I did a panel on pinball sound history with Chris Granner at pinball expo one year. In our discussions before hand Chris told me an interesting story about how the PinBot High Score theme (which was actually composed by Bill Parod) was slated to be the Main Play theme. The design team decided it didn't sound "too deep into space enough" so Chris wrote the a new main theme that was far more "out there" than what ended up being the high score music. Both really interesting compositions at a time when FM synthesis was a relatively new technology being used on games.
That's really interesting! I always tough of the highscore theme as a masterpiece. Great to know this wasn't cutted and used at least as a highscore theme. You feel a million for entering your initials on this machine! System 11 don't have DCS, but boy how wonderful is the sound system (space station another fav o'mine) :)
Brendan Bailey My intro to Pin-Bot game for NES. I played it years before I knew Pin-Bot was actually a real table. Anyway, they chose that high score theme for the title screen. Overall, the NES port had an excellent recreation f the table's soundtrack, and even added a couple more, like one for locking the first ball in the visor.
This is my favorite game music of all time. It's like sonic speed. Chris Granner is the composer. I contacted him years ago and told him how much I love the music. Fantastic. Perfect for Sci-Fi. I never even played the game more than once or twice, but the music really caught my ear. Syntheseismic!
You can emulate ROMs through PinMAME and put the 'machine' in diagnostic mode to navigate to the sound test like you would on the physical system 11 game. It is typically what I do when I get in the mood to hear the theme and I'm not being lazy. I too remember the thump of the subwoofer to this date and it is one of the fondest memories I have of that machine.
This table and it's sequel 'Bride of Pinbot' are available in the PC (and, I believe, Xbox and PS3) pinball simulator 'Pinball Arcade'. That's where I discovered this amazing table! Just figured some would want to know...
true. usually when most people play a pinball video game, the last thing they wanted was random agitators which affected their gameplay, but after later pinball games came out such as the original Pokemon Pinball and Metroid Prime Pinball, everyone was ok with it.
All modern Williams pinballs used a CVSDM ic for their digital speech synthesis. It stands for “Continually Variable Slope Delta Modulation”. I did some designing with this chip too. It’s a “telephony” chip that uses a single bit for data, a sampling clock pin, and an UP/DOWN pin. The output sample quality wasn’t great, about 1K ~ 3Khz, but that is the quality of telephone sound reproduction too. The principle is that the output “tracks” the wave by ramping up or down.
6:02-7:59, the Gaming Weekly Awards closing theme song, composed by the late Milton DeLugg and Larry Grossman and orchestrated by DeLugg, Elliot Lawrence, the late Jimmie Haskell, Chuck Bird, the late Leonard "Lenny" Stack, the late Peter Matz, Dennis McCarthy, Harold Wheeler, the late Jack Parnell, the late Ralph Burns, the late Tommy Oliver and Ray & Marc Ellis, which is still in use today at the close of every Gaming Weekly Awards telecast since the first one in 1981!
would you happen to have or know of any links to that version of the song ? I can NOT get tired of it ...Thanks In advance .. I looked for it but cant find it
But at least that song is played whenever hosts sign-off every 🥇 shows and 👋🏻 the audience and viewers goodnight! For example: “We wanna thank all the nominees and all the winners and 🤞 that you losers who won all the awards are married to openly-gay people! (Laughter) GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY! SEE YA NEXT YEAR! (Closing theme plays)”-Gaming Weekly Awards host. (Insert fee plugs and awards disclaimer) Sample credits: Executive Producers: Ryan Seacrest, Larry Klein, Ricky Kirshner Co-Executive Producers: Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens Supervising Producer: Jason Seligman Produced by Renee Paquette, Catherine A. Kelley and Donald A. Mattrick Directed by: Elizabeth Gillies Writing Supervised by: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Written by: David Henrie, Chris Colfer, Dave Boone, Adam Beechen, Rebecca Quin-Lopez, Jessica McKay, Cassie Macintosh-Spears, Frank Ramirez, Peter Oldring, Scott McCord, Rachel Wilson, Stephanie Anne Mills, Mark Waxman and Ed Koskey Associate Producer: Ed Martin Executive in Charge of Production: Jim Roush Production Designers: Tracy Hutson, Karen Murphy and Catherine Martin Original Gaming Weekly Awards Set Design: Anthony Sabatino, William H. Harris and Ray Klausen Musical Director: Pinar Toprak Choreography by: Whitney Carson and Lindsay Arnold Announcer: Dee Bradley Baker Lighting Designers: Bob Dickinson and Simon Miles
This pinball machine is amazing. I actually own one, all original with red light topper #02001 machine. The plasma displays no longer work on it is the only thing wrong with it. I’m looking to buy the System11 digital display kit from PinScore in original orange color to keep it as authentic as possible. It’s is currently folder and crated.
