For well over two years now, I’ve had the honor of working with Zen Studios on video pinball tables based on Marvel characters and events. It seems only appropriate that Marvel Pinball: Civil War should release the week of Thanksgiving (as part of PSN’s Zen Pinball 2) – ‘cause I’m plenty thankful for these guys and everything they’ve done with Marvel Pinball so far.

Civil War is one of the biggest events ever told in comics, and as you’d suspect, Zen takes representing it in pinball form very seriously. Here are a just a few reasons why you, the fan, will be thankful that’s the case…

Whose Side Are You On? No, really… When Zen and Marvel decide what tables to do, it’s a truly collaborative process. Sometimes they’re Zen’s idea initially, sometimes they’re ours – it’s Avengers-level teamwork, I tell ya! The idea to do a Civil War table came from us, and with it a mandate: If you choose to do Civil War, you have to let the player decide if he’s with Iron Man and Pro-Registration or with Captain America in opposition to the Superhuman Registration Act. “Whose Side Are You On?” was the slogan for the event, and it’s the event’s central theme – choosing sides simply had to be there. And, after a bit of a prologue involving the Stamford incident, that’s exactly what you’ll do…

Your side determines your experience. Choosing sides doesn’t just reflect your beliefs on who’s right – it also affects gameplay. Most of these are quite subtle (different bonuses and ramps to hit and such), but you’ll also see a story-based link: Go Pro, you’ll get help from the Thunderbolts; side with Cap, Mr. Frank Castle comes along to lend a hand (whether Steve likes it or not).

Your skill recruits undecided heroes to your cause. See those fine folks on the Allies/Enemies board above? They’re all up for grabs to be recruited to your side, and doing so – by nailing ramps and targets, of course – helps to affect the difficulty of the epic one-on-one battles between Iron Man and Cap. According to this particular play-through, Iron Man has recruited Spider-Woman, Tigra and Vision, while Spidey, Human Torch, Ms. Marvel and Luke Cage favor Cap. Sentry? Still deciding. (Oh, I suppose I should also mention that your actions can steal a character’s allegiance…)

You’ll relive huge moments from the story. If you’ve read Civil War (and if you haven’t, do it now!), you’ll remember some huge events, from – SPOILER ALERT – the fall of an Avenger to the wedding of Storm and Black Panther. And the one that made national headlines, of course, as you see (and hear, if you click it) above – which of course only plays if Iron Man recruits him from the Allies board.

You’ll relive not-so-huge moments from the story. We worked with Zen to dig really deep throughout the entire epic Civil War event – not just the core six issues, but the tens of issues spanning other Marvel series as well – to jam in as much authenticity as possible. Above, you can see Iron Man and Cap discussing Tony’s decision to go Pro via Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War, and you can hear it come to life as you will in the Civil War table by clicking on the image. Needless to say, this is by no means the only nearly verbatim conversation of this type that you’ll hear play out between the two.

You’ll experience things you’ve probably never seen with any pinball table, real or video. Without fail, Zen continually impresses players with their ability to innovate with each new table. That’s no different with Civil War. In addition everything I’ve mentioned so far, you’ll also get to do things like start the whole thing with a two-ball multiball (representing the cleanup after the Stamford incident), or marvel (heh) as tracks manifest from thin air (above) – the kind of thing only possible in videogame pinball.

It’s made by a bunch of really nice Hungarians. I realize this has absolutely nothing to do with how Civil War plays, but I just have to point out how great the Zen guys are to work with. They’re awesome, and not just because they have names like Viktor with a K and Zsolt with a “rhymes with ‘jolt’ so you know he’s a badass.” They deserve to be thanked in public for doing such a great job, not just on Civil War, but for all their Zen Pinball greatness. So… Thanks guys!

If you’re as big a fan of Zen Studios as I am, go ahead and let ‘em know in the comments below. Ask questions, too! I try to respond to everyone…

It’s a truly historic day here at the House of Ideas, as Marvel’s The Avengers is finally making its way to American theaters. I’ve seen it. It’s awesome. I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me soon. (Maybe you already do.)

