Episode 17 - Extra Button Gimmicks
Podcast
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast
41 min
Summary
Wedgehead explores pinball's extra button gimmicks and their impact on gameplay.
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast discusses extra button gimmicks in pinball machines with guest Jess DiNardo, a pinball technician who recently joined Barrels of Fun. The hosts and guest explore action buttons, magna saves, ball kickers, diverters, shifter mechanisms, and flex saves, emphasizing that the best gimmicks give players manual control and maintain game flow rather than interrupting play.
Highlights
- Every modern Stern game now comes standard with an action button on the lockdown bar
- Jess DiNardo moved to Houston to work in quality control and assembly at Barrels of Fun after meeting them at Expo
- The original Black Knight magna save button placement (side of cabinet) makes more intuitive sense than the lockdown bar placement on Black Knight Rage
- Getaway High Speed's shifter knob is arguably the best interactive alternate launch mechanism
- Action buttons on Star Wars interrupt game flow by forcing players to pause play and navigate menus to move multipliers
In this episode
Black Knight 2000
Williams
Hardbody
Bally
Jungle Lord
Williams
Medusa
Bally
Tales from the Crypt
Data East
The Shadow
Bally
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