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About the Cheese table... What if the bionic arm was changeable? At certain locations the grappling hook upgrade would let you fire it and it would attach itself to a post. Inertia would carry the ball in an arch, helping you to hit certain difficult to reach targets and you could press the launch button again to release it. The jetpack upgrade would make the ball hover slightly above the board letting you use another layer of flippers to get otherwise impossible to reach targets and ramps, but the ball would move really fast so it would be harder to control with precision. The spring boots upgrade would make the ball bounce like crazy. All upgrades would be limited in some way, maybe with duration or use, and could be turned off and on with the launch button.
I'll throw out a few more random ideas.
11) Quarry. Think Minecraft mixed with Katamari. The board is made of layers that can be removed by the ball, in certain modes. You have to dig through the table to find minerals and precious gems. Similar to Epic Quest the log of your overall collection of rocks will be kept from game to game, but finds from past games do not effect your current scoring very much. You start removing layers from the surface of the world and work your way down to lava. The ball itself changes color/texture as it removes layers. You can get a power-up that lets you press the launch button to explode the ball like TNT to remove larger sections. Of course the table doesn't actually get holes in it, but the graphics of the surface change to indicate that you are going down.
12) Designer. You start with a basic table and as you play you unlock alternate pieces (ramps, lanes, etc) that can replace pieces on the table. You edit the table when you're not playing it. You can send the table to friends whenever you want to and upload it to ZEN during competition times. You can't set scoring or create modes. You can apply pre-made graphic sets so the table doesn't look too haphazard. It's not a full table creation program, but it would let you change the table and that's something that could be very interesting.
13) We need a table with a little more sex appeal. I'm not talking about nudity or anything vulgar, but what about a Vegas style table with mini games on the main table like blackjack and roulette where if you win it makes ladies at the top of the table dance and do other things like that. It could be set in a saloon in the old US 'western' times. Wizard mode would be a bar fight. There could be a mini table for a shootout in the streets where you have to draw/fire the ball after 10 paces (ie a timed event). Multiball cow herding into the corral. ..and babes! Don't forget the sexy dancing women!
14) Area 51. A UFO crashes into the table near the beginning of the game, similar to how a ship lands on the Mars table. The seven aliens are taken to different locations (labs) and you have to complete modes to rescue them (locking them at different locations around the board). Once all have been freed (locked) the Wizard mode is to get them safely away to an extraction zone.
15) When Koala's Attack! Some intelligent giraffes figured their way out of the zoo, leaving behind open gates and letting free the other animals. Each ball you get looks like an animal and has to be locked back into it's proper cage, after completing certain tasks with it.
16) Magnetic Personality. Hard to explain, but think Maxx Headroom mixed with a 1980's perspective of the future and space travel. There are no flippers, just magnets under the board. Four of them are always available and the others can be unlocked by completing missions in order (using each new set to unlock the next mode). An electronic guide character appears on the table to help you along the way. His humor is based on British wit and his ego is enormous. He often makes jokes about your playing when you miss things or loose a ball. The table surface is pitch black and everything (including lanes and ramps) appear on the surface as drawings (think a Star Trek L CARS control panel, but bright neon like Tron). Star fields and other graphics scroll like screen savers across the table surface, certain motion patterns will intentionally make it difficult to complete certain modes. After completing Wizard mode the table's graphics are reset, after a grand display (think the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey). Making the entire table a digital panel will enable the developers to change anything at any time without having to worry about the limitations of 3D models or the animated transitions.
17) Go Go Super Happy Pinball Fun! An ultimately silly Japanese game show style table. No English audio or text. No explanations or rule sheet. You have to figure out how to score on it by yourself (or in a few months after release if you cheat and look online for answers :P). The modes would be setup like skill tests. The table is a large field. It's like the size of 5 tables wide but you only see one table view at a time. The ball would be stopped and moved to a different location for each mode or it could transition to the adjacent table via a single lane that's unlocked after completing something. Think 'Doritos Crash Course' but with pinball. You can make the ball jump by pressing launch. Sink your mind into that for a while.
18) We start with a fumbling awkward cube instead of a ball. As the table progresses, the 'ball' smooths into a ball. The edges are slowly knocked off piece by piece as it changes through each major polygon shape. This is not a full table idea, just a partial concept of new physics that may be interesting.
19) High Tide. I know I've talked about water on the table before, but another similar idea is to have the water at the bottom of the table and it extends upwards at high tide, which happens somewhat often. The table theme could be a 1950's beach bash, with (of course) ladies in bikini's, the bully who kicks sand in your eyes, a lifeguard who warns you of the tide and sharks that can take your ball.. instead of the standard drain at the bottom, this table has a drain on the left and right sides. As you finish more modes, the water level raises higher and higher on the table. Eventually the Wizard Mode will be underwater and you'll have to complete it to clear the beach and bring back the party!
20) ZEN. A different way to think about pinball. A peaceful board made of a sand surface, with flowing water trickling over pebbles along the sides, beautiful soft oriental music, Cherry trees with falling pink petals... etc. The ball moves slower than normal and it makes patterns in the sand as it moves. Each mission is very simple. Scoring is low but the table is easy. You get 5 balls (lives/turns) to start with and extra balls are in abundance. Mantras and positive affirmations are on the audio as you complete target banks and modes. Achieving ZEN (ie Wizard Mode) would also be easier than normal. Graphically your ball would change as you play, slowly going from black marble to stone to jade to ... etc ... to clear glass that gives off prismatic light from the center. It's not about getting a high score. It's about having fun and enjoying the game.
