Pat Lawlor: Designing Modern Pinball

Legendary pinball creator Pat Lawlor describes the process of designing modern pinball machines.

[@MakrMania]

I think these modern pinballs have lost the plot. I’ve played the new Star Wars machines from Stern and Willy Wonka and they don’t hold a candle to The Addams Family and Fun House classics. It’s not about these stupid mini games that are displayed on a big screen that you never look at, it’s about the craft of the pinball field and it’s pure design. Don’t give us these cheap gimmicks that try to add fluff when it isn’t needed. My point is keep the team small like it used to be, go back to what made the original machines great. I tell you all they need to do is re release the Addams family and it’s sales will blow away these new pinballs, there is a reason for that. Medieval madness is another! Stick to the basics, no one wants big screens and digital gimmicks.

[@danielschiavo5371]

Right on the point Mark!! 👌 Pinball is about Kinetics, then Game play design + Playfield + Sound&Light. Greetings from Buenos Aires.🙂 Daniel

[@user443]

"Pinball is real. If we take the glass off you can touch it, it's 3 dimensionsal. There are mechanical devices that are functioning, that are moving, that are interacting with the ball. And that's something that video can't do." -Pat Lawlor ~1990

[@grambo1980]

Pat you’re a legend! Also it’s time for a hair cut. Cheers mate!

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

He doesn't have much to cut. Let him go crazy.

[@chipcurtis3671]

Great to see you again my friend! I worked for Pat for a few years, and he is a true gamming genius. Listen from about 5:20 on, that's what gamming is all about. We spent months upon months working hard at making sure people would have fun, and when designing appliances, I spent the same time saving a penny on the Bill of Material. I labored days at intricate lamp effects to be timed with every explosion and every beat of sound, just so players would know how cool they were, and every day my wife would ask, "what are you doing today", and I would answer, "I'm going to make people have fun". That has always been Pat's goal, it was a cool job.

[@SDTM]

What great notes thanks a ton for sharing

[@Riz2336]

Guy is my favorite designer

[@ARFF1Tampa]

Please consider doing a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", so many possibilities. Thx.

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

Might be a copyright issue. Great idea though.

[@lifewater989]

It interesting to hear insight on the development of these games. I know it’s an insane amount of work to bring something like this to market.

[@DubsBrown]

I wonder what he would do differently with his first machine (Banzai Run) with all his experience in the industry now. The game is so raw potential and, like Black Hole, had innovations that could be really refined and improved with today's tech and pinball design history. Since Earth Shaker and Funhouse got "sequels" with Whirlwind and Roadshow, I'd be keen on a Banzai Run sequel.

[@dronepilotflyby9481]

Pat, Didn't Scott Danesi engineer and build the TNA pinball pretty much on his own? I know 'another' company backed and built it for production but he pretty much had it built and was taking it around to Pinfest events or am I misinformed?

[@SDTM]

Your not mistaken about Scott. But I believe what Pat is talking about is production games straight from a manufacturer that have a year or less to get them out. Scott worked on TNA for a quit a while. Same with a lot of other home brew machines! Kieth Elwin did the same with Archer

[@michaeljkasnter]

Wonka is Absolutely a Phenomenal pinball machine!! Just odd that the entire back box isn’t lit !!!!

[@DoktorRossie]

interesting, thanks for the video guys!

[@SoftwareAgentsTV]

Cool that y'all got to talk to him!

[@andrewdonohue1853]

i went to a pool hall today that has serious embraced the pinball renaissance. they have 87 games. i played dailed in and no good goofers. pat lawlor is a pinball machine designing gem. the other person i really appreciate is steve ritche. i have a firepower AND a high speed. steve ritche is awesome.

[@dominicpendleton6291]

Bankrupt like Jack! Lol!

[@michaeljkasnter]

Love Ripleys Believe It or Not !!!! Pat is a Legend!!! Toy Story is coming!!!

[@michaeldrnec1487]

Nice to see you're still at it.

[@akredeye1976]

That H tho...

[@josephprata7080]

NOT SURE WHY BUT A DISNEYWORLD THEME LIKE THE PARK. IM SURE ITS ABOUT THE LICENSE

[@michaeljkasnter]

Exit lanes and wide flipper gaps don’t belong in Home Use Pinball. You have already gotten my money when i bought the pin, now let me play!!!

[@PrimitiveBaroque]

As a 3D animal artist I would love to design my own concept piece into a pinball.

[@JasonSanders]

Pat rocks

[@believeandreceivedmyhusban3005]

Ha ha ha felling her pain ???

[@Mystician]

Pinball used to be created by six people? Not quite. Bally/Williams employed hundreds of people to manufacture them.

[@ForceFlow]

He was talking about the design team, not the assembly line.

[@charlieharper981]

Seriously? The informative video was only 6 minutes long and you chose not to listen to the man? How in the heck were you able to turn on your computer being this dumb?

[@dominicpendleton6291]

He wanted everyone to be clear that those people don't matter. Only the design team should be recognized.

[@brotherdio4401]

The most painful combover on the interweb

[@markpinball8986]

Looks like a good pinball machine, not a fan of the theme tho.

[@twilightzonepinball]

When did Pat dump Stern?

[@ForceFlow]

His last Stern game was CSI in 2008. I'm not clear on whether or not he left on his own, or if it was the result of the layoffs Stern was going through at the time.