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Episode 243: Haggis Pinball update

PodcastAnalysis updated yesterday25 min listen
From the creator

Damian Hartin and Greg Sealby talk about the latest on their first pinball machine, Celts: Let The Games Begin. Plus they talk about their upcoming trip to 2 big pinball events in the U.S., and a...

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Highlights

  • Damian Hartin started Haggis Pinball and Celts development in January 2019, approximately 13 months before the interview (making it roughly early 2020)
  • Haggis Pinball has developed a hybrid playfield substrate combining 9mm plywood and 4.5mm acrylic with cast printed substrate that eliminates dimpling, pooling, and chipping
  • The acrylic playfield surface has been tested with a ball rolling across it 60,000-70,000 times over 2.5 days with zero marks or scratches
  • Greg Sealby joined Haggis Pinball as programmer/designer after meeting Damien at a tournament around the start of 2019
  • Celts features customizable clan selection with personalized nameplate, tartan colors, coat of arms/shield, and surname callouts on backglass and in light shows
  • The physical playfield design has remained largely static from the TPF 2019 whitewood to current build, with only minor adjustments (five drop targets reduced to four)
  • Celts includes multiple game modes: Beat the Board, Storm the Gates, Tug of War, Hit the High Notes, Haggis Multiball, Highland Games, Lady of the Lake, and clan battles
  • Australian players Martin Robbins and Ryan C from Head to Head A A Pinball Podcast have provided playtesting feedback and made design suggestions that were implemented
  • Damian Hartin has been working 7 days a week, approximately 10 hours a day for nearly 18 months on this project
  • Haggis Pinball will attend both Texas Texas Pinball Festival and MGC in the same trip, with the MGC visit coming the week after TPF

Notable quotes

“You're hired.”
Damian Hartin
“I didn't come all this way just to come all this way.”
Damien Harton (referencing someone else's phrase)
“No dimpling, no pooling, no chipping ever. I'm seeing it firsthand. In fact, I'm going to walk over right now with a hammer in hand, all right?”
Damian Hartin
“This is art that you can play.”
Damian Hartin
“I'm a big fan of what you're doing, of you personally, of your passion, of your team. And I want to see this succeed because I can only imagine where this can go from here.”
“It's probably done about 60,000 or 70,000 passes of that ball on that piece of acrylic. and there's not one single mark.”
Damian Hartin
“We know how we can resolve the pooling issue, but the reality of the dimpling issue is still a large reality. And look, like most things, I suppose it's predominantly a commercial reality that it's a problem because if you wanted to spend 10 or 20 times the cost of manufacture for a playfield, I'm sure we could resolve it.”
Damian Hartin
“I know people that buy machines and, heaven forbid, play them. Yeah. They don't play them because they can't... It's art.”

Entities

  • Haggis Pinball· company
  • Spooky Pinball· company
  • MGC· event
  • Texas Pinball Festival (TPF)· event
  • Celts: Let the Games Begin· game
  • Haggis Pinball· organization
  • Head to Head Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Pinball Profile· organization
  • Damian Hartin· person
  • Dr. John Cosson· person
  • Emily Cosson· person
  • Greg Silby· person
  • Keith Elwin· person
  • Martin Robbins· person

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