Steve Ritchie
Encyclopedia
Steven Scott Ritchie is an acclaimed pinball
and video game designer. He has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and the like.
Ritchie recently left Incredible Technologies
for Raw Thrills, a video game production house headed by former WMS employee Eugene Jarvis
. He currently suffers from tinnitus
and predicts that he will be deaf by 2013. Steve is the older brother of fellow pinball designer Mark Ritchie
.
and Alaska
in the United States Coast Guard
from 1968-1972, Ritchie joined Atari
and first worked on the assembly line as an electro-mechanical technician. Two years later, he was promoted to work at their fledgling pinball division, where he worked on his first game, Airborne Avenger. Ritchie earned the license to make a Superman-pinball based on the Superman
comic book, but in the final stages of production of the table, he received an offer from Williams Electronics
, a major pinball company, that Ritchie could not refuse.
(the first electronic pinball to feature multi-ball, as well as Lane Change), and eight months later, he designed Black Knight
, which was noted for having the first two-level playfield and the patented "Magna-Save" feature (in which magnets help prevent outlane drains).
After 1981's Hyperball, Steve took a break from designing pinball games to design a video games at his newly-formed company, King Video Design. "Devastator" was the first 68000 microprocessor video game and it was a spectacular 3D flying-shooting game with remarkable graphics. Steve pioneered automated conversion of video-taped color images into objects in the video game system. After that, he returned to pinball with 1986's High Speed
, which was based on a true story about him being chased by the police in his Porsche. High Speeds bill of materials was higher than other games, and some rival Williams designers nicknamed it "High Cost". The cost increase was minimal, and the game sold 17,080 units. It was the major title that revitalized the entire pinball market. After that, he released F-14 Tomcat in 1987, and in 1989, he released the sequel to 1980's Black Knight, Black Knight 2000, which was acclaimed for having perhaps one of the best musical soundtracks ever for a pinball game (composed by himself, Brian L. Schmidt, and Dan Forden
). It was also one of the first games to feature a "Wizard Mode", called "The King's Ransom".
Next up was Rollergames (based on the TV show of the same name which was cancelled well before game production), it was a game with a loud and rowdy soundtrack and the first solid state game to feature mainstream advertising. Ritchie designed Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which featured the voice and likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger
. T2 was the first game by Williams to use a dot-matrix display (although Bally's Gilligan's Island
beat it to the market, because T2 had a longer production schedule, and management at Williams felt that other games needed it first.) After T2, he designed The Getaway: High Speed II
in 1992, a sequel to 1986's High Speed. In 1993, Ritchie released a widebody game, Star Trek: The Next Generation
, which many pinball fans consider to be Ritchie's best game. For the game, Ritchie enlisted the entire cast of TNG
, including Patrick Stewart
, Michael Dorn
, and Jonathan Frakes
to reprise their roles. The game would sell 11,728 units. It was the last pinball machine to sell in the 5-digits. After he was finished with 1995's No Fear: Dangerous Sports
, Ritchie left Williams, feeling that he could better serve Williams/Bally/Midway by producing video games at the newly-acquired Atari Games
. 1996 was the beginning of the decline of pinball with gradually diminishing sales, eventually leading to the extinction of all pinball manufacturers except Stern Pinball.
Ritchie is also known to be an avid fan of pc games, motocross racing, and a dedicated dirt and street motorcyclist as well.
He is a voice actor for many of his own games, as well as Williams and Midway
's video games. He is best known for playing the voice of Shao Kahn
in the Mortal Kombat
series (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:SM). In an interview for the Australian publication Arcade and Flipper Pinball Review (December 2001 & March 2002 issues) he stated that he was the announcer in MK and MKII, along with coming up with the name of Mortal Kombat
, which was just called 'Mortal' before his suggestion. Ritchie was also the voice of the Black Knight in both Black Knight and Black Knight 2000, the "Demon" in No Fear, the announcer in Midway's High Impact Football, the monotoned voice of Firepower, and other small parts in many Williams, Midway, and Stern games.