Yeah, Plasma displays are slowly dieing out because of how they were made in the 70s and 80s and Pinbot's is like 37 years old now. I got one as a concession for my new house and I already have them on my "Get ready to replace them" list as they are the original ones. And getting New, Old Stock is just borrowing time as those will go bad eventually
As I recall 1 is start, something like 5 or 6 are coin drop... all the buttons/switches on the front of the machine and behind the coin door (like the diag/menu buttons) are on the number key row. PinMAME's demo app will usually also have a table of switches and stuff and show the lamp/driver outputs.
for some reason, the high-score theme reminds me of the entrance theme for The Undertaker in some sections of the tune. as for the game, i never played the actual table, but i do own the NES incarnation which features those "cute when they're small, but irritating when full grown" blobs, along with other enviromental agitators.
In the year 20XX, mankind relied on creating robots that their world was filthy and uninhabitable. The human race, wanting to travel to new horizons, funded the creation of a major superweapon known as Pin*Bot. The makers of Pin*Bot took inspiration from old Pinball Machines from back in the day. Their goal was to make a sentient robot that would help them travel around the cosmos in search of earth like planets. But Pin*Bot has other plans, to take over the universe.
After the events of the first pinball game, The Machine is being built by the help of the humans. She metamorphised into a real human during the process but turned back into a robot shortly after.
I actually liked the NES version, and I think if they changed how the sun was lit, they could have implemented the blob monster in that they could have put a weaker stop magnet where the sun is (like a weaker Spiral Helper magnet from Twilight Zone to avoid having too many player deaths from it).
I did a panel on pinball sound history with Chris Granner at pinball expo one year. In our discussions before hand Chris told me an interesting story about how the PinBot High Score theme (which was actually composed by Bill Parod) was slated to be the Main Play theme. The design team decided it didn't sound "too deep into space enough" so Chris wrote the a new main theme that was far more "out there" than what ended up being the high score music. Both really interesting compositions at a time when FM synthesis was a relatively new technology being used on games.
That's really interesting! I always tough of the highscore theme as a masterpiece. Great to know this wasn't cutted and used at least as a highscore theme. You feel a million for entering your initials on this machine!
System 11 don't have DCS, but boy how wonderful is the sound system (space station another fav o'mine) :)
Was the high score theme used in a movie by any chance.. I LOVE it!
Brendan Bailey My intro to Pin-Bot game for NES. I played it years before I knew Pin-Bot was actually a real table. Anyway, they chose that high score theme for the title screen. Overall, the NES port had an excellent recreation f the table's soundtrack, and even added a couple more, like one for locking the first ball in the visor.
In fact, Pinbot, game #549, was Williams' FIRST to have FM sound with a YM2151 sound IC. Prior to this, was High Speed, which had more crude music
And the Pin*Bot high score theme is still used as the closing theme of the Gaming Weekly Awards to this day!
1. main theme 0:00
2. visor theme 2:14
3. linkup theme 2:50
4. multiball 3:44
5. shoot for solar value 5:35
6. high score theme 6:00
"I..am in your control". "Partial Link-Up." "Now..I...See...You." "Energy Transferred." "We control the Universe."
I want to thank you so much for posting this. This truly is my childhood.
This is my favorite game music of all time. It's like sonic speed. Chris Granner is the composer. I contacted him years ago and told him how much I love the music. Fantastic. Perfect for Sci-Fi. I never even played the game more than once or twice, but the music really caught my ear. Syntheseismic!
Wow, this sounds so much different than the NES port that I grew up playing! I like it a lot!
