Ruiner Pinball

Ruiner Pinball
Developer(s)	High Voltage Software
Publisher(s)	Atari Corporation
Producer(s)	Bill Rehbock Kerry J. Ganofsky
Designer(s)	Mike Baker Scott Corley
Programmer(s)	Scott Corley
Artist(s)	Mike Baker
Platform(s)	Atari Jaguar
Release	NA: November 6, 1995 EU: December 1995
Genre(s)	Pinball
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Ruiner Pinball is a 1995 pinball video game developed by High Voltage Software (HVS) and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. The game is a collection of two pinball tables featuring their own layout, storyline, and thematic. Each table contains objectives and targets for the player to increase scoring opportunities by performing several shots with flippers before the ball is lost. It was marketed as the first title to support the ProController, a redesigned Jaguar controller that added three more face buttons and two triggers.

Ruiner Pinball originated as a project proposed to Atari, as many of the High Voltage Software staff were pinball fans and liked the idea of making one. HVS pitched the project showing a working demo by programmer Scott Corley, who was given free rein to make it by producer Kerry J. Ganofsky, and Atari greenlit the project upon seeing the demo. Initially, the game was intended to have a single table, however, Atari requested to add a second table. It garnered generally unfavorable reception from critics; criticism was geared towards the visuals, soundscapes, gameplay, controls, and unrealistic physics. Retrospective commentary for the game has been mixed. In 2022, it was included in the Atari 50 compilation.

Gameplay

Ruiner Pinball includes two pinball tables: Ruiner (left) and Tower (right).

Ruiner Pinball is a pinball game that features a collection of two pinball tables, each with their own layout, storyline, and thematic: Ruiner and Tower. Ruiner is a double-width table with four flippers on each side, taking place during an impending nuclear war in the 1960s. In the Ruiner table, the player navigates the ball using interconnecting ramps to travel between sides. Tower is a three-screen high table with a set of flippers on each area, taking place in a medieval fantasy setting where an adventurer enters a castle to defeat an evil sorceress.

Each table has its own main objective: in Ruiner, the player must lower the DEFCON level from level 5 to 1 and launch an attack against an enemy country, while in Tower the player must defeat the sorceress by casting three magic spells in order to destroy the castle and escape. There are targets for the player to increase scoring opportunities by performing several shots with flippers before the ball is lost. Both tables also include features such as free balls and multi-ball play. There are three difficulty levels and the player can enter the number of participants, set the number of balls to play, turn the picture-in-picture display window on or off, or apply texture to the ball in the game's options menu.

Development

Ruiner Pinball was created by High Voltage Software (HVS), which previously worked on a video game adaptation based on the 1992 sports comedy film White Men Can't Jump for Atari Jaguar. It was co-produced by Kerry J. Ganofsky and Bill Rehbock of Atari Corporation. Scott Corley acted as the game's programmer and designer of the Ruiner table, being his first work in the video game industry. Mike Baker served as artist and designer of the Tower table. A composer for Ruiner Pinball is not credited, though Aardvark Action Audio is listed for providing the audio engine. In 2014, Corley discussed about the game's production in a thread on the 3DO Zone fan community forums.

HVS proposed a pinball game project to Atari, as many of the company's staff were pinball fans and liked the idea of making one, with Corley citing Raster Blaster (1981) and Night Mission Pinball (1982) as his childhood favorites. HVS pitched the project by showing a working demo written within days by Corley, who was given free rein to make it by Ganofsky. Atari greenlit the project upon seeing the demo and HVS began working on the game. Corley recalled that at one point during development, Atari requested a name for the game so they could advertise it. He christened the game Ruiner, named after the song of the same name on the album The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, when looking through his personal music collection. Corley told the name to Ganofsky, who proceeded to send it to Atari. Initially, the game was intended to have a single table, however, Atari requested to add a second table. The artwork for the Ruiner table was hand-drawn and painted by Baker on a large board. The artwork was scanned, pieced together, and corrected using Deluxe Paint. Corley said the process was a difficult task because at the time "there was no scanner that large". According to White Men Can't Jump programmer Adisak Pochanayon, Corley programmed Ruiner Pinball in C++.

Release

The game was first showcased at the 1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show, planning for release in the second quarter of 1995 under the name Ruiner. Early previews prior to launch showed different visuals and music compared to the final version. It made additional apparances at tradeshows such as the 1995 ECTS Spring event and E3 1995. The game was later scheduled for a August release date and was also showcased during an event hosted by Atari Corporation dubbed "Fun 'n' Games Day" under its final title, Ruiner Pinball. The game was published by Atari first in North America on November 6, 1995, and later in Europe on December 1995. It was marketed as the first title to support the ProController, a redesigned Atari Jaguar controller that added three more face buttons and two triggers. In 2022, Ruiner Pinball was included in the Atari 50 compilation for Windows, the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, marking its first re-release.

Reception

Ruiner Pinball received generally unfavorable reception from critics. Game Zero Magazine's two reviewers criticized its bland visuals, unattractive music, and ball physics. They compared the game unfavorably to Crüe Ball (1992) on the Sega Genesis and recommended any of the pinball titles on the TurboGrafx-16 instead. Writing for Ultimate Future Games and The Atari Times, Andy Robertson lambasted its graphical presentation, soundscapes, controls, and limited number of tables, stating that "Ruiner is not even a very good pinball". The Electric Playground called it "the Latoya Jackson of video pinball games". They said that the gameplay is dull and tedious, and that the overly busy visuals cause the ball to be frequently lost against the backgrounds.

MAN!AC's Robert Bannert compared its visuals unfavorably to Dragon's Fury (1991), stating that most of the game's elements tend to get lost in the hand-drawn backgrounds and pointed out the lack of bonus rounds, recommending Pinball Fantasies (1992) instead. Véronique Boissarie of Consoles + found Ruiner Pinball to be an original and well-designed pinball game, praising its colorful graphics, audio department, and playability, but criticized the blurry scrolling. Marc Abramson of the French ST Magazine faulted the game's audiovisual presentation and controls, and unrealistic physics. VideoGames compared it with other pinball video games like Crüe Ball and Dragon's Revenge (1993). They criticized the graphics and plot of the two tables, while also remarking that the game does not simulate the feel of playing pinball accurately.

GamePro described it as an enjoyable but unexceptional title, saying that it "looks like a plain old 16-bit pinball game" and offers nothing unusual in its pinball action aside from the unusually large tables. Next Generation explained that the game does not play well due to the "rigid" animation and unpredictable physics. They added that the game makes good use of the video game format with its multi-level tables and animated targets, but that these elements are "superfluous" without good gameplay. Atari Gaming Headquarters' Keita Iida wrote that "Ruiner Pinball resembles most 16-bit pinball games like Alien Crush and Crüe Ball in that realism is discarded with". He found the storylines for each table uncompelling and the visuals washed out.

Retrospective coverage

Retrospective commentary for Ruiner Pinball has been mixed. Author Andy Slaven gave favorable remarks to the colorful and eye-catching visuals but found the physics unrealistic, stating that it fails to convey the feeling of a real pinball game. In a retrospective outlook for The Atari Times, David Sherwin praised the Ruiner table for its graphical quality and sound effects, but criticized the Tower table for having little detail and lackluster music. He regarded it as "a true example of video pinball where creativity and surrealism are emphasized more than historical generic accuracy". Retro Gamer labelled it as "Fast, fun and very frantic". PCMag called it the best pinball game on the Atari Jaguar, citing its fluid action.