. After T3, Ritchie released Elvis
, which was released in time for the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley
's first song recording. Ritchie's third game for Stern was World Poker Tour
. World Poker Tour was the first game to use Stern's new hardware, S.A.M., which is the successor to their older Whitestar platform. He has recently revealed in an interview that he was forced by Gary Stern to design the game http://www.marvin3m.com/topcast/showget.php?id=32. Currently, Ritchie has just completed his fourth game for Stern, Spider-Man, using characters licensed from all three movies. Spider-Man was a great success and is still available for purchase.
After completing "24", a pinball machine based on the TV series of the same name, Ritchie was laid off from Stern along with most of the company's other pinball designers. A March 3, 2011 Press Release from Stern reported that Steve had returned to Stern to design the next generation of pinball machines. .
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
and video game designer. He has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and the like.
Ritchie recently left Incredible Technologies
Incredible Technologies
Incredible Technologies , based in Arlington Heights, Illinois is a US-based designer and manufacturer of coin-operated video games. Some of their games include Silver Strike Bowling, Power Putt, Target Toss Pro: Bags/Lawn Darts, and Golden Tee Golf...
for Raw Thrills, a video game production house headed by former WMS employee Eugene Jarvis
Eugene Jarvis
Eugene Peyton Jarvis is a game designer and programmer, known for producing pinball machines for Atari and video games for Williams Electronics. Most notable amongst his works are the seminal arcade video games Defender and Robotron: 2084 in the early 1980s, and the Cruis'n series of driving games...
. He currently suffers from tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
and predicts that he will be deaf by 2013. Steve is the older brother of fellow pinball designer Mark Ritchie
Mark Ritchie
Donald Mark Ritchie was elected the 21st Minnesota Secretary of State on November 7, 2006. He was re-elected in 2010. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He grew up in Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University in 1971...
.
The Atari Years
After serving a stint in VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
in the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
from 1968-1972, Ritchie joined Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
and first worked on the assembly line as an electro-mechanical technician. Two years later, he was promoted to work at their fledgling pinball division, where he worked on his first game, Airborne Avenger. Ritchie earned the license to make a Superman-pinball based on the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
comic book, but in the final stages of production of the table, he received an offer from Williams Electronics
Williams (gaming company)
WMS Industries, Inc. is an American electronic gaming and amusement company based in Waukegan, Illinois. The company's main operating subsidiaries are WMS Gaming and Orion Gaming. WMS traces its roots as far back as 1943, the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded by Harry E. Williams...
, a major pinball company, that Ritchie could not refuse.
The Williams Years
Ritchie moved to Chicago, Illinois, the home of Williams' headquarters. His first game for the company, Flash (released in 1979), was noted for its revolutionary figure-8 design and the first pinball game to feature bright Flash Lamps. It would go on to be his best-selling pinball game, having sold 19,505 units. 1980 would be the year for Ritchie, when he designed FirepowerFirepower (pinball)
Firepower is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams.Firepower was the first solid-state electronic pinball to feature 3-ball Multi-Ball, as well as "Lane Change", where the player uses the right flipper button to shift the lit lights in a set of lights on the...
(the first electronic pinball to feature multi-ball, as well as Lane Change), and eight months later, he designed Black Knight
Black Knight (pinball)
Black Knight is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics.This game is known for its two-level playfield , and introduced the patented "Magna-Save", in which a player-controlled magnet is used to prevent outlane drains. This was first of a series of four...
, which was noted for having the first two-level playfield and the patented "Magna-Save" feature (in which magnets help prevent outlane drains).
After 1981's Hyperball, Steve took a break from designing pinball games to design a video games at his newly-formed company, King Video Design. "Devastator" was the first 68000 microprocessor video game and it was a spectacular 3D flying-shooting game with remarkable graphics. Steve pioneered automated conversion of video-taped color images into objects in the video game system. After that, he returned to pinball with 1986's High Speed
High Speed
High Speed is a 1986 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics. This game was based on Ritchie's real-life police chase inside a 1979 Porsche 928....