6:02
high score theme is a masterpiece
And it’s STILL used as the closing theme song for the Gaming Weekly Awards to this very day, since it’s inception in 1981!
@Rich J Yes but I would say the whole "swords of fury" soundtrack is a masterpiece.
Abso fucking lutely
So much so that it was the main menu theme of the NES version (which got a pretty out of place new High Score theme)
You can emulate ROMs through PinMAME and put the 'machine' in diagnostic mode to navigate to the sound test like you would on the physical system 11 game. It is typically what I do when I get in the mood to hear the theme and I'm not being lazy. I too remember the thump of the subwoofer to this date and it is one of the fondest memories I have of that machine.
Pinbots circuits activating for 2019 & going strong
mutliball is such a friggin banger
This is a Godsend! Thanks for doing such a great job with this.
This table and it's sequel 'Bride of Pinbot' are available in the PC (and, I believe, Xbox and PS3) pinball simulator 'Pinball Arcade'. That's where I discovered this amazing table! Just figured some would want to know...
true. usually when most people play a pinball video game, the last thing they wanted was random agitators which affected their gameplay, but after later pinball games came out such as the original Pokemon Pinball and Metroid Prime Pinball, everyone was ok with it.
All modern Williams pinballs used a CVSDM ic for their digital speech synthesis. It stands for “Continually Variable Slope Delta Modulation”. I did some designing with this chip too. It’s a “telephony” chip that uses a single bit for data, a sampling clock pin, and an UP/DOWN pin. The output sample quality wasn’t great, about 1K ~ 3Khz, but that is the quality of telephone sound reproduction too. The principle is that the output “tracks” the wave by ramping up or down.
Do you know who programmed Williams' FM sound engine for their arcade/pinball games? I assume it's the same driver for both?
3:45 Masterpiece. As brutal as this machine is, this is worth it.
+pinballwiz45b I can see a slightly darker version of the multiball theme as a Devo song.
+KlyddianWarlord Which Devo song is similar to Pinbot's multiball ?
+KidPunk16 None that I know of, just meant that it sounded very similar to Devo.
Outlaaaaaaanes!
Torcularis I love Pin-Bot, but those outlanes can suck it!
Not a single dislike for this video, this is as it should be.
PinBot had 12,000 made. It really set the defacto standard for new pins as everyone else wanted their pins to sell that well.
Chris Granner is a f*****g genius!
6:02-7:59, the Gaming Weekly Awards closing theme song, composed by the late Milton DeLugg and Larry Grossman and orchestrated by DeLugg, Elliot Lawrence, the late Jimmie Haskell, Chuck Bird, the late Leonard "Lenny" Stack, the late Peter Matz, Dennis McCarthy, Harold Wheeler, the late Jack Parnell, the late Ralph Burns, the late Tommy Oliver and Ray & Marc Ellis, which is still in use today at the close of every Gaming Weekly Awards telecast since the first one in 1981!
would you happen to have or know of any links to that version of the song ? I can NOT get tired of it ...Thanks In advance .. I looked for it but cant find it
But at least that song is played whenever hosts sign-off every 🥇 shows and 👋🏻 the audience and viewers goodnight!
For example:
“We wanna thank all the nominees and all the winners and 🤞 that you losers who won all the awards are married to openly-gay people! (Laughter) GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY! SEE YA NEXT YEAR! (Closing theme plays)”-Gaming Weekly Awards host.
