Jim Patla is a legendary pinball designer and industry veteran with over 50 years of experience in the pinball manufacturing sector. He served as Chief Operating Officer at Jersey Jack Pinball and has design credits on nearly 40 machines, including iconic titles like Kiss (17,000 units), Space Invaders (11,400 units), Silver Ball Mania (10,000+ units), and Rolling Stones. His career spans multiple major manufacturers including Bally Manufacturing (1965-1988), Williams Electronics (1988-2000), Wells Gardner, and American Pinball (consulting), establishing him as a prolific and commercially successful designer known for creating high-volume titles.
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Jim Patla designed El Toro and used similar top lane guide designs in Kiss
Ted Zale designed non-symmetrical playfields, which influenced Jim Patla's own design approach.
Bally enforced strict cost discipline on game design with no budget flexibility except for exceptional circumstances.
Fireball's arm/spinner feature was developed within budget constraints and achieved commercial success after being featured in Playboy magazine (December 1972).
Provided design support on Elvira and the Party Monsters
Senior design role at Williams/Bally; helped finalize Elvira and the Party Monsters; provided likeness for Dracula character
Famed pinball designer from Bally Williams era; attended Dutch Pinball Open alongside Paul Ferris and their wives
Designer of El Toro (Bally, early 1970s); known for using top lane guide designs that appear in Kiss and other games
Designer of Bally Rolling Stones and Kiss pinball machines
Designer of Six Million Dollar Man (1978), El Toro, Kiss (Fiberglass), Centaur, Playboy, and Mata Hari for Bally.
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Odds and Evens test version used expandable foam playfields that deteriorated without UV inhibitors and became brittle, requiring redesign.
Jim Patla introduced CAD (initially from Digital Equipment Corp. VAX stations) to Williams/Midway; the first game designed digitally was Next Generation.
Harry Williams acquired the Bally Pinball Division in August 1988.
Bally's pinball group merged with Midway around 1982, after which Bally focused on slot machines and fitness equipment.
Pac-Man killed the pinball industry; the manufacturing line ran almost 24/7 before the video game boom.
Jim Patla started at Bally in 1965 as a sophomore in high school, working as a playtester three hours after school under Ted Zale.
Ted Zale was a disciplined design leader who enforced exact game playtimes: 1.5 minutes for 3-ball games, 2.5 minutes for 5-ball games.
Jim Patla helped Dennis Nordman through Special Force's design and wired the entire game himself
Jim Patla mentored Dennis Nordman through Special Force design and wired the entire game himself
Jersey Jack is undergoing a soft reboot focused on current owners and new development team
Patla received three job inquiries before his resignation email from American Pinball even left his outbox on June 4
Modern pinball games have not fundamentally changed in concept despite technological evolution (LCD vs dot matrix, LEDs vs incandescent)
Centaur was originally whitewood-named 'Video Classic' inspired by video game popularity of early 1980s
Patla was responsible for turning off the lights when Williams Electronics exited the pinball business in 2000
Patla worked at Valley Manufacturing for 23 years (1965-1988) in lab technician, designer, and management roles
Jim Patla designed nearly 40 pinball machines between 1970 and 1983
Patla may return to game design in the future if time permits, but not in the near term
Ted Zale was the 'father of the zipper flipper' and mentor to multiple Valley Manufacturing design engineers
Jersey Jack Pinball relocation to Illinois facility represents a major operational reboot and renaissance for the company
Jim Patla was hired as COO of Jersey Jack Pinball with over 50 years of industry experience
Jim Patla, legendary designer of Elvira and Party Monsters, joined Jersey Jack Pinball as Chief Operations Officer on or after June 4, 2020, after leaving American Pinball
Jim Patla brings over 50 years of industry experience and previously served as Director of Product Development at Williams Electronics
Jim Patla designed Centaur
Jim Patla designed Mata Hari pinball machine
Designer of Centaur (1981 Bally pinball); responsible for game design and rules
Manager at American Pinball at time of Dave's hiring; persuaded Dave to accept the position by offering negotiation
Bally legend who worked with Popadiuk in engineering division; Popadiuk showed him the TILT concept in 1993
Famous game designer and pinball executive with 50-year career; scheduled to appear at Pintastic New England for extensive career review interview
Legendary pinball designer with 50+ years in the industry; started at Bally in 1965, became director of engineering at Williams/Midway, credited with introducing CAD to pinball design and implementing document control systems.
Pinball designer from Valley Friends; designed Mata Hari; expresses missing involvement in pinball
Bally designer who mentored Nordman on Special Force; wired the entire game himself; helped guide Nordman through his first major design project
Newly appointed COO of Jersey Jack Pinball; 50+ years industry experience; former Director of Product Development at Williams Electronics; worked at Bally in 1960s
Zale's protégé at Bally (started ~1965); studied under Zale for approximately five years; provided source for estimating Zale's ~1970 retirement date.
Special guest featured in second seminar at DPO Expo 2018
Pinball designer who provided support on Elvira and the Party Monsters alongside Dennis Nordman
Prolific Bally pinball designer of the late 1970s/early 1980s; designed playfields for Silver Ball Mania, Space Invaders, Rolling Stones
New Chief Operating Officer at Jersey Jack Pinball; described company restructuring as 'soft reboot' focused on current owners and development team; interviewed by Ken Cromwell on JJP podcast
Legendary pinball designer; recently hired as Chief Operations Officer at Jersey Jack Pinball after decades designing for Bally (Space Time, Centaur, Elvira and the Party Monsters) and recent work on Hot Wheels at American Pinball
Senior Bally designer; responsible for laying off Ward Pemberton (felt bad about it); designer of Centaur II (1983).
Bally colleague who assisted Dennis Nordman during Special Force development; wired the entire game; helped mentor Nordman through first design.
Prolific Bally designer; designed Kiss (17,000 units), Silver Ball Mania (10,000+ units), Space Invaders (11,400 units), Rolling Stones; described as 'moving units'
Newly hired Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Jersey Jack Pinball with over 50 years of industry experience
Newly hired Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Jersey Jack Pinball; 50+ year veteran of pinball industry with design credit on nearly 40 machines; previously worked at Bally Manufacturing (1965-1988), Williams Electronics (1988-2000), Wells Gardner, and American Pinball (consulting)
Creative team member who provided input on Hot Wheels rules development.
Williams engineer who helped Nordman on Special Force design and later attempted cost-saving cabinet modifications for Blackwater 100