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Ep 52: Weird

Final Round Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 25m·analyzed·Mar 17, 2022
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Final Round Podcast interviews Colin McAlpine about Multimorphic's Weird Al P3 pinball machine ahead of TPF debut.

Summary

Final Round Pinball Podcast Episode 52 features an in-depth interview with Colin McAlpine about Multimorphic's Weird Al-themed P3 pinball machine. The conversation covers game design philosophy, integration of Weird Al's songs and voice work, mechanical features including five flippers and a hamster wheel topper, and the broader significance of licensed themes for platform growth. Colin discusses his advisory role alongside Bowen Kerins, the collaborative process with Weird Al himself, and how the game balances accessibility for casual players with depth for competitive players.

Key Claims

  • Weird Al LEs sold out with 227 units, marking the biggest hit for Multimorphic

    high confidence · Colin McAlpine confirmed sales figures during interview; presented as factual statement about LE availability

  • Weird Al pinball machine features 5 flippers total: 2 main, 2 upper on main playfield, 1 mini on upper playfield

    high confidence · Colin McAlpine provided detailed technical breakdown of flipper configuration

  • Colin and Bowen Kerins formally joined Multimorphic in December 2021

    high confidence · Colin explicitly stated: 'I myself and also Bone Cairns, we came on and joined Multimorphic formally in December'

  • Weird Al's first studio album was in 1983, marking approximately 40 years of catalog by 2022

    high confidence · Colin McAlpine stated: 'First one was in 83. So just a phenomenal catalog of different songs... We're now in 2022. He's coming up to his 40th year for studio albums'

  • The game features an accordion topper that moves mechanically, reflecting Weird Al's musical identity

    high confidence · Colin described: 'there is a massive accordion working like you know actual like it moves the accordion in the topper'

  • Weird Al was involved in call-out recording both from script and with ad-lib variation opportunities

    high confidence · Colin explained: 'There's a script. There's certain call outs that the team comes up with... And then also, hey, let's read them in a different way'

  • The game was in development long before Colin and Bowen's December 2021 formal joins

    high confidence · Colin: 'the game was in the works long before December of 2021... the big, big props really go to Jerry and his team'

  • Each Weird Al song has a distinct theme, story, and parody joke integrated into corresponding game mode

    high confidence · Colin and Marty discussed integration: 'each song is a theme. It's a story. It's a joke' with visual example given of the Crimes mode

Notable Quotes

  • “Yeah, I'm the Golem multiball of Final Round Podcast.”

    Colin McAlpine @ ~6:00 — Humorous reference to his previous 'deaths' in the podcast's game, establishing rapport and the show's running joke about killing guest characters

  • “This is the most like a regular pinball layout that we've seen... when I first saw this, I went, okay, this is it. they've nailed it theme layout integration it's all there.”

    Marty (or Jeff, referring to Marty's statement) @ ~14:30 — Key assessment that Weird Al represents a breakthrough for the P3 platform in terms of feeling like a complete, integrated pinball machine rather than a modular novelty

  • “I'm not fucking playing pinball to listen to a jukebox. I want to hear, the sounds I want to hear are the call-outs, and it's Weird Al doing it, who is bloody hilarious.”

    Jeff Teolis @ ~25:30 — Defines the core value proposition of licensed music machines: call-outs and sound design trump song selection for actual pinball experience

  • “The integration is brilliant... Whatever they put in there is going to have great integration, and you're not going to feel this void of, oh, I really wish I had that.”

    Colin McAlpine @ ~32:00 — Defends song selection choices, arguing that the design integration is strong enough that missing fan-favorite songs won't diminish the game

  • “He's just a phenomenal guy. And he's really great to work with and very, very generous with his time... nothing is in any way, shape or form mailed in.”

    Colin McAlpine @ ~47:00 — Personal account of Weird Al's professionalism and commitment to voice work quality, setting expectation for call-out delivery

  • “The video interaction on a P3 machine is still interacting with the ball and the physicality of where the ball is going in your shot making or lucky bounces.”

    Colin McAlpine @ ~58:00 — Explains how P3 screen modes differ philosophically from traditional DMD video modes—emphasizing physical ball interaction over pure video game mechanics

  • “I've actually had some conversations with people like, oh, that came as a bit of a surprise. I'm like, are you kidding? Like so many people have mentioned Weird Al as a theme.”

Entities

Colin McAlpinepersonWeird Al YankovicpersonMultimorphiccompanyWeird Al PinballgameBowen KerinspersonJerry KurtzpersonSteven SilverpersonMichael Oceanperson

Signals

  • ?

    product_launch: Weird Al Pinball confirmed for TPF debut with sold-out LE (227 units); represents major licensed IP for Multimorphic P3 platform

    high · Colin McAlpine: 'year that we'll get to see Weird Al and the Weird Al pinball machine' and 'The popularity of this license can't be understated. It's just to see those LEs sell out 227, it's the biggest hit for Multimorphic.'

  • ?

    design_innovation: Weird Al features hamster wheel topper with moving accordion, 5-flipper configuration, upper playfield with mini flipper, and mechanical-digital integration advancing P3 platform maturity

    high · Colin detailed: 'mechanical hamster wheel with your ball in the hamster wheel going around' and 'there is a massive accordion working like you know actual like it moves the accordion in the topper'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Colin McAlpine and Bowen Kerins formally joined Multimorphic in December 2021 in advisory capacity; brought in post-development to refine existing game

    high · Colin: 'I myself and also Bone Cairns, we came on and joined Multimorphic formally in December... the game was in the works long before December of 2021'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: P3 platform reframes video modes as shot-based physical gameplay rather than traditional DMD-style button-press video game mechanics; distinguishes platform from retro pinball norms

    high · Colin: 'The video interaction on a P3 machine is still interacting with the ball and the physicality of where the ball is going in your shot making'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Weird Al designed with dual accessibility tiers: novice-friendly entry points in each mode alongside expert optimization paths; modes evolve as songs progress

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.257

0:00
The Pinball Network is online. Launching final round pinball podcast. It's player versus player and player versus machine. Welcome to the final round.
0:59
It's that kind of care and attention to detail that gives you this quality podcast. So if that's 52, does that mean we've been doing this for two years? I guess we've been doing it for a little more than two years because we did have a little hiatus. But yeah, for sure, two years and a couple of extra bonus episodes and a hell of a lot of murders. I mean, we have done our share of killing. And when I say we, that's the proverbial we. That's all my partner here. In fact, our next guest was a guest on this show. And you think that would be enough to put him in the good books. No. Marty had a chance to save him or Robert Byers for some strange reason. He chose Robert Byers. And then we brought this guest back to life. Marty, without blinking an eye, killed him a second time. And he's coming back on the show right now. Let's say hello to Colin McAlpine. Hi, Colin. Yeah, I'm the Golem multiball of Final Round Podcast. Marty, are you going to be okay with this interview? or do you want to step aside? Are you going to kill him during the interview? I feel no guilt about what I've done because though I've been the executioner, you've been the judge, so we're both in this. How the hell am I the judge? You're the one that puts it in front of me. No, I'm the arresting officer, if you will. Yeah, so you're complicit is what we're saying. I'm just doing my job, okay? Next on Law & Order. Special pinball unit.
2:30
Yeah. How are you, Colin? I'm doing all right, Marty. And you? Yeah, great. Awesome. Oh, fuck, they sound like best of friends. Noon over there in Australia? Yeah, it is. I've just had lunch. It was delicious.
2:44

Marty @ ~40:00 — Highlights that Weird Al pinball was a long-anticipated community wishlist item, not a surprise announcement

  • “The more that we can get people... we are such a niche hobby. We've all admitted that. And so the more and more that we can get of other people, famous celebrities who are getting into pinball, maybe for the first time, the more the merrier.”

