Developer Silverball Studios revealed its Pro Pinball series revival on Kickstarter last week with the admirable goal of creating "the ultimate pinball game" by adding a brand new table to the series crafted by renowned table designer Pat Lawlor. And yes, I nearly jumped out of my chair when "Pinball Wizard" started playing through my headphones as I typed this.
Released in 1995, Pro Pinball's original four tables - The Web, Timeshock!, Big Race USA, and Fantastic Journey - garnered an enthusiastic reception from pinball fans looking for a PC version of their favorite hobby. Adrian Barritt, once part of original developer Cunning Developments, wants his new studio Silverball to refine and revive Pro Pinball's tables after repurchasing the game's license.
Lawlor created the Addams Family and Twilight Zone tables, the latter considered the most successful pinball table ever made. I certainly recall my ears always catching that iconic finger-snap floating in the smoky haze of my arcade binges.
"This project is like a dream come true for me," Lawlor said in the Kickstarter campaign's video. "We can explore possibilities economically impossible in a standard pinball machine."
Silverball hopes to release a single remastered table in April, June, and August 2013. The fourth table, Big Race USA, is a free download on the Kickstarter page as a bonus for visitors. The new table has a slated October 2013 release.
Pro Pinball's funding goal rests at $400,000. Donor rewards include t-shirts, pins, badges, signed box copies of the original and new tables, and your portrait appearing on the backglass of the new table.
