The objective of this game (as well as many other models from this era) is to get back to the essence of pinball: scoring!Īnd to do this, you have to trigger the multipliers that will allow you to inflate the points, except that they are not always the easiest to understand. What is Xenon? What story does this machine want to tell us? What is Faris trying to convey to us through these numerous details? It’s up to you to make your own idea of the theme because here, as on many machines at the time, there is no license but an original theme that you will have to interpret. The rest of the elements oscillate between faces of men and women transforming into cybernetic creatures in the middle of robotic elements that look more or less like the interior of a spaceship. That of a science-fiction universe where you can access a gigantic futuristic lighthouse through a tube, which can be found both on the artwork and as a “ramp” in game. It’s obviously complicated to write it down, but I can guarantee you that the effect is really striking! When you know that the backglass of a machine (even more so at that time), forged in large part the identity of a pinball machine in the midst of all those that populated the game rooms, needless to say that Bally crushed the competition with its Xenon machine.Īs for the board, it can be discovered like a painting as it seems to be trying to tell us a story. And to sublimate the whole: A set of 4 mirrors placed at the corners of the backglass, which reflect the light produced by the bulbs once lit. Between these two panes: An air gap of about 5cm thick in which are fixed a whole row of bulbs that goes all around the frame. The first one, which has the painted shades and the second one, which has the majority of the design and the details that accompany it. The backglass is actually composed of two panes. The backglass is a monumental slap in the face to half of the pinball machines that have been released up to that point, and is still far superior to most of the designs found on our recent machines.ĭon’t get me wrong, we’re not just talking about the quality of Paul Faris’ design (Centaur, Paragon, Space Invaders or Phantom of the Opera, to name just a few of his finest masterpieces) but also about the technique used to achieve a totally unique and recognizable rendering when lit. But the lettering of the game’s title, faded in lightning reminding us of the futuristic technology, the black hole materialized by the blue circles symbolizing space and the faces surrounding the famous “X” on the sides of the pediment remind us that sobriety is not synonymous with poverty. Of course, the box blends in with the standards of the time and has a rather sober design since it is composed of the famous red lines symbolizing the light, which will be found everywhere on the rest of the artworks. So, as Suzanne’s charming voice would say: “Welcome to Xenon”! If this particularity can be smiled at today, you can be sure that at the time, in the middle of these gambling games historically intended for a mainly male public (in fact), the novelty came to make a lot of noise in the middle of the other models and will have, for a large part, contributed to its success (11,000 copies produced all the same). It is a visual nugget located halfway between Blade Runner, the cyberpunk trend and HR Giger’s works. This machine, created by Bally in 1980, was the very first talking machine of the brand, but also and above all, the very first machine with a female voice. And it is on this last model, the famous Xenon game that we are going to focus today. And in the period of the 70s and 80s, some evocative names still resonate … Fathom, Black Hole, Centaur, Paragon, Black Knight, Xenon … Machines with bold themes and design close to real works of art. Manufacturer, theme, design, gameplay, so many reasons for so many models to leave a more or less indelible mark in the world of our dear pinballs.īut we have to admit that some machines have imposed themselves in the collective imagination as true classics of the good old days, which still speak to the enthusiasts that we are.
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