# I Played Avatar Pinball And It Changed Everything

**Source:** Erika's Pinball Journey  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-09-21  
**Duration:** 15m 32s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_vPvP3YZNU

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## Analysis

Erika and Manu share their first-hand experience playing Jersey Jack Pinball's new Avatar game at a media day in Chicago. They praise the game's stunning visual presentation and lighting design as its greatest strength, noting it will perform well in dim arcade environments. While both enjoyed the gameplay and found it accessible to casual players despite some challenging shots, they emphasize the game's primary appeal is its collector-quality aesthetics and immersive art direction rather than groundbreaking mechanics.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Avatar is Mark Silk's first game; he previously worked on Metroid Pinball homebrew — _Manu identifies Mark Silk as the designer with prior Metroid homebrew experience_
- [HIGH] The game's lighting design is exceptional and will perform well in poorly lit arcade environments — _Both players emphasize the game doesn't need pin lights and stands out visually in dim settings, contrasting with Alien pinball which is difficult to see in poor lighting_
- [HIGH] Avatar's playfield is intentionally asymmetrical to match the Na'vi world design philosophy — _Erika notes: 'the game is not symmetrical at all and that's because of the Na'vi is not they don't have symmetry in their world'_
- [HIGH] The game features two lower playfields with a bash toy (Crab) requiring mini flippers — _Detailed description of mini playfield mechanics with smaller ball and flippers, compared to Monsters for scale reference_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack has improved flipper feel since Elton John, with Avatar benefiting from these refinements — _Manu: 'Jersey Jack games now since Elton John I think the flippers feel a lot better'_
- [HIGH] The game's visual design rivals or exceeds Elton John in terms of aesthetic quality — _Manu states: 'I think this is probably oh I'm gonna say it I think this is Dak's most beautiful game'_
- [HIGH] Avatar will earn well on location due to visual appeal and family-friendly theme — _Both players predict strong location performance based on draw factor and non-violent theme appropriate for children_
- [HIGH] The game features comic book-style artwork on the cabinet rather than photorealistic images — _Erika notes the side art is 'an actual kind of comic book representation but not like a cheap comic book'_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack's premium Collector's Edition with hydro dip armor coating will likely outsell other versions — _Erika predicts the Collector's Edition will sell more units due to perceived value of additional features_
- [HIGH] The game features UV/glow-in-the-dark lighting effects — _Both players highlight UV lighting as a notable feature creating a glow-in-the-dark aesthetic_

### Notable Quotes

> "I think this is probably oh I'm gonna say it I think this is Dak's most beautiful game I think Elton John for me and I love Elton John this is hard to beat"
> — **Manu**, ~10:30
> _Strong aesthetic endorsement; positions Avatar above previous Jersey Jack titles in visual quality_

> "Don't put pin lights anywhere near this game you don't need to. This game is just like like you were saying with Elton John... you don't need to"
> — **Erika**, ~4:45
> _Highlights exceptional lighting design as primary differentiator; suggests game's visual power eliminates need for supplemental lighting_

> "I'm not even a big of an Avatar fan that it doesn't really pull me like it's not something I'm like super excited about but this art package and the way it's presented and the colors I'm I'm drawn into it"
> — **Erika**, ~8:20
> _Demonstrates game's visual appeal transcends theme familiarity; aesthetic quality drives engagement independent of IP fandom_

> "I think this is more for families and casual players than you know experts and Keith Elwin"
> — **Erika**, ~22:00
> _Positioning Avatar as accessibility-focused design; appeals to broader market than high-skill competitive players_

> "You can spam your way through probably 50% of this game but then the last mile you got to you got to own up you got to step up"
> — **Manu**, ~16:15
> _Describes difficulty curve; accessible entry for casuals with depth for experienced players_

> "As a game to play over and over again actually it's very very tempting did you did you get that one more game feeling yes yeah I did"
> — **Erika**, ~28:30
> _Indicates strong replayability and engagement despite initial skepticism about Avatar theme_

> "Jersey Jack has distanced themselves from bargain basement pinball... they are on a trajectory to say if you want the absolute before you even flip it greatest experience of your life walking past this game they're already there"
> — **Manu**, ~12:45
> _Articulates Jersey Jack's strategic positioning toward premium collector market and experiential quality_