    Colin McAlpine @ ~50:00 — Acknowledges pinball as a niche market and positions celebrity-backed machines as growth drivers for the broader ecosystem

    • Greg Goldie
    person
    Matt Andrewsperson
    Roryperson
    Scott Denisonperson
    Marty Robbinsperson
    Jeff Teolisperson
    Lexi Lightspeedgame
    Heistgame
    Cosmic Cut Racinggame
    TPFevent
    P3 Platformproduct
    Robert Byersperson

    high · Colin: 'Something accessible at any song, any mode for a player, even at the novice level. But then something that an expert level player can then also... maximize their score'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Weird Al Yankovic directly involved in call-out recording with both scripted and ad-lib flexibility; artist demonstrated professionalism and understanding of pinball impact

    high · Colin: 'There's a script... And then also, hey, let's read them in a different way... he's a legend at doing that type of stuff' and 'he's a pleasure to work with and very, very generous with his time'

  • ?

    collector_signal: Weird Al LE (227 units) sold out completely; Pro/Standard versions remain available; classic FOMO pattern demonstrates strong collector demand for licensed IP

    high · Colin: 'The popularity of this license can't be understated. It's just to see those LEs sell out 227, it's the biggest hit for Multimorphic'

  • $

    market_signal: Weird Al success positioned to drive ecosystem growth: LE sales validating modular platform strategy; subsequent module purchases create value ladder for new players

    high · Colin: 'the great thing about this now being in people's homes are they're going to now grab those other modules' and price point discussion of few thousand additional vs seven grand entry

  • ?

    community_signal: Weird Al pinball attracting non-pinball audiences (collectors, Weird Al fans) and potentially non-pinball celebrities; positioned as gateway to broader pinball engagement

    medium · Colin: 'really great to know that there are other people that have nothing to do with the the pinball industry... are now maybe they're getting their first pinball machine'

  • ?

    event_signal: TPF (The Pinball Factory) event confirmed as venue for Weird Al public debut; Jeff Teolis attending, Marty Robbins not attending in 2022

    high · Jeff: 'you'll be at TPF, correct?' Colin: 'Correct. And Marty, unfortunately, I think it's a no for you this year, right?' Marty: 'That is correct, Jess'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Three-tier release strategy: sold-out LE with topper, Pro with standard artwork, Standard with base configuration; same gameplay across all versions but LE/Pro command premium pricing

    medium · Colin: 'There's no difference in gameplay across the two different models. And so there's obviously a difference in artwork, but you're getting the same Weird Al experience. Hopefully you're experiencing all the laughs'