As Interactive Manager at Marvel, it’s been my pleasure to work with Zen Studios on the video-pinball adaptation of the film, which, as one of four great tables in Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles, should be headed your way in just a few weeks. It looks a little something like this…

Cool trailer, I know, but you can see it pretty much anywhere. When Sid Shuman and Jeff Rubenstein – who preside over the PlayStation Blog with legendary Thanos-ian tyranny – demanded I present “a li’l somethin’ extra for our minions,” who was I to say no? So, here you have it, my fellow peons – five cool things about “Marvel’s The Avengers” pinball…

5) Zen Pinball 2!
“Marvel’s The Avengers” and the other three tables within the Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles four-pack help to usher in Zen’s new PlayStation pinball platform on the same launch date (best I can give you now: “soon”). You can read all the details here, but the basics you need to know are 1) it houses all past Marvel Pinball and Zen Pinball titles under one virtual roof, 2) it does more stuff than those other two titles, and 3) you can switch between playing on PS3 and Vita at no extra charge. Excelsior, indeed.

4) Real Movie Assets
See that Quinjet? And those 3D character models? Oh, and those S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors with all sorts of high-tech-looking pictures of countries and stuff (you may have gotten a better look at Comic-Con)? They’re all taken directly from digital assets used in the film. So, that is the Quinjet. Those are Iron Man and Hulk. Those are the same S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors with all sorts of high-tech-looking pictures of countries and stuff.

3) You’re Not Just a Ball – You’re a Character…in the Form of a Ball
In terms of sheer gameplay, this is what makes “Marvel’s The Avengers” one of the most unique video pinball tables you’ll ever play. As you may have noticed, none of the screenshots feature a traditional silver ball for this table – that’s because no traditional silver balls exist at any time while you play. Instead, an Avenger of your choosing – represented by the balls you see above – is dropped right into the thick of things, each boasting his or her own unique buffs based on character specialties. (My personal favorite: An exclusive bonus to the skillshot when you’re Hawkeye.) I look forward to watching the Zen Studios forums and seeing how sequence of Avenger selection affects the battle plan for all the hardcore Zen fans out there.

2) Thor vs. Hulk!
‘Nuff said.

1) Movie Guys Helped Make It
This table was a true team effort. In addition to our games group here at Marvel and, most especially, the immense talent at Zen Studios, “Marvel’s The Avengers” features what may very well be a video pinball first – actual filmmaker involvement.

One of the coolest parts of the development experience for me was shooting ideas around with Executive Producer Jeremy Latcham, Creative Manager of R&D Will Corona Pilgrim and few others of Marvel Studios’ finest. They were genuinely enthused about the process, and I credit them fully with coming up with inspiring some of the missions, as well as the idea of having the Helicarrier act as the setting for the board. Once things were in full swing, Will was especially helpful, providing detailed feedback on everything from character animations to the minute details of the table’s script.

All told, the film team provided some invaluable ideas and feedback. You can tell there’s a lot of talent there – the type that’s capable of creating what very well may be the best super hero movie ever, I’d say…

A lot of people ask me what I do at Marvel as Manager of Licensed Games. The answer is, probably a lot more than you think – but the most important thing by far is checking out each and every element of a game I’m assigned to, ensuring it’s as faithful to Marvel as possible.

Over the last year or so, I’ve had the privilege of working with Zen Studios on Marvel Pinball for PSN. With the Captain America DLC table coming this week, I figure there’s no better time to give you an inside look at what it’s like to approve things here by presenting my…

Top 6 Favorite Approvals for the Captain America Marvel Pinball Table

Why six? Because five just wasn’t enough. Also, know that you’re getting the real deal here – the heading for each entry below is copied and pasted verbatim from Zen’s actual approved submission. Anyway…

6. Captain America Table GDD

Approved: 11/30/10

Game developers love acronyms, and if you’re not down with the lingo, “GDD” is short for “game design document,” which basically describes the whole game on paper. You can tell the folks at Zen have this whole video pinball thing down pat, as their GDDs are always concise yet incredibly descriptive, even throwing in some nice concept art to further illustrate their ideas (yep – just like the one above).

What really impressed us about Zen’s plan for the Cap table was its very specific, comics-inspired vision for the table: “The table’s main missions resemble the stories of Cap and the Howling Commandos and are mostly inspired by Ed Brubaker’s 65th Anniversary Special comic,” the GDD says. “The table also contains many elements of other Cap stories, including conflicts with the Red Skull, who uses the Cosmic Cube against him. Zemo’s Adhesive X and his handheld Death Ray gun are also introduced, along with the Sleeper from the 65th Anniversary Special” (which you can read for yourself via Marvel Digital Comics. From this summary, we knew that we were dealing with a table set during World War II (just like the movie and the Sega game coming out in a few weeks – awesome!), and that it was also going to touch on some classic Cap stuff based in that era.

Just check out the screenshot above to see the comics’ influence in full force, as compared to Zemo’s origin depicted in the classic AVENGERS #4. Notice how the shield arcs away from having just destroyed a canister of Baron Zemo’s Adhesive X. They even nailed Cap’s follow-through!