> "This game beats it in terms of how it looks... it's a collector's piece for sure like people that have this in their home environment this is something to show off"
> — **Erika**, ~24:00
> _Emphasizes collector appeal and display value as key selling point for premium buyers_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Erika | person | Content creator, host of Erika's Pinball Journey YouTube channel; participated in Jersey Jack media day |
| Manu | person | Pinball content creator known as Mystery Pinball Theater 3000; streams locally in Bay Area; attended Jersey Jack media day with Erika |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; hosted media day in Chicago; produced Avatar pinball game |
| Avatar | game | Jersey Jack Pinball's newest game based on Avatar IP; features asymmetrical playfield design, dual lower playfields, UV lighting, and comic book-style artwork |
| Mark Silk | person | Designer of Avatar pinball; previously worked on Metroid Pinball homebrew |
| Dak | person | Apparent lead designer/creative director at Jersey Jack Pinball; Manu credits him for Avatar's visual design |
| Zombie Yeti | person | Artist associated with Jersey Jack Pinball; Manu notes Avatar's design style differs significantly from typical Zombie Yeti work |
| Elton John | game | Previous Jersey Jack Pinball release; used as primary aesthetic comparison point for Avatar; praised for flipper improvements that carried forward |
| Alien Ripley edition | game | Pinball Brothers game referenced as difficult to see in poorly lit arcade environments; contrasted with Avatar's superior low-light visibility |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack Pinball release; referenced as less visually impressive than Avatar in recent JJP catalog |
| Wizard of Oz | game | Classic pinball used as mechanical comparison point; Avatar's lower playfield mechanics compared to Oz's out lane design |
| Venom | game | Referenced for comparison to Avatar's scoop ramp mechanics |
| Monsters | game | Used as reference point for scale of mini flippers/ball in Avatar's Crab lower playfield |
| Intergalactic | event/venue | San Francisco-area venue where Erika and Manu planned to play Avatar later during media day event |
| Bay Area | region | Geographic location of both Erika and Manu; noted as having strong pinball location market |
| Keith Elwin | person | Professional pinball player referenced as exemplar of expert/competitive player demographic; Avatar positioned toward casual players rather than this segment |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Avatar pinball visual design and aesthetics, Jersey Jack Pinball design philosophy and premium positioning, Avatar playfield mechanics and lower playfield design, Game accessibility and casual vs. competitive player appeal
- **Secondary:** Location earning potential and arcade market positioning, Jersey Jack media day event and influencer engagement, Collector's Edition pricing and premium tier differentiation
- **Mentioned:** UV lighting and glow-in-the-dark effects as visual feature

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Both speakers express genuine enthusiasm for Avatar's visual presentation, gameplay accessibility, and overall quality. Primary praise directed toward aesthetics and earning potential. Minor concerns raised about lower playfield visibility for children and game length, but framed as neutral observations rather than criticisms. Both indicate desire to play more and express confidence in market success.