    • So... Look at these two peas in a pod. Correct. We've made up. We're good friends again. Wow. Well, you should be nice to Colin, because he's helping Multimorphic with a fantastic title, a game I'm so excited to see. I guess we're going to be seeing it at TPF. Colin, tell us about Weird Al. I can't wait. I'm so excited for you guys. Well, I mean, Jeff, you'll be at TPF, correct? Correct. And Marty, unfortunately, I think it's a no for you this year, right? That is correct, Jess. I'm bummed. But anyway, yeah, I'm excited for you, Jeff, and the rest of the world who are coming to TPF, because people do come from all over the world, except for Australia. year that we'll get to see Weird Al and the Weird Al pinball machine. It's a fantastic game. I'm only a small part of it. So, you know, I myself and also Bone Cairns, we came on and joined Multimorphic formally in December. And so it shouldn't surprise anybody that the game was in the works long before December of 2021. So, you know, the big, big props really go to Jerry and his team, Steven Silver, the creative director and Michael Ocean and Greg Goldie also on the software. And you have Rory on graphics and the artwork by Matt Andrews. So just an incredible team that's been working really hard on this game. And it's an outstanding license. I mean, I'm a big Weird Al fan, so that helps. But I think everybody, even if they're not Weird Al fans, will just enjoy this game because it's fun to play. and just like some of the most famous and well-loved games in pinball and modern pinball are the ones that make you laugh and that you can have a really good time playing. And that's what I think people are going to see from Weird Al. My first impressions, and I know Jerry's going to be listening and this is not meant to be a slight on previous modules or games, whatever you want to call it, for the platform. I mean, obviously, everyone's been wanting a licensed theme, and that's great. And Weird Al is a great theme. I'm a big Weird Al fan as well. But it was more than that. When I looked at it, I went, huh, this is a complete game. This is the most like a regular pinball layout that we've seen. I mean, I know that the previous, I guess it's been an evolution to this. But when I first saw this, I went, okay, this is it. they've nailed it theme layout integration it's all there and so which which aspects of it when you look at it and you've seen the teaser video and the initial launch and the various screen grabs that people have done so which aspects of it marty do you see in it that you think wow this really nails the whole package it is it's the integration so it's the feedback that you get when you have shot the shots it's the call outs it's the lights it's the animations everything just seems to be really really well coordinated integrated is what i'm i guess i'm saying so it just it feeds back to you the pinball experience so if any i think what i'm really saying is i think if anyone's ever been any doubt in doubt about the platform and is it pinball or not this answers that question this is absolute pinball yeah i couldn't agree more i mean it's I've always argued that it's always been pinball, even going back as far as Lexi Lightspeed. I mean, the nature of most of the things and the shots being in that upper portion of the playfield is not too dissimilar from a lot of other very famous, successful titles out there. But I agree with you that I think the multimorphic team and the level of care and development and software and graphic and sound design that is being put into Weird Al, like you're seeing already in the initial release videos and what people will see even more from future streams, videos, and at TPF, is going to fulfill exactly what you can see already. I mean, just the nature of the integration of the Harvey hamster wheel graphic, and you have the actual mechanical hamster wheel with your ball in the hamster wheel going around. It's really fabulous. The popularity of this license can't be understated. It's just to see those LEs sell out 227, it's the biggest hit for Multimorphic. And the great thing about this now being in people's homes are they're going to now grab those other modules. Correct. Yeah, that's the design of the P3 system and the P3 platform, as you guys have discussed on other shows in the past. But for anybody who isn't familiar with it, yeah, the P3 platform is a modular-based pinball machine platform. And so you are able to buy the modules that go into generally that upper third of the play field. But now, you know, they've P3 has grown and Multimorphic has grown that those those modules actually now extend down into the lower portion of the play field. So, you know, Heist did that with the amazing crane mech, which I hope really, you know, that's another, I think, side benefit of this weird owl pin and the popularity of this license is that more people will get to play and see that that mech from Heist. as far as how it extends down below the play field or below that upper third of the play field. And yeah, it's going to get, I think you're going to see, you know, a good critical mass achieved by Multimorphic on their P3 platform as more and more people are going to want this pinball machine with the Weird Al module in it. And then at that point, you know, then the, your price point for getting additional modules is, you know, it's a few thousand bucks as opposed to laying out seven grand. Good value proposition. And I've played the Lexi Lightspeed module, I guess, and the Cosmic Cut Racing module. If you bought the game now for Weird Al, those others, and obviously Heist, no brainers. You could get those three modules, and you've got three extra games. That's just how different they all are. Correct. But yeah, I mean, to your point you made earlier, Marty, and also Jeff, as far as this license and the popularity of it, What you guys have seen so far, as I'm sure you're well aware, and anytime there's a new pinball machine released with video, there's so much more you get to see when you actually get to experience it. And the call outs that Weird Al himself has done, it's just, oh, my gosh, it shouldn't surprise anyone that that guy is just a maestro with his voice and his voice inflections and energy that he brings humor. It's so good. I can't wait for you. You have Scott Dinesi doing the sound and sound engineering it, so syncing things up and making sure different sound weight and files don't get clipped and all that jazz. There's so much level of detail and care that's going into this. It's going to be a phenomenal experience for everybody to play it and all the people who have bought it. Colin, I am so glad you said that because I've heard some of my brothers and sisters in podcasting talk about this Weird Al game and say, you know, yeah, there's 16, 17 songs, but it's not the songs that I want, or it's not all the great hits and stuff. And I just thought, okay, forget Weird Al for a second. I'm a massive Led Zeppelin fan. Do I care about the songs in the game as much as I care about, first of all, the gameplay, the code, the sounds I actually care about? As much as I love Led Zeppelin, I don't want to hear the song Rock and Roll a million times. And with 10 songs, You know what I mean? People, oh, there's no stairway. So let's go back to Weird Al. What do I care about in the Weird Al? The music? Yeah, that's fine and great. I'm not fucking playing pinball to listen to a jukebox. I want to hear, the sounds I want to hear are the call-outs, and it's Weird Al doing it, who is bloody hilarious, and I care about the sound effects and the Scott Denise-y. I mean, what haven't we loved by Denise-y? I'm not trying to go crazy about this Weird Al. I'm just talking about pinball in general. So do the song selections matter? I have Rush right beside me as we sit here. I'm glad the songs are in there. It's not the songs that make me love the games. It's the call-outs and the sound effects. I remember on Zeppelin saying to Ray Day, I love the sound of that electric magic spinner, the rips of things like that and other things. It wasn't the music. It's the sounds and everything else, the call-outs. Can I just, I guess I want to do a bit of a counter to that because I agree with you with every other machines. Let me tell you why I think Weird Al is different and why, and again, I'm glad you brought up the call-outs because I was going to ask about Weird Al and his involvement. I think the difference with Weird Al is his songs aren't just songs. I know that's probably sounding a little bit cheesy at the moment, but each song is a theme. It's a story. It's a joke. Each song is a different joke. And that's what I was hearing with the call-outs was him further elaborating on that joke. So I think in this particular case, Those songs do matter because I think you're getting a different feeling depending on the song. Does that make sense? No. And I'll tell you why you're wrong, Marty. Sorry, Colin.
    12:19
    I'll tell you why you're wrong. There's a difference between listening and hearing. You may think, are you listening to this podcast or you're hearing this podcast? Well, the answer is you're both. When you're hearing music in the background, you're just listening. You're not really paying attention. No, Weird Al is different. I get it. But you've got so much other things going on in pinball. So you're just going to hear a song when it's telling you to go for the multi-ball, shoot the left ramp and all that stuff. You're not going to get to hear the songs as opposed to listen to the songs. There is a big difference. You hear spoken word, and that is call-outs. That is podcasts. That's talk radio. Big, big, big difference. No, and I'm saying this is different. If you were a Weird Al fan, clearly you're not by what you're saying. It's my son's first concert I took my son to it for first concert So yeah I like Weird Al quite a bit I've got every album of his I am a massive fan I'll show you my Spotify list Oh you got it on Spotify Oh fuck I guess I have everyone too Well if somebody Hadn't gone into my mother's house And taken all my CDs And sold them Well if you didn't live in a fucking criminal country Maybe that wouldn't happen Anyway, go on. No, but I'm still going back to what I say. This is different because it's not just a song that's there in the background. This is a song that is feeding information to you based on the song. But Colin, who's probably closer to this than us, you can say if that's true or not. Yeah, I mean, the songs, I agree that the songs of Weird Al have more of a story to each one that is unique. Whereas, you know, if you're playing if you're playing Led Zeppelin or if you're playing Rush, you know, two of the more recent, you know, or even Guns N' Roses from J.J.P., you're you're hitting you're hitting shots and the song is playing. But the flashing shots are just flashing shots. And in this case, because of the integration of the songs with each one with a separate theme and story to them, as well as that massive screen that is the play field. You can see these in the photos that have already been released and posted on this week in Pinball and Pinball News. You can see that each mode, like a surgeon, you have a patient laying in front of you that you're trying to hit the correct shots and not hit the wrong shots. So that way you don't kill the patient. It's hilarious. Listen, I think you guys are both missing something. The integration is brilliant. I'm saying that you don't need to have fat in there. You don't need to have Eat It in there because whatever songs you've got in there, there's going to be great integration. But to say, oh, I wish it had this and that, it doesn't matter. Whatever they put in there is going to have great integration, and you're not going to feel this void of, oh, I really wish I had that. That's what I'm saying. Yes and no. Yes, I agree with you. I think that the songs that they've put there, there's some great, really iconic Weird Al songs in there, and there's some other. He doesn't do dud songs. But I would counter that by saying Yes, I feel there is a bit of a void not having fat there Because I could imagine that experience Because as a singular song It is such a fun experience Because this is the whole thing with Weird Al It's not just a song that you listen to and you go Okay, I like that song You go, I like that song And it made me laugh So I remember it better than other songs Because of those double aspects I kind of think that I do miss not having fat or eat it there, but I know that everything else is going to be great. For me, where are the polkas? That's what I wanted.
    16:07
