Roger Sharpe’s Rare Prototype Muppets Pinball Machine

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jul 9, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

Roger Sharpe's unreleased 2002 Muppets prototype flipperless pinball machine proposed to Bromley

Summary

Roger Sharpe designed a prototype Muppets-themed flipperless pinball machine called 'The Muppets Haunted House Adventure' in 2002 for manufacturer Bromley, featuring Muppet characters in horror movie roles. The game was never produced after Bromley decided to pass on the project. Artwork was created by pinball legend Paul Faris.

Key Claims

Roger Sharpe created a prototype Muppets pinball machine in 2002
high confidence · Knapp Arcade article directly states this as fact
The game was titled 'The Muppets Haunted House Adventure'
high confidence · Title explicitly provided in article
The machine was designed as a proposal for Bromley, who decided to pass on the project
high confidence · Directly stated in article
The game was flipperless, similar to old school Bingo machines
high confidence · Explicitly described in article
Paul Faris created the artwork for the machine
high confidence · Attributed in opening paragraph

Notable Quotes

“Did you know that the man who saved pinball, Roger Sharpe, created a prototype Muppets pinball machine that almost went into production in 2002?”
Knapp Arcade article author @ Opening — Introduces the main subject and Roger Sharpe's historical role
“The machine was designed as a proposal for the amusement machine manufacturer Bromley, who ultimately decided to pass on the project.”
Knapp Arcade article author @ Body — Explains why the machine never reached production
“Titled 'The Muppets Haunted House Adventure' the game featured Kermit the Frog as Frankenstein, Miss Piggy as The Bride of Frankenstein, Gonzo as Dracula, Fozzie Bear as Wolf Man and Rizzo the Rat as Igor.”
Knapp Arcade article author @ Body — Details the theme and character assignments

Entities

Roger Sharpeperson Paul Farisperson The Muppets Haunted House AdventuregameBromleycompanyKnapp Arcadeorganization

Signals

?
leak_detection: Documentation of previously obscure prototype design now being publicly highlighted
medium · Article presents detailed information about a 2002 prototype that few in the community may have known about, with reference to Muppet Fandom wiki as source

Topics

Unreleased/prototype pinball machinesprimaryMuppets IP and pinball adaptationsprimaryFlipperless pinball designsecondaryRoger Sharpe's historical contributions to pinballsecondaryPinball artwork and designsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Author expresses enthusiasm for the prototype ('awesome art', 'would have been pretty cool') and nostalgia for the Muppets. Tone is celebratory of discovering this piece of pinball history.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Did you know that the man who saved pinball, Roger Sharpe, created a prototype Muppets pinball machine that almost went into production in 2002? Check out the awesome art on this thing by another pinball legend, Paul Faris. The machine was designed as a proposal for the amusement machine manufacturer Bromley, who ultimately decided to pass on the project. It is a flipperless game, sort of like the old school Bingo machines from long ago. Titled “The Muppets Haunted House Adventure“ the game featured Kermit the Frog as Frankenstein, Miss Piggy as The Bride of Frankenstein, Gonzo as Dracula, Fozzie Bear as Charles Wolf Man and Rizzo the Rat as Igor. Of course, my personal favorites Beaker, The Swedish Chef and the old dudes Statler and Waldorf were in there as well. This isn’t quite the Muppet pinball machine that many people are clamoring for, but it still would have been pretty cool. It sort of makes me think of the Simpsons Kooky Carnival redemption game that was made back in the day. As a side note, the original Muppet Show was my favorite television show when I was really little. One night my parents went out and I had a babysitter who made me go to bed before the Muppet Show came on television. I NEVER had to go to bed before the show. I was livid. So after she put me to bed, I snuck back downstairs and peeked through a crack in the door to the family room to see what was going on. She was in there on our sofa hooking up with some dude! Needless to say, she never babysat for us again. Don’t mess with my Muppets! For more info on this game, check out the following page: https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/The_Muppets_Haunted_House_Adventure Here‘s the Stern Simpsons redemption game that I mentioned: