The Party Zone

[canuck]

I'm thinking Farsight should give us options since we are the consumers after all. Like maybe say would you like either this or that. It seems like this table is generating some negativity so who comes up with these ideas?

You are new here. Actually Party Zone has consistently rated highly in various polls here on the forums (unofficially of course), so many people will be looking forward to this dose of 90's kitsch.

 

[Reagan Dow]

The laughter annoys me the most.

I just hope it's better then Dr Dude. I LOATH that table.

 

[Reagan Dow]

I'd have to assume mostly the younger players will buy it. I'm sure it will sell pretty well. Its a necessary evil in order to make the older tables that may not sell as well but that most of us like.

 

[masterthes]

Oh, alrighty then

 

[canuck]

I just hope it's better then Dr Dude. I LOATH that table.

Play it a dozen times in a row, it grows on you. It's actually kind of scary.

 

[Fungi]

Play it a dozen times in a row, it grows on you. It's actually kind of scary.

I did that when it first came out. Trying to build up that Dude-O-Meter y'know. But after a while, the colors just started to burn my eyes.

 

[kinggo]

I just hope it's better then Dr Dude. I LOATH that table.

if you dislike Dr. Dude so much, this won't be much better. This one on the other hand.......
https://forum-s3.pinside.com/201203/194184/21706.jpg

 

[karl]

Never played it before and I am all for checking out pins that are new to me, so why not Not terribly excited about it but I am still looking forward to testing it out.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

I played it, way back when. Unfortunately it was in the only place on the university campus that was open after the bars shut, so my memories of it are blurry at best. What I do remember is that this place, apart from Party Zone, served grilled cheese sandwiches and always seemed to have Star Trek: The Next Generation on the TV.

 

[Crawley]

Never played it before and I am all for checking out pins that are new to me, so why not Not terribly excited about it but I am still looking forward to testing it out.

That's about where I am. I did play the table once but didn't leave much of an impression. But any new table I'm gonna play regardless.

I'm also finding that a lot of the tables I didn't play so much in previous seasons I'm going back to and playing quite a bit now. So while this may not be an initial hit for me down the road I know one day I'm just gonna load it up and play it a whole lot.

 

[Rich Lehmann]

I don't understand the hate for Dr. Dude. It plays well, not too hard not too simple. Rules seem a bit weird as I still am not completely sure what I am doing or why the thermometer is going up. But I like that the thermometer carries over to the next game. And the audio usually tells you what to be shooting at. At first play I was like "what is this annoying disaster" but I quickly began to find the artwork and sound funny. It reminds me of Bill & Ted. If the art and audio get on your nerves than I imagine this table is too annoying to play but other than that fact, I don't see any real problems with the table. I think its a unique table. I like the swirly thing. I'd put this table somewhere in the middle of TPAs tables. I can think of 20 tables I would delete before it.

 

[IGoFirstIndy]

I don't understand the hate for Dr. Dude. It plays well, not too hard not too simple. I'd put this table somewhere in the middle of TPAs tables. I can think of 20 tables I would delete before it.

Agreed.

 

[Dedpop]

Dr. Dude is a really decent one.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

If Farsight goes and gets the license for "Pinball Wizard" as a featured track in Party Zone, there might be a chance that we'll see The Who's Tommy after all.

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

I love The Party Zone but hate Dr. Dude for some absurd reason. DD just seems more annoying than any table in the Pinball Arcade collection. The Party Zone limits it quite a bit, when I play it there are only a couple of soundbytes I hear often.

 

[Crawley]

I don't understand the hate for Dr. Dude. It plays well, not too hard not too simple. Rules seem a bit weird as I still am not completely sure what I am doing or why the thermometer is going up. But I like that the thermometer carries over to the next game.

For me its just the 80's theme. I grew up during that time. And I have to say that was an awesome ("rad") time to be a kid. But revisiting the 80s is so embarrassing. I can't stand the sayings, 80s music, or fashion. Just shaking my head at how hokey it all was.

That said, while all that is a turn off for the table, I agree with everything else you said. Awhile back I gave the table more of a chance and really enjoyed the gameplay. Its just the theme I can't stand. Maybe the next mod after Ghostbusters can use the Dr. Dude table.

 

[Rich Lehmann]

For the reasons you don't like it is exactly why I like it. It is in no way a representation of the 80's like most pinball tables its what some 50 year old engineer thought kids would like. Pinball never had the marketing and research that videogames had and they were designed by older men who are more mechanical minded not young college computer geeks. This was some father in 1990 thinking "Kids will think this is cool right? Kids say Radical, right?" I also remember seeing Dr. Dude in an arcade at age 14 or so and thinking how funny it was not just because it so clearly didn't understand what kids were like but why kids in an arcade would want to drop 2 quarters in that when they could drop 1 in mortal kombat and 1 in TMNT video games. Notice, around that time a lot of designers got smart and instead of trying to target kids that put quarters into a machine they targeted the adults and businesses that buy pinball machines with themes like golf, fishing, retro themes like taxi or black lagoon, or businesses with themes like casinos, Vegas, bars, diners, poolhalls. The point is Dr Dude is so wrong theme wise that it is hilarious, that campiness makes it charming. And it plays pretty well.

 

[smbhax]

If the art and audio get on your nerves than I imagine this table is too annoying to play but other than that fact, I don't see any real problems with the table. I think its a unique table. I like the swirly thing. I'd put this table somewhere in the middle of TPAs tables. I can think of 20 tables I would delete before it.

I *do* find the theme intensely annoying, but more than that, the shots are all more aggravating than fun--I suppose it's the angle at which they're set. And the fact that you have to hit them over and over just to get a two-ball multiball doesn't help. ; )

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

For the reasons you don't like it is exactly why I like it. It is in no way a representation of the 80's like most pinball tables its what some 50 year old engineer thought kids would like. Pinball never had the marketing and research that videogames had and they were designed by older men who are more mechanical minded not young college computer geeks. This was some father in 1990 thinking "Kids will think this is cool right? Kids say Radical, right?" I also remember seeing Dr. Dude in an arcade at age 14 or so and thinking how funny it was not just because it so clearly didn't understand what kids were like but why kids in an arcade would want to drop 2 quarters in that when they could drop 1 in mortal kombat and 1 in TMNT video games. Notice, around that time a lot of designers got smart and instead of trying to target kids that put quarters into a machine they targeted the adults and businesses that buy pinball machines with themes like golf, fishing, retro themes like taxi or black lagoon, or businesses with themes like casinos, Vegas, bars, diners, poolhalls. The point is Dr Dude is so wrong theme wise that it is hilarious, that campiness makes it charming. And it plays pretty well.

The Party Zone features a similar theme to Dr. Dude. Both games were derived as parodies of the ideal late 80s lifestyle, not as part of it. While they both feature art that are from the same period and honestly quite dated, they both feature some interesting themes...

 

[night]

Dr. Dude is great, so 80s, you have got to be there to understand Dude. Besides that, I like the flow of this table, lot's of fun.