Cactus Canyon Remake Pinball Featurette (Chicago Gaming Company, 2025)

Straight Down the Middle·video·19m 7s·analyzed·Mar 21, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Josh Sharpe & Lyman F. Sheats Jr. detail Cactus Canyon (Remake) (Remake) approach, balancing original vision with modern home gameplay.

Summary

Josh Sharpe and Lyman F. Sheats Jr. discuss their work finishing the Cactus Cactus Canyon (Remake) for Chicago Gaming Company, emphasizing story-first design philosophy, respect for the original Williams team's vision, and mechanical enhancements like the Boss Bart topper and expanded modes. The project preserves the 'Williams charm' of 1990s games while adding new content including previously unrecorded speech calls and story-driven ramps. They highlight the challenge of completing an unfinished 1998 game while maintaining its original skeleton and appeal to modern home players.

Key Claims

Lyman F. Sheats Jr. has been working in pinball programming for almost 30 years
high confidence · Lyman F. Sheats Jr. self-identification at opening of video
Josh Sharpe is Roger Sharpe son and IFPA president
high confidence · Josh Sharpe self-identification in video introduction
Cactus Canyon was the last WPC game made in the transition from dot matrix to Pinball 2000 video monitors
high confidence · Josh Sharpe historical framing of the game's era
The original Cactus Canyon team included Matt Coriale, Rob Berry, and Johnny among others
high confidence · Josh Sharpe mentions contacting original design team members
Many speech calls for the game were recorded in ROMs but never called in the original game
high confidence · Josh Sharpe discusses unused voice work being integrated into the remake
The design philosophy was 'story first, rule second'
high confidence · Lyman F. Sheats Jr. and Josh Sharpe explicitly state this approach multiple times
The LE version features a Boss Bart topper that interacts during gameplay
high confidence · Josh Sharpe describes mechanical topper features in the Elite/LE edition
Original team members were consulted on the vision for what the game should have been
high confidence · Josh Sharpe mentions contacting original designers to understand their intent

Notable Quotes

“Cactus Canyon represents an era of Williams games that the sights, the sounds, the rules are I've referred to it... as the Williams charm. There's something that you just can't put your finger on when you're comparing all of these classic Williams games to modern games today.”
Josh Sharpe @ early — Core design philosophy and emotional goal for the project
“The challenge is wanting to change... No, you can't. And then also having those basic things in the game that people have already been experiencing for the last 20 plus years that keeping those things intact.”
Josh Sharpe @ mid-early — Describes the constraint of finishing existing work without destructive changes
“Looking at that original cactus team as the tree trunk, if you will, of game design and knowing that we could add some branches and add some leaves into those branches. But in no way was I interested in getting a chainsaw, chopping the tree down, and making a new tree.”
Josh Sharpe @ early-mid — Metaphor for design approach: additive completion, not reimagining
“Making a coin up product is very different from making a consumer product... for somebody at home where oh I want you know 18 hours 20 hours of play... we've kind of gone down that path and for us I think is to try to get the game to the point where it can stand up in a home environment.”
Josh Sharpe @ mid — Explains design consideration for home vs. location play balance
“I came into it and this wasn't my world. This was a team at Williams that created this world and my job was to help finish what their vision was.”
Josh Sharpe @ early-mid — Demonstrates humility and respect for original designers' ownership
“The most exciting part of the game for us that the original team did release with the games that were built was the interaction with the bad guy drop targets and the posts on the bottom and the gunfight.”
Josh Sharpe @ mid — Identifies core mechanical strength to build new content around
“All of those things. When you think back to those classic '9s Williams games, the toy interaction with the ball and unique ways for the player to enjoy... You have a moving train that goes across the playfield. You have these drop targets that really feel like bad guys.”