### Signals

- **[competitive_signal]** Avatar explicitly positioned toward families and casual players rather than expert/competitive segment; accessibility built into difficulty curve where 50% of shots can be spammed but end game requires skill (confidence: high) — Erika: 'I think this is more for families and casual players than you know experts and Keith Elwin'; Manu: 'You can spam your way through probably 50% of this game but then the last mile you got to you got to own up'
- **[design_philosophy]** Avatar's asymmetrical playfield design intentionally mirrors Na'vi world aesthetic philosophy; playfield design philosophy extends to all visual elements including cabinet artwork as comic book style rather than photorealistic (confidence: high) — Erika: 'the game is not symmetrical at all and that's because of the Na'vi is not they don't have symmetry in their world'; cabinet art described as 'expensive graphic novels that you put on the coffee table' rather than cheap dollar store comics
- **[licensing_signal]** Avatar's family-friendly positioning reflects deliberate theme selection; speakers contrast with more restrictive themes (Godfather) as strategic advantage for location earning and casual player appeal (confidence: medium) — Erika: 'this game will earn on location because of the drawing factor that it has and the family-friendly... you're not worried about your kid like what's on with the gangsters going on here'
- **[market_signal]** Jersey Jack's strategic shift toward premium collector market positioning; Avatar represents continuation of distancing from 'bargain basement' pinball through visual and material quality emphasis (confidence: high) — Manu: 'Jersey Jack has distanced themselves from bargain basement pinball... they are on a trajectory to say if you want the absolute before you even flip it greatest experience of your life walking past this game they're already there'
- **[personnel_signal]** Avatar designer Mark Silk represents new talent for Jersey Jack; previously known for Metroid Pinball homebrew; design represents departure from typical Zombie Yeti aesthetic (confidence: high) — Manu identifies Silk as designer with Metroid homebrew background; notes Avatar style is 'so not Zombie Yeti' while praising its quality
- **[announcement]** Jersey Jack's first media day event for Avatar with content creator attendance; represents influencer engagement strategy for game launch (confidence: high) — Erika: 'we actually got to go to Jersey Jack's media day where they flew us out to Chicago'; thanks Jersey Jack team for invite; references being one of farthest traveling attendees from Bay Area
- **[product_strategy]** Avatar features distinct three-tier edition strategy with Collector's Edition including premium hydro dip armor coating and topper; speakers predict CE will outsell other versions due to perceived value proposition (confidence: medium) — Erika: 'I would almost guarantee that they're going to run out of they're going to sell more of those than the other version just because of how much more you get with that'
- **[product_concern]** Potential usability issue identified: lower playfield visibility for child players standing on step stools; concern that children may think ball is lost and abandon game during lower playfield sequences (confidence: medium) — Erika: 'my kid's going to stand on a Marco stool and play the game but not still be able to see down into those playfields... they're going to think the ball's gone maybe walk away'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Avatar generates positive player reception from content creators who were not previously fans of Avatar IP; game's visual and mechanical design transcends theme familiarity to drive engagement (confidence: high) — Erika: 'I'm not even a big of an Avatar fan... but this art package and the way it's presented and the colors I'm drawn into it'; describes 'one more game' feeling despite initial skepticism
- **[technology_signal]** Avatar features UV/glow-in-the-dark lighting implementation as core visual design element; speakers highlight this as standout technical feature (confidence: high) — Both speakers emphasize UV lighting and glow-in-the-dark feel as exceptional visual feature; 'that's just so so cool'

