler, and Joe Kaminkow, is credited with keeping Williams' doors open and launching a pinball industry resurgence — _Replay Magazine Hall of Fame article_ - [HIGH] Addams Family is the best-selling pinball machine of all-time — _Replay Magazine, Pete Gustafson quote_ - [HIGH] DeMar co-designed Black Knight and High Speed with Steve Ritchie — _Replay Magazine article_ - [HIGH] DeMar co-designed Banzai Run, Fun House, Twilight Zone and Addams Family with Pat Lawlor — _Replay Magazine article_ - [HIGH] DeMar's innovations in automatic replay percentage, switch testing, and self-healing are now standard in virtually every new pinball machine — _Pete Gustafson (AAMA Executive VP) quote in Replay Magazine_ - [HIGH] By 1986, DeMar moved into pinball full-time at Williams/Bally, serving as director of pinball engineering and director of slot machine design — _Replay Magazine article_ ### Notable Quotes > "His legacy includes the creation of automatic replay precentaging that adjusts the replay score based on the skill of the players, automatic switch testing and self-healing which keeps features working even if the mechanical hardware fails, and many other features that now come standard in virtually every new pinball machine sold" > — **Pete Gustafson, AAMA Executive VP** > _Summarizes DeMar's technical innovations that became industry standards and his lasting impact on pinball engineering_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Larry DeMar | person | Legendary arcade and pinball designer with 38 U.S. patents, recently inducted into Amusement Industry Hall of Fame | | Barry Oursler | person | Co-designer of Space Shuttle (1984) with Larry DeMar and Joe Kaminkow | | Joe Kaminkow | person | Co-designer of Space Shuttle (1984) with Larry DeMar and Barry Oursler | | Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer who co-designed multiple games with Larry DeMar including Banzai Run, Fun House, Twilight Zone, and Addams Family | | Steve Ritchie | person | Co-designer of Black Knight and High Speed with Larry DeMar | | Pete Gustafson | person | AAMA Executive VP who spoke at Larry DeMar's Hall of Fame induction | | Amusement Industry Hall of Fame | organization | Organization that inducted Larry DeMar as a recent addition | | Williams/Bally | company | Pinball manufacturer where Larry DeMar worked as director of pinball engineering and director of slot machine design starting in 1986 | | Leading Edge Design | company | Company founded by Larry DeMar after his time at Williams/Bally | | IGT | company | Casino game manufacturer for whom DeMar created titles through Leading Edge Design | | Space Shuttle | game | 1984 pinball game co-designed by DeMar, Oursler, and Kaminkow; credited with revitalizing Williams and the pinball industry | | Defender | game | Video game co-designed by Larry DeMar | | Stargate | game | Video game co-designed by Larry DeMar | | Robotron: 2084 | game | Video game co-designed by Larry DeMar | | Blaster | game | Video game co-designed by Larry DeMar | | Black Knight | game | Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Steve Ritchie | | High Speed | game | Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Steve Ritchie | | Banzai Run | game | Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Pat Lawlor | | Fun House | game | Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Pat Lawlor | | Twilight Zone | game | Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Pat Lawlor | | Addams Family | game | Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Pat Lawlor; the best-selling pinball machine of all-time | ### Topics - **Primary:** Larry DeMar's Hall of Fame induction and legacy, Pinball design innovation and engineering, Classic pinball machine design and development, Williams/Bally pinball era and major titles - **Secondary:** Arcade game design and video game co-designs, Industry standardization of pinball features ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) ### Signals - **[historical_signal]** Larry DeMar's innovations in automatic replay percentage, switch testing, and self-healing mechanics became industry standards adopted across virtually all modern pinball machines (confidence: high) — Pete Gustafson quote: 'now come standard in virtually every new pinball machine sold' - **[historical_signal]** Space Shuttle (1984) is credited with keeping Williams' doors open and launching a resurgence of the pinball industry (confidence: high) — Article states game was 'credited with keeping the doors at Williams open and helping launch a resurgence of the pinball industry' - **[historical_signal]** Addams Family is documented as the best-selling pinball machine of all-time (confidence: high) — Article identifies Addams Family as 'the biggest selling pinball machine of all-time' - **[design_innovation]** DeMar pioneered self-healing mechanisms that allow pinball features to continue functioning even if mechanical hardware fails (confidence: high) — Gustafson quote on 'self-healing which keeps features working even if the mechanical hardware fails' - **[design_innovation]** DeMar created automatic replay percentage adjustment system that calibrates replay scores based on player skill (confidence: high) — Quote mentions 'automatic replay precentaging that adjusts the replay score based on the skill of the players' - **[personnel_signal]** Larry DeMar recently inducted into Amusement Industry Hall of Fame, recognizing his 38 U.S. patents and contributions across arcade, pinball, bowling and casino games (confidence: high) — Article opening states DeMar was 'one of the recent additions into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame' --- ## Transcript An arcade game and pinball machine designer with 38 U.S. patents in amusements, bowling systems and casino games, Larry DeMar was one of the recent additions into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame. Among his video game co-designs were Defender, Stargate, Robotron: 2084 and Blaster. In 1984, he collaborated with Barry Oursler and Joe Kaminkow on Space Shuttle, a pinball game credited with keeping the doors at Williams open and helping launch a resurgence of the pinball industry. By 1986, he moved into pinball full-time at Williams/Bally, serving as the director of pinball engineering and director of slot machine design. He co-designed several of the era’s biggest hits, notably Black Knight and High Speed with Steve Ritchie and Banzai Run, Fun House, Twilight Zone and Addams Family – the biggest selling pinball machine of all-time – with Pat Lawlor. DeMar later founded Leading Edge Design and created popular casino titles for IGT and the Norway Lottery. “His legacy includes the creation of automatic replay precentaging that adjusts the replay score based on the skill of the players, automatic switch testing and self-healing which keeps features working even if the mechanical hardware fails, and many other features that now come standard in virtually every new pinball machine sold,” said AAMA Executive VP Pete Gustafson during DeMar’s induction. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v5)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: c11315b8-e6f6-4d76-bec8-11079b5c9ea3*