Episode 472 - 2022 York Show Recap

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·15m 56s·analyzed·Oct 23, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.026

TL;DR

Nick Baldrige recaps 2022 York Show with EM/bingo machines and P3 homebrew games.

Summary

Nick Baldrige recaps the 2022 York Show, discussing his collection of EM and bingo pinball machines, including Wood Rail Row tributes to Wayne Nyans, Bingo Row exhibits, and his Multimorphic P3 platform with four game modules. He details his homebrew games (Quest for Glory, Ranger in the Ruins, Silver Falls, Flipper Foxtrot Rhythm Explosion), player reception, and teases an upcoming release with vinyl postcard giveaways featuring music from his new game 'Drained.'

Key Claims

Wayne Nyans passed away, with many of his games displayed in Wood Rail Row at the 2022 York Show
high confidence · Nick Baldrige mentioned this as context for the tribute display of wood rail games
Quest for Glory has over 700 different modes, dozens of voice actors, and thousands of lines of dialogue
high confidence · Nick Baldrige describing the complexity of his P3 game Quest for Glory
Ranger in the Ruins features a roguelike mechanic where players can earn items from previous players' ghosts
high confidence · Nick Baldrige explaining the game mechanics of Ranger in the Ruins
Silver Falls was the most popular P3 game Nick Baldrige produced
high confidence · Nick Baldrige's direct statement about Silver Falls' popularity at the show
Nick Baldrige swapped P3 playfield modules every 90 minutes during the show without taking breaks
high confidence · Nick Baldrige describing his operational schedule at the York Show
Charles Wolfe Music composed the soundtrack for the upcoming game 'Drained'
high confidence · Nick Baldrige explaining the vinyl postcard giveaway featuring music from Drained
Sophia Baldridge (Nick's daughter) co-designed Silver Falls for the Heist playfield
high confidence · Nick Baldrige stating: 'co-designed with my daughter Sophia'
Nick Baldrige is co-hosting a podcast called 'Hello Playdate' about the Panic Playdate handheld console
high confidence · Nick Baldrige's promotional mention at the end of the episode

Notable Quotes

“The York Show, for those who haven't been, is one of my absolute favorite shows. There are so many different eras of pinball which are represented.”
Nick Baldrige @ early — Establishes the significance of the York Show in the pinball community and sets tone for the recap
“Lovely Lucy, which remains one of the top five games of all time for me. So many different ways to approach the game, so many different ways to win, and so many different ways to lose.”
Nick Baldrige @ early_middle — Personal appreciation for a classic game's design depth and replayability
“Quest for Glory is an extremely complicated game... there are, just to give you an idea, three different character classes to choose from, the ability to save and restore your state, over 700 different modes, dozens and dozens of voice actors, thousands and thousands of lines of dialogue.”
Nick Baldrige @ middle — Details the sophisticated scope of his P3 homebrew game, illustrating modern pinball game complexity
“Ranger in the Ruins is an endless runner, score attack, roguelike game... each player that plays, when they die, the last item that they hold will be available for another player to find later on.”
Nick Baldrige @ middle — Explains innovative game design mechanic blending video game roguelike concepts with pinball
“Silver Falls proved to be the most popular P3 game that I produced, and people enjoyed the Scott Denise soundtrack, which is very unique and just absolutely unlike anything else in pinball.”
Nick Baldrige @ middle — Identifies his most successful homebrew game and credits its soundtrack's uniqueness
“I built this monitor setup that showed the back glass of the next game that was going to be playable, as well as a countdown timer... So once the player finished playing, inevitably they would look at this monitor and they would say, oh, another game, huh?”
Nick Baldrige @ middle_late — Describes an innovative exhibition strategy to encourage return visits and showcase game variety

Entities

Nick BaldrigepersonSampersonWayne NyanspersonEdpersonLenpersonJimpersonSophia BaldridgepersonCharles Wolfe MusicpersonJoel de GuzmanpersonRyan ClaytorpersonDon Hookerperson