5. Captain America Table: Character Animations

Approved: 4/12/11

I suppose you can throw in the previous Adhesive X example into this as well, but one of my favorite parts of approving these tables is checking out all the animations in the game, and seeing how they relate to their source material. Straight out of the 65th Anniversary Special, here we see Cap deflecting a powerful green optic laser from the Red Skull’s mega-robot, the Sleeper.

There are a lot of animations like this to review, and I’m thankful that Zen provides me with movie files of each and every one. After all, if you’ve played any of the past Marvel Pinball tables, you know that seeing all of the animations just by playing the game takes a level of mastery only possessed by the most powerful of pinball wizards. Of which I am not.

4. Captain America Table: Red Skull Jet Pack 3D Model

Approved: 12/17/10

Pretty self-explanatory here: It’s Red Skull…in a jetpack. We loved the look and were left wondering how sweet it would look in gameplay. And, whata’ya know…

Awesomeness confirmed.

3. CAPTAIN AMERICA TRAILER

Approved: 5/2/11

I mean, have you seen this thing? Video pinball has never looked more epic. The music playing just as the Captain America logo comes up is downright inspirational. You know…as game trailers go.

2. Captain America Table: Baron Zemo Death Ray Gun 2D Concept

Approved: 1/7/11

Sure, this trademark Baron Zemo weapon looks cool, with maybe even too much attention to detail (I’m not sure it’s even possible to see that “Z” in gameplay), but that’s not why it ranks so highly here. The real reason this submission excites me so much is the fact that I can now say this with a straight face: “I’ve approved a death ray.”

The day I approved this, I had to tweet this sentiment: “I just approved a death-ray gun for a future Marvel game. I wonder how many people’s jobs involve death-ray guns…” I’m guessing not many. I love my job.

1. Captain America Table: Release Candidate

Approved: 4/26/11

In other words: THE COMPLETED GAME ITSELF. Play it yourself when it hits Marvel Pinball on PSN this Tuesday.

X-Men Arcade holds up as one of the greatest beat-‘em-up games of its era, and if you were a fan of it when it came out, I think you’ll agree that the 18-year wait for a console version was definitely worth it… but not only for gameplay fun and nostalgia. A big part of the game’s charm playing it now is something we didn’t really think twice about back in 1992 – powers that went beyond characters’ capabilities, laughable in-game dialogue, and other oddities, for example. In other words, the kinds of things that the person with my job at Marvel would strike down in a game design document the moment we see them crop up in a current game. But for this one, we’re letting it all slide.

If you know your Marvel, you might remember a comics series called WHAT THE–?! from the ‘80s (you may have even seen a series of hilarious videos thanks to Marvel.com). So, with that in mind, here are what I would consider the top five “What the–?!” things about X-Men Arcade…

5. The Juggernaut’s self-esteem boost. It’s been well established in the comics that “nothing can stop the Juggernaut,” so the dude normally just pretty much rampages through anything in his way, and that’s that. But in X-Men Arcade, he must have been feeling a little less unstoppable – so he started packin’ a bazooka. I suppose there’s a more logical explanation, though. Maybe he just thinks bazookas are awesome, so decided now was the time to try one out. After all, he can easily carry one like a piece of paper given his strength, and at the end of the day he’s just a dude. And part of being a dude is inherently knowing that bazookas are awesome.

4. Who am I fighting? We all know the bosses in X-Men Arcade pretty well: In their own words, Pyro will burn you to toast, nothing moves the Blob, and the White Queen welcomes you to die, to name a few. But who are these shlubs I’m clobbering the rest of the time? Lizard dudes? Little mini-Krakoas? Some kinds of Sentinels I’ve never seen? None of these guys look quite like anything I’ve ever seen in the comics, nor the “Pryde of the X-Men” cartoon on which the game is actually based. But let’s just assume those last foes I mentioned are indeed Sentinels…

3. Why is Magneto working with Sentinels?! Even if the common enemies you’re taking on all the time are just some sort of Sentinel-type robot, Magneto’s still working with the nastiest Sentinel of them all, in Nimrod, plus the huge one above that shows up out of nowhere delivering “mini-Krakoas” and Reavers from his mouth. Ehh, who cares about the “why”? Let’s just say Magneto’s controlling them all with his magnetism powers and call it a day.