    I think whatever we are quote-unquote missing, they're going to more than make up for with what they put in there, and maybe it's songs we're not familiar with, because it's not his top 20 hits, or whatever the case would be, and we're going to be like, oh, okay, well, that works. That works in pinball. They chose the song because that's a great integration with what you're going to see on that big display. Tell me I'm right on that, Colin. Yeah, the display and the integration with each song and how the rules for each of those modes you work with the story that goes along with that song. I mean, we're paying very close attention to detail and trying to make each one of those very unique in terms of how they play and obviously the songs are very different in terms of the parody that it's making. But yeah, it's really phenomenal and yeah i i too like the polkas marty but uh unfortunately there's no polkas in this one although there is an accordion uh he's got the accordion on the topper there is a massive accordion working like you know actual like it moves the accordion in the topper and the uh and also you have squeeze box combos that you can shoot from each of the upper flippers so there's that yeah best topper ever like again that's what i think i think if if you're gonna do weird al do it right and I think you've done it right pay good respect to who he is and what he does but I do want to I guess touch more on Weird Al and his involvement as in like was he just given a script to do or was he able to ad lib and come up with his own things? Yes both but yes I mean just like I mean you can see it in some of the other I mean, and Marty, I don't know to what extent you've been involved with doing the call outs and that process for the games that you're working on now. But yes, of course, there's a script. There's certain call outs that the team comes up with and says, hey, we want you to read these. And then also, hey, let's read them in a different way. So that way, it's not just the exact same call out every time. So you're going to hear, you know, there are going to be different actual files of the same call out in some cases where you're getting to hear it in a different way. And of course, he's a legend at doing that type of stuff. So it's amazing. But at the same time, you know, there's just the audio file of when he was in the studio is awesome in and of itself. And, you know, unfortunately, that not all of that is necessarily pinball related, but it just I wasn't there during the studio recording. But I do have been able to listen to the audio file. And and he's just a he's just a phenomenal guy. And he's he's really great to work with and very, very generous with his time and his willingness and his understanding and appreciation that, hey, the way in which he does those call outs makes a difference. so nothing is in any way, shape or form mailed in and you're like Chloe from 24 Jackpot so yeah, he was a pleasure to work with according to the other guys in the team and yeah, just amazing voicings and he's like, as Jeff said, he's a genius when it comes to comedy and comedic timing and the comedic energy and different things you can do with your voice. He's a must-see if he's on tour anywhere in your city. He is that great. I've seen him a few times, and again, mentioning I took my son Brady, that was his first ever concert, but it's the interaction with the crowd. So if he has that at all, even remotely on the pinball machine, it's going to be great. Is he familiar with pinball in general? I mean, he's obviously familiar with comedy, but does he kind of get what's going on in pinball? I mean, I think he does now. I mean, like I said, I wasn't, I have not myself interacted at all with him. So I can't, I can't comment because I'm not, you know, the one who's been having those discussions with him, but he gets it now. And, and you know what, I'll, it's, it's really cool to see and hear some of the people outside of pinball who have bought Weird Al pins. and that's just it's really it's really great to know that there are other people that have nothing to do with the the pinball industry in the pinball world that are now maybe they're getting their first pinball machine and you know hopefully they can then use their influence capabilities to you know influence more people to check pinball out and hopefully then you know sell more weird owl pinball machines and more p3 pinballs and that bleeds over into the other pinball manufacturers. I mean, the more that we can get people, you know, we are such a niche hobby. We've all admitted that. And so the more and more that we can get of other people, famous celebrities who are getting into pinball, maybe for the first time, the more the merrier. So I've often wondered when a licensed theme comes out, particularly bands, because the bands have had, they've got their armies, if you will. So Led Zeppelin have got their fans. Do pinball fans get more of a leg up Because we know when a new machine released we like yeah bang we going to get on this Whereas you know Weird Al fans would have had probably the same amount of time that we have, but they've got processing time to know whether they want a pinball machine that's Weird Al merchandise. Do you think they have a bit of a disadvantage? I mean, I guess, yes, maybe from getting one of the LEs that are now sold out. but they can still get a Weird Al pinball machine. And there's no difference in gameplay across the two different models. And so there's obviously a difference in artwork, but you're getting the same Weird Al experience. And no, you're not getting the fancy topper, but you're still getting that experience. Hopefully you're experiencing all the laughs and all the fun of playing the kinetic joy of hitting the different shops. And yeah, so I think there will be. But yeah, I mean, I think we probably are able to admit in the pinball world that those who maybe just find out about it because they were fans of the band or fans of Weird Al, and they find out about it, and then they see the price tag for premium or LE of Stern, or you find out about the price tag about the P3 with the Weird Al module. And there may be people that go, oh, wow, that seems like I don't necessarily want to spend that kind of money until maybe they get a little bit more into it and find out a little bit more and then realize that, yeah, it's worth it. It's worth it to have these oversized toys in your house and in your game room. So we'll see. But I think it's an excellent point, Marty. But I don't think people are going to miss out because of the fact that there's only a certain amount of LEs. They can all get their rear down pinball machines eventually. Talk about the upper third. You mentioned the hamster wheel. Are we seeing five flippers on this game? There are five, yes. So besides the two main flippers, you have two upper flippers on the main play field right near that wall of scoops on each side. And then there's one mini flipper that's in the upper play field in the upper left of the module. So it's a very, very dynamic playing pin. And it's the first one I don't, you know, there's not really been any upper play field that I'm aware of in the past of, you know, other multimorphic pins. And the upper play field in this one, it's a lot of fun. It's fast. you can you know you can do a little bit of looping up there but it's it's pretty fast that you can't keep control of it for too long and it also has a you know very satisfying shot over to the uh the uh camera lock and then the two lower on the main play field the two upper flippers are there the left one is probably more important because it shoots the side ramp that's the spiral ramp that goes and feeds the hamster lock as well as can also feed the the upper play field it doesn't loop back around to your lower left flipper. And then the upper right flipper is there to shoot the, you can shoot the ticket counter, the mode start from there. And you can also shoot the left inner loop that you can squeeze box combo back and forth. So you can kind of juggle back and forth between the two upper flippers on the main play field by shooting squeeze box combos. Well, just moving a little bit, I want to talk about timing. Because people have been asking for Weird Al as a pinball machine for a long time. I've actually had some conversations with people like, oh, that came as a bit of a surprise. I'm like, are you kidding? Like so many people have mentioned Weird Al as a theme and there's a new movie coming out. So I think it's really good timing for this particular franchise. Yeah, I think so too. You know, the funny part was I wasn't even aware of the new movie coming out until after I joined the team. but it's a you know it's one of those it's one of those themes and artists who you know he's he stood the test of time so you know his i mean gosh i mean you own all the the albums marty so when did his first album come out oh god i yeah check your vinyl marty yeah you look good check i can't because it was stolen remember yeah oh yes that's right yeah so but i'm pretty sure it was the 80s right i mean i don't remember exactly what year in the 80s but you know so here's a Here's an artist who's been producing his songs, both original and parody songs, since the 80s. We're now in 2022. He's coming up to his 40th year for studio albums. First one was in 83. So just a phenomenal catalog of different songs. A lot of memorable songs that are in this pinball machine, too. I mean, it may not have everybody's favorite in there, just like with every music pinball machine. There's always going to be some people going, oh, why didn't I have this song or that song? there's so many of the the the iconic songs in here and the ones that you can sing along with as well as make you laugh and um you know even some things that we're able to do uh with some of those songs that you know get into some pinball nuance and even pinball jokes you can see it and even in the the screenshot that was posted for the uh the pinball news and the speaking pinball You can see how the word crimes screen is like trivia is going on. So you have multiple choice, and there's a nice little question with answers on there for what is pinball. I've heard a lot of pinball players when they talk about video modes, and I'm talking about on the LCD, or I guess you don't see them so much on there, but definitely the old DMDs. I'm talking about the DMDs, those video modes. People kind of groan, oh, there aren't that many good ones. You know, Fishtail certainly is fun. the video modes if you will on this platform it's totally different it's all shot based it's not about being great with flippers necessarily as far as timing you know left right left right all that kind of stuff it's about okay there's the shot i need to hit fire it at the right time how do you and bowen and steven silver and all the programming people when it comes to this aspect and i don't even like calling it a video mode because it's pinball how are you thinking of what works and what doesn't work, knowing that in the past, different formats, they've been sometimes a bit of a groaner? Well, I would say that there's not really, you know, when you think about video modes that you referenced, those are, you know, really, they take you away from the actual act of playing pinball because they're just the video screen. And maybe you're doing something with your flipper buttons to control something like you were in a video game. But there's the video interaction on a P3 machine is still interacting with the ball and the physicality of where the ball is going in your shot making or lucky bounces in terms of making the shot, scoring the points and making progress and getting to hear that next call out that you want to hear. You and Bowen, you've only been on at least announced in December. Have you been working longer than that? I know you've kind of done some things in the past with Jerry and I want to know kind of what it is you're consulting or are you actually coming up with ideas? So like I mentioned at the beginning, most of the, you know, for the Weird Al pinball machine, it's really just in an advisory role and, you know, helping to, you know, make suggestions and, hey, let's try, you know, tweaking this or maybe we do this differently in terms of how the rules work or the scoring works. But the pinball machine and the whole construct of how the pin works, that was done by Jerry and Michael and Stephen and Greg long before Bowen and I got involved. So when you came on board, here's this game, and they said, okay, Bowen, okay, Colin, what do you think? Yeah, I mean, so I was blown away when I first got to go play it at the multimorphic offices and manufacturing site outside of Austin, Texas. and yeah, I'm just getting to play it and then take a whole bunch of notes on, hey, what if we did this differently? And what if we, hey, let's, at that point in time, it was still really early. So some of the sounds and we didn't have all the call-outs integrated into it at that point in time. But you can still just see the overall how each different mode and multi-ball plays. So getting into the nuance of, hey, what stacks with what? And, oh, hey, how do we want the scoring to work here? And, you know, trying to get, you know, some other aspects of let's do, how can we get some other risk reward aspects to the modes and to how the scoring works to make it so that there's something accessible