Signals

?
event_signal: Comprehensive recap of 2022 York Show with detailed coverage of EM, bingo, and P3 homebrew displays
high · Entire episode devoted to York Show experience, featuring multiple machine categories and player reception
?
design_innovation: Multiple innovative P3 game designs showcasing roguelike mechanics, character progression, rhythm gameplay, and save/restore systems
high · Quest for Glory (700+ modes, save/restore), Ranger in the Ruins (roguelike with ghost items), Silver Falls (room furnishing progression), Flipper Foxtrot Rhythm Explosion (rhythm mechanics with health bar)
?
content_signal: Nick Baldrige promoting Hello Playdate podcast co-hosted with Don and Ryan about Panic Playdate console
high · Explicit announcement and promotion of Hello Playdate podcast at episode conclusion
?
community_signal: Organized Bingo Row with multiple collectors (Ed, Len, Jim) and Pittsburgh crew providing machines and assistance
high · Detailed thanks to collectors who transported and maintained bingo machines throughout the show
?
announcement: Nick Baldrige teases imminent announcement of new homebrew game with music by Charles Wolfe Music
high · 'Very soon, I should be announcing the release of my new game, so please keep an eye out for that.'
?

Topics

Wood Rail Pinball GamesprimaryBingo Pinball Machines and DesignprimaryMultimorphic P3 Platform and Homebrew GamesprimaryYork Show Experience and CommunityprimaryPinball Game Mechanics and ComplexitysecondaryExhibition and Show Display StrategiessecondaryUpcoming Game Announcements and Teaserssecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.88)— Nick Baldrige expresses genuine enthusiasm throughout, praising the York Show, his machines, fellow collectors, and player engagement. He demonstrates gratitude repeatedly and reflects fondly on his experience. Minor critical observations about Quest for Glory's challenge in show environments are constructive rather than negative.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.048