Entities

Josh Sharpeperson Lyman F. Sheats Jr.person Roger Sharpeperson Chicago Gaming CompanycompanyCactus Canyon RemakegameMatt CorialepersonRob Berryperson

Signals

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design_philosophy: Josh Sharpe and Lyman Sheets explicitly adopted 'story first, rule second' methodology for Cactus Canyon Remake, focusing on narrative engagement before mechanical depth
high · Multiple explicit statements: 'story and engaging the player at an emotional level with the game' and repeated emphasis on understanding original team's story intent
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design_innovation: Boss Bart topper on LE edition provides interactive physical feedback to player actions, extending narrative connection during gameplay
high · Josh Sharpe describes: 'you get to hit them. You get to see him react... His hat's going up. you're really you're busting him up and the topper is just an extension of that'
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product_strategy: CGC's approach to finishing Cactus Canyon emphasizes additive enhancement within existing playfield constraints rather than reimagining; described as 'adding branches, not chopping tree down'
high · Josh Sharpe: 'Here are the limitations of what you have to do. Here's the playfield. We're not going to change the playfield. Make this game finish this game in the context'
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design_philosophy: Project explicitly aims to preserve 'Williams charm'—the distinctive quality of 1990s commercial WPC games emphasizing quick engagement, physical toy interaction, and accessible arcade appeal over long-form narrative
high · Josh Sharpe repeatedly contrasts 1990s games' 'get in, get out, get entertained really quick' philosophy with modern marathon story-driven approaches
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code_update: Cactus Canyon Remake incorporates previously recorded but unused speech calls from original ROM files, expanding dialogue without new voice talent