at any song, any mode for a player, even at the novice level. But then something that an expert level player can then also, you know, hone in on in terms of trying to, you know, maximize their score and get to the end of it, end of the actual mode. I mean, some of the songs are fairly long and, you know, we've got the mode set up that you make progress in the mode and the mode may change as the song progresses based on where you're at in the song and the story that that song tells. And so what was probably the hardest thing that you had to do with it? Was it the kind of the feeling that you're trying to give people? Is it light shows? Is it having to work with such big animation as well? Well, the hardest thing I've done by the rest of the team. What I do is minuscule compared to what everybody else does. I think the level of time and the detail that they have to put into in terms of, you know, the graphics and the coordination of those graphics and then with the sound, with the sound clips and, you know, not, you know, having, making sure you get priorities set correctly and mixed correctly. To me, that's the biggest piece of the magic. And so the hardest thing for me was just, you know, learning how everything worked and, you know, coming into this game, like I said, the game was already there. So my job was not to come in and try to build something from the ground up, but just make some tweaks and suggestions here and there. For me, probably the hardest thing was, for the first time, being really diligent in terms of work focused on, okay, I'm here now to test this particular mode. And so all I'm going to do is focus on this mode or I'm just going to test this particular shot. And is this shot doing what it's supposed to do? And then giving the feedback and then recording either video or just taking my notes and posting that to the rest of the team so that they can know, hey, here's what's going on with that, or hey, this might need to be slightly tweaked or done a little bit differently. So that was the hardest thing for me was that you then have to approach pinball, which for me has always just been a hobby, and taking more of a very diligent, detail-oriented approach to, okay, I'm here to get this thing to even better if X, Y, and Z, and having to take that level of diligence to it as opposed to I'm just here to play the game and have fun and score points and get far in the game. We've heard about the new flippers in a sense. Jerry came on this program and talked about that they're a lot different. There were some concerns before. You have told me off air, if you will, that they're spectacular. I didn't mind them before, but you said you can really notice the difference. That's great news. But the cabinet itself, but multimorphic, they've always had the three flipper buttons. So with Weird Al, are we going to have to learn how to juggle those three buttons? Yes.
    33:31
    Okay. Yeah. I mean, yeah. So for those that aren't familiar with the P3 platform, instead of just having your standard single buttons on either side of the cabinet, there are three buttons on either side of the cabinet. And, yeah, so the way it's set up right now is that you have a – your primary buttons are controlling your lower flippers, and the first auxiliary buttons control your upper flippers, and then the second auxiliary buttons control things like lane change and things like that. By the way, Marty and Colin, you'll never, ever hear me complain about that. You know why? It's not an action button. It's not on the apron. I'm not moving my hands. My hands are there. I'm not missing. I admit it's hard, and it's hard in the sense that it takes a while to get used to. Big deal. That doesn't mean it's bad. It just takes a while to get used to, like anything. But I'm still keeping my hands right there. I'm all for it. Yeah. I mean, like you said, it takes some getting used to. But once you get used to it, and I think especially for the novice to meet somebody who hasn't been playing pinball as long, it actually helps them because they can still make shots that a raised upper flipper blocks. You know, for expert players that can do stage flipping, great, fantastic. That's a very, very low percentage of players that can stage flip. But, you know, so with this platform, you don't run into that because you're able to control those upper flippers with a separate button. so that is that is as standard one button does the lower flippers another button does the upper flippers that's correct and can that be changed i'm not aware of that being able to be changed is that is that maybe some there's some there's some mechanical and i think you know how the system is designed so i'm not sure if that's something that can be changed on some of the other games you can change the configuration so that might be a possibility here so we just don't know the answer and we'll try to find out but um yeah it's so but but the thing is like it's so if it is then great then it's a maximum flexibility and that's one thing i i will always give jerry full credit to the moon and back in terms of how he's designed this system in terms of its flexibility and you see that as well in terms of other manufacturers that use his you know, his P-Rock boards and things like that. He takes that level of care in terms of, you know, being able to, you know, tweak things like that. So yeah, it's fantastic. The other thing I want to make mention of that I'm not sure, you know, people will get a better appreciation for this once they play the game. And then maybe if they haven't get it, they'll get a chance to play it right away when they get a chance to see the game in more, you know, full, you know, video or streaming action is appreciating how many different shot paths there are so i don't know if you guys noticed in the the press release there are five different shot path diverters in this game and so it's just remarkable to me how many different mechs and that doesn't even include the all the different scoops that you can have pop up being like when harvey pops his head up and you have to shoot that before you can do a harvey ball lock so the notion like each of those that side ramp by the way the side ramp from the left upper flipper into the spiral ramp is just an incredible shot it's not like nothing else i've ever shot uh in pinball before it just it's very very uh kinetically satisfying and fun to hit and that ramp also has a flap on it that it will go down so that way you can do those squeeze box combos back and forth juggling between your upper flippers depending upon the game state there's other diverters in terms of getting to the upper play field and back down and there's the right ramp which you know can lift up as well and so in unique to most other games in addition to it being a ramp where ramps you always think about shooting it up the ramp that ramp when it raises its flap up the ball can actually be sent up to that ramp so the ball can travel down the ramp when it's raised to then feed the habit trail to go down to your right flipper so just a remarkable number of different ball paths that you get to you see the physical shots in the game but you don't really get to appreciate how many other physical shots and ball paths there are until you get to play it that's what i guess what i was saying earlier when i was looking at the play field going this is real pinball because you kind of just get that variation that you could even see that in the video that reminded me of today's machines that have all these diverters and have variety in gameplay. Agreed. Yeah. My final question about Weird Al, and this is probably the most important question of all. Some savvy pinball companies are playtesting all their games before they ship. So Colin, will you be doing this and putting a CM sticker with your face on each one of them? I'll actually be showing up with every box that gets delivered to another.
    38:46
    Yeah, no, I'm not aware of any CM stickers that we're putting on these. So, no, but that's a very cute idea. Okay, Haggis 1, Multimorphic, no score.
    39:02
    I'm looking forward to playing this game, and it's going to be at TPF, Texas Pinball Festival, only a few weeks away. And it is hard to believe the last one was in 2019. Marty was going to the one in 2020, and we found out the week before, and it was devastating. And, of course, last year was a write-off, but we're ready to go. You've got to be thrilled. Yeah, I'm ecstatic. Like you said, it's been a long two years of not getting to be a part of getting to put on the tournament aspect of TPF and just, you know, as we know with any of us that go to these pinball shows, you know, it's a chance to, you know, have a reunion with a bunch of your, your friends in the pinball community and not just play pinball together, but hang out and talk and laugh and, you know, have a few drinks and stay up way too late, you know, get very little sleep and, uh, and love every moment of it. And then, you know, when it's over, you're wanting to, you can't wait for the next time to do it again. So normally you think, oh man, it's such a long times a year away to have the next one. Instead, this time, oh my gosh, it was, you know, the three years of, you know, eclipsed in between, you know, 2019 and now 2022 compliments of COVID. So really, really excited about, it's at the same place it's always been there in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas. And for anybody that is interested in coming, it's, you know, I'm biased. I think it's the best show, but it's certainly one of the best shows in the world. And so many people come there and there's an amazing number of pins as well as arcade games and ed and kim and paul and the rest of the team are always great about bringing in different both pinball celebrities and they usually also have some other you know non-pinball celebrity somebody who's been a part of a theme of the game so yeah can't wait for it at the 25th and 27th of march in frisco texas please join us there if you haven't already made your your travel arrangements do so quickly. Maybe a little bit difficult right now to get hotel arrangements, but there's a lot of hotels not very nearby surrounding even walking distance to the hotel, to that convention center at the end of C-Sweeps. Colin, you take care and see you in a few weeks. Thanks, guys. There we go. Colin McAlpine. Awesome guy. Still alive, apparently. But what did we learn, Jeff? Yeah, the still alive shocked me too, but a couple of things. Game looks great. Colin seems pretty excited it's legitimate and Colin certainly knows pinball and the only criticism is you know maybe those approved stickers could help Multimorphic that's a big that's obviously you know the value of that with Haggis I do indeed no but it's exciting aren't you I'm dying to play the game oh look absolutely look you know I've said before I've been a fan of the P3 platform I've played it I've enjoyed it this for me again nice timing great license theme the new flippers as well i it's been probably two over two years since i did play one so it'll be completely fresh when i get to play it again comes back to how disappointed i am i'm not going to be at tpf because i would have got to play it then but you know so be it you said great license i also agree it's a great license others have said eh, it's a C license, if I'm quoting somebody.
    42:25
    Somebody maybe on this network. Who said that? Dennis said it on the pinball show, and I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but he said it was a C license. And I do agree. Compared to Star Wars or certainly like a Harry Potter or I guess even Jurassic Park, yeah it not that license But does the license matter as much as the gameplay Because we all seen what Star Wars is It a fucking turd And you know what I mean Like we were excited by it. Maybe that means we're set up for bigger disappointment because it is such a big license. Whereas this isn't Star Wars by any means, but it's look at Ray Day. Ray Day is obviously thrilled to be with Stern. This is his dream license. I know a lot of people. I joke with you about the album stuff. I believe you are a real Weird Al fan. I am. Who doesn't enjoy that kind of humor? And he's covered almost 40 years, so at some point he's probably touched us and made us laugh one way. So I think it's great. Yeah, I agree. And there was a point I made before is that I've heard throughout the years so many people saying that their dream theme would be Weird Al. So, you know, yeah, it probably isn't a AAA license.
    43:39
