High Speed is a classic 1986 pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie and manufactured by Williams, featuring innovative mechanical design including a tachometer and traffic light elements. It pioneered the use of modern interactive spinning light toppers, selling 17,000 units and establishing toppers as commercially viable features. The game is regarded as legendary for integrating story into physical gameplay and influencing subsequent pinball design philosophy, with notable players including Keith Elwin and industry figures like Dwight Sullivan and Pat Lawlor.
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High Speed cabinet stencils were at least five years old and required extensive individual detail work for restoration
High Speed released around the same time as Pin*Bot and was similarly influential
High Speed sold 17,000 units and was the first System 11 game released in January 1986.
High Speed was redesigned as Disco Fever before production because Williams executives believed the original concept would not appeal to the American market
Pinball game co-designed by Larry DeMar and Steve Ritchie
Classic pinball in Seattle location with lightning flippers and sneeze tilt, known for difficulty
Williams game designed by Steve Ritchie; competitive rival to Bally games during the late period
Williams pinball machine credited with reviving the industry, designed by Steve Ritchie, Eric holds world record on it
Vintage machine; Pinball Wizards asking $2,400 in clearance sale
Williams pinball game (1986); major catalyst for pinball resurgence; featured alphanumeric displays, sampled music, and 1.5+ years of development
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High Speed in Seattle has lightning flippers and is the 'most evil high speed you'll ever see'
High Speed had an official Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge release
Williams game by Steve Ritchie; inspired Dwight Sullivan to pursue pinball; played at arcade in high school
Pinball game inspired by Ritchie's personal Porsche 928 speeding experience; featured integrated innovations
Classic Williams pinball game; Bill Webb collecting parts for future restoration project after Whirlwind 2.0 completion
Classic pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie; mentioned in context of police involvement in real-life incident
Steve Ritchie design that preceded Road Kings; Mark references this as context for Road Kings' release timing.
Williams pinball game for which Jarvis did programming
Williams pinball machine arriving as disassembled parts in bucket; Kevin completed playfield assembly in one week and conducted first playtest
1986 Williams game that helped revive pinball industry after the early 1980s decline; designed by Mark Ritchie
Older game with hinged backbox; mentioned as part of Alex's experience learning about machine variations
System 11 game; Spencer's first machine; purchased from original mentor; still regarded as excellent System 11 title
Mark Ritchie-designed pinball machine; spinners feature Interstate 5 highway signs inspired by Ritchie's car chase near Lodi, CA
Previous Steve Ritchie game covered in the podcast (Episode 37); well-received by community
Williams pinball machine from parents' estate (Ohio); acquired along with Sorcerer; required 6-hour field service session for lockdown bar and other repairs
Landmark 1986 Williams pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie; revitalized the pinball industry during mid-1980s video game competition; featured first full song, alphanumeric displays, progressive jackpots, and operator report features
Steve Ritchie designed game; covered in recent Classic Pinball Podcast episode
First System 11 game released January 1986; designed by Steve Ritchie with Larry DeMar on software; sold 17,000 units; pioneered multiple System 11 features.
Iconic Steve Ritchie design referenced for Pulp Fiction Easter egg: 146 mph extra ball requirement (Ritchie's speed in High Speed)
Classic pinball title; Tim offered his rusty-legged copy to Eric as trade for broken Big Lebowski
Williams pinball machine from 1986, original sequel to Getaway; discussed in comparison to Getaway
Pinball machine owned by Dwight Sullivan at home
Pinball machine at Grazely Garage receiving new playfield installation
Original High Speed machine being restored with red powder coating and yellow cabinet protectors
Classic 1986 Williams pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and Eugene Jarvis; features traffic light/cops chase theme, spinners, and ramp shots; VPX recreation by '32 Assassin' mod
Williams pinball game mentioned as comparison; host expresses appreciation for its shift mechanic
Pinball game ranked #9 for supercharger ramp mechanism
Ranked #9 (with Getaway); features beacon topper that lights up during multiball to simulate police evasion; integrated with gameplay theme
Classic 1986 pinball machine; referenced by Pat Lawlor as formative childhood game that inspired his design philosophy for Toy Story 4
Classic Steve Ritchie-designed pinball; referenced in game comparison segment
System 11 pinball game; praised for storytelling approach with police chase narrative and multiball mechanics
Solid state tournament machine with varied strategy options including jackpots and freeway awards
Classic Stern pinball designed by Steve Ritchie; had official NES cartridge release; prequel to The Getaway
Classic Stern pinball game; The Getaway is its sequel
Pinball machine in Matt Scott's collection
Classic pinball game Scott kept in collection alongside Taxi; represents 80s era preference
Referenced as part of High Speed game library; subject of inside joke with friend Nick George Campbell
Johnny Pinball's machine with ball stuck in hideout; actually had blown transistor on switch line affecting multiple components
Williams pinball machine; played by Bob and his father as a child; father was enthusiastic due to car theme
Mid-1980s Steve Ritchie design; host enjoyed it
Williams pinball machine (7-seed) that upset Black Knight 2000 with 61.5% of vote in Round 2
System 11 game; Dennis's favorite in that system; selected by Dennis; designed by Steve Richie; ranked 101-110
Williams pinball machine designed by Ritchie during financial crisis recovery; inspired by his personal experience with fast driving; game helped restore factory operations
Ritchie/DeMar game inspired by his reckless driving incident; featured automatic percentages and self-healing target mechanics.
