Get Off My Lawn!

I love spending time with guests up in the Pinball Loft, especially when they are interested in the history of Pinball or to simply watch them really enjoy playing the game.

Alternatively, when I get the occasional younger visitor, I’m invariably disappointed to learn that they simply don’t care about pinball

I’ve had enough folks visit the loft over the past few years to notice a few things about the above situation. I’ll start with the positives. When a new guest pops their head into the Loft, it’s always the same “Disneyworld” type response. Wow! Holy crap! Whaaaaaaaat?? You’re kidding ME! My gosh! … and a dozen other superlatives. I absolutely love to see their faces when they peek around the corner after the long climb up the staircase and see 40 games lit up and a life size Spiderman and Iron man watching over them. It still puts a smile on my face to have them experience the same wonder that I experience when I’m around Pinball.

Once in a while, but not often, one of those visitors will be a “player”. Someone that’s been around Pinball and played the game. If they haven’t fallen in love with it, then they have at least mastered some of the basic skills and they enjoy the game. I absolutely adore spending time with these “interested and capable” players. They don’t have to be accomplished on the skill side, but flipping with one flipper at a time is a great foundation. With even that basic skill, the 2 of us can enjoy a few games while accomplishing objectives along the way. After all, “playing the game” is all about getting somewhere, stacking up a score, etc. When I get to play with someone that can do that – whatever their overall skill level, it’s a joy. We are connecting on the same wavelength – playing Pinball, achieving game success and learning about each other along the way. Love it!

Younger folks, on the other hand just don’t seem to care. Not all of them, but in my small sampling – “most” are not interested. I’m instantly deflated when I sense this. Don’t get me wrong. If the young person plays NO games (not video games, nor outdoor sports) then so be it. They may be adverse to the competitive nature of games. I may not understand that but can appreciate the fact that they are not competitive. I’m talking about the youngsters that DO play games/sports. They are competitive. Many play video games for hours on end. In fact, statistics show that over 70% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids play video games on a regular basis. For some of these kids, it’s as much a social event (though it’s done online) as it is “gaming”. While I can appreciate the interest in video gaming (I played a bit in my college years long ago), I don’t understand the “ho-hum” response to Pinball. Not at all.

After all, Pinball provides everything that video gaming does and so much more. Socializing? Sure … you’re in the same room! Yes, I understand that during a single Pinball game you are playing alone, but multi-player games allow you to at least compete for score. Video wins here to some extent because in the virtual world, you compete “real time” against other people – in Pinball, it’s turn based. Maybe I give a point here to video for being more direct in a competitive nature. When it comes to unique gameplay, Pinball gets the nod. Every game is analogue, every game is one-of-a-kind unique. Video can’t deliver that (though it can appear to). Pinball’s physicality also gives it a check mark in the win column. It’s real, not digital. You can see, touch and work on the game. You sometimes have to travel to play one. It invites you INTO the real world, not OUT of it like video games do. Again, nothing wrong with a virtual world. I worry though that some younger people might get lost in it.

We had some relatives visit last year. Their 22 year old son was with them. His reaction when seeing the Loft for the first time was almost the same as others – if a little muted. He still had a smile on his face, but if a face could have a “comma”, his did. After that “comma” were the words “so what”. Not in a snarky way, but in a “doesn’t mean that much to me” way. He played a game of Ghostbusters, shrugged he shoulders, struggled to make eye contact (or any form of contact) and asked if he could be excused. His 3 minutes in the Loft were over. He didn’t get it and he didn’t care about it. He was respectful, but wanted no more of it. Like I said, I’m saddened by that. It’s not the first time it’s happened (or the 2nd). This is a pattern I see repeated in my interactions with younger folks even outside the Loft and Pinball community. No, I’m not referring to the lack of love for Pinball, but the the fact that social skills seem to be on the wane. I’m not sure why. It might be the sometimes isolated world of video gaming, it might be that ALL of us spend a lot of time staring at our phones. Now before this turns into a “get off my lawn” diatribe, I’ll share that I also know many folks (young and old) who play video games and are highly socialized, great communicators and have a variety of interests alongside video gaming (including Pinball). This commentary is more about the disappointment I feel when I share something I love with someone that could care less. I’m not really worried about the “next generation” and the “future of Pinball”. It’s not a judgmental moment for me either. They either like Pinball or they don’t. I’m curious as to why …

• Why don’t they see the stunning artwork, glorious sounds and insane LED light shows?
• Why don’t they appreciate the randomness or the analogue experience?
• Why don’t they want to control the ball and bend the machine to their will?
• Why don’t they get excited to “play for free”?

