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[Shaneus]

One of the licensed tables that we’ve always wanted to digitize is Star Trek: The Next Generation. This table was released by Williams in 1993 and is unquestionably one of the greatest pinball tables of all time (in fact it’s currently #3 in user rankings on the Internet Pinball Database!) It was designed by the lengendary Steve Ritchie (who also designed Firepower, Black Knight, High Speed, and Terminator 2). Steve was a lifelong Star Trek fan and he was instrumental in convincing Williams to license the Star Trek property for a new pinball table. Consequently this table features an incredibly deep integration with the Star Trek license. It also has a number of unique play field features, including two aim-able ball-firing cannons and an system of warping balls from one place to another that was so ingenious Williams patented it. It's one of our favorite tables ever!

We’ve succeeded in negotiating all of the licenses we’d need to digitize Star Trek: The Next Generation and bring it to the Pinball Arcade. Unfortunately there are several licenses involved: in addition to the Williams license, we need a license for the Star Trek property and the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, clearances for the actor likenesses on the back glass and play field, and the right to use the actor voiceovers during gameplay. When we add up the costs of each required license and calculate what we’d have to charge for the table, we’ve realized that the Star Trek: The Next Generation is just not commercially viable. The more we charge for the table the fewer people will be able to buy it- and our goal is to expose as many people as possible to this great table, not just a select few.

Here’s where you come in! The licenses for Star Trek: The Next Generation will cost $60,000 (and that’s just for the licenses- we’ll cover all of the development expenses ourselves). Our previous Kickstarter project for the Twilight Zone pinball table raised just under $70,000 thanks to the amazing generosity of pinball fans throughout the world. That was $15,000 more than we needed for the Twilight Zone licenses, and we're applying this towards the license costs of Star Trek: The Next Generation. If we can raise the remaining $45,000 we’ll be able to digitize Star Trek: The Next Generation and preserve one of the greatest pinball tables of all time. If we don't reach our goal no credit cards will be charged, but if we raise more then the goal we’ll be able to digitize other licensed tables as well.

Backer rewards/tiers:

Pledge $10 or more
Get the Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball table on a single platform of your choice, plus the satisfaction of knowing you helped make the preservation of this table possible.

Pledge $20 or more
Get the Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball table on any two platforms of your choice, PLUS an exclusive Star Trek: The Next Generation Pinball wallpaper for the device of your choice.

Pledge $30 or more
Everything above PLUS an additional copy of the table for the platform of your choice (for a total of three) AND an exclusive Star Trek: The Next Generation edition virtual pinball (which can be used on any of the tables in the Pinball Arcade!)

Pledge $40 or more
Everything above PLUS an additional copy of the table for the platform of your choice (for a total of four) AND your name listed as a backer in the game credits! How cool is that?!?

Pledge $50 or more
Everything above PLUS a special Pro version of the Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball table including access to the table operator’s menu on a single platform of your choice,

Pledge $75 or more
Everything above PLUS an entry into the exclusive Pinball Arcade Supporters Tournament!

Pledge $100 or more
Everything above PLUS the special Pro version of the Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball table including access to the table operator’s menu on every platform we support.

Pledge $250 or more
Everything above PLUS a cool Pinball Arcade Development Team shirt. It's the latest in pinball fashion statements- be the envy of all your friends!

Pledge $500 or more
Everything above PLUS be a Beta-tester with early access to the table AND see your name listed in the Development Team portion of the game credits!

Pledge $750 or more
Everything above PLUS a copy of Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection signed by the FarSight development team. We only have a few of these left, and when they're gone they're gone...

Pledge $1,000 or more
Everything above PLUS a conference call with the Pinball Arcade design team during the Star Trek: The Next Generation Beta. Tell us how the table plays, what needs to be improved, and suggest which tables we should do next. Your input can have a real impact!

Pledge $5,000 or more
Everything above PLUS lunch and one-on-one with the FarSight design team! We’ll give you a tour of our studio in Big Bear Lake, California and you'll get an inside look at how we digitize pinball tables. We’ll show you what we’re currently working on (and you’ll be among the first outside the studio to play it!) You are responsible for your travel (but lunch is on us!)

Pledge $10,000 or more
The FarSight team will travel to a location of your choosing (within the continental US please, unless you live someplace really cool). We’ll set up and host a virtual pinball tournament for you and your friends complete with prizes and goodies. We’ll bring along the latest new tables and you’ll be among the first outside the studio to play them! Your name will also be highlighted with a Special Thanks in the credits as someone who really made a difference.


