Black Knight Sword of Rage Pinball: My First Thoughts

Cary Hardy·video·11m 29s·analyzed·Mar 26, 2019

Analysis

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TL;DR

Stern leaks Black Knight: Sword of Rage teaser; Hardy analyzes design hints and speculates on features.

Summary

Cary Hardy analyzes a 32-second unlisted teaser video for Black Knight (LE): Sword of Rage, the third game in the Black Knight series designed by Steve Ritchie. The video speculates on potential features including wide-body cabinet possibility, dual-layer playfield mechanics, and original soundtrack expectations. Hardy expresses enthusiasm for Ritchie's design work and hopes the game's success will demonstrate market viability for original-themed pinball machines.

Key Claims

Steve Ritchie next game for Stern will be Black Knight: Sword of Rage, an original-themed (unlicensed) game
high confidence · Cary Hardy states this as official confirmation after teaser video release
Stern released an unlisted teaser video on YouTube that was initially treated as a leak but later kept available
high confidence · Hardy describes the 32-second teaser video discovery and Stern's apparent handling of it
A full or partial official reveal of Black Knight: Sword of Rage is expected within the next day or two
medium confidence · Hardy states 'rumor has it that we should be getting a full reveal if not at least a partial reveal here in the next day or two'
Black Knight 2000 is Cary Hardy favorite game in the series due to visual design, artwork, and iconic music
high confidence · Hardy explicitly states this personal preference and describes the game's appeal
The teaser shows LCD display artwork featuring the Black Knight character and includes hard rock guitar-style music
high confidence · Hardy analyzes the content of the 32-second teaser video

Notable Quotes

“For most of us pinheads we are aware that Steve Ritchie next game is going to be an original theme meaning it is not licensed so he has more free room to do what he pleases which I am excited extremely about.”
Cary Hardy@ 0:57 — Establishes that original-themed games give designers more creative freedom and expresses enthusiasm for this direction
“I say they have leaked it because it is unlisted on youtube not completely been broadcast for everyone to see and what's funny is that it got leaked or released rather on the uh down low and then it got removed as if they were trying to control this leak but i guess since it already spread like wildfire they were like screw it go ahead and keep it out there”
Cary Hardy@ 1:39 — Describes Stern's apparent handling of the teaser release as either a strategic leak or accidental release that they subsequently decided to capitalize on
“I am the Black Knight”
[name withheld pending review] @ teaser video segment — The tagline from the official teaser video, establishing the thematic branding for the game
“Steve Ritchie is by far my favorite designer when it comes to games.”
Cary Hardy@ 5:13 — Establishes Hardy's personal bias and deep respect for Ritchie's design philosophy before analyzing the new game
“I mean, this is something that holds a little more weight than just throwing out a random name that they've done a couple of games. I'm thinking that they're going to have a little bit of trust behind the fact that it's Steve Ritchie and it's also a series game that has some history in the past of doing well.”
Cary Hardy@ 9:35 — Articulates why an original-themed game by an established designer carries lower market risk

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Steve RitchiepersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyBlack Knight: Sword of RagegameBlack Knight 2000game Black Knightgame

Signals

?
announcement: Stern officially confirmed Black Knight: Sword of Rage as the next Steve Ritchie game through leaked/released teaser video
high · Unlisted YouTube teaser video with 32-second footage released by Stern, described as officially confirmed after speculation
?
leak_detection: Black Knight: Sword of Rage teaser video released as unlisted YouTube video, treated initially as leak then deliberately kept available
high · Hardy's analysis: 'it got leaked or released rather on the uh down low and then it got removed as if they were trying to control this leak but i guess since it already spread like wildfire they were like screw it go ahead and keep it out there'
?
design_innovation: Community speculation about potential dual-layer playfield with basement/dungeon mechanics or traditional upper/lower playfield design
low · Hardy speculates on playfield design: 'what if we have something like that for this game, but it's like a dungeon of sorts?' versus traditional multi-ball mechanics
?
design_philosophy: Stern positioning original-themed games as lower-risk investment when designed by established figures like Steve Ritchie
medium · Hardy's analysis: 'I believe that since it's going to be a Steve Ritchie title and that actually puts a little weight, his name holds some weight on those of us that are educated in the pinball hobby'
?
product_strategy: Question raised about whether Black Knight: Sword of Rage will follow standard Pro/Premium/Limited Edition release structure or be more limited

