Gorgar Pinball

[Peace4905]

Great machine, great memories!

[DarkTwilightGuitar]

gorgar will eat you

[boxb0i]

My Uncle got one of these in his basement...he also got a slot machine.

[jannyrcobs]

I remember the first time I ever played GorGar, about 30 years ago. I walked into a darkened mall arcade, the lone occupant; I dropped in a coin, and then the son of a bitch started talking to me! It frightened the shit outta me.

[Nikkodemis]

I swear they designed this table to have the ball drain down the middle every time. I remember a little red 45 that I played on my record player. It was a promotional piece of vinyl indicating this was the first pinball to talk. I really miss these old tables. Video games in arcades just arent fun for me anymore.

[baarbear]

I like to think that the designers for the game got the idea for the main "demon" (if that's what Grogar is) from the title character from "Nosferatu".

[Goregoon]

☛ When this game came out, we all were skipping school and lining up to play the bugger (guess I'm showing my age a bit LoL)! I've owned one now for about 15 years but haven't played it in years due to a couple problems it seems to have. It has been dormant for aprx 5 years now. ;c( The main display is out but was playing it (player worked) but one day the free game popper froze and smoked then a year later I noticed the sounds weren't in sync, that scared me so I shut it down.

I ♥ my Gorgar!

[hypnodance]

I remember this game from when I was a kid! :D

[christian5327]

I was 8 years old when I first played this machine at a bowling alley...a few feet away were Missile Command, Asteroids, Buck Rogers Pinball and Astro Fighter. I would love a chance as a man pushing 40 to fight this demon and win!

[schieese]

Helloween rules!!! Gorgar will eaaattt youuuu. Gorgarrr will ahhhhhh.hey.

[newkillergenius]

Huh. Thought Black Hole beat Gorgar to the talkie market. Sweet machine!@!

[sanitarium09]

I hate this pin. 

[tdworak]

"Gorgar, beat meat!"

[waverly24]

ME GOT YOU...

[complexgrafix]

Asbury park nj has a classic pinball arcade that just opeaned..OMG!

[Robozgraggi]

Gorgar will eat you! :D

[Scike]

I used to like Dr. Who pinball. Played it at the bowling alley I played at as a kid.

[nightowl8936]

I've always wondered about the themes for pinball machines, and how people come up with them.

What is the story behind Gorgar and the people in the artwork? Are they in Hell and what was about to happen to the woman doing on the altar/platform before the hero came to get her?

I know that FirePower and its artwork apparently is inspired by the Death Star in Star Wars (read this on the net).

So I wonder where the theme and idea for Gorgar came from.

[animecrash2]

Good observation, Sci-fi themes were hot in the '70s, like your Star Wars reference. Many games were produced by all Pinball manufacturers because that was the trend. Today, the trend is popular movies/TV. Family Guy, Shrek, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones. The problem with this is the Licensing fees jack up the price of the machines. Gorgar clearly has a Biblical, sacrifical, Conan-esque inspiration.

[nightowl8936]

Repost from 10 months ago (me):

I loved all the pinballs made by Steve "I don't do cute" Ritchie ... Gorgar was one of them.

I love the "theme" of Gorgar, a horrible demon with a hot girl to rescue and skulls of previous would-be heros lying everywhere and some mounted on spikes.

And the way the demon looks is consistent with Christian views of what the Devil is supposed to look like in his true form.

So yeah, the theme visually is about Good vs. Evil in a pinball machine metaphor.

[nightowl8936]

Addendum:

Constantino Mitchell is credited with artwork for many pinball machines. Look him up on the pinside website.

And yes, I stand corrected (by Joelomite). Gorgar was designed by Barry Oursler.

And I found this on a net news archive:

"The theme, while dark and sinister, is very compelling. The machine assumes

the identity of the demon and challenges the player directly to subdue him, ... the backglass shows the reason you are trying to beat the demon is to save the girl."

[nightowl8936]

If pinballs were still being made today ... it would be great to have a pinball based on Jack Bauer and "24" ... so many elements from the show could find their way into a playfield.

But alas, even arcades are dying now. I guess the internet has killed not only a few newspaper chains, but arcades as well.

Perhaps the arcade phenomenon will come around again in a decade or two, when some new fangled technology thats too expensive for homes will become the rage for kids to play on again.

[Joelomite]

Don't know if you heard, but Stern just released a 24 pinball. I believe Steve Ritchie designed it too. I haven't played it, since like you said, arcades are going the way of the dinosaur.