Extra stuff:
Original Williams Star Trek - The Next Generation promo video

An IRC interview with Steve Ritchie from 1995, with a brief discussion on TNG:

D3KARL: I'd like to ask a question that sort of ties in with my all time favorite game, ST:TNG. All shots in ST:TNG have a distinct and good feeling to them (in particular the Picard combo). I'm wondering... do you get this right during early design, or does it take weeks of experimenting with whitewoods before the right feeling is there? Any stories about the design of ST:TNG?

STEVE: What you're talking about is smoothness. Some smoothness always comes in the first pass, after this long designing games. It is always the one thing that must be there for me. In every game, refinements take place that improve the game and, when we get enough
improvements to where it makes sense to build a new wood, we do. The original name for STTNG was Under Seige. We were going to get the license, the game was going to be a battleship game with both cannons on one side. STTNG was a much better (and much more liked by me) license and we pursued it with vigor. We went to get the license, it was not offered. Dwight and myself were the biggest Star Trek fans with the most knowledge on ST and a basic love for all ST lore. The first meeting with Paramount was a TOTAL disaster. three women in charge of licensing were guarding the license with swords and shields. They really thought that we would make 'SPACE PIRATES FROM F***ING HELL' and depict Picard as a trigger-happy theiving rapist. We spent a good deal of time convincing them that we only wanted to portray the crew in the best light. At lunch in the commissary, we got into a terrible argument in which I stopped speaking. Sitting DIRECTLY behind me was Patrick Stewart at another table. I never felt so awkward in my life. We all knew that we had lost any hope of obtaining a license because I wanted to be able to do a Borg/Starfleet scenario. The head licensing woman said No Way to any violence which I thought was super-hypocritical and unbelievably narrow-minded, considering that we would follow the Prime Directive and never instigate violence of any kind. We all left Hollywood that day and Roger Sharpe had to salvage the meeting on the phone in the following days. They finally agreed to let us do ST properly. From then on, it was pretty fun. We got to go on the bridge and all of the sets used in the show. It was thrilling to watch a scene being filmed with Gates McFadden. I had one foot on the transporter while the filming was taking place. Dwight Sullivan, Greg Freres and I also got to meet and talk discuss with Dan Curry, Michael Okuda, Michael Westmore Sr/Jr, and others in the production crew. Our biggest concern was whether or not we would obtain the speech for each and every crew member. And Q too. They were always hesitant to concede that we would get anywhere in this quest. After many months of waiting, the crew finally agreed and we got everyone. Nothing was so important in producing this game. It was a great project!

Can you help Farsight MAKE IT SO?

Update #1:
Shortly after the Kickstarter... started

Update #2:
20th August

Update #3:
28th August

They posted a video of the (real) table on their kickstarter page for anyone that doesn't know it.

The kickstarter has been going very slow for the last couple of days. I hope it picks up again soon, because at the current rate it would actually fail to meet its goal (but I guess pledges will go up on the last days anyway).

Update #4:
2nd September

Update #5:
End of KS (17th Sept)

They did it!

 

[see5harp]

$10 for a single table. I have nothing wrong with kickstarter but a kickstarter for DLC is ridic.

 

[Jacobi]

Haha nice, That ne's pretty near-by to me in an arcade museum

 

[Plinko]

I think at this point I'd rather them work on fixing the problems with the current releases.

 

[kassatsu]

I think at this point I'd rather them work on fixing the problems with the current releases.

Kickstarter for Sony and Microsoft patch fees!

 

[FlyinJ]

$10 for a single table. I have nothing wrong with kickstarter but a kickstarter for DLC is ridic.

Have you played the Next Gen pinball table? It seriously is amazing.

And there is seriously no way this table would ever be allowed to be digitized without a massive payment to the various license holders, so this is probably the only way we would ever get to see it done.

No problem at all contributing $10 here.

 

[Kai Dracon]

To everyone who's going to say "ten bux for DLC is dumb", this is a matter of supporting the effort to digitize the table. The fact that you get a copy of the table when it's ready is the bonus.

Plus, considering the licensing nightmare involved with preserving certain items like this, it's hard to argue that $10 is extortion.

