lifestyles
The game's popularity had been lagging at the expense of newer, more exciting games. But no longer.
By David Day
The bright lights reflect off Jeff Coen's face. With his
tongue twisted, his body contorted and his blonde dreadlocks shaking over his darting eyes, the Lawrence resident concentrates on the ball, the silver ball.
Coen admits to a rediscovered addiction shared by others in Lawrence: pinball.
With the hit Broadway musical "Tommy," advances in technology and license agreements with television and movies, pinball — the original electronic game — seems bigger than ever.
In Lawrence a pinball game can be found in almost every bar, convenience store and restaurant.
A former KU student, Tim Seckel, is now one of three designers at a major pinball company, and a local pinball hangout, Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St., has received regional acclaim as the best of its kind.
Some players are entranced by the ring of the register, others by the moan of the machine or the wrap of the replay.
For some, pinball is cheap entertainment. For others, it's serious business.
"The market in Lawrence has spit up in the past four years," said Chris Dykes, Lawrence-area coordinator of Armour Amusement, a coin-operated machine distributor based in Kansas City, Kan. "The competition from the new vendors forces us to lower the cut we can take on a pinball."
Dykes handles hundreds of quarters, rolling them into $10 bundles. "The machines in Lawrence run more money compared to Kansas City and Topeka," he said.
Dykes said competition
recently came from Topeka, Emporia and Kansas City.
And the market is still growing.
"Pinballs are running twice as much now in a lot of our places," he said.
Two places in Lawrence command the attention of pinball enthusiasts: The Replay Lounge and Planet Pinball, 2223 Louisiana St.
Planet, in its fourth year, is a well-lit arcade. The west side is filled with the screens and sounds of the hottest video games. Teen-agers crowd the "fighting games," shouting in defeat or glowing in triumph.
The east wall earns the arcade its title. Eleven of the newest pinball games stand sparkling clean, waiting to be challenged. Most are occupied with college students, leaning forward, faces fixed on the playing surface, hands in command of the flippers.
Rege Craft, owner and operator of Planet, knows his customers. He is occasionally interrupted by some who call him by his first name. "The flow of customers is so random, except during KU games, when this place is empty," he said, looking around the electronic wonderland.
Craft started the arcade after moving to Lawrence to study at KU.
"With students, the
Lawrence
economy seemed ready-made for a place like this." Craft said. "A lot of people in Lawrence grew up with pinball. They like the flow of the game."
In contrast to the Planet, the Replay Lounge is dimly lit. A black light hums over the games, eight in all, which are
lined against the
A few video games, such as "Donkey Kong," "Pac-Man" and "Tem
nest." still exist. The
lounge also owns one older pinball game, "Gorgar," which features a halfnaked woman being brought to the feet of a demon.
"A friend of name had 'borgar' in his house," Coen said. "We were afraid it was going to take over the moment."
Matt Johnsen, a manager of the Replay,
has always been a fan of "Gomers."
"And Kiss," he said, referring to the pinball game based on the rock hard
"Business has definitely corp picked up," Johnson said. "No busall day long."
Replay has gained regional a
showcase of pinball glory. a
pinball magazine out of Bof
rgrate wrote, "The Rocked-
recently wrote, The Repair and the hearth of game hall, beer joint, concert occasionally, music venue — a rhythm section hangout for pinball braithren of all persuasions." The article also includes an interview with Nick Carroll. Replay's operator.
On campus, the Jaybowl, on the first floor of the Kansas Union, has gradually added to its pinball arcade. Recently, Jaybowl held "Pinball Game of the Week," a promotion that spotlighted a game, rewarding the highest point total at the end of the week.
Armour's games take about $60 a week, which is sufficient to establishments. Armour installation also games at the Bottleneck and the Pool Place.
"If you figure $1,000 a month comes out to around $1,500 a month per year, Carl Dykes said.
It's amazing w
The stars of the new product are the machines themselves - each builds own personality and character, such an example of modern technology.
"This is easily the most complex if game ever to be constructed," Warnford, ping up the surface of "Star Trek." The Generation* with his locked arm displays garbled insides.
The insides are as intricate as those of a human being. Wires like nerves are bunched together, then spread out to the crevices of the machine itself. tiny electromagnetms fire like synapses. Magnetic plungers jerklike muscles.