, which was based on a true story about him being chased by the police in his Porsche. High Speeds bill of materials was higher than other games, and some rival Williams designers nicknamed it "High Cost". The cost increase was minimal, and the game sold 17,080 units. It was the major title that revitalized the entire pinball market. After that, he released F-14 Tomcat in 1987, and in 1989, he released the sequel to 1980's Black Knight, Black Knight 2000, which was acclaimed for having perhaps one of the best musical soundtracks ever for a pinball game (composed by himself, Brian L. Schmidt, and Dan Forden
Dan Forden
Daniel "Dan" Warner "Toasty" Forden is an American sound programmer and music composer, and was the lead programmer on several high-profile arcade and pinball games...
). It was also one of the first games to feature a "Wizard Mode", called "The King's Ransom".
Next up was Rollergames (based on the TV show of the same name which was cancelled well before game production), it was a game with a loud and rowdy soundtrack and the first solid state game to feature mainstream advertising. Ritchie designed Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which featured the voice and likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. T2 was the first game by Williams to use a dot-matrix display (although Bally's Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
beat it to the market, because T2 had a longer production schedule, and management at Williams felt that other games needed it first.) After T2, he designed The Getaway: High Speed II
The Getaway: High Speed II
The Getaway: High Speed II is a 1992 pinball game by Steve Ritchie. It is a sequel to 1986's popular High Speed.The Getaway is almost identical to its predecessor, with the following changes:*Dot-matrix display...
in 1992, a sequel to 1986's High Speed. In 1993, Ritchie released a widebody game, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation (pinball)
Star Trek: The Next Generation is a widebody pinball game, designed by Steve Ritchie and released in November 1993 by Williams Electronics. It was part of WMS' SuperPin series , and was based on the TV series. It is the only pinball machine that features three separate highscore-lists...
, which many pinball fans consider to be Ritchie's best game. For the game, Ritchie enlisted the entire cast of TNG
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, including Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn is an American actor, and voice artist who is best known for his role as the Klingon Worf from the Star Trek franchise.-Early life and career:...
, and Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
to reprise their roles. The game would sell 11,728 units. It was the last pinball machine to sell in the 5-digits. After he was finished with 1995's No Fear: Dangerous Sports
No Fear: Dangerous Sports
No Fear: Dangerous Sports is a 1995 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams. It is based on the clothing line. This game has an extreme sports theme.-Launch options:...
, Ritchie left Williams, feeling that he could better serve Williams/Bally/Midway by producing video games at the newly-acquired Atari Games
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
. 1996 was the beginning of the decline of pinball with gradually diminishing sales, eventually leading to the extinction of all pinball manufacturers except Stern Pinball.
Video games and other contributions
Steve Ritchie returned to Atari Games in 1996 as a Senior Staff Producer. There, he would design and produce the racing game, California Speed, which sold 7,856 units for total sales of about $40 million, on a budget of $2 million, with a crew of 16 video programmers and artists.Ritchie is also known to be an avid fan of pc games, motocross racing, and a dedicated dirt and street motorcyclist as well.
He is a voice actor for many of his own games, as well as Williams and Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
's video games. He is best known for playing the voice of Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is a boss, announcer and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The main antagonist in the Mortal Kombat series, Shao Kahn is the Emperor of Outworld known for his godlike strength, extreme brutality and knowledge of black magic...
in the Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
series (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:SM). In an interview for the Australian publication Arcade and Flipper Pinball Review (December 2001 & March 2002 issues) he stated that he was the announcer in MK and MKII, along with coming up with the name of Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
, which was just called 'Mortal' before his suggestion. Ritchie was also the voice of the Black Knight in both Black Knight and Black Knight 2000, the "Demon" in No Fear, the announcer in Midway's High Impact Football, the monotoned voice of Firepower, and other small parts in many Williams, Midway, and Stern games.
Ritchie Returns: The Stern Years
After designing and selling a few redemption games, he formed Steve Ritchie Productions (SRP) in 2002, and returned to pinball design contracting with Stern Pinball to distribute his games. For his first game for Stern, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, he once again enlisted Arnold Schwarzenegger to lend his voice and likeness to the game, and also re-assembled the same team who worked with him on the T2 pinball, including software programmer Dwight Sullivan and music composer Chris GrannerChris Granner
Christopher P. Granner is a freelance music composer, best known for composing music for video games and pinball games.-Career and biography:...