Edit: having said that, they're probably going to get some ill will here since they've still got lots of bugs to fix, have had inconsistent releases, and delays due to updates and DLC being rejected by platform holders. They still appearing to be straining to support Pinball Arcade on so many platforms at once.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

$10 for a single table. I have nothing wrong with kickstarter but a kickstarter for DLC is ridic.

No it's not. People truly love that table (I know there are some big fans at Giant Bomb, too). It should go without saying it's not for everyone. So you're safe, see5harp. You don't have to pay.

 

[see5harp]

I guess, for me, the precedent has been set by Double Fine and the great updates they've been giving with their awesome video content. I would expect to pay $20 for a modern adventure game, so that plus the video content was worth supporting. I do not feel that I'd ever pay $10 for a single virtual pinball table. If you feel otherwise, fine.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I guess, for me, the precedent has been set by Double Fine and the great updates they've been giving with their awesome video content. I would expect to pay $20 for a modern adventure game, so that plus the video content was worth supporting. I do not feel that I'd ever pay $10 for a single virtual pinball table. If you feel otherwise, fine.

As Barkley observed, it's not the table that's $10, it's the donation to make the project happen.

As with Twilight Zone, when the table is finished it will be released as a normal purchase for everyone who didn't get a copy as a Kickstarter reward.

These things are not something everyone should feel the need to donate to.

 

[SickBoy]

I'll actually buy Pinball Arcade, I've resisted so far even though I enjoy pinball, and support a Kickstarter if they finally figure out the licensing mess for the Addams Family. (Can it really be so much harder than Star Trek, given all the actor likenesses in that game?)

Here's hoping it's their next project.

 

[Shaneus]

FWIW, I now own PA on two platforms, will be getting it on PC when it comes out in the Fall (which is another announcement that makes the KS vid worth watching) but will be throwing in $50 as it's a game that thoroughly deserves it. It's easily one of my top 5 favourite machines ever (it's hard to pin it at #1, but that's because it's a fluid chart that changes daily!) and for them to even wrangle around getting the TNG license, let alone the likenesses and speech? They've done more than I could have expected already.

Getting basically the entire cast to do original speech for the game is basically unheard of for a pinball (though Ritchie did also get Arnold to do custom speech on T2) and is definitely the best licensed pinball of all time (and will likely remain so).

We knew this was coming, but fuck me if it isn't getting me pumped more than anything that it's finally been officially announced. Backer numbers are increasing exponentially, too. An hour ago when it was posted in the Pinball Arcade OT it had 51 backers. It now has:

Fair effort.

Edit: And to clarify, I'd be donating $50 even if it only came with one table. It's not about the rewards, it's about how passionately you feel about making the Kickstarter project become a reality (regardless of it's focus). That we get multiple copies is a bonus if you contribute a greater amount, but for a large percentage of people I doubt it would be much of a factor. Certainly isn't for me.

And hell, if they see how many people back this, maybe they'll start chasing up other licenses as well (so don't use the fact that they haven't signed up TAF yet as an excuse to not show how much you want it!).

 

[twinturbo2]

When is the Twilight Zone table coming out?

 

[FStop7]

In in in in in. This is the most fun pinball machine I've ever played.

 

[Gillian Seed]

When is the Twilight Zone table coming out?

November is the projected release.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I'll actually buy Pinball Arcade, I've resisted so far even though I enjoy pinball, and support a Kickstarter if they finally figure out the licensing mess for the Addams Family. (Can it really be so much harder than Star Trek, given all the actor likenesses in that game?)

Here's hoping it's their next project.

Don't quote me on this, but I think the Addams Family IP is tied up between:

1. Rights to original TV show and comic materials

2. Movie rights

3. Movie actors likenesses

4. Estates of movie actors as sadly some have passed away

5. Was some MC Hammer music used in the machine? I can't recall.

By comparison, TNG seems relatively under one roof at Paramount. It might be less time consuming at least, even if it's not more expensive.

 

[Of All Trades]

I'd kickstart $10 if "platform of my choice" could be PC.

 

[Minsc]

I'd kickstart $10 if "platform of my choice" could be PC.

It can, at least you could pick PC for the previous one, and I haven't seen anything to lead me to believe it's any different for this one.

I guess, for me, the precedent has been set by Double Fine and the great updates they've been giving with their awesome video content. I would expect to pay $20 for a modern adventure game, so that plus the video content was worth supporting. I do not feel that I'd ever pay $10 for a single virtual pinball table. If you feel otherwise, fine.