Transcript

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0:00

what's up everyone and welcome back to my channel where i talk and do everything pinball so if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below my voice is a little hoarse because we just got finished with texas pinball festival and i was help running a booth so my voice was really elevated throughout the entire weekend. Now when we discuss Texas Pinball Festival or TPF that will be in a separate video because that is entirely different content. The only thing that was revealed during that was through Jersey Jack Pinball with their new Wizard of Oz but that will also be a separate video. Stern didn't reveal anything even though Steve Ritchie did promote that he was going to be revealing secrets it was not involving with his next game. For most of us pinheads we are aware that Steve Ritchie's next game is going to be an original theme meaning it is not licensed so he has more free room to do what he pleases which I am excited extremely about. A smaller percentage of us were aware that his next game was going to in fact be Black Knight 3000 so that was actually a title that i guess was the not even really a code name or a secret name but we essentially knew that it was going to be the next in the series as of today it is official that we now know that it is black knight sword of rage stern even has leaked a video now i say they have leaked it because it is unlisted on youtube not completely been broadcast for everyone to see and what's funny is that it got leaked or released rather on the uh down low and then it got removed as if they were trying to control this leak but i guess since it already spread like wildfire they were like screw it go ahead and keep it out there but just keep it unlisted that's what i'm going to assume at least because it is now available to view again rumor has it that we should be getting a full reveal if not at least a partial reveal here in the next day or two just in case for whatever reason they decided to delete this thing off the internet which I don't think Stern's gonna do that I have downloaded this little short 32 second clip and I say it's a clip because it's not going to show any kind of gameplay or footage but what I do believe the footage that they have shown is some of the footage that will be on the LCD display so this gives us kind of an idea of what the Black Knight will look like in this next line so let's watch this teaser together and let's go on a just throw some stuff out there and see what this is actually giving us as a teaser and we can go over what information we gather from this 32 second teaser I am the Black Knight