    Absolutely. I don't think that can be disputed. But it is in the pinball world. I think in the pinball community, it is more popular than it is in the general community, if that makes sense. It really depends on the fan base. Yes. Would you rather have 100 million album sales versus 20 million album sales? Of course. But Rush is a band. And if you think of all the music pins, they haven't sold nearly as many albums as some of these other artists. But again, they have loyal fans. And is the game good? Early indication is it's not only good, it's great. And I'm certainly enjoying it. So that's kind of the bigger factor. Okay, yeah, you know the theme. Iron Maiden, not exactly a huge popular theme for a lot of people. A lot of people play the game. I didn't know any of the music and stuff. I certainly did, and you did as well. But it's about the gameplay. If the gameplay is good, you deal with the license and stuff. I mean, the license can draw you in. That can make you put some quarters in. Multimorphic's not in arcade, so it's not even about that. They sold out 227 instantly for this limited edition. I think that's amazing. So it's like, okay, it all comes down to the measure of success. How many machines do you need to make, or let's say sell out of, for you as a company to say that's been a success? for Multimorphic, it was 227 limited edition and how many more of the other edition. For Stern, for Iron Maiden, how many did they need to make for them to be successful? So Iron Maiden, you wouldn't say that's a AAA license either, but it sold in buckets because they're huge in the pit bull community. You know what I mean? So it just depends on you getting that license. that's not going to cost you an arm and a leg, that is going to sell the amount of units that you want to sell to be considered a successful machine. It's all about your business model, and you know about this better than anyone. Haggis has a business model. They had a number they wanted to sell for their machines. Spooky, we've seen it over years. They've had a set number, and now we've seen Multimorphic do it. We've seen the bigger companies in Stern and Jersey Jack come out with a certain amount. Even American Pinball with their recent title, Legends of Alhalla, they had a set number, and that's how their business model works. And in every one of those cases, they all sold out. I guess that works. I mean, Pinball is doing very well, and I say that as we talk about sellouts. I'm kind of switching gears here, but we've seen that notice from Stern that they're only going to two cornerstones this year because of supply issues. That was a good decision. A great decision. not not so great for us as people fans that just want more and more titles but absolutely because i think they're they're at that cusp right now of customer sentiment getting really really quite angsty about the delay in getting machines shipped so i think they've done the right thing every time somebody had a back order of a machine that they've put down at a distributorship or whatever and a new type comes out they know that's another week or two or three or month or whatever that their machine's not on the line and that they have to wait for. And at some point, you're going to go, just get my money off that fucking machine and put it on something else. I want a machine. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. And that could bite them in the foot because, yeah, people might say, well, actually cancel my order. I'm going to put it on the new game that's just coming out instead of that one that I have to wait another 12 months for. And not only a new game, a new game from another company. Yeah, as well. Yeah. I know people that have done that. They were waiting and waiting and they've switched. So, hey, they want a pinball machine and tell me what's available. And that's kind of the key. So again, we're seeing supply issues continue. I hope they're getting a little better, but you just never know. I mean, so many crazy things are going on in the world right now and inflation is certainly a big factor. I think it was a wise, wise decision for Stern to do that. I was happy.
    47:45
    Yeah, it's obviously very disappointing to see that the bubble has burst. I've heard other people talk about it. You misunderstood that bubble bursting. I didn't. You did. No, I didn't. You thought I meant one thing, and I'm talking about something else. Nope. Okay. I'm not talking about that.
    48:07
    Don't bite. Just let it go. Move it on. I have to take the shot, is what you're saying. Yes. Just go. How some way do I think I'm going to get back at you later in the show? I'm fine with it. I know. I'll take your job. I'll get to you later. Yeah, okay. Absolutely understood. So, do you know what? There was a question I was going to ask. Okay, besides, you know, how have you been the last couple of weeks, you know, blah, blah, blah. Because what I want to ask you really is, and maybe it does get covered off in what you've been doing the last fortnight, is I'm keen to get your thoughts on Rush because I still haven't played it. I haven't seen it. Do you know what? I still haven't played Led Zeppelin, which is just, it just boggles my mind, but I just haven't. But I'm not interested in Led Zeppelin, the band or the machine, but I'm interested in Rush because, as I said last episode, I kind of feel that I reckon I would really like Rush. But I don't just want you to say, yeah, it's good. I'm enjoying it. I want to know what in particular are you enjoying about the Rush pinball machine? Just like we were mentioning the Weird Al and the music and stuff, Rush has 16 songs. I can think of five or six that I wish they were there, but it doesn't matter. No, the call-outs are so bloody good. It's so fun. The sounds of the game are good. It's an absolute pleasure to play. You mentioned Led Zeppelin. Two games you haven't played. I was on a stream with Joel of Flippin' Out on TPN. Dennis Creasel was on as well. And Ray Day joined. So Dennis asked me, because Ray programmed both those games, and he knows that I have both, what do I think of them? Same question in a way that you're kind of asking. And I never really kind of compared the two, but after some thought, here's what I said. Love both for the music and all that kind of stuff, but if I'm comparing the games, there's a lot more to do on Rush than there is on Led Zeppelin. On Rush, it is a more complete game because you can tell a novice, just hit that time machine, the ramp in the center. Just hit that, and fun things will happen, and you'll get a multi-ball eventually, right? That's the kind of fun thing. I can't explain Led Zeppelin just to do this. because I don't know where the fun is in Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin is a complete 100% players game. I don't know how many novices will enjoy Led Zeppelin. Maybe on the premium and the LE with Electric Magic coming up, oh, that spinner's kind of fun, but how did you get there? Takes a few shots. It's, again, just more about the rules on that game. Well, Rush gives you that beginner's experience, but it's also so bloody deep. Rush, to me, is the better pinball machine. and it's because it's got the fun stuff. I've seen it now in League a couple of weeks. I played in a couple tournaments. Yes, I won them both. Yes, yes. They had the Rush machine there and people were enjoying it and some great players and some novice players. It didn't matter. There's just so much. I've had this game. I'm playing it every single day and I'm still learning things about this game and it's not even at 1.0 code. So when you get Rush and I know how you like to play a new game. You don't like to see streams. You just like to get in there and flip, keep the ball alive and see what happens and maybe figure things out. You're going to love this game, Marty. Yeah, I think I am. I do. And look, you saw that firsthand when I played Godzilla on stream. Wow. Because, well, I mean, you tell me. What did you see? Because I couldn't even remember what I did during the game. Shout out to Oz, Eric. Mr. Hansen is a wonderful man. He's got a great collection. and you can catch him on Melbourne Silver Ball. And he's good, too, because he really talks to the chat. I love streamers that do that. Nice man. He got the Godzilla Ellie. Loves the game. And then you and Stacey Borg and Stu Thornton go over there and fuck everything up. Yep. You get on there and in basically ball one put up the grand champ without really doing anything other than keeping the ball alive and, okay, I'm going to hit the left ramp. I'm going to hit the right ramp. If I see the scoop, maybe I'll go there. That building looks red. I'll go there. No real strategy of stacking here or there. Didn't give a care in the world. Didn't matter. Still GC and a great score too. You kind of always had multi-balls going, and it got me thinking of what you said of where's that satisfaction moment? Where's that stop and, wow, that really felt good. I mean, yeah, it's cool when the building goes down and all that stuff, the bridge collapses, but it wasn't there, was it? I enjoyed what I did I think my final score was maybe 1.3 billion or something And I kind of said, is that a good score? I don't know I don't even know what I did during the game I tell you what I enjoyed not knowing what I had to shoot for Because, and this comes back to my Guardians of the Galaxy experience Where everyone's like, no, you've got to pick this mode And then you've got to pick that mode and stack this And it's like, no, hang on, shut up Let me just enjoy the game the way I want to enjoy it. So that's how I was playing Godzilla. I was just concentrating on making my shots go where I wanted my shots to go and hit things that were flashing. I wasn't aware. This is bizarre. I wasn't even aware that I was in a battle. I wasn't even aware that I had bought in, I think you can bring in monsters or something as allies or something. I didn't even know when that happened The bridge collapsed I don't know why All I knew was How to light multi-ball And get multi-ball started via the building Everything else Was just too much It was just too much information all at once But it didn't mean I didn't enjoy it I enjoyed just shooting Because It shoots so well. Yeah, it's a great shooting game. My God, it feels good. And the shot variation is there. They all feel different and special in their own ways. I just found the rules to be too much, so therefore I wasn't bothered. So then after that, I did play a game where people were telling me the rules, and I just didn't enjoy it as much.
    54:33
    So... Now, do you want to play it again, or are you like, eh, I'm good? No, I'm good. I'm good. I will play it again. But that's why I think Rush is more of a game for me. Because I think it does have that light and shade where you stop, take a breather, have a look around, understand what you're going to do, and then do it as opposed to it just being everything backed up and backed up, just back to back stuff. I am looking forward to TPF because there are some games I haven't played. I did find, I think I told you, I played Halloween. Did I talk about that? I can't remember. I played it at InDisc. They had it at the Project Pinball booth. And I'm going to say something unpopular. I liked it. Yeah, yeah. I didn't like the head shots. I thought there were too many of those and it kind of wasted the left side of the play field. I liked the visual. I think artistically it looked nice. I did see some of the problems that people complained about. I know the scoop on the bottom right is pretty close to the flippers. if you remember the original October Fest that they brought out at Chicago Expo so that's just to the right of the big left ramp and it's really in the lower part of the playfield because the flippers are so strong to get up that ramp for example you hit that scoop and it would reject immediately because it was just too powerful I do remember it they had to make the scoop bigger so the ball went back into the playfield and then dropped down well that's the problem with Halloween. I hit that scoop a good five, six times in a row. Could never get it in. Forehand, backhand, I was like, God, the flippers were too strong, or whatever the case may be, and I was like, okay, that needs to be fixed a little bit. Anyway, I thought the game was kind of fun, but I haven't played Ultraman, haven't played Rick and Morty. That's been around for a while. You've not played that? No, I'm dying to. Wow. Okay, cool, cool, cool. Speaking of Rick and Morty, okay, we'll go off on a tangent here. Marty, there's a new TV show you need to watch. Okay. Do you know what it is? No. The Boys Diabolical Cartoons. It just came out on Amazon or Prime. So it's, I guess, eight different comics came up with their own storylines that are made into cartoons. It's in the Boys universe. It's not exactly a continuation of the Boys. It's just this is what happens in that Vought world. Yep. Oh, my God. Watch episode two. That's all I'll say. Okay. If you're listening and you don't know anything about it and you don't like violence and gore and crude humor, please. If you don't like that, what are you listening to this podcast for? What am I talking about? Go watch the show. This thing is just wow, wow, wow. Episode 2 was the home run there. Okay. Okay, gotcha. Watch it with the kids. See how they like it. Yeah, I will. Can we just stop recording now so I can go and watch it? I almost want to. It's only 10 minutes