What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only, this is Nick Baldrige. Ava won't be joining us this time, her schedule and mine have been absolutely insane, and she did not travel with me to the York Show, which this show is all about. First off, I wanted to thank my good friend Sam, without whose help I just wouldn't have been able to make it to York. this year, so I really appreciate all of his time, expertise, and help with moving everything. Very, very much appreciated. Thank you, Sam. The York Show, for those who haven't been, is one of my absolute favorite shows. There are so many different eras of pinball which are represented, and one of the best representations of that is in Wood Rail Row. So this was the inspiration for Bingo Row, but these beautiful wood rails are typically all lined up. And this year, with the passing of Wayne Nyans, there were many of his games lined up all in a row, just beautiful, ready for the public to play. Because of stuff going on, I usually don't have much opportunity to play many games anymore at any given show, but this year I did take the time and played Lovely Lucy, which remains one of the top five games of all time for me. so many different ways to approach the game, so many different ways to win, and so many different ways to lose. That I prove over and over again. As well as Queen of Hearts. Queen of Hearts is an excellently designed game, another one that allows you to feel like you're almost doing something, but you never actually are. And I played several quick games of Queen hearts before the show opened one day and managed to not quite complete four of a kind or five in a suit, but I came awfully close several times. Aside from Wood Rail Row, there's also the beautiful Bingo Row. Every year, myself and a group of like-minded collectors get together and try to bring out as many different examples of bingo pinball machines as we can. So as part of that this year, there was a United Caravan that was brought by Ed, Carnival Queen, which was brought by Len, and a Big Wheel, which was brought by Jim. And I want to thank all three of them and the entire Pittsburgh crew that helped Len and Ed with those machines throughout the show for all their kindness and generosity in bringing those games for the public to play. As part of Bingo Row, of course, the fabulous MultiBingo was available for play. This year, I brought a 20-hole playfield with rollovers that came from a double-up, so that allowed for the playing of about two dozen different games. And of those games, I'd say the most popular were Big Wheel, oddly enough. It was placed right beside Jim's Big Wheel, and I think people wanted to see them up against one another, see how accurate they were to each other. Bonus 7, and there were quite a few games played on London, I believe. As part of bingo row, of course, any 3, 4, or 5 in a row or section will win a prize, and this year, the prize that I had to give away was a vinyl postcard that I commissioned that included a medley of songs from the soundtrack of my next game, Drained, for the P3 pinball platform. These are songs that were composed by Charles Wolfe Music. Had a great collaboration with that composer throughout the development of the game, and I'm very much looking forward to showing you what that game is soon. But as a little teaser I brought these vinyl postcards and I think they really cool So if you familiar with flexi discs it kind of that principle but with a rigid backing So they will hopefully be easier to play and will not wear as quickly as those flexi discs Though it was busy and though there were fewer of us collectors that were around to be able to give tutorials and point out when there were four and five in a row winners, I was able to give away a large number of these limited postcards but I do still have a handful left so if you would like one they won't be remade and I'll be happy to send one to you just send me your name and postal address and I'll get one in the mail to you at foramusementonlypodcast at gmail.com and I'll put that in the show notes as well So I brought the 20-hole playfield because I had a player last show who came up to me and asked for me to bring that as something different. And I had brought the 20-hole playfield separately as well as a 28-hole playfield a few years ago, but I determined it was too difficult to swap the bingo playfields during a show. They require access to both the front and the back of the machine, and it's just a lot to ask during a show. It's quite different from swapping a P3 module, as we'll talk about later, where it's a little easier in a show setting. So I brought this for this specific player, and he came out and just played the heck out of the game, and so I'm very glad that he was able to experience that. And at the end, he came up and asked me to bring the 25-hole next year, so that's what I will do. I always set up right at the end of bingo row because my games kind of straddle the line between original and modern. And so the multi-bingo was kind of the demarcation point for the rest of my games. Beyond that, I also brought multi-races. And this is the one-ball horse race multi-game. All on one play field, there's 39 different games to choose from. And this was the first year that I brought it with that many games. And the beautiful Backglass by Joel de Guzman. Just amazing work and got lots of compliments on that Backglass artwork and how well integrated it was to the entire package. So my compliments as always and again to Joel DeGuzman for such a great job. On multi-races, the different games can either pay out directly or they pay out in replays like the bingos do. So a couple years ago, I commissioned Ryan Claytor to design a token that could be paid out on the payout games. And it's no cash value, not legal tender, of course. A little plastic token with a unique design. And they came out beautifully. And this year, I brought more of those and gave those away to people who won on multi-races. by far the most popular games on multi-races especially for new players walking up to it were the simpler ones um it's like stepping back in time when you walk up to a one ball horse race game to play because they're so very different from modern games they require a very different skill set you're putting in a nickel raising your ball and then either putting in additional nickels or taking your single shot and hoping that you can guide the ball to the appropriate hole on the playfield to win. Later games were designed by Don Hooker, and that was the primary designer of the Bally bingos, and so they are far more complex and introduce concepts that were utilized in the bingos themselves Some players take to those and some players don So typically for a new player especially one who has no idea what