Transcript

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0:51

My name is Slime Sheets. I'm a pinball well I mean I'm a soft software engineer so and but I've been working in pinball uh pro programming pinball machines uh wow for almost 30 years. I'm Josh Sharp. I am uh probably most wellknown as Roger Sharp's son, the man who saved pinball and uh president of the International Flipper Pinball Association and someone who is trying to provide myself as a resource for any anybody who's been crazy enough to want to make a pinball machine. I've been crazy enough to give my feedback, solicited or unsolicited, and have been happy that the uh the team at CGC reached out about me being a part of finishing this Cactus Canyon game for their remake. Cactus Canyon was kind of the last WPC game that was made in that kind of transition from making dot matrix WPC games to Pinball 2000 which had a video monitor. So for me, Cactus Canyon represents an era of Williams Valley Games that the sights, the sounds, the rules are I've referred to it, and this is to internally to the CGC team as as the Williams charm. There's there's something that you just can't put your finger on when you're comparing all of these classic Williams Valley games to to modern games today. They're they're different and you can tell when you play them. The idea of being able to finish Cactus Canyon in that same vein that games like Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness, and Monster Bash that are still regarded as all-timers in the world, even among a sea of modern games over the last 20 years. the goal of trying to get Cactus into a position where it would be that next game that came out of Williams that had that same level of quality and charm, as I like to call it, that would it would fit right right in that zone. I think for me the biggest challenge was knowing that we had to finish this game sort of in the context of here's the work that's been done already. And in a perfect world, everybody who was involved with the project originally would have been able to finish it and we wouldn't have been involved at all finishing the game in that context. And then I think the challenge is wanting to change. Hey, can I change this insert on the playfield? No, you can't. Hey, can I, you know, no, no, you can't. And then also having those basic things in the game that people have already been experiencing for the last 20 plus years that keeping those things intact and having those things that already really work um working on top of those instead of going in and and and changing and changing them. Those were the big challenges. The most challenging part was definitely, you know, looking at that original cactus team as the tree trunk, if you will, of game design and knowing that we could add some branches and add some leaves into those branches. But in no way was I interested in in getting a chainsaw, chopping the tree down, and making a new tree. So with that there there were a lot of challenges with figuring out you know rules solutions that serviced what they were doing but was still I within the zone of making sure that that people that buy games today would absolutely enjoy it. If the original team had the time and the resources to do it they would have done it. So, uh, to really do the research, do the due diligence on what the team wanted to see for the game and and and fill out those pieces of the puzzle. The most important part of the story of this game was to actually get the story of this game from the people that created the story. So, for me, there was a lot of research. which I was I was able to reach back into my dad's Rolodex, get in contact with all the original design team members, and it it was really there was a lot of research to I would kind of compare it to a licensed game. I came into it and this wasn't my world. This was a a team at Williams that created this world and my job was to help finish what their vision was. Being able to talk to Matt Coral, Rob Barry, Johnny, all the people that were on the team, find out what their vision was for what this game ultimately should have been and what can I do to help get it there. Making a coin up product is very different from making a consumer product. So when we made coinop you make this game this intense experience for 3 minutes is probably the average person playing you know a coinop product and for somebody at home where oh I want you know 18 hours 20 hours I like people who play home video games like that's what they expect out of out or and now pinball and we we've kind of gone down that path and for us I think and for me specifically is to try to get the game to the point where you have that where it can stand up in a home environment where it's a little more than than what we would do with a coin product. The thing I love most about the game is really I spoke about it earlier that Williams charm to not have that. I mean the games in my basement and and the games that enthusiasts play, you kind of don't realize what you got until it's gone. And it is different. And there is something really satisfying about the games that were made in the '90s that were really made as commercial devices that it's less of this marathon of a story and it's more of, you know, get in, get out, get entertained really quick and it's just a very unique experience that I don't think you get with other, you know, games from other manufacturers right now. So, it fills a really specific niche that uh that I think people are continuing to be satisfied by that kind of entertainment. So, I think it's a hole that can still be filled and I think Cactus is is a piece that can fill it. I have an expectation when I walk up to the game that if the game is Cactus Canyon Remake that it kind of needs to be the skeleton bones of it need to be Cactus Canyon. It's a theme that people can kind of look at and kind of get it right away. You know, they look at the back glass and they kind of understand Cactus Kenyon. Okay. It looks like a western kind of theme. And then when they start and that's what I love about the artwork and everything is is you get drawn into it and you can kind of look at the playfield and see kind of the story and you can kind of get it within maybe like the the first 30 seconds of looking at the game. While working on this, I get involved late way more than I feel like he makes rules. Nah, it's about story and engaging the player at an emotional level with the game. So, story-wise, it is kind of the classic western where a it's kind of uh what do you call it? You Clint Eastwood kind of had this uh it's uh the man with no name or stranger comes to town and the town has some problems. There are some bad guys who are victimizing the people of the town and there's some nefarious bad guys wreaking havoc on this town and you're there to come in and and clean it up, you know, get things in order. So, uh, and again, there are all kinds of characters and things that you would see in in the West. boss has a bunch of henchmen that rob banks and boss is you know kidnapping Paulie and and their gunfights and and conflict uh with these characters. So overall you're trying to work your way through all of the bad guys in the story and to ultimately battle Boss Bart and and defeat him and what should we say restore law and order to Cactus Canyon. I I certainly enjoy some of the new stories that we