long. They're short cartoons, but it's just... I've seen it twice, and my son and I were just dying. They didn't do that. Oh, boy. Okay, they went there. They went there. I still would say I would love the boys' pinball. It would just be epic. All these pinball things. And I heard Elwin talk on just another pinball podcast, a good interview you should check out on the TPN. And we've heard him, of course, on ours and Loser Kid and everywhere else that Keith's been. but he was talking about Godzilla, and one of the things that is fun about Godzilla is great sense of humor in the game. And I've been saying this for quite some time. It is so important to have some sort of smile or humor in pinball machines. It just makes you feel good. There's tons of it in Rush. Think of Medieval Madness. Think of Attack from Mars. Even Monster Bash has a few gags and stuff. These are all some of the greatest games, according to Pinside, and they all have that same thing in common. Humor, Weird Al is definitely going to have humor Oh for sure I didn't really find Godzilla to be humorous at all I've sort of been saying The theme doesn't do anything for me Because it's Toho And they're trying to go for that cheesy And announcer Shoot the whamps So it kind of Reminds me a bit like Batman 66 Or Elvira In that that's the flavor of humor nothing made me laugh out loud i've got to tell you that the game that has made me laugh the most rick and morty without a doubt it's hilarious it's a good wow factor you know it's definitely a moment in pinball when you have those kind of laughs and stuff and uh i got an upcoming show you're gonna hear on pinball profile of my next dream theme now that zeppelin's been made and brushed for and it has a lot to do with humor i've said it for years so you'll hear that it's i'm pretty pretty happy about that one it's coming up anyway uh what have you been doing the last two weeks other than putting on by the way this guy goes to eric's house okay this fucking guy goes there he gets invited into his home gets the gc and what's he put as a high score not your Marty. No? What is your initials? It's M what? R. What is it? MSR. MSR. No, no. He doesn't put that. He puts S I E. I'm like, what is C? Suck it, Eric. So now this guy at his home has to look at all these suck it, Eric things. So Eric, as you saw, I sent you a photo. I'm now putting Sim on mine. Suck it, Marty. So, you know, again, just to counteract that, how dare you? How dare you? And as I said to you it doesn't work it only works if you had gone into my house so when you came to my house and you played Jurassic Park and you got GC had you put SIM on that that would have been devastating because it's constantly there on my machine when you do it on your own machine I don't care I find that a bit of an honor um but what was what was really what was really funny is that I did do and I do it I do it at his place like many we walked around his collection I think he's now got about 50 machines in his collection now. And we were just walking through the collection and seeing how many machines have got SIE on it. But also at Hashman, SIH is on his. That's just the thing. But what was really funny about Godzilla was that it was hilarious. Oh, SIE, grand champion. Then it was the loot champion. Then it was this champion. There was 20 different champion awards that I got. His face didn't find it amusing at the end. You can just see it just drop. No shame in resetting, Eric. You know, you're the one who paid for that machine. You don't need to see that. And you don't need to invite him again. I agree. This is a public service announcement for anybody who's bought a machine. Reset the scores. Or if someone gets a GC on your game, reset the scores. No one's judging you for it. No. Do you know what? I have a World Cup soccer that I bought, I'd say, three years ago. I don't have the GC on it. It's still on there from whoever got it before. It's kind of a target for me to get. So I don't mind that. No, that's fine. But if you wanted to reset it, so be it. No one's judging you for it. Yeah. No, that's good. It's how you want to play the game. Okay. Fair enough. I know someone that put rubber bands on the outlines of one of their games. I think it might have been... Twilight Zone? It might have been Judge Dredd. And a lot of people are like... I'm like, no, if that meant that you enjoyed the game, do it. Monsters. When I got Monsters, just getting an Insta drain because there was no ball save, Stacey and I, when I unboxed it, Stacey Borg was there And we were just hating it And I said, hey, how about we just put the ball save on As soon as we did, we enjoyed the game And bad luck Play these games the way you want to play it To get the enjoyment out of it Okay, confession time When you buy a new game Or at least the one I bought Which would be Rush And you unbox it, in the coin box Is this little thing That I still haven't installed Tilt Bob tilt bob i want to see the game so it's good and bad there is i've still tilted the game so there's something on there yeah the little pin still there you just don't have the plumb bob that is heavy but yeah you can still tilt yes apparently when you slide the machine four feet you will tilt the machine i have found out but i i do want to see some things on this game and i probably should put the tilt bob on because my first tournament after getting rushed i was like fuck tilt fuck Damn, damn. Oh, well. Anyway, great game. Good times. This is a tough transition because it's not the best news, and we lost Barry Ousler a few weeks ago. You and I both have talked about him, and I was able to talk to him sadly four days before he passed away, and he was in great spirits. But, my God, do I love his games. Yeah, same. I'm a big fan as well. One of my earliest memories was Gorga. I mentioned it before. We had pinball machines at my school, and Gorga was there for the longest time and just put so many hours on that game. So I really do have a soft spot for that. But, you know, there are a lot of games that he did that I like. So, you know, Pinbot, Jackbot, tough, but I love it. Doctor Who is one of my favorite games. Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's one of these interesting games where it looks really quite basic just looking at the play field, but it is such a great, great game. It a real shooter game What else Oh my God Space Shuttle Remember it was one of the games that caused a resurgence of pinball when it came out in 84 Space Shuttle is one of my favorite games, and it's a simple kind of, I don't want to say one-trick pony game. I play people, and they love to go for the locks and go for the multi-ball. I ignore it every single time. I'm all about the spin. That's it. I love it. That's it. Survive the pops, catch it, do it again. Such a satisfying spinner rip. Oh my God, Time Fantasy. Oh, the acid snail. So Hashman's got a Time Fantasy and I love playing that game. Of course he does.
    64:48
    Well, we certainly are thinking of Barry and his family, his wife Kathy, and we're going to miss him. He was going to TPF and it's going to be a void because he finally got hired by American Pinball. And if you heard the interview I did with him, you want to talk about heartbreaking. Here's a guy who had cancer.
    65:09
    And then, like everybody at Deep Root, lost his job. And there goes his insurance and his treatments that he was getting for cancer. He had to go without. And he only recently got the insurance and coverage needed. I know you and I can't really comprehend that, but that's real. and this poor guy didn't get the treatments he was in hospital for i think nine days in december and uh just a real rough go the last few months so i'm so sad to see him gone yeah it was such a shock just again it's one of those things where you know when i wake up in the morning i always grab my phone just to see you know anything that's happened overnight and again it's one of those messages that comes through and i'm like oh for god's sake not another one this is this is I was thinking about it the other day. So 2022 is looking like the 2016, but not in the entertainment world, in the sport world, because I consider pinball to be sport. And I was saying to you before, for those people that know, Shane Warne. Shane Warne is arguably the best bowler in cricket ever, and he passed away at 52. And I'm not into sport, but he was such a celebrity, such an icon in Australia. It's like, oh, man. Yeah. And Rod Marsh was another cricket player, and he died. Oh, it's not shaping up to be a good year for celebrity deaths. 52. That's young. That is a young man. It is a young man, but what we're saying, he's lived three lifetimes. With how he spent his life, he was a party guy. So, died of a heart attack. There you go. It's too bad. Marty was talking about us being 52. Just saying. Well, yeah, my age, so. We're children. Yeah, we're young. Lots of years left. Well, let's hope. Anyway. Yeah. We have more to talk about, but we have to take a break. It is time for our sponsor of the week. There's just one place to go for all your spatula needs. Spatula City. A giant warehouse of spatulas for every occasion. Thousands to choose from in every shape, size, and color. And because we eliminate the middleman, we can sell all our spatulas factory direct to you. Where do you go when you want to buy name brand spatulas at a fraction of retail cost? Spatula City! And this weekend only, take advantage of our special liquidation sale. Buy nine spatulas, get the tenth one for just one penny.
    67:45
    Don't forget, they make great Christmas presents. And what better way to say I love you than with a gift of a spatula? spatula city seven locations we're in the yellow pages under spatulas hey marty i forgot to tell you i saw the batman saw twice even it's really good you know okay i'm not a big batman fan now everybody please take your jewels get out the floor i know i've i'm gonna say something that's really unpopular the dark night i stopped watching after 30 minutes i just thought it was a silly movie. Could not get that suspension of disbelief. You know what I mean? I just went, no, these are people in costumes.
    68:29
    It was not for me. I'm not a big Batman fan. I'm not saying the Joker. It's hard to imagine. Let me see children riding broomsticks, chasing a ball around in a game of Quidditch. That I can get my head around. Give me a break. I totally understand it's not a logical thing and I'm in the minority when I say I don't like Batman movies, but I just don't. The interesting thing about The Batman, which is called, I didn't even know it existed until a week ago. I know there were some delays with COVID as far as filming it and when it was released. And it's been in the works for about five years, according to director Matt Reeves. It's different. I would suggest, I'm going to suggest if you're not into Batman movies, you will really like this movie. That's the point of what I'm saying is that I'm not a big Batman fan. But from what I've seen, I think I will like this. Can I ask, though? Because this is how much I don't know about this movie. Who plays the Batman? Who's the actor? Robert Twilight Patterson. Really? Does he do a good job? Spectacular. Okay. All right. Wow. I just didn't know. And I think that's an odd choice. But if a good actor is a good actor. Yeah. I mean, push Twilight aside. The stuff he's been doing the last five years, really good. I mean, he's shown his acting chops, and this is a good one. What was that movie he did in The Lighthouse? Is it called The Lighthouse? I think, yeah. Yeah, great movie. Oh, he was just, oh, my God, in that movie. Just wow. I mean, it's a very, very hard movie to watch, but he was spectacular in it. I think you'll enjoy it. Okay. I do not spoil anything. In fact, I tried not to watch any trailers. I watched one. I definitely didn't read any reviews before I went and saw the movie. It's different. And I've not been a fan of the DC superhero movies. This one I'm a fan of. So this is a good one. I don't even want to say anything because I don't want to give any hints. Okay. Well, I might go to the theater after we wrap up this podcast. You have to watch The Boys Diabolical first, then go. Okay. I will also go to the theater and watch it there too. Okay. Obviously by theater, I mean my own theater. Oh, yeah, yeah. well i remember you hearing me and others talk about how bad wonder woman 84 was and you were like i know i haven't watched it but you didn't want to see it because people kind of bummed you out about it so yep conversely me praising this movie is that make you want to see it more or no i wanted to i wanted to see it from the little snippets that i've seen like i started watching a trailer and i i only usually watch about the first 10 seconds to go do i like the cinematography do I like the acting? Do I like the premise? Do I like the mood that they're trying to portray? And that's when I stop watching it and go, okay, I will either watch this movie or not. Again, this is the thing, and