Black Knight (pinball)
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 Publicity Flyer | |
| Manufacturer | Williams |
|---|---|
| Release date | November 1980 |
| System | Williams System 7 |
| Design | Steve Ritchie |
| Programming | Larry DeMar |
| Artwork | Tony Ramunni |
| Voices | Steve Ritchie (Black Knight) |
| Production run | 13,075 |
Black Knight is a 1980 pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie (who also provides the Knight's voice) and released by Williams Electronics.
Ritchie designed two sequels: Black Knight 2000, released by Williams in 1989, and Black Knight: Sword of Rage, released by Stern Pinball in 2019.[1]
This machine is the first to use PERC software in masked ROM's created by Larry DeMar, natively supporting 7 digit scores with commas.[2] This software allowed for multitasking and the use of timers.[3]
This game uses two-level playfield, the first solid-state pinball game to do so;[4] most game designers of the time, including Harry Williams thought of the idea of multi-level playfields, but how to design one had been elusive.[5] The most difficult design problem was having sufficient ball clearance under the upper playfield with components placed so the ball couldn't strike any of the parts hanging below the playfield.[6] As the ball cannot drain from the upper playfield,[5] the lower playfield was designed to be fast and prone to drains to keep playtime reasonably low.[3]
The game introduced the patented "Magna-Save",[7] in which a player-controlled magnet is used to prevent outlane drains. This is first of a series of four games in 1980/1 that are both two-level and feature magna-save,[8] with the other games called Jungle Lord, Pharaoh, and Solar Fire.[9] When activated the machine controls the time the electro-magnets of magna-save are active (adjustable by the operator from three to nine seconds).[10] Magna-save is activated by the player pressing one of two buttons placed on each side of the cabinet, just above the flipper buttons. When a ball drains down the outlane in spite of using magna-save, the machine laughs at the player, reinforcing the theme of the game as an evil knight vs. the player.[10]
It is the first game to use faceted inserts in the playfield.[11]
The game uses a loud bell instead of a knocker when a special (free game) is won.[12]
After its initial production run of over 10,000 machines, it was put back into production six months later to satisfy demand.[13]
Layout
The upper playfield is reached by three ramps, one of the left, and two on the right. It contains two flippers, a bumper, and six drop targets.[6]
The lower part of the playfield contains a bank of three drop-targets in the middle, with a kick-out hole to the right of these. To the left of the drop-targets is a loop which goes beneath the upper playfield. On the left side of the machine is a further group of three drop-targets.[14]
The artwork features a sword on the lower playfield, and the Black Knight on the backglass.[14]
Gameplay
By hitting various targets the bonus can be advanced to a maximum of 49,000 and a multiplier of 5X.[10]
Each of the in-lanes starts a timed hurry-up shot. The main objectives are to hit sets of drop-targets, and play multiball.[14]
This machine introduced the "bonus ball" in multiplayer games, where the player at the end of a game with the highest score awarded a multiball to play for an additional 30 seconds on factory settings.[15]
Reception
Roger Sharpe awarded the game 4+/4 in a review for Play Meter, calling it an "exceptional, dramatic breakthrough for pinball".[14]
In 1981, the game won Play Meter awards for best pinball, and for best technical innovation for the diagnostics on the front door of the machine.[16]
Due to its popularity, many arcades charged 50c per game.[17]