3:17

So what information from this quick little teaser can we gather from the next lineup and Stern Pinball's Black Knight Sword of Rage? Let's go through this video together now and let's just pick out a couple of little things that I happen to see and I'm wanting to know if maybe this is actually hints towards something more. First of all, I want to say that as of right now, this is how the Black Knight is going to look on the LCD display. I'm pleased. He looks pretty badass. So this is something that I'm curious about. It says bigger. Now, I'm curious if this is actually literally this machine is going to be bigger. Meaning, will it be a wide body machine? Oh my god, I friggin' hope so. That would be awesome. if this is a wide body now when it goes into batter i mean that could just mean a number of things i mean this is like like i said we're just spitballing here complete speculation no hard facts we're just going by strictly what this little teaser is giving us so when it says batter i mean that could just mean that you know of course obviously this is going to be a visually more uh batter game compared to what we had to deal with in 80 and 89 for the first two of the series so this is gonna be more than likely a much meaner machine when it comes to just how fast of the flow it is and then we also get a little bit of a teaser in the music now now whether or not this is the actual music of the game it's unconfirmed but chances are it's going to be this style of music a kind of a hard rock guitar-ish thing i see that being a little bit of it. So what do we have to go on? We have to go on essentially what rumors are and this video tells us. So let's go. First off, I want to state that Steve Ritchie is by far my favorite designer when it comes to games. And this is coming from a time where I didn't know anything about designers in general. It just tended to be, I would play pinball machines, just going to places or whatever, and certain games would just interest me more than others. And I guessing it was obviously maybe the design or the flow and how it played Then it wasn until I got more and more into the hobby where I started to become more aware of designers of certain machines And that's when I realized that Steve Ritchie games tended to fancy me more than other games. So now that I know I'm getting a trilogy for the Black Knight series, I'm pretty excited because Black Knight 2000 is my favorite of the current two Black Knights. I loved playing Black Knight. Yes, it's fun. Limited, of course, due to the time and era. But when Black Knight 2000 came out, this was a game that was very, for me, visually, I loved watching just the light show. And I loved the artwork, and I definitely loved the music. The music for that game is one that just stands out immediately whenever I'm at a pinball expo or festival, as you will. that's just a soundtrack that when you hear it you know exactly what it's from now a year ago around this time is whenever stern released their iron maiden now this was more of like you know the announcement like they have now for black knight rumor is a day or so that we should be getting a little more information but uh i don't know it might be a little bit longer than that but again i mean the sooner the better i want to see what this thing looks like i want to hear what it sounds like because one of my wishes on this machine is the music needs to be iconic it needs to be one of those that is like yes you know lately we've been getting a lot of licensed music you know you can't i mean this is what comes to soundtracks so you can't say oh the iron maiden soundtrack is so amazing like well no it's iron maiden music essentially so of course it's going to be like but you know it wasn't designed this is something that i want to be original obviously because it's original theme so i'm just kind of repeating shit that i've already said but if anything else out of the soundtrack for this upcoming black knight game i want there to be a either a mode or some portion of the game that really feeds back on its predecessors throw in some black knight 2000 remixes or a remake of what it was throw in that nostalgia steve richie and you're gonna reel some more people in so i want this video to start a discussion everyone this is something that i want to get feedback from everyone on what you think this game is going to incorporate or what you want to see in this game so let's i'll start it out things that i want to see in this game and i'm pretty sure that we're going to see it is a dual layer play field That meaning one's upper, one's lower, like the predecessors of the series. Now, the question is, since we're starting to see a little more emphasis on the dual-layer playfield, like the most recent monsters that goes down into a basement, what if we have something like that for this game, but it's like a dungeon of sorts? Something like that I don know how I feel about that I would rather it kind of go with the rest of the series where it starts out on the upper play field and you have to work your way up there I mean, it's one of those things. It's like, do you really want it to be just like the ones before where you have to basically hit the targets to let the drawbridge come down to lock some balls from multi-ball? It's like a part of me is like, yeah, that'd be great. But then you're just redoing the exact same thing you did from your old game and you knew it worked. Do you want to play it safe, or do you actually want to completely change things up and go full-blown original on this game that's not like the rest of them? I mean, I think that since this is going to be Stern's first original-themed game in a good while, that they're taking a risk. but I believe that since it's going to be a Steve Ritchie title and that actually puts a little weight, his name holds some weight on those of us that are educated in the pinball hobby. I mean, this is something that holds a little more weight than just throwing out a random name that they've done a couple of games. I'm thinking that they're going to have a little bit of trust behind the fact that it's Steve Ritchie and it's also a series game that has some history in the past of doing well. So that's another thing is that I really hope this Black Knight game is very fun and sells well. And it shows them that, hey, original titles can be great sellers and they can do well in the market. Something else also that you need to question is if it's going to be the typical pro, premium, and limited edition versions. Or is this going to be something even more limited than that? All the speculation due to lack of information is why I want this comment section to blow up down below. Once we get all the information and facts from a future video from Stern, then we can discuss even further on that. So right now, let's see what you got. Do you think there will be multiple layers to this playfield? Will it be a standard or will it be a wide-bodied cabinet? Will there be a Pro Premium and Limited Edition version or will it be a Super Limited Edition version? Give me what you got down below. So that's going to wrap it up for this video, everyone. Give me that thumbs up. And if you haven't already, do not forget to hit that subscribe button down below. You can find more videos from me on my channel, but you can also find some recent videos that I have done with Straight Down the Middle on their page. I will leave a link to their channel in the description down below. Until next time, guys.