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Episode 95 - Playfield Multipliers
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago56 min listen
Highlights
- Flash Gordon (1981) is the earliest game with a true playfield multiplier: a 15-second 2x or 3x multiplier
- Playfield multipliers were rare in the 1980s and 1990s but are now ubiquitous: present in nearly every modern game released
- Alan believes all games would be better without playfield multipliers because they function as a design crutch
- Whitewater has the best implementation of a playfield multiplier among modern games because it's risky, can't be farmed, and has a short timer
- Modern games are increasingly feature-bloated, with every title expected to have multiple wizard modes, bonus multipliers, playfield multipliers, shot multipliers, and hurry-ups
- Accidental multiplier pickups (slopping into targets while unaware) are a major problem in modern games that can swing game outcomes
- Gary Stern historically mandated design features (like three pop bumpers) across Stern games, similar to how Alan would decree a ban on playfield multipliers if he were in that position
- Bonus multipliers (collected at end-of-ball) are superior to playfield multipliers because they add risk via tilt danger and consistent scoring rules
- Dracula, despite being a classic DMD game, has no wizard mode and only three stackable multiballs: yet it's considered perfect design
- Long ball times are Alan's #1 gripe with modern pinball, exacerbated by playfield multipliers creating extended, low-consequence gameplay
Notable quotes
“playfield multipliers are just another scoring tool in the toolbox, in the same way that a multiball is or like modes are... it all comes down to the implementation”
“all games would be better without playfield multipliers... if you guys can't give risk and reward or properly weight a shot to feel super valuable, then you fucked up on the scoring. That's how I feel about playfield multipliers. Playfield multipliers are a crutch.”
“good pinball design is like a noob is going to go up there and just slap balls around and stuff's going to happen... if you have to rely on a multiplier, then you fucked up”
“it's up to you to use that playfield multiplier... what are you going to do with it? That's some of the kind of the beauty of it to me”
“Whitewater, to get the playfield multiplier, you have to get it as a whirlpool award. The only way to get it early is to hit the pop bumpers... the meanest pop bumpers in a Bally Williams DMD”
“even though those players won't ever see that fucking wizard mode, people will complain that there's not another one that they won't see”
“when you first start playing a game, if you're like playing Paragon or something on ball one... you'll shake the shit out of the game to keep the ball out of danger. But when it's ball three and you've got a bonus carrying over, you start wondering”
“the difference between those two games is Whitewater... you can't farm it. You have to go through every award... it won't let you do a 5x until you go through all of the whirlpool awards again”
“I think when playfield multipliers are used well, they're really cool. But they have the potential to kind of throw a game out of whack”
“if I was Gary Stern, my rule would be like, no more playfield multipliers. The games are going to be better.”
Entities
- Deadpool· game
- Dracula· game
- Flash Gordon· game
- Ghostbusters· game
- Guardians of the Galaxy· game
- Munsters· game
- Myst· game
- Paragon· game
- Pulp Fiction· game
- Rick and Morty· game
- Spider-Man· game
- Star Wars· game
- Stranger Things· game
- Tag Team· game
- TNA (Total Nuclear Annihilation)· game
- Whitewater· game
- Wedgehead Pinball Podcast· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex· person
- Dwight Sullivan· person
- Gary Stern· person
- Karl DeAngelo· person
- Ko-fi· product