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## Transcript

heyo my name is Erica and welcome to my pinball journey in this episode I'm going to share with you guys my first initial reaction to playing Jersey Jack Pinball's newest game Avatar now I got the chance to sit down with my buddy Manu who we actually got to go to Jersey Jack's media day where they flew us out to Chicago to go play this game which was an amazing experience thank you so much to the Jersey Jack team for the invite I'm Blown Away by the amount of support for my channel from the community so thank you and um I will dive more into that whole experience in another episode and if you're a fan of the channel um I do know that I am missing a few other episodes and I'm getting those out to you guys shortly I am working on them they're almost done so thank you for um bearing with me and having the patience um so yeah I'm going to go ahead and uh run the clip all right what's up everybody I'm here with monu and we just got a chance to go to the Jersey Jack pinball Factory and play the new a guar game so we're just going to share our quick initial thoughts um Manu what's going on man how did you feel about today the game so this is Mark sidon's first game uh I remember him from the Metroid days we made Metroid Pinball it's a home brew um and the first time we walked in and saw the game set up uh they they just draw you to them I mean it's period like I think this is the most beautiful full and Ellen John is a tough one to beat yeah this one is insane of how alluring it is yeah and they did you notice they put it in a dark area yeah I noticed it was a bit darker um they didn't have it under the bright lights or that they must have toned down some of the lights because I definitely felt like they were trying to show us like more of the lighting kind of situation of like what you can expect from this kind of game cuz you are going to play in arcades that can be very dimly lit that's the one thing that like my takeaway you know the bar not bury the lead my takeaway is that this game will earn and if it's in an arcade which is going to be poorly lit it is the one game you won in a poorly lit situation we have an alien from pinball Brothers in a poorly lit area that is hard to see it's difficult to see that game and I really want to put pin lights on it don't put pin lights anywhere near this game you don't need to you don't need to no no this game is just like like you were saying with El and John I think I I oh it almost feels hard to say but I I I love Elton John and I think it is like one of the top designs for Jersy Jack but this one actually I'm not even like a I'm an Elton John fan I'm not even that big of an avatar fan that it doesn't really pull me like it's not something I'm like super excited about but this art package and the way it's presented and the colors I'm I'm drawn into it just like the movies like the movies I think are visually stunning do I like you know seek out to watch this movie all the time no but do I love watching the bits of it and getting immersed back into that world absolutely I think that this is probably oh I'm GNA say it I think this is dak's most beautiful game I think Delton for me and I love Elton John this is hard to beat it's hard to beat like let's go Le some female artists oh yeah oh so so and I was I was just thinking about the Playfield when you go to the cabinet forget it that's like 100% so ah I guess let's be honest zombie Yeti is amazing yeah this is so not zombie Yeti and it's amazing you got to see the artwork on the side of this it's not just photos it is an actual kind of comic book representation but not like a cheap comic book that you would just buy at a dollar store like those expensive graphic novels that you put on the coffee table the side I mean you don't play the side you don't play the backl but this is a part of the it's a part of it the whole experience even I love if I could I would buy I would buy the collector's edition with that armor coating the hydro dip oh forget the armor the topper like that's the whole package I I would almost guarantee that they're going to run out of they're going to sell more of those than the other version just because of how much more you get with that it's like a only what two three more I don't know what the prices are actually I would say that whatever that price bump is that it's worth it so it it it Jersey Jack has distanced themselves from Bargain Basement pinball yeah like a few games ago they already did didn't that they are on a trajectory to say if you want the absolute before you even flip it greatest experience of your life walking past this game they're already there yeah um they got you just by the visuals they got you by the visuals it's tough to do that so if you're drawing in now one other thing I said is this game I think this game will earn well in uh on location because of the drawing factor that it has and the familyfriendly it's Avatar it's Avatar it's not Godfather you're not worried about your kid like what's on with the gangsters going on here it's not gavar it's not gavar oh my God gavar we're going to make we're going to make pieces from Godfather and Avatar together gatar it's not Godfather it's not Elton John you know a musician who was popular back in the day that the kids don't know about um I I love Elon John I grew up on him but that's my dad yeah it's not it's not wizard of O it's not Wonka which is also a 70s movie that it is Avatar so it is recent as heck the most recent other movie they did was Toy Story 4 um this game beats it in terms of how it looks oh yeah okay so that far how does it play though how does it play that's a hard it's it's so much it's doing a lot it's giving it's giving a lot yeah yeah um and I I actually really like how it plays I I definitely know that my skill set like there are some shots that I was having a lot of trouble with but I think that if I got a chance to play more and really sit down with it and get to put more quarters into it I think that I could really have fun ripping at this game because it's also kind of a new feel right like Jersey Jack games now since Elton John I think the flippers feel a lot better yeah so they kind of they kind of they feel like Elton flippers where I don't feel like on some of the other games the flippers struggling yeah like a weird thing yeah one of the games wasn't set up properly I knew it wasn't it wasn't level and it still managed to get up a tough ramp if you hit it just right um the game is not symmetrical at all and that's because of the na'vi is not they don't have symmetry in their world so it's they don't even have numbers they don't have numbers everything is on point as far as that I felt I was a little nervous that the game was going to be too hard and then when I flipped a few games I I'm like this is good for families and kids yeah they're going to and it's not like a Toy Story kind of easy it's there's so much there's so much so you can spam your way through probably 50% of this game but then the last mile you got to you got to own up you got to step up yeah there's some there's some shots that I I never even got the eclipse shot like that was such I did that's such a hard shot to make