(Insert fee plugs and awards disclaimer)
Sample credits:
Executive Producers: Ryan Seacrest, Larry Klein, Ricky Kirshner
Co-Executive Producers: Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens
Supervising Producer: Jason Seligman
Produced by Renee Paquette, Catherine A. Kelley and Donald A. Mattrick
Directed by: Elizabeth Gillies
Writing Supervised by: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
Written by: David Henrie, Chris Colfer, Dave Boone, Adam Beechen, Rebecca Quin-Lopez, Jessica McKay, Cassie Macintosh-Spears, Frank Ramirez, Peter Oldring, Scott McCord, Rachel Wilson, Stephanie Anne Mills, Mark Waxman and Ed Koskey
Associate Producer: Ed Martin
Executive in Charge of Production: Jim Roush
Production Designers: Tracy Hutson, Karen Murphy and Catherine Martin
Original Gaming Weekly Awards Set Design: Anthony Sabatino, William H. Harris and Ray Klausen
Musical Director: Pinar Toprak
Choreography by: Whitney Carson and Lindsay Arnold
Announcer: Dee Bradley Baker
Lighting Designers: Bob Dickinson and Simon Miles
No problem, glad I was able to make your birthday that more enjoyable! :)
I use the music for my ringtone. Thanks for the video upload :D
Pinbot stranded! Oh, wait that's in another title.😊
This pinball machine is amazing. I actually own one, all original with red light topper #02001 machine. The plasma displays no longer work on it is the only thing wrong with it. I’m looking to buy the System11 digital display kit from PinScore in original orange color to keep it as authentic as possible. It’s is currently folder and crated.
Yeah, Plasma displays are slowly dieing out because of how they were made in the 70s and 80s and Pinbot's is like 37 years old now. I got one as a concession for my new house and I already have them on my "Get ready to replace them" list as they are the original ones. And getting New, Old Stock is just borrowing time as those will go bad eventually
thanks, reminds me of playing this at the Santa Rosa bowling ally in 80's
Man, I love this music, I love even more when my own PinBot interrupts it while I listen XD
Hey, I just realized this was uploaded on my birthday. Thanks for the awesome present! :D
Cool redo of a great game thanks for the upload kind of wish they had Jack Bot and Bride of of Pin Bot for 8 bit NES
As I recall 1 is start, something like 5 or 6 are coin drop... all the buttons/switches on the front of the machine and behind the coin door (like the diag/menu buttons) are on the number key row. PinMAME's demo app will usually also have a table of switches and stuff and show the lamp/driver outputs.
I heard about the NES version, some people didn't like it because of its new features. Thanks for your comment. :)
Thank you!
💗🙏🏼
All this made humanly possible by Williams
i played pinbot when i was a kid back in 2003
PinBot is father of "Duft Punk"
Great job
Cracapuia
You are my hero!
Hi score theme is so awesome! :D
You're welcome!
pinbot circuits 2017 activated!!.....~ pinbot pinball 1987 robot voice
this is great!
I swear the high score theme screams Daft Punk doing their soundtrack from Tron. Ha, Williams beat you by nearly 30 years!
That high score theme is pretty mind blowing!
David Wise's version of these compositions is so chill by comparison.
It sure is. :)
for some reason, the high-score theme reminds me of the entrance theme for The Undertaker in some sections of the tune. as for the game, i never played the actual table, but i do own the NES incarnation which features those "cute when they're small, but irritating when full grown" blobs, along with other enviromental agitators.
I try my best. Thanks! :)
I have a theory to what the entire lore behind Pin*Bot is.. I'll keep you all updated on it in this comment's comment section.
In the year 20XX, mankind relied on creating robots that their world was filthy and uninhabitable. The human race, wanting to travel to new horizons, funded the creation of a major superweapon known as Pin*Bot. The makers of Pin*Bot took inspiration from old Pinball Machines from back in the day. Their goal was to make a sentient robot that would help them travel around the cosmos in search of earth like planets. But Pin*Bot has other plans, to take over the universe.
The humans also designed The Machine in hopes of making Pin*Bot benefit mankind. A compromise between the humans and robots.
After the events of the first pinball game, The Machine is being built by the help of the humans. She metamorphised into a real human during the process but turned back into a robot shortly after.
Now that Pin*Bot and The Machine helped mankind find new frontiers, the two go on a honeymoon to gamble. And thus, Jack*Bot begins.
Both Pin*Bot and The Machine were used as transportation vessels for the humans.
Looks like the NES game was a pretty good auditory representation.
I actually liked the NES version, and I think if they changed how the sun was lit, they could have implemented the blob monster in that they could have put a weaker stop magnet where the sun is (like a weaker Spiral Helper magnet from Twilight Zone to avoid having too many player deaths from it).
Pinbots circuits activated strong during the coronavirus, heavily secured with fire fox protection (anti virus protector) 2020
Good deal! Enjoy :-)