The value proposition here is the table(s) will never be "officially" digitalized for play otherwise, ever. Without the help of kickstarter they would not pursue these tables because the additional fees for the licenses add too much to have digitizing them be profitable / worth it.

I'll actually buy Pinball Arcade, I've resisted so far even though I enjoy pinball, and support a Kickstarter if they finally figure out the licensing mess for the Addams Family. (Can it really be so much harder than Star Trek, given all the actor likenesses in that game?)

Here's hoping it's their next project.

They have hinted before it's feasible to see that one down the road, if these work well, which they seem to be.

 

[LumpOfCole]

All I was is Theatre of Magic and Star Trek TNG for the PC. I would be so, so happy.

 

[Shaneus]

PC is mentioned in the KS video.

 

[meppi]

In for $30 this time. Love what these guys are doing and love Star Trek TNG even more!

 

[Absoludacrous]

I hope they do one of these for Terminator 2.

 

[Shaneus]

I hope they do one of these for Terminator 2.

I have no idea how they'd license that, especially if they need Arnold's signoff given it's actually his voice and likeness used. But if they can pull that off, I'd be over the moon. But I'd have thought a few months ago that TNG was near impossible as well, so there you go.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

I'd throw down for the Lord of the Rings table.

 

[Kai Dracon]

The value proposition here is the table(s) will never be "officially" digitalized for play otherwise, ever. Without the help of kickstarter they would not pursue these tables because the additional fees for the licenses add too much to have digitizing them be profitable / worth it.

An analogy for people who don't quite get the point of a Kickstarter's 'value proposition'.

I've had people say before "why would you commission a piece of art from an artist? They charge a lot of money. One painting isn't worth a thousand dollars."

This misses that the 'one painting' wouldn't have existed without the investment. It's not a mass produced product you can buy for cheap, because an existing demand made it feasible to put into production. The personalized painting is far more rare an item than a mass produced, generic art print. Something unique, by definition, has more value than something generic, due to rarity.

Thus, a digitized version of a hard to get, hard to license, pinball table has more value than another game product that is already mass produced without each individual customer having to pay more in order to justify its creation. While Farsight certainly isn't making a table for you, personally, it's still a rarer item to come by.

The funny part is some people may try to cite economics as to why such a thing is a 'bad deal' except I think they've got it backwards. Economics is why it's a good deal. People may just be used to paying prices that are cheaper than they realize due to economy of scale.

I'm reminded of the arguments that break out over DLC characters in fighting games, where folks try to cut up a $60 fighting game's price tag evenly among each stock character, then ask why characters produced individually get priced at more than $1.25 or what have you.

 

[Baron_Calamity]

I'm in for $10. Hope the pc version comes out. Seriously have my doubts.

 

[RagnarokX]

Wouldn't Addams Family be the easiest one to fund since it's the most popular pinball machine of all time? No matter how much it costs it would definitely get funded. The real trouble has to be tracking down all the rights so they can be bought in the first place.

 

[FStop7]

Already up to $11,000. At this rate they'll hit their goal in under a week. Engage!


BTW if you have never played this table it's amazing. There isn't a tradition plunger, instead it's a handle and trigger. Putting a ball in play is "launching a probe" you use the ball to trigger a series of missions and challenges. There are a bunch of moving bits on the table including a pair of launchers that you can use to capture a ball and fire it during certain parts of a mission, and I think you can also capture a ball in each one of them and then release them simultaneously for multiball.

 

[Nuklear]

This is my second favorite table(Theater of Magic is my #1). In for $20.

 

[Baron_Calamity]

Wouldn't Addams Family be the easiest one to fund since it's the most popular pinball machine of all time? No matter how much it costs it would definitely get funded. The real trouble has to be tracking down all the rights so they can be bought in the first place.

From what I've heard, the Raúl Juliá estate isn't willing to lend his likeness to anything.

 

[The Technomancer]

Yeah, I'm in for $20. I haven't bought the Pinball Arcade today but I think that this kind of stuff is important and I hope that they'll be able to start addressing the many issues they have with PA so far.

 

[SickBoy]

Wouldn't Addams Family be the easiest one to fund since it's the most popular pinball machine of all time? No matter how much it costs it would definitely get funded. The real trouble has to be tracking down all the rights so they can be bought in the first place.