Williams (1986) at RadBar
Classic pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie; cited by Lawlor as favorite machine not designed by himself
Classic Williams pinball; Dwight Sullivan's choice for hypothetical Mars mission; mentioned as available for purchase in chat
Classic Williams pinball game rumored to receive 2.0 kit treatment from Pedretti
High-production Williams game (17,080 units); already has sequel; considered as potential 2.0 candidate
Classic Williams pinball game; 17,080 units produced; already has a sequel
1980s Williams pinball machine released around same time as Pin*Bot; cited as comparably influential
1977 Williams prototype that was redesigned into Disco Fever due to market concerns
1986 Williams game commonly but incorrectly believed to be the first with alphanumeric backbox displays
Williams Electronics 1986 pinball machine; lead designer Steve Ritchie; first true alphanumeric Williams pinball; 17,080 units released
Pinball machine at Houston Arcade Expo (was very loud); later installed at Wormhole Pinball
Classic Williams pinball machine; Scott's first pinball acquisition for $350; inspired his pivot to collecting only pinball machines
Williams game by Steve Ritchie, cited as influential to Sullivan and a favorite of his
Williams pinball machine (referenced as major industry turning point); game Pat Lawlor played during lunch breaks at Brunswick
Williams game that first implemented auto-percentaging patent; became industry standard and licensing requirement for all manufacturers.
Pinball machine belonging to Johnny with hideout switch and related switch matrix failures caused by blown transistor on board.
Classic Williams Ritchie game referenced as example of his orbit shot and flow design
1986 Bally pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie; Ryan's first owned machine
System 11 era classic game; mentioned alongside Whirlwind as example of Joe's favorite gaming era with brutal, unrewarding mechanics for poor execution.
Steve Ritchie Williams game; owned by Dwight Sullivan then Lyman Sheets; major programming inspiration
Williams game that heavily influenced Lawlor's thinking; played frequently by Lawlor at bars while working in other industries
Steve Ritchie game credited as first with story-driven theme based on personal experiences; pioneering example of his design philosophy
Pinball machine; Alan routed a High Speed machine early in his pinball hobby
Classic game cited by Alan as personal favorite; enjoys short play sessions with specific challenge targets (e.g., getting 100 loops)
1986 Williams original theme game by Steve Ritchie; sold 17,000 units; widely regarded as first game to tell coherent story; pioneered storytelling in pinball
Pinball machine that Alex sold using photos taken with good lighting; successful sale example to casual buyers
1986 Williams game by Ritchie/DeMar; first System 11 game; certified smash hit that proved pinball market viability post-video game crash
1986 pinball game by Steve Ritchie featuring first modern interactive spinning light topper; sold 17,000 units and established topper innovation as commercially viable
Steve Ritchie design pioneering oval track mechanics; cited as historical precedent for NASCAR's circular track concept
Legendary game by Steve Ritchie that Sullivan credits with changing pinball by integrating story into physical gameplay
Classic Ritchie-designed game; legendary title; Ritchie suggests potential for High Speed 3 but prioritizes new licensed titles
Referenced as table with upper ramp difficulty in TPA, playing too fast compared to real machine
Classic game Keith has logged more playtime on than any other game; his go-to finals choice
Challenging restoration project with extremely difficult Mylar removal (10-12 hours); Kerry eventually unloaded due to excessive cosmetic damage.
Williams pinball game designed by Larry DeMar and Steve Richie; Pat played on lunch breaks and admired DeMar's programming
One of Sheets' early favorite games; played at Fun and Games arcade in Framingham
First System 11 game to attach separate music hardware; featured drum and guitar tracks
Williams game in Python's portfolio; mentioned in host's introduction
Ritchie-designed game where he wrote the music; among his best-selling titles
Richie game with Larry DeMar featuring tachometer and traffic light mechanical design
Pinball machine being restored alongside Getaway with body and head restoration; owned by Rob Edwards
Arcade cabinet repurposed as workbench in Grazley Garage
Pinball machine with CPR playfield swap and cabinet painting underway at Grazley Garage
Vintage pinball game referenced as example for era-appropriate comparison in review methodology discussions
System 11 game; host has Project High Speed as personal machine; mentioned as part of System 11 game appreciation
Classic Bally Williams down 10% from $3,000 average; influential design game
Classic game Sullivan played growing up; no ball save design influenced his philosophy for Munsters