2. Can he really do that? Quick answer: No. Nightcrawler can’t zap you when he teleports (pictured above). Wolverine can’t shoot lasers from his claws your way. Nor can Colossus flex and go “RAWWWAAAARRRRR!!!” to send you to kingdom come. It’s all kinds of fun to do all those things in the game, though!

1. What did you just say, Magneto?… For being one of the most brilliant super villains in the history of comics, Magneto sure says some silly things. My favorites: “X-chickens!” he taunts during the final battle. “I am Magneto! Master of Magnet!” he proclaims with the audacity to make master of unlocking Jill Valentine jealous. And, finally, one of the greatest pieces of videogame dialogue of all time: “X-Men… Welcome to die!”, which we made sure could be heard at the end of the game’s trailer…

So, yeah… None of those things would be presented the same way if this were a new game going through today’s typical Marvel approval process for games. But it’s not, and all of this ridiculousness is still 100 percent completely in tact. I wouldn’t have it any other way….

Of course, a lot of people already say that about ZEN Pinball – so just imagine that game with tables based on Iron Man, Spider-Man, Blade and Wolverine, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect.

I don’t know about you, but all of my favorite actual pinball machines from the glory days of arcades were based around licenses (e.g., Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Addams Family, etc.); to that end, the Marvel flavor really takes these tables to the next level. And while ZEN Pinball demonstrates Zen Studios’ immeasurable passion for making awesome pinball tables, Marvel Pinball enhances things with an equal passion for Marvel and its characters. These guys really get it.

Let’s take a look at each table in the initial set, shall we? (Yes, I said “initial” – Marvel Pinball will regularly expand upon with new tables. More on that at the end.)

The Invincible Iron Man

With a couple of hit movies in the recent past, some might argue that Iron Man is the most popular hero at Marvel these days. (Who’da thunk that three years ago?…) As with all tables, Zen gives us a comics-based take on Tony Stark’s heroics, including showdowns with the Mandarin, Whiplash (who at times actually destroys your ball if it crosses his path) and – if you’re a real pinball wizard – Ultimo. And the table doesn’t just stick to the “Iron Man” part of Tony’s life – you’ll also hit ramps and other targets to throw huge galas and boost Stark Industries’ stock price. You even get 3D models of Tony and Iron Man, including the suit-up process whenever you start a mission.

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Spider-Man table is all about the special touches. First of all, just check out the zoomed-out view: Though it seems a bit odd that Peter Parker would ever have a pinball machine in his apartment based around his everyday life, you have to love the setup there. And then, once you play, you get things like J. Jonah Jameson yelling at you, Mysterio reversing your controls, a “clone” multiball mode, a ramp that leads to Spidey’s hand shooting out a web and, my personal favorite…

…PLAYABLE PUMPKIN BOMBS! I mean, how cool is that?! You hit them with your flippers, and they explode after a certain amount of time and everything.

Blade

I know what you’re thinking, ‘cause it’s the same thing I thought at first: “Blade? In the first batch of tables? Really?” But then you play it and you know why. In fact, this might be my favorite table of the bunch, with all sorts of perfectly placed ramps and minigames. I especially like its day/night cycle, wherein you gather resources by day and fight vampires such as Dracula and Deacon Frost alongside Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds’ first onscreen comic book character) by night. Just like the 1998 movie, the fun everyone has with this table is really going to surprise some people.

Wolverine

And here’s the final table in this first batch, bub. At first we at Marvel wondered why Zen didn’t want to just do an X-Men table to start things out, but then they showed us just how packed with Wolverine’s history they could get – we were convinced. The table does an excellent job of showcasing Wolvie’s annual “birthday present” from Sabretooth – which, if you don’t know, is a yearly fight to the death. Plus, we get to take part in his rivalry with the Silver Samurai, scrappin’ with some Sentinels and Hand ninjas, tapping into his volatile memory, and even reliving the Weapon X experiment that infused him with adamantium. It’s also awesome when Logan’s hand bursts through the back to feed you a new ball, and I’m pretty proud of a personal contribution: to activate a ballsaver, spell out SNIKT.

And That’s Not All!

As I’ve mentioned, the four debut tables seen here are only the beginning. Marvel Pinball isn’t just a set of four tables – it’s a platform for many Marvel-related pinball tables to come. What’s next? Well, that’s something Zen wants you to help them decide between Captain America, Hulk, Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider. Go to MarvelPinball.com and cast your vote! Then, let us know which tables you want to see in the comments below…

In all, we’re talking about eight total games at the panel, seven of which involve the PS3. Here’s a game-by-game rundown of all the new information you can expect in the order we’ll be discussing them at the panel:

EXCLUSIVE NEW INFO for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions: Yeah, I know you’ve already played this one (you have, haven’t you?!…), but we’re not done with Beenox’s awesome trip through four Spidey universes yet. In addition to having Creative Director Thomas Wilson answer some lingering questions posed by the Marvel gaming diehards at HeroHQ.com, we’ve also got another revelation about the game for you.