this game is I try to start them on some of the simpler ones So the third game that I brought was the Multimorphic P3. So this is a pinball platform. It's again a modular game with multiple games that can be played in one cabinet. And I brought four different playfield modules. So these modules are about two foot square and can be dropped into the back portion of the P3's playfield and completely change both the targets and the experience that the player has, as well as the games which are available for them to play. The four playfields that I brought were Lexi Lightspeed Escape from Earth, on which I developed a game called Quest for Glory, Cosmic Kart Racing, on which I developed Ranger in the Ruins, Heist, on which I co-developed, along with Sophia Baldridge, my daughter, Silver Falls, and Cannon Lagoon, on which I developed Flipper Foxtrot Rhythm Explosion. So Quest for Glory is an extremely complicated game. This was the first show that this one appeared at, and there are, just to give you an idea, three different character classes to choose from, the ability to save and restore your state, over 700 different modes, dozens and dozens of voice actors, thousands and thousands of lines of dialogue, and a huge sweeping scenario for a pinball game especially that proved to be very challenging for players in a show environment. So typically at a show, the public is walking from game to game and just playing everything that they can as quickly as they can because they want to get to the next game. So a game that requires you to stop and think requires, well, some might say it's very similar to the bingos in that you have to actually pre-plan everything that's going on. One player had a suggestion to pause the game at any given point. The game is fairly forgiving with how it returns a ball to the player and how frequently it does so. So I'm not sure the game is designed not to operate in the fashion that that player requested, and I'm not sure if that's something that I want to add or not. Taken under advisement, though. I also brought Ranger in the Ruins. Ranger in the Ruins is an endless runner, score attack, roguelike game. So the roguelike element is that each player can earn different items from previous players' ghosts. So each player that plays, when they die, the last item that they hold will be available for another player to find later on. If you're connected to the internet, that pulls from a pool of different ghosts that come from all over the world. and it's proved to be a very popular game and it's very popular at shows as well. Part of that is probably because I had it on one ball which is the factory setting so the games are very quick and you can see just a glimpse of what the game has to offer and it encourages you to to play over and over again and that's what I saw over and over again which is really heartening so it's very cool. There was a lot of crossover appeal through different demographics for Ranger in the Ruins, which I found very, very neat. Next up was Silver Falls. Silver Falls is on the Heist playfield, and again, that was co-developed with my daughter Sophia. She helped me design the game, and I did all the development, so co-designed is a better word. In Silver Falls, you're creating a character earning money by hitting specific shots on the playfield and then using that money in a store to furnish a given room As you completely furnish a room a hurry mode starts complete the hurry mode and you able to move to the next room. This proved to be the most popular P3 game that I produced, and people enjoyed the Scott Danesi soundtrack, which is very unique and just absolutely unlike anything else in pinball. Next up is Flipper Foxtrot Rhythm Explosion, which is on the Cannon Lagoon playfield. Flipper Foxtrot Rhythm Explosion is a rhythm pinball game. You're utilizing the different buttons on the P3 in order to match notes which progress up the screen. If you miss a note, a pinball pops out and you're required to return that. Your overall goal is to survive through the entire song, there's a health bar to indicate if you're going to survive or not. It was really cool to see different people playing different games, and one of the coolest things was that I brought different aids to help with swapping the different games throughout the show. Since I only had one physical P3, but I had four different games that I wanted to show people, I wanted people to understand at a glance that there were more games that were coming, and if they came back around, there would be another game for them to play. And so I built this monitor setup that showed the back glass of the next game that was going to be playable, as well as a countdown timer. And a ton of, you know, moving and dancing and shimmering imagery to entice the eye. So once the player finished playing, inevitably they would look at this monitor and they would say, oh, another game, huh? So that would either spark a conversation or later on I was seeing people set alarms or just make notes to come back through. And it was really cool because people did. So it really worked. And the time interval on the swaps, I would have each game playable for an hour and a half and then I would swap it. I never took a break. so I was there either giving tutorials on the different bingos or swapping the games or talking to people about development talking to people about problems with machines that they had that they were trying to fix em or bingo uh talking about game development homebrew development all kinds of different aspects of the hobby in which I participated and it was just a blast Every year, York is so much fun, and I really enjoyed my time there and absolutely loved talking to everybody at the show. Old friends, new friends, tech friends, homebrew friends, thank you all for making this year's York show so much fun, and I can't wait to do it all over again. Very soon, I should be announcing the release of my new game, so please keep an eye out for that. And if you would like to hear more about some other unique and interesting devices with which I interact, I've been co-hosting a podcast with Don and Ryan called Hello Playdate. And this podcast is all about the Panic Playdate handheld console. So please give that a listen. And all of this will be in the show notes. So I'll put a link to my company's website, the Hello Playdate podcast, and, of course, instructions on how to request one of those drained vinyl postcards. So that's all for tonight. Thanks very much for listening. My name again is Nick Baldrige, and you can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. You can also call 4 Amusement Only Games on the former bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS1, 724-246-4671. Thank you so much for listening and I will talk to you next time.