The surface of the machine is covered in lights, triggers, spanners, pumps, campers, ramps and a mechanical sculpture, crowded yet precise.
Among enthusiasts it is agreed that the primary cause for increased interest in pinball in Lawrence, and the nation, is recent advances in technology.
As an example, every game now has a multiball stage, where a series of shots triggers up to six balls to fire automatically. "There's a rush of adrenaline with the multiball." Coen said.
Craft said that since the introduction of the dotmatrix screen in place of the simple digital scoreboard in 1901, the pinball industry has exploded.
"It's able to give you so much more information," Craft said, pointing to the blinking orange screen above the glass. "The sound is so much better as
above the glass. The sound is so much better as well — digital stereo. It's amazing what
designers can do."
Tim Seckel is one of those designers. He studied architecture at KU for four years and worked at Jaybowl. He is now one of three main designers at Sega Pinball in Chicago, formerly Data East.
Sega, and a second firm, Williams, are the leaders in the pinball industry. Seckel has designed three memorable games; "Hook," based on the blockbuster movie, "Last Action Hero," based on the movie bust and "Rocky & Bullwinkle," based on the cartoon.
"I went to an expo here in Chicago," Seckel said. "People came up to me, saying how Rocky was their favorite game. That's good to hear."
He also helped design "Royal Rumble," based on the World Wrestling Federation brawl. In a twist of irony, "Royal Rumble" is
lently plugged in at the Jaybowl in the Union.
Carroll is always on the lookout for the two "holy grails" of the pinball world, "Kiss" and "Muhammed Ali."
"Step by step the games are getting better," said Carroll, who credits the machines for a majority of Replay's success.
It may be set in a social environment, but a pinball game comes down to a match — a match between man and machine.
"We're definitely seeing an upswelling, a resurgence in pinhall rock, a pekel
"It's much more social than video. A novice and an expert can play together without competition because the main goal is to get a replay." Craft said.
Every pinball game has its own calculated replay value, which when the player exceeds it, sets off a loud POP! that can be heard across the arcade. The score gives a player one credit that can become a free game or, if the player chooses, an extra ball.
in pinball pitcher basketball. said. "And the increase in competition, it is increasing to get bigger." Craft is behind the counter, making change for a $b-bill. "There was a lapse of about 10 years when video was the thing," craft said. But physically, pinball is different, he said.
Back in the dark, cave-like Replay,
Coen looks up as a loud POP! draws the
attention of the customers.
Seckel attributes some of the success of "Rocky and Bullwinkle" to nostalgia. He believes players are reminded of the cartoon.
The enjoyment of pinball also requires some risk, much like gambling.
Dykes recalls watching locals at his father's bar gamble on pinball.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
That was when it was only a nickel
game he said
Cultural Calendar
EXHIBITIONS AND LECTURES
Exhibition — MFA Thesis Exhibition, by Stewart Wright, Sunday through March 17 at the Art and Design Gallery.
Exhibition — Feathers and Fibers: The Natural and Supernatural in Amazonian Indian Belief, now through May 14 at the Museum of Anthropology in Spooner Hall.
Lecture — "History of the Piano," by Edward Kottick, 3:30 p.m. today at 402 Murphy Hall.
Exhibition - The Liberated Image: Photography since 1970 from the Tampa Museum of Art's Permanent Collection, now through Sunday at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Lecture — "Pots, Pot Makers, and Pot Users in the Chinese Neolithic: Why They Matter," by David Keightley, 2 p.m. Saturday at 103 Royal Hall, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo.
PERFORMANCES
Department of Music and Dance presents a doctoral recital featuring Steve Erickson, 7:30 tonight at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Department of Music and Dance presents an American Bandmasters Association Concert, 7:30 tonight and tomorrow at the Lied Center. Tickets $2 and $4.
University Theatre presents "Dancing at Lughnasa," 8 p.m. tomorrow, Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Tickets $4, $7 and $8.
Department of Music and Dance presents a faculty recital featuring Vince Gnojek, 7:30 p.m. Monday at Saworth Recital Hall.
Department of Music and Dance presents a doctoral chamber music recital featuring Kendra Kaufman, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Folly Theatre presents "Snow White," 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Sunday at Folly Theatre, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Mo. Tickets $7 and $9.