. After T3, Ritchie released Elvis
Elvis (pinball)
Elvis is a 2004 pinball machine released by Stern. It is based on the singer of the same name.The machine's soundtrack includes Elvis singing "C.C...
, which was released in time for the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's first song recording. Ritchie's third game for Stern was World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour (pinball)
World Poker Tour is a Stern pinball machine released in January 2006. It is based on the series of poker tournaments of the same name.-External links:**...
. World Poker Tour was the first game to use Stern's new hardware, S.A.M., which is the successor to their older Whitestar platform. He has recently revealed in an interview that he was forced by Gary Stern to design the game http://www.marvin3m.com/topcast/showget.php?id=32. Currently, Ritchie has just completed his fourth game for Stern, Spider-Man, using characters licensed from all three movies. Spider-Man was a great success and is still available for purchase.
After completing "24", a pinball machine based on the TV series of the same name, Ritchie was laid off from Stern along with most of the company's other pinball designers. A March 3, 2011 Press Release from Stern reported that Steve had returned to Stern to design the next generation of pinball machines. .
Atari
- Airborne Avenger (1977)
- Superman (1979)
- California Speed (1996)
Williams
- Flash (1979)Flash (pinball)Flash is a 1979 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams. This was Ritchie's first game for Williams after leaving Atari, after he was finished developing the Superman pinball for Atari. There is no connection between the game and the comics character...
- Stellar Wars (1979)
- FirepowerFirepower (pinball)Firepower is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams.Firepower was the first solid-state electronic pinball to feature 3-ball Multi-Ball, as well as "Lane Change", where the player uses the right flipper button to shift the lit lights in a set of lights on the...
(1980) - Black KnightBlack Knight (pinball)Black Knight is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics.This game is known for its two-level playfield , and introduced the patented "Magna-Save", in which a player-controlled magnet is used to prevent outlane drains. This was first of a series of four...
(1980) - Hyperball (1981)
- High SpeedHigh SpeedHigh Speed is a 1986 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics. This game was based on Ritchie's real-life police chase inside a 1979 Porsche 928....
(1986) - F-14 Tomcat (1987)
- Black Knight 2000 (1989)
- Rollergames (1990)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- The Getaway: High Speed IIThe Getaway: High Speed IIThe Getaway: High Speed II is a 1992 pinball game by Steve Ritchie. It is a sequel to 1986's popular High Speed.The Getaway is almost identical to its predecessor, with the following changes:*Dot-matrix display...
(1992) - Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation (pinball)Star Trek: The Next Generation is a widebody pinball game, designed by Steve Ritchie and released in November 1993 by Williams Electronics. It was part of WMS' SuperPin series , and was based on the TV series. It is the only pinball machine that features three separate highscore-lists...
(1993; part of WMS' SuperPinSuperPinSuperPin is the name given to any of the widebody pinball games released by Williams and Midway between 1993 and late-1994....
series) - No Fear: Dangerous SportsNo Fear: Dangerous SportsNo Fear: Dangerous Sports is a 1995 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams. It is based on the clothing line. This game has an extreme sports theme.-Launch options:...
(1995)
Midway (Bally)
- Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989; co-designed with Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla)
- Ritchie did parts of the game, after original designer Dennis Nordman was severely injured in an off-road motorcycle accident.
Stern / Steve Ritchie Productions
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
- ElvisElvis (pinball)Elvis is a 2004 pinball machine released by Stern. It is based on the singer of the same name.The machine's soundtrack includes Elvis singing "C.C...
(2004) - World Poker TourWorld Poker Tour (pinball)World Poker Tour is a Stern pinball machine released in January 2006. It is based on the series of poker tournaments of the same name.-External links:**...
(2006) - Spider-ManSpider-Man (pinball)Released in June 2007, Stern Pinball developed a Spider-Man pinball machine that encompasses all three Spider-Man theatrical releases .-Game details:...
(2007) - "24", based on 2424 (TV series)24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
(2009)