When they were doing the Twilight Zone table, they did mention that there was a complex maze of rights regarding Addams Family. I'm not sure what exactly makes it more complex than the Twilight Zone or Star Trek, but I suspect it's got to do with the fact that there's a less unified ownership of the property (movie studio, Charles Addams' family, not to mention the fact that they're dealing with the estate of one of the actual actors)

 

[RagnarokX]

From what I've heard, the Raúl Juliá estate isn't willing to lend his likeness to anything.

It's not like it's a Street Fighter II pinball table!

 

[jchap]

My father has the actual TNG table at his office and also a T2 table

 

[Parallax Scroll]

I used to carefully line up the probe launcher by looking "down the sights"... we probably won't be able to do that in the digital version. Still, this is a kickin rad table.

 

[hachi]

Anything TNG related demands to be properly preserved.

If Kickstarter is the way, so be it.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

From what I've heard, the Raúl Juliá estate isn't willing to lend his likeness to anything.

It's not like it's a new product, just a recreation of previous work that he's signed off on. Just like a blu ray release of one of the movies he's been in.

 

[Shaneus]

For people who have been jaded by stories of the iOS version, I strongly suggest trying either the 360 (or PS3, but I have no first-hand experience) versions. I was all pissy about average quality iOS (in particular, on my 4S) releases but the game is just something else on 360. Made the wait a bit easier for the PC version.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Pledged $10 but with a pre-paid card I thought was empty, it says I'm a backer, wouldn't it have canceled if it was empty?

I wanted to use my PayPal account which has $10 in it.

 

[TheExodu5]

No link to the Kickstarter in the OP?

edit: oh, the title pic.

 

[Hero of Legend]

No link to the Kickstarter in the OP?

edit: oh, the title pic.

WOW, talk about a major oversight.

Here ya go:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1067367405/pinball-arcade-star-trek-the-next-generation

 

[madp]

I feel really stupid for asking this, but am I correct to assume that in spite of the PS3/Vita "buy one, get both" policy for the game, the $10 tier will entitle me to only the PS3 or the Vita version of the table?

Come to think of it, I haven't purchased any of the DLC yet so I'm not even sure if "buy one, get both" even applied to anything beyond the four tables that come with the game.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I feel really stupid for asking this, but am I correct to assume that in spite of the PS3/Vita "buy one, get both" policy for the game, the $10 tier will entitle me to only the PS3 or the Vita version of the table?

Come to think of it, I haven't purchased any of the DLC yet so I'm not even sure if "buy one, get both" even applied to anything beyond the four tables that come with the game.

When you buy a Pinball Arcade table on PSN, you get the DLC package for both consoles.

The PSN DLC codes they send out for Twilight Zone, and this table, should work as normally I would assume.

So when you pick platform, selecting PSN probably just gives you a single code that buys the same table for both PS3 and Vita at once.

 

[Shaneus]

Pledged $10 but with a pre-paid card I thought was empty, it says I'm a backer, wouldn't it have canceled if it was empty?

I wanted to use my PayPal account which has $10 in it.

You only get charged when the KS is closed, if it's successful. So that might have something to do with letting it through!

No link to the Kickstarter in the OP?

edit: oh, the title pic.

Yup! (But funnily enough, I had actually completely forgotten the link when I first posted it, then quickly edited it with the KS URL on the title pic.)

WOW, talk about a major oversight.

Here ya go:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1067367405/pinball-arcade-star-trek-the-next-generation

Yeah, major oversight.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

So, how do these KS-funded tables work out upon release? Do they offer them up separately or do they come paired with another table, as the already available ones do? Also, backed.

 

[Tesseract]

$20, engage.

 

[Jackpot]

Are the allowed to profit from licensed works? Doesn't CBS entertainment own all things Trek now?

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Are the allowed to profit from licensed works? Doesn't CBS entertainment own all things Trek now?

The KS is to cover licensing from CBS or whomever owns/handles the related rights, no different from Twilight Zone.

 

[added_time]

Hell yeah! Backed for sure!

 

[Baron_Calamity]

It's not like it's a new product, just a recreation of previous work that he's signed off on. Just like a blu ray release of one of the movies he's been in.

That is completely different. The Screen Actors Guild and the Motion Picture Association have a contract allowing actors likeness to be used in promotional materials at a preset fee. There is no such agreement in place for merchandise.