When is a mech, not a mech?

[David_Vi]

Everyone seems to have a different opinion of what a "mech" is. People often complain a game is lacking mechs (see recent releases Venom and Jaws).

Mech = Mechanism right?
Flippers and slingshots are mechs, but I assume they don't count because they're on every game?
VUKs or scoops too.
Is a magnet a mech?

When people complain about lack of mechs do they mean parts that animate?

Eg, AFM regarded as one of the best games, but in my opinion it has less mechs than a lot of modern sterns.
The saucer is just some plastic with lights in that a coil hits to animate. The martians are just toys stuck on sticks that coils animate.
The forcefield is a bank of standups that goes up and down.
Then you have two VUKs.

Considering some mechs are just glorified VUKs what do people want?

Myself, I like mechanisms that interact with the gameplay or add new features. To me the flipper lock on Jaws is more exciting than having a shark eat a ball, it adds something new to gameplay.

Just thought just get a pointless discussion going because why not

 

[Fubar]

A mech(anism) to me must use at least one coil or motor. So an up post is a mech - albeit not a terribly exciting one. Same for a magnet.

Agree that AFM is not loaded like a Superpin/JJP/Spooky, although if each jiggling martian is a separate coil that's still a fair amount of total mechs really, even if they're just for show.

Agree that mechs that interact with gameplay are the best, like on GZ prem for example

 

[Ped]

Ooh I do like a good pointless discussion
A proper mech like, say mist magnet on BSD is very different from a jiggling Martian on a stick, which is just a animated toy. Discuss

 

[ChrisH]

I normally think of stuff like the T-Rex in JP (DE), the FT lock, Cannons on STTNG, Gumball machine on TZ, castle on MM
So I guess it's things that move with a purpose

 

[M4carp]

Avatar’s collapsing AMP suit, does add to the theatre of the game though.

 

[Jib]

I think of a mech being anything mechanical and a toy being something a bit more special that interacts with the ball in a more interesting way.

 

[David_Vi]

Ooh I do like a good pointless discussion
A proper mech like, say mist magnet on BSD is very different from a jiggling Martian on a stick, which is just a animated toy. Discuss

Jiggling toy, exactly.
Yet a lot of people think AFM is the better game of the two. Even if MMs equivalent to the martians are more interactive.

Other than the mist ball BSD doesn't have any other mechs right? But the mist ball has a lot to it, just for one really cool effect.

A mech(anism) to me must use at least one coil or motor. So an up post is a mech - albeit not a terribly exciting one. Same for a magnet.

Agree that AFM is not loaded like a Superpin/JJP/Spooky, although if each jiggling martian is a separate coil that's still a fair amount of total mechs really, even if they're just for show.

Agree that mechs that interact with gameplay are the best, like on GZ prem for example

The GZ mechs are cool. Considering how many it has in this era.
However, would you miss them?
Some people complain they slow the game down, the building is exciting until the 100th you have to wait for it to do it's thing.
That's one complaint I see about some mechs.

At the end of the day good gameplay will outlast some novel mechs.

 

[Fubar]

However, would you miss them?
Some people complain they slow the game down, the building is exciting until the 100th you have to wait for it to do it's thing.

I do get annoyed at games which hold the ball from me - commonly during a long pop bumper romp. The falling building is a bit slow but doesn't really bother me as it doesn't happen too often, and it's actually a cool moment to enjoy. If I really want some intense non-stop action I'll jump on TNA

 

[VeeMonroe]

Everyone seems to have a different opinion of what a "mech" is. People often complain a game is lacking mechs (see recent releases Venom and Jaws).

Mech = Mechanism right?
Flippers and slingshots are mechs, but I assume they don't count because they're on every game?
VUKs or scoops too.
Is a magnet a mech?

When people complain about lack of mechs do they mean parts that animate?

Eh, AFM regarded as one of the best games, but in my opinion it has less mechs than a lot of modern sterns.
The saucer is just some plastic with lights in that a coil hits to animate. The martians are just toys stuck on sticks that coils animate.
The forcefield is a bank of standups that goes up and down.
Then you have two VUKs.

Considering some mechs are just glorified VUKs what do people want?

Myself, I like mechanisms that interact with the gameplay or add new features. To me the flipper lock on Jaws is more exciting than having a shark eat a ball, it adds something new to gameplay.

Just thought just get a pointless discussion going because why not

I'd reframe this whole discussion, as follows.

Pinball is a real-time dexterity game and its success is the experience it delivers to players. Games can be abstract (like chess) or heavily themed (like Dungeons & Dragons). Generally, as technology has improved, pins have got better at providing a story-like Dungeons & Dragons-like experience, with code, lighting, mechs and graphic design helping to communicate a rich narrative/theme.

Thus, the question is not 'what is a mech and do more mechs make pins better?', but 'what is the experience this pin is trying to give to the player? And do the mechs that are present add to, or subtract from, that experience?'

The point about mechs is that, the more BOM you have, the more spinners and switches you have, the more budget you have for toys and models, the more likely you are to successfully communicate any given pinball experience. Most people don't look at the screen when playing, so your playfield also needs to communicate the theme. That doesn't mean, though, that the more moving parts you have, the better the experience - just that you've got more freedom to deliver your vision.

TNA, for example, is a very fast 80s retro-style experience with thumping disco beats. It succeeds at offering that experience because of the pixelated art direction, thumping beats and rapid street-level playfield. It wouldn't be improved by a giant Pacman that ate the ball.

Likewise, AFM is about fighting aliens invading the Earth. The music, sound, humour, animations and scattering of mechanical items (e.g. the jumping martians, wobbly saucer, and lowering gate) all work together to communicate that experience.

The reason people are arguing about Jaws isn't because every pin would be improved by a giant shark that eats the ball. It's because, for many fans, Jaws is a pin about a giant, man-eating shark. It's not about a small, cute, rubbery shark that surfaces occasionally.

Thus, Stern had one job - provide a scary shark that eats things - and they just haven't delivered on it. Thus, for many players, this pin just isn't providing the experience of Jaws. I haven't watched Jaws, but my guess is this pin is nothing like it.

 

[David_Vi]

@VeeMonroe hindsight is helping you there... TNA was a small production first time round, I remember people struggling to sell them.

I imagine people thought it lacked mechs when it was new (you'd need to ask people who were around at the time) but you know what happened? People realised how good the gameplay and audio/light package is and it became a cult classic.

It still has a pioneering "mech", the Danesi lock, unless that's no longer classed as a mech.