built into the game where in the original game, Save Polly, the original intent of the designers after obviously we talked to them is to not just be saving Polly from the train when she's being held hostage in a bank in in in on the right ramp and you know captured in a canoe by Bossbart in the waterfall on the left ramp and to build out those stories with rules of their own to add more to the stories and the characters in a game. And then obviously from a rule standpoint, which we enjoy a lot doing story first, rule second. Feature-wise, when Lyman and I were both sort of attacking how the the puzzle of this project was going to come together, the most exciting part of the game for us that the original team did release with the games that were built was the uh the interaction with the bad guy drop targets and the posts on the bottom and the gunfight. And I think for us trying to match entertainment-wise, pointwise, importance-wise in the story of the game was was really we kept coming back to that as the thing that was just the coolest thing in this game. What are the big elements of the story, you know, to kind of get the player engaged in the story? What can they look at on the playfield to see what are the elements of the story? What am I trying to do? And and what's really great about what the guys at CGC did with this game is is really made some nice enhancements to the game to make all of those things really obvious to the player. The the train and the train tracks, the the topper on the game, boss Bart, all of those things. And the thing that I like most about it is is the mechanical part of the game is is boss bar. You get to hit them. You get to see him react. The mind, you get to see it open up. Uh the drop targets, the bad guys, you you get to see those pop up and and you can shoot them and interacting with the topper. All of those things. When you think back to those classic '9s Williams games, the toy interaction with the ball and unique ways for the player to enjoy, you know, them shooting a ball on a piece of wood and having cool things happen. You know, you have a moving train that goes across the playfield. You have these drop targets that really feel like bad guys. You know, you have the boss bar in the corner that you're actually the ball's flinging at him. It's actually hitting him. His hat's going up. you're really you're busting him up and the topper is just an extension of that where you have boss Bart living up there and the ability to really feel connected to him during game play is something that that I find incredibly satisfying and entertaining. The Ellie features a topper that has boss Bart up there and he will interact with you during your adventures in Cactus Canyon. the miniame you're faced with needing to kill enough bad guys while saving the innocent bystanders of Cactus Canyon. So your goal as the bad guys start to attack you fast and furiously is to uh get through that unscathed and it is quite fun. I think the attention to detail that that Chicago Gaming uh has for this game and just the amount of iteration that's happened to to get it into a beautiful package. Look at the playfields. You have ramp shots and orbits and storylines and characters and a world where that that's what the game is similar to games like Medieval Madness and Attack from Mars. Players will step up and there's these advancements of shots all the way on the play all around the playfield that will get you into different features within the game. So on the left orbit, you will uh advance towards being able to ride a Bucking Bronco and play that story out. The left ramp features a uh it's a save poly mode where you are saving her from a waterfall. The center ramp, you're saving her from uh being rescued on the train tracks, which is from the original game. The trickshot mode allows you to sharpen your skills as a want to be sheriff and uh be able to show how accurate you are through through your progressive shots within that mode and the right ramp you are saving Polly from a bank heist. So being able to get into those stories, rescue Py or not, and you're able to do all of that, defeat all of the art brothers and their entire family worth of villains. There's a set of challenges here right in the the middle of the playfield that a player can earn all five stars on their badge and advance to the higher wizard mode. There's a a quick draw feature where if you roll on the in lane, it will pop up one of the single drop targets that are found across the playfield. And if you can defeat all four bad guys, you'll get into showdown multiball. Thank you. So, very similar to sort of the challenges that you face on Attack from Mars to then be able to rule the universe. There were a lot of when we got on this project, there were a lot of speech calls that were recorded in the ROMs, but not in the game. Just, okay, so Paulie, I'm tied to the tracks and I can't get up and and all kinds of other quotes from Boss Bart, Paulie, uh there's Bionic Bart, uh a whole bunch of speech, and it was in the ROMs, never called. So again, putting those pieces of the puzzle together, it they just all those speech just sort of fit naturally into what we were doing with the game. So there were a lot I I think people will probably look forward to a lot. all of those extra speech calls that instead of bringing somebody into the studio and having them record new things and having trying to get the balances and the flection. I mean, some of these people are, you know, they're older, their voice is going to sound different, whatever, but to to have all of those things to just be able to just put them right into the game and have make sense like that that was pretty cool. I I don't know if nostalgia is correct, but the the project is Cactus Canyon Remake. And I think at least why I'm involved is is I I feel a debt to those people at Williams that put this game together and the idea of trying to finish what they started in as best of a way that I could help to facilitate that. I think and hope that that they are proud of of the work that that we're able to do for this and and if they're proud just based off of the feedback of just that era of games like the people that made the games when they make good stuff the world usually accepted that stuff is great. So taking a page out of that playbook that's uh that was the direction for this project is is make that game that nobody got to see. And I think Lyman and I both agree like we've been having a lot of fun playing the game. And with that, the confidence and excitement of getting to share what we've done with people is is the most exciting part for me. Like I know it's a blast and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else enjoy it as much as I have as a player. When I looked at it, it wasn't starting with a blank piece of paper. And and it design becomes much easier when here here are the limitations of what you have to do. Here's the playfield. We're not going to play change the playfield. Make this game finish this game in the context of again what what everybody wanted it to be, I suppose, originally. And that job becomes a job that I can do this job and I'm going to do this job well. Thanks for following along, partner. Saddle up and ride to your favorite arcade to play you some Cactus Canyon remake today. Or better yet, don't be a yellow belly. Purchase one for your game room