I miss the days when WMS was still in business. They'd take their chances with original, unlicensed themes. Now it's just license after license after license....Ugh.

[cololover07]

Damn! I played this partcular pinball machine religiously as a kid! Great graphics and sound!

[RodmsnAsSeenOnVideo]

Love the heart sound.

[chrishackit]

awesome it brings back memorys wicked machine

[howardstern666]

I loved Gorgar as a kid! The heart beat that sped up as you got higher scores used to freak me out!

[mfuji00001]

allways thought he said fuck you at the top left XD

[rubent100]

and "gorgar beetch"

[mfuji00001]

with the volume turned up this game used to spook me when I was 9 XD

[lexlaw007]

I love my Gorgar --- I just need to find someone to fix it up.

[animecrash2]

whats wrong with it?

[lexlaw007]

It lights up but won't work --- I need to find a pinball machine repair person in KY.

[animecrash2]

Had the same problem at first. Was just a bad fuse. Check ALL the fuses and make sure the harnesses are firmly connected.

[lexlaw007]

Thanks animecrash2 --- will check the fuses and harnesses.  It's got the original back glass and everything and I've always loved the Gorgar and want to get it roaring again.

[nightowl8936]

"It lights up but won't work --- I need to find a pinball machine repair person in KY."

I got a better idea ... get yourself a Nintendo Wii and the "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection"

Oh yes, and a big barrel of Kentucky Fried Chicken! Munchy Crunchy!

And give some to Gorgar too.

[lexlaw007]

I will pass on that suggestion........nightowl8936­............I just want my Gorgar up and running. The video pinball options cannot compare.

[mickmos]

if your into pinball related things you should check out the song Gorgar by helloween. its about this pinball machine. And its a kick ass band.

[nightowl8936]

"if your into pinball related things..."

I like pondering the idea of a game theme, and how they take concepts from the game theme and make a playfield out of it for pinball.

I find that the most fascinating part of pinball; how the games are designed.

Steve Ritchie's games are immensely popular, probably because like Eugene Jarvis with videogames, he knew how to work within the limits of the technology to make an engaging game experience that empowers the player - IF you're good.

[trleft]

Did you know that Gorgar was the first talking pinball machine?

[lexlaw007]

I love my Gorgar machine! A great, hard pinball game! "Gorgar Speaks" and the beating heart --- very cool.

[CorporalDanLives]

MEEE GOT YOUUUU!

[Joelomite]

nightowl8936, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but Steve Ritchie did NOT design Gorgar. It was Barry Oursler who also designed Space Shuttle, Pinbot and others. It's still a great game with some badass devil artwork.

[nightowl8936]

"but Steve Ritchie did NOT design Gorgar. It was Barry Oursler..."

Oops ... well I DO like Barry's games too, Space Shuttle is one of my favorites.

I bought a used PlayStation2 (was gonna get a Wii) to play the Williams Pinball Classics on it, and also got the Gottlieb pinballs in the meantime.

Let me tell you, whether its Ritchie or Oursler on design, the Williams pinballs were by far the most interesting in terms of theme and implementation of the playfield.

[jp910]

500 word limit chopped my comment all to shit.

[jp910]

In 1980 I beat it like a rented mule. The flippers were very responsive and you could make them do about anything - the ball had to go perfectly down the middle for it to drain on you. I could catch the ball with the flipper and stop it cold, then let it roll down to sweet spot, flipping it wherever I needed it to go. When the ball threatened to go down the sides, a quick, gentle shake was all you needed to save it to the chute that fed it back to your flipper.

[jp910]

GORGAR SPEAKS!!!

[nightowl8936]

I loved all the pinballs made by Steve "I don't do cute" Ritchie ... Gorgar was one of them.

I love the "theme" of Gorgar, a horrible demon with a hot girl to rescue and skulls of previous would-be heros lying everywhere and some mounted on spikes.

And the way the demon looks is consistent with Christian views of what the Devil is supposed to look like in his true form.

So yeah, the theme visually is about Good vs. Evil in a pinball machine metaphor.

[Sheldon66]

This was a pathetic pinball machine! I was a pinball wizard when I was teenager but this game was very hard to play well.

[64mung]

Nice game! Love those early 80s Williams sounds.

[petemarj]

Nice machine, I also have a Gorgar and I only wished mine worked. Soon it will...