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet: Creative Director Jason Gholston of developer Griptonite joins us for THQ’s first PS3 outing for the Squaddies. This is the kind of Marvel game that kids will dig while their Marvel-loving parents play with them and appreciate the humorous take on an iconic Marvel story they grew up with.

EXCLUSIVE REVEALS for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds: You might have heard something about this one. In addition to chatting with Writer Frank Tieri and Producer Ryota Niitsuma, we’ll also be unveiling two new Marvel characters. And because I like you people, I’ll go ahead and give you a couple of PlayStation.Blog exclusive clues: One of these Marvel folks is a returning character, one is brand new as a playable character not only to fighting games, but to videogames period. Any guesses?…

(Side note: Within the next hour, Capcom will announce two new Capcom characters of their own during their MvC3-specific panel, which begins at 7:15 EDT. If you’re reading this, and you’re not already in line or seated for it, you’re probably too late…)

Thor: God of Thunder: Thor’s first ever solo adventure is coming from Sega and Liquid Entertainment, and Producer Matt Powers will be on hand to talk about things like working with Matt Fraction on the game-specific story, where the game will take us, and what separates it from other action games.

EXCLUSIVE NEW INFO for Captain America: Super Soldier: OK, I’ll admit there isn’t a specified reveal here (hey, we just announced the game three days ago), but we’re talking to the game’s writer, Christos Gage, so you’re bound to learn a lot more about the story. Brandon Gill from developer Next Level Games will also be on hand to talk about the first new game with “Captain America” in the title in a long time.

EXCLUSIVE NEW INFO for X-Men: Destiny: Like with Captain America, you just learned about this fall 2011 Activision game, and while there’s nothing exactly planned in terms of revelations, we’re talking to the game’s writer, Mike Carey. (If you don’t know who he is, you need to get back into reading your X-Men: Legacy comics, my friend!) I know a lot of you are wondering exactly what the game actually is, and this panel might just shed a little more light on the subject for you.

And finally…

AN EXCLUSIVE GAME ANNOUNCEMENT! That’s all I can say. Sorry. Well, OK, I’ll give you this to chew on anyway: This is something I’ve been wanting for as long as I’ve been at Marvel, and it’s finally really happening. Maybe you have a good guess, maybe you don’t. But, as I said on Twitter last week, the game is so likeable, only people who hate fun won’t want it. Trust me.

That’s all I’ve got for now, friends. If you can make it to the panel, great. If you can’t, well, at least you have a solid rundown on all of the great stuff Marvel games have in store for you over the next year.

Well…not all of it…

The next Marvel game coming your way is Zen Studios’ The Punisher: No Mercy – and as you probably know, it’s a PSN exclusive…and it’s coming very soon. If you’ve been reading this blog over the past few months, you know the basics. But here’s something about the game you might not know…

As an arena-style first-person shooter built on the Unreal engine, No Mercy sports a lot of in-game taunts and other dialogue from all eight characters — close to 400 in total. Many of these lines were written exclusively for the game, but the rest? Well, one of the most important responsibilities we have here at Marvel is making sure our characters are, well, in character — and what better way to ensure this than to rip them straight from the comics?

So, that’s what we did. I can personally attest that work isn’t so bad when your job is to pour through hundreds of pages of comics.

Want some examples? Well, here you go. Just click on the images to hear the words on the page come to life — just like you’ll hear them in the game.

A defining character line from Silver Sable (Ultimate Spider-Man #87).

You’ll hear Finn Cooley tell you this if he kills you (Punisher MAX #12).

Jigsaw does his best Rambo imitation (The Punisher, Vol. 2 #38).

As if those lines weren’t enough, I challenged the guys at Zen Studios to create situational taunts. For example, if it’s the Punisher against Bushwacker, the guy with the skull on his chest has a thing or two he only tells the assassin with a gun-arm who used to be a priest. Something like this from War Journal #13:

There’s all kinds of stuff like that.

I leave you with our favorite foul-mouthed Punisher enemy, Barracuda. In order to keep this a family blog entry, this panel from issue 34 in the MAX series is one of the few I can show you (it’s heavily cropped), and it’s attached to one of the few sound clips we can play for you.

To answer your question…Yes, his teeth really do say that in the game.