I spammed it and I got it yeah and I was trying and um but you know I think it if felt like for me it played a little long but that's to I mean for me that's fine because I like to know that I'm going to get to play more than 30 seconds of the game yeah you know and so I felt like I had maybe it's my skill as a pinball player too maybe I've improved more like I'm I'm not entirely sure about that but um I am I would say better than the average player but like as you know a casual person in the step up I don't think that this game would be too hard for somebody to play it's not like there's the one super steep shot and then you got like 20 million different places you can go you got a scramp A scramp which is a scoop ramp scoop ramp yeah funny kind of it's kind of like Venom but not um there's one tough ramp for me on the right that's pretty tight outside of that anywhere you shoot the ball it'll probably go somewhere there's not a lot of brick shots um there's a lot going on there's a lot going on and you can there's one multiball that's so there's two main multiballs which I'm like thank God only two um one of them is well what there's there's I mean okay there's two up front yeah one of them that's pretty easy to get to and one of them that's a little more challenging that I think you can pull both into modes there's two lower playfields um one that feeds to the other which I thought was a pretty impressive thing so if you think of the first lower play field as you know the out ramp the out the out lane on Wizard of Oz where it's a pop bumper and then targets there's a pop Bumper in there and there's targets like that it's like a mini Wizard of Oz except you use the flippers to change which Target gets hit so now there is a little bit of skill in there instead of just hoping that it hits all of them you can actually move the flippers and get that once you complete that it goes to the next one which is the crab so it's a little they're little flippers guys with a little ball it's not a standard thing because so everyone who's looked at the I never got there oh okay everyone who's looked at the trail and thought the flippers are too close together and the ball will never drain it's not a full-size ball it's a little ball little think of monsters but not as Tiny yeah a little bigger um a bash toy and two orbits and then once you complete that you get one of the multiballs which is not terribly hard to do my other concern about that was since since it's s such a familyfriendly game my kid's going to stand on a Marco stool and play the game but not still be able to see down into those playfields I don't think so that would be a challenge for kids to actually see down into those playfields so when the ball goes down there they're going to think the ball's gone maybe walk away but that's it yeah like because I'm thinking about who is this for I think this is more for families and Casual players than you know eers and El elwin and I think that certain kids though like it seems like they Jersey Jack had said that they do have people kind of play testing and like they bring family friends and probably kids get a chance to play test they're going to have fun so I'm sure they're going to have fun and I'm I'm sure that they would have I guess we'll find out once it's on location if kids are having trouble with that but even if if like I feel like I'm I'm a decent player but I couldn't even get to the lower play field so maybe the kids won't make it there either all the kids will do it they'll they'll beat me on scores for sure they're just going to Button Mash more than I than I was um no but the game was really fun I actually would honestly I'm not even pulled by Avatar Avatar I'm not even pulled in by Avatar but as a game to play over and over again actually it's very very tempting did you did you get that one more game feeling yes yeah I did got can I just pull that Arrow back I just want to I just wanted to keep going but you know making content and all that stuff I'm like I have to film this I to film um but I am going to get to enjoy the game tonight we are going to go play the game tonight at interium again and hang out with more of the team and um get to play the game but initially I actually really enjoyed the game I thought it was a lot of fun I think people are going to really like it I think that it's a game that is going to earn on location like as I start to delve into this pinball Universe I see titles and things that at least in the Bay Area I know that this game would probably be really successful it would it would be really at least for the first couple of months yeah be really successful I mean I don't know what the long game is in it like it gets hard it does get harder but it it feels like it plays a long time yeah but I'm happy for that because I would rather play for longer than yeah than like 30 seconds so yeah yeah anything else you wanted to share about the game that you thought was cool I I had fun I I'm thinking about playing it now um so but we're still in the kind of the honeymoon face honeymoon phase of whatever game right so we'll see in the long run how it does but I think initially it's it's it's it's amazing looking it's a collector's piece for sure like people that have this in their home environment this is something to show off this be like yo check out my oh it's ridiculous and the the UV lighting like that whole like I I love this glow-in-the-dark feel UV like what that's just so so cool it's it's yeah it's it's crazy you know what I've realized is that my mic was off this whole time is my mic on your mic's been on so maybe my audio will not be as good as yours but that's okay so those were our final thoughts sorry about my mic issues but hopefully you guys still enjoy this video um this is the wonderful Manu he is Mystery pinball Theater 3000 and he has an amazing pinball stream and his local near me and it's really cool that we both get to be here representing San Francisco what what was that I don't know I don't know I'm not sure we get to be here repp in the Bay Area from California I think we came the farthest yeah I yeah pretty much some other people get to like drive or take an hour flight I would have loved an hour flight but you know um this is really an amazing opportunity I'm so glad you're here yeah I'm glad you like I hope that you guys get a chance to flip the game soon sweet I might have to cut some of that out but thanks so much for watching I really hope you enjoyed this episode and our first initial reaction feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments down below um I'll also put a link in the description with like the trailer for the game if you miss that and uh Jersey Jacks company and all that good jazz and how to find Manu so uh I really appreciate you guys watching the channel and I'm super again like I'm I'm super grateful for all these opportunities being given to me by the pinball Community it really means a lot um and it's not lost upon me on how much uh this really means so um thank you and I hope that you guys have a wonderful rest of your day wherever you're at and I'll catch you on the flip side

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: dadc7b5e-56d5-46ab-80b4-bf6a28515ee2*