I'll throw out a few more random ideas.
11) Quarry. Think Minecraft mixed with Katamari. The board is made of layers that can be removed by the ball, in certain modes. You have to dig through the table to find minerals and precious gems. Similar to Epic Quest the log of your overall collection of rocks will be kept from game to game, but finds from past games do not effect your current scoring very much. You start removing layers from the surface of the world and work your way down to lava. The ball itself changes color/texture as it removes layers. You can get a power-up that lets you press the launch button to explode the ball like TNT to remove larger sections. Of course the table doesn't actually get holes in it, but the graphics of the surface change to indicate that you are going down.
12) Designer. You start with a basic table and as you play you unlock alternate pieces (ramps, lanes, etc) that can replace pieces on the table. You edit the table when you're not playing it. You can send the table to friends whenever you want to and upload it to ZEN during competition times. You can't set scoring or create modes. You can apply pre-made graphic sets so the table doesn't look too haphazard. It's not a full table creation program, but it would let you change the table and that's something that could be very interesting.
13) We need a table with a little more sex appeal. I'm not talking about nudity or anything vulgar, but what about a Vegas style table with mini games on the main table like blackjack and roulette where if you win it makes ladies at the top of the table dance and do other things like that. It could be set in a saloon in the old US 'western' times. Wizard mode would be a bar fight. There could be a mini table for a shootout in the streets where you have to draw/fire the ball after 10 paces (ie a timed event). Multiball cow herding into the corral. ..and babes! Don't forget the sexy dancing women!
14) Area 51. A UFO crashes into the table near the beginning of the game, similar to how a ship lands on the Mars table. The seven aliens are taken to different locations (labs) and you have to complete modes to rescue them (locking them at different locations around the board). Once all have been freed (locked) the Wizard mode is to get them safely away to an extraction zone.
15) When Koala's Attack! Some intelligent giraffes figured their way out of the zoo, leaving behind open gates and letting free the other animals. Each ball you get looks like an animal and has to be locked back into it's proper cage, after completing certain tasks with it.
16) Magnetic Personality. Hard to explain, but think Maxx Headroom mixed with a 1980's perspective of the future and space travel. There are no flippers, just magnets under the board. Four of them are always available and the others can be unlocked by completing missions in order (using each new set to unlock the next mode). An electronic guide character appears on the table to help you along the way. His humor is based on British wit and his ego is enormous. He often makes jokes about your playing when you miss things or loose a ball. The table surface is pitch black and everything (including lanes and ramps) appear on the surface as drawings (think a Star Trek L CARS control panel, but bright neon like Tron). Star fields and other graphics scroll like screen savers across the table surface, certain motion patterns will intentionally make it difficult to complete certain modes. After completing Wizard mode the table's graphics are reset, after a grand display (think the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey). Making the entire table a digital panel will enable the developers to change anything at any time without having to worry about the limitations of 3D models or the animated transitions.
17) Go Go Super Happy Pinball Fun! An ultimately silly Japanese game show style table. No English audio or text. No explanations or rule sheet. You have to figure out how to score on it by yourself (or in a few months after release if you cheat and look online for answers :P). The modes would be setup like skill tests. The table is a large field. It's like the size of 5 tables wide but you only see one table view at a time. The ball would be stopped and moved to a different location for each mode or it could transition to the adjacent table via a single lane that's unlocked after completing something. Think 'Doritos Crash Course' but with pinball. You can make the ball jump by pressing launch. Sink your mind into that for a while.
18) We start with a fumbling awkward cube instead of a ball. As the table progresses, the 'ball' smooths into a ball. The edges are slowly knocked off piece by piece as it changes through each major polygon shape. This is not a full table idea, just a partial concept of new physics that may be interesting.
19) High Tide. I know I've talked about water on the table before, but another similar idea is to have the water at the bottom of the table and it extends upwards at high tide, which happens somewhat often. The table theme could be a 1950's beach bash, with (of course) ladies in bikini's, the bully who kicks sand in your eyes, a lifeguard who warns you of the tide and sharks that can take your ball.. instead of the standard drain at the bottom, this table has a drain on the left and right sides. As you finish more modes, the water level raises higher and higher on the table. Eventually the Wizard Mode will be underwater and you'll have to complete it to clear the beach and bring back the party!
20) ZEN. A different way to think about pinball. A peaceful board made of a sand surface, with flowing water trickling over pebbles along the sides, beautiful soft oriental music, Cherry trees with falling pink petals... etc. The ball moves slower than normal and it makes patterns in the sand as it moves. Each mission is very simple. Scoring is low but the table is easy. You get 5 balls (lives/turns) to start with and extra balls are in abundance. Mantras and positive affirmations are on the audio as you complete target banks and modes. Achieving ZEN (ie Wizard Mode) would also be easier than normal. Graphically your ball would change as you play, slowly going from black marble to stone to jade to ... etc ... to clear glass that gives off prismatic light from the center. It's not about getting a high score. It's about having fun and enjoying the game.
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