In other words … why don’t they respond like ‘I would have” when I was 17 years old?
Probably a lot of reasons. Some of which I may get right in the next few thoughts – most of which I’ll probably miss (I’m not 17 anymore).

I think the free play part is a lot about the different era’s we are living in. When I was a kid in the 70’s entertainment was found OUTSIDE the home. Many homes didn’t even have a way to play music. Those families wealthy enough to afford a record player had just a few records (see image of my Mom and Dad’s Magnavox console). If you wanted to hear a favorite you “waited” to hear it played on the radio OR you played it on a Jukebox at a bar or diner. You WENT to the movies, you did not play a movie on your DVD player or stream it via Apple TV. Much of the structured entertainment of years past was “pay as you play”. Today, our homes are entertainment centric. Pick any movie and stream it on demand. Pick any video game and play it when you feel like it. Pick any song and hear it when you want to hear it and where you want to listen. Today’s entertainment is pay in advance (buy the console, monthly subscription) and consume as you wish. Free Play means nothing to today’s 17 year old. All of his entertainment is “free play” (with a small monthly fee that he may or may not be paying).

How about all that art, those lights and sound? As good as it is in all of it’s “right in your face real” glory, it can’t really compete with the digital world can it? The impossible IS possible in the digital world. Colors can be digitally saturated. Movement can be enhanced. Sounds are reproduced in the highest fidelity and pumped directly into the ears via headsets. The modern video game presentation is a high end, Hollywood capable production designed to work perfectly and flawlessly to great effect. The modern pinball game, is more an assemblage of those 3. Imagery, where it relates most to the game is rarely looked at (DMD or LED panel in the backbox). The visual elements that do the MOST communicating to the player are “blinking lights” for gosh sakes. The lights, the sounds and the imagery on the display are all delivered on independent platforms. The video games digital platform forces (very effectively) all of these elements to move/behave together. This is both a disadvantage for Pinball and at the same time, what makes it so unique. When Pinball pulls it off, it’s magic. Unfortunately, video gaming has an advantage embedded in its platform.

My last point is to address why there seems to be little interest in the gameplay. Why some young players just don’t care to want to “play well”. One word. Fantasy. I think Pinball will always struggle to “take you somewhere else”. It’s less immersive than a video game. I’m not sure I want it to be. After all, in Pinball you are playing a physical game. Though the goals and the theme may change, you are always left with a silver steel ball and some flippers to get the job done. You KNOW you are playing a physical game. You are AWARE at almost all times that you are standing in front of a plywood box. Yes, we all get “lost” sometimes in the moment. When the call-outs on Lord of the Rings Pinball game scream “To War!” … for a ever so brief moment, you might just think of yourself as one of good guys ready to fight to the death, but then you see the blinking lights and you know your real mission is to hit those shots, not swing a sword. Video games are different, they are MEANT to immerse you. They are DESIGNED to push you away from reality into the fantasy of the game. They tell stories in a way that even when poorly accomplished, are still recognizable and enjoyable. Pinball can’t win here. Pinball CAN improve here (think JJP Guns ‘n Roses concert in a box) and MUST get better at gluing together it’s disparate elements into a more cohesive story – but ultimately is outmatched by a game that has VIDEO as it’s primary delivery mode for gameplay.

• Am I angry and upset about all this? No.
• Do I think “kids today” are lacking something I had when I was their age? No.
• Do I hate video games and think they are the beginning of the end of civilized society? No.

I do wonder though where this all leads. I wonder if the new digital world of entertainment is “better” than the analogue age I grew up with. I’m not sure. After all, escapism can be found in many things – from drugs/alcohol to untold variations of other (less destructive) forms of entertainment. I know it appears that I set this conversation up as video games vs pinball. It was done simply to compare the two and potentially discover the strengths of each. Young and old alike have a huge variety of entertainment to choose from and “not choosing” pinball does not immediately translate to “dislike”. After all, I was almost 50 years old before I discovered my love of the game. If pinball is to remain a viable form of entertainment into the future, it requires that a new generation of players discover the same thing I did – a love and appreciation for a hands-on game, that in its modern form, has brought joy to so many for more than 75 years.

I hope they do.