Embedded Files
Jaws was an interesting theme, I imagined an old school pinball cabinet right away with some must have features. The shark as a bashing toy? Check. Orca, the weather-beaten boat for a landmark object? Check. The shark cage for a moving toy and ball-locking mechanism? Check. Moving shark fins as drop targets? Check!
I really wanted to give the sea as many space on the table and in gameplay as possible. So there is a section of the sea on the back of the table where you can occasionally spot the unmistakable fin. Part of the table can sink down so Jaws could emerge from the depths - for the player to shoot it with the ball. And there's probably the most crazy game mode I've invented throughout the years: Raging Sea where the table is yawing as if it was a boat on the sea.
You can play all main modes from the perspective of Jaws or the chief. To complete the experience Quint is narrating (nagging, more like) through the whole game.
Jaws_raging_sea.mp4At first I wasn't sure how and if it could be done but with the 3D artists we managed to create a rocking boat effect for Raging Sea game mode. The table is not moving, we animate the camera and gravity (I mean, it's a video game, anything goes) in perfect sync.
This mode has a ball saver, so if the sea decides the ball goes out, the player gets it back to continue trying.
Kickbacks are a standard for digital pinball tables, they can save the ball that is about to drain on either side by usually pushing them back. There are many alternatives, sometimes we use gates to feed the ball right to the flippers. Or there's a hole that catches the escaping ball and the table gives the player a new one from the plunger.
And then there's the Wheel Saver on Jaws which uses a quick time event to decide if the player is worthy of that ball or not. A lamp clip goes through four lamps and for a short time they start flashing simultaneously. That's when you have to press the launch button if you want that ball back.
I always end up making a dark game mode, pinball tables look so cool with dimmed atmospheric lighting and the lamps on the table really get to shine. To be fair, most of the themes justify it.
However, I try to add some extra to these modes on top of the astonishing visuals. In Jaws' Night Sailin' mode Quint himself shows where to shoot the ball with his flashlight.
If you'd like to learn more about Jaws Pinball, check out the community-made table guide:
Google Sites
Report abuse