I'm not saying this only just because we're having a conversation, but I am extreme when it comes to having a no spoiler policy. Meaning, when I say don't spoil a movie, I don't just mean don't tell me what goes on in the movie or ruin the plots or whatever i mean don't even tell me what you think about the movie whether you like it or not i don't know that really does influence my enjoyment of anything so again it's like i don't want to see streams of pinball machines before i play them i want my experience to be my own experience in its entirety yeah that's fair and you know what that's why i have trouble hearing criticisms of games, even if people see them on streams, when they've never played them. And I've heard the argument, well, I've seen it on stream. I've seen all I need to see. Do you? Because I think you're, again, you get that firsthand experience. There was a game I saw on a stream, and I don't know why I can't remember what it was. I was like, eh, looks okay, but I still want to play it. And then when I played it, I was like, holy shit, this is great. Yep. Yeah, it comes back to what I'm saying. I want my experience to be my experience. I don't want it to be influenced by other people's experiences because it's all subjective. I want it to be my own thoughts and my own experiences. Hmm. So there you go. As I said, I have a very extreme no-spoiler policy. So, for example, you saying to me, the boys, whatever it is, you said, just watch episode two? That's all I need to know. That's all you have to know. Okay. I've got to tell you, one of my all-time favorite movies is Donnie Darko. Oh, yeah. A friend of mine said, Donnie Darko, go watch it. I'm not going to say anything more. The fact that he said, I'm not going to say anything more, that was enough for me to go, oh, okay, I've got to watch this. That's all. Just saying, I'm not going to tell you anything more gets you curious. Yeah. Well, I'm not going to say anything more. It's curious, but it's not telling me that I'm going to like it or dislike it. Basically what it's saying is there's something of interest here. You go and decide whether you like it or not. Can I tell you about something else? Sure. I'm trying to create some curiosity with you. Okay. And I'm going to preface this by saying I'm not going to tell you anything more, okay? Okay. You just have to give me your thoughts. Okay. It's time to play Who Will Marty Save?
    73:55
    I'm not going to say anything more. We just... What a fucking stupid segue that was. I'm not going to say anything more. Yeah. But here's the scenario. Okay. You know, you bragged about having all of Weird Al's albums, so you seem to be a real music connoisseur with all your songs on Spotify. Sure. Like you're the only one. Anyway. Well, I'm probably the only one that had thousands and thousands of CDs and records stolen. Sure. Keep going. I think when I was at Ryan's, he had like boxes of them, if I recall. I'm sure he did. I was like, wow, I didn't know. He goes, yeah, I just found these. Anyway, sidebar. Since you're such a music expert. Sure. We have to settle a debate. Okay. And you've already bragged about being this marketing expert in past shows. And I know you certainly have some expertise there. I'm not an expert. Oh, it's okay. You've dabbled. Yeah. Let's put those things together. Your expertise in music and your marketing skills.
    75:00
    And you are going to put aside any fears of you, Martin Robbins, being cancelled for what you're about to say.
    75:10
    Okay? There's none of that fear by their rabid fan bases. Okay. You, being the music expert and marketing professional, have to give advice to two musical artists. and they have just both produced new albums and they are not up to snuff. I know you spend hours writing, recording. Don't do it. It's going to be a bomb, but you can only pick one of them. These are two stinker albums. You are going to prevent one of them from being released to save grace for either Taylor Swift. Hey, listen, if you're like an ex-boyfriend of hers and you piss her off, you're going to be immortalized in the song. Five different songs, yeah. Exactly. And the other artist is BTS. Are you going to piss off the K-pop fans that tried to cancel James Corden for something he said on, I don't know if it was Carpool Karaoke? You have to be very careful here. You're going to piss off either the Swifties, I don't know what they're called, or the BTS fans. Be very careful. This could be our, this, I'm just warning you right now, could be the last ever final round show because Marty is about to basically kill the career of one of these fine artists. Be very careful. This is actually probably the hardest one that you've given me. You're damn right it is. Because no one cares about pinball people. But these people have got massive fans. The army of BTS fans are out in force. They will destroy you. They will have a coordinated effort to absolutely destroy your life and your family. Taylor Swift fans also part of that, but also my children are big Taylor Swift fans. Would it help you if I give you the names of the albums? Sure. Taylor Swift's new album is called Girls Suck.
    77:09
    Big mistake, Taylor. Not a good one. Yep. BTS' new album is called Bigger Than The Beatles and Jesus. Ooh.
    77:19
    Makes it tough. You are struggling with this. This is a no-win situation. I know, I love it. Remember when you made fun of me earlier, you fucker? I knew I'd get you back. Yeah, okay.
    77:34
    Ooh. Okay, no, I've got this. by the way just to let you know when this show is done i'm tagging that artist so that their fans can hear this so be very careful i'm tagging bts i'm tagging taylor swift and probably giving people a contact where they can reach you go ahead okay okay that's fine here we go here we go this is what i'm gonna do i am going to save bts for a couple of reasons first of all because i think their fans are most likely to kill me, right? If they feel that I'm responsible for them releasing a dead album. But I think because they are good singers, they are good performers, they're good artists, they're not necessarily good musicians, so they need the help to produce a good album. Taylor Swift, on the other hand, is, and I'm not a fan of her music, some of it I like. When she goes a bit more electronic, I do actually quite like some of her stuff. but I feel she has the ability to come back with an album after, that would be fantastic. Did you know, I mean, I'm sure everybody knows this, did you know that she has re-recorded her first like six or seven albums? Yeah, because she didn't like the record deal. Because the record company that had the rights to those albums always had the rights to the distribution. I watched this lawyer on YouTube talk about it. So she went, well, fuck you. I'm going to re-record all these albums so they are now my albums. And she got back all the original musicians. She did it all, and they sound great. And has to hope that her fans will buy them. Well, yes and no, but it's more so that she's just got that sort of ownership. But again, that just talks about the level of skill that she has as an artist. I'm not necessarily a big fan of her fans, but I understand how talented she is. So she can release a dud album, and I reckon she can come back from that with another album and save face. BTS, I don't think they could. So that's why they get my help. So you are basically throwing Taylor Swift under the bus, and they're going to have all her Swifty fans go after you. And yet when you say BTS, you said they're not that talented and they need to help. You've pissed off both groups. Yeah, if that's the words that you want to use, that's fine. Just reading between the lines. It's not actually. No, you're not. You're making up stuff in between the lines. It's not what I said. They can't come back because they can't write good stuff. That's all I heard. Well, they don't write stuff. It's all written for them.
    80:13
    So just on a side note, can I just say, when I used to work in corporate, I used to have a lot of South Koreans in my team. And they spoke to me about the pop universities that they have in South Korea because music over there is such a massive market that when you go to uni, people go to these universities to become pop stars. And they train as either the rapper, the dancer, the main singer, and they all then have to audition for a year to then get selected into these groups. It's such a manufactured industry over there. It was just boggling my mind how full on it is. So that's why I'm saying I think if BTS release a D.A.D. album, somebody else will write them a better album and they'll come back. But I think that they will need help with that album because I don't think they'll come back as strong, whereas Taylor Swift, she will come back stronger. Okay. Half glass full, half glass empty. Depends on what you're listening, what you're choosing. Okay, Marty. That's, that's, there we go. Nobody listening to this gives a shit about either of those artists. So all they're interested in is how much I'm squirming. We care about your opinions, Marty. And I do. Whether it's about pinball, whether it's about life. I want your opinion on this. I got called out on social media just recently for a picture I posted where I was wearing a mask. The place I was at had a mask mandate. Sure. and the comment was basically, look at that security blanket or whatever on your face or something like that. And I just thought, what? I just wanted to ignore it. What do you do? Help me out, Marty. What would you do in a case like that? You know what I would do in a case like that. I would ignore it. I ignore all social media comments because you can't win. You can't win social media battles. So just move on with your life and just enjoy everything else instead. Okay. Thanks for the advice. Ignore it. I wonder because TPF is coming up and I'm still probably going to wear the mask, I think. I'm pretty sure I'm going to. And the reason is, people don't understand this. The reason I do this is I have to pass a COVID test to get back to Canada. So I have to eliminate any risks. Does that make sense? Yeah. No. Totally understood. Okay. There you go. TPF is coming up. A lot of good pinball shows coming up. Pin Baltimore, our good friend Howard Dobson, he's part of that in Baltimore. That's coming up April 1st weekend. that's coming up and then that District 82 they're still doing great weekends they've got another super series coming up in April and then there's this other one that it's a smaller show but it's where I've met some really good people it's in Michigan Kalamazoo Michigan and it's a 100% charity in Baltimore at the zoo it's a 100% charity tournament so definitely good causes and different charities each year but the Harmons run that and I think I'm going to check that out later in April. What about in your neck of the woods? Any kind of shows happening? I see you play Godzilla, and it does bother me that, my God, I want to see you play competitive pinball again. Yeah, maybe. Maybe one day at some stage. No, really, what's coming up is Brisbane Masters, and for those people that have been trying to get tickets, I know that there's been a delay. Do you know about the floods that have been happening in Queensland? I saw some pictures that were just devastating. My God. You know I'm a big Wolf Mother fan, and I saw Andrew, the lead singer and guitarist, post a bunch of things where he was helping out some of the floods. Yeah, it's pretty bad. Is that a common thing? Is that annual? It's not annual, but I think there's been three massive floods in Queensland over the last, I don't know, maybe 15, 20 years. But yeah, I mean, there was a picture from somebody where they actually had part of their pinball collection underwater, like the water was coming up to the lock bar. And off the top of my head, I think the machines were Guns N' Roses, Black Knight, Big Lebowski, and one other. Yeah, there were four in there. And if you look carefully at that picture, it's been seen, I think Fun with Bonus probably had it. Look carefully at that picture. What you can barely see is there's a pool table submerged. That's how high it was. Right. Yeah, so that's why there's been a bit of a delay to the tickets going on sale for the Brisbane Masters and the BPAC, which is the Brisbane People and Arcade Collective, I think is what it stands for. So that's going to be the big event that's coming up. Hope everyone does well there in Queensland, the Brisbane area. That's certainly tragic, and it's tough to stop water, man, when that comes in. We've seen some nightmares in other cities, so hopefully that gets sorted out soon. thank you for Colin for joining us thank you for not killing him Marty just this once my name is Jeff Teolas my name is Martin Robbins where can people reach us they can email us at finalroundpinball at gmail.com finalroundpinballpodcast on Instagram at finalroundpin on Twitter or just look up finalroundpinball on Facebook talk to you in two weeks thanks everyone