Is your Pinball School up and running?
The Pinball School is an idea we floated out when the BHZA game was released for pre-sale. The idea is to bring on the new kids and teach them what we know about pinball and pinball design.
How did you hook up with Ben Heck on Zombie Adventureland?
Well I have seen Ben’s shows with Jeri Ellsworth, and they were always doing these pinball war episodes, bashing each other and stuff. But in one episode they were making ball guides from furnace sheet metal or something and I said "hey they are faking it, you can’t make ball guides from that!"...so I found Ben’s blog and posted that he should challenge a "real" pinball designer. He called me back the next day and invited me to his studio. Heck he even put me on the show as a "pinball guest". I was flattered really, but more so by "Team Hecks" passion for pinball and talent, drive and creative fun. These guys don’t have big egos, complain or anything, They just make pinball, and I said "hey can I come up here once in a while to work on my stuff?". Ben said sure.
After a while working (on Magic Girl) it dawned on me that someone (me) should make a game about Ben, he is like a mad inventor with all sorts of cool machines. So couple that with the idea that I always wanted to make an amusement park pinball...and retro zombies are cool (Ilike old B movies like Plan 9 and Night of the Living Dead)....and hey when you mix these all together it comes up looking pretty swell..!!! So they made fun of me for a while on this idea, but I put one of my artists on it and we started sketching. After Ben and Jones saw it, they went like "coooooolllll"....so that was good for me....and we geared it up a bit. Made a shirt for Pinball Expo with a QR tag (linked to the sketch) and in 3 days, after some Facebook action and Ben tweeting it up, we were on Engadget. Folks all like the idea and the trailer we made.
What makes Zombie Adventureland unique?
Easy I think, no pinball game has ever been made like this, in this new "team" concept that builds the bridge from the tech world (Ben lives in) and the retro traditional pinball world I am from. A perfect idea and a powerhouse "hip" theme. Also because we are a custom pinball builder, owners can get involved, send in ideas, change their games a bit and generally make a truly "unique" 
game built for them from our small team. They can even call me anytime and talk design, or go for a burger if they are in town. No other pinball maker has ever tried this. Also, we are making parts from 3D printers that owners can customize and include. We have a relationship with (MyRobotNation) for our owners to make a robot online in their design suite, then it’s sent to us to be bolted to each game. Each robot will be different!! People will be getting games that their other collector friends do not have. I think that’s really awesome!
How many did you make in the run, I read that it was to be limited to around 99?
Yes all the games are limited to small runs and numbers. We are not in the pinball manufacturing business, but small custom builders for collectors. We want the one-on-one relationship with our owners, they are not just a sale or serial number on a box.
How did you make each one unique? I know you’ve used the term ’custom’ when talking about them.
See above....pretty well we will listen to all owners and help them decide to "mod" their games more than the final designer verison we end up with. Also we have sold a DIY kit in the box. True modding junkies will get a game (in parts) and have to assemble it. Ben or myself will travel and spend the day with them to help too.
Will Ben Heck`s Zombie Adventureland be playable at Midwest Gaming Classic?
No. As this is a custom game we have to launch the program which will happen in April. All owners will receive their packages with more info and then decide to continue on or return their serial number. At that time once we have talked to all owners the design work will begin. It is a long hard process, creative but very challenging.
If we were to get a GDN version, we already have our robot, GamerPrime!
