Yoshikatsu Fujita is the programming half of the LittleWing Corporation, who are responsible for the three incredible pinball simulations released for the Macintosh in the past few years, Tristan, Eight Ball Deluxe and Crystal Caliburn. With Reiko F. Nojima, the other half of LittleWing who did all the graphical work on the three products, Fujita has brought video pinball to new levels of quality and realism, not only on the Macintosh, but on personal computers in general. Currently based in the city of Toyama in Japan, the LittleWing Corporation promises many more great pinball simulations to come. Recently, Fujita was kind enough to grant Inside Mac Games a long distance interview.
IMG: How did you first start programming?
Fujita: When I was a junior in high school, single board computers such as the KIM-1 had been introduced to the market. During that time period, the word “computer” sounded so fascinating to a boy who was interested in science. Though it is unbelievable today, kids then believed that computers could do anything. I was born and brought up in the country side, but some stores began to sell computers in small towns. Though I soon recognized that computers were not magic as I had assumed, a computer became what I wanted to get the most. Machines at that time were too expensive (though they were about $800) to get, so I dropped in at the shop to make programs using the demo machines there everyday on my way home from school. I made some games, such as a baseball game and an othello game, using Tiny Basic and hand assembled machine language. That was my origin as a programmer.
IMG: Why did you chose to develop pinball games for the Macintosh?
Fujita: Before I established LittleWing, I developed software products such as a ray trace renderer, an image database, and drivers for scanners and printers for IBM PC/ATs, SGI IRISs, Unix Workstations, and NEC PCs. I only owned a Macintosh for private use then. I began to develop my first game, Tristan, all by myself in my personal spare time. It was a sort of experiment. Because I was a real fan of mechanical pinball, I wanted to see if it was possible to reproduce it on a computer in an authentic way. I was making my favorite type of game on my favorite machine: pinball on a Macintosh.
IMG: Why do you prefer the Macintosh to other personal computers?
Fujita: From a user’s point of view, the advantage is that Macintosh software, especially the system, is sophisticated in every respect. Recently some applications have become available for both Macintosh and Windows. However, I think this only means that Windows can be used as a Macintosh-like system in some respects. In Windows there are substantial problems with the GUI. For instance, looking at the movements of the mouse cursor, the advantage of the Macintosh is evident. (Using Windows, the cursor flickers and jumps even on 486 machines.)
IMG: What is your working relationship with the other member of LittleWing, Reiko Nojima?
Fujita: At business, she is my partner. In my private life, she is my wife.
IMG: How do you go about designing and programming a new pinball game?
Fujita: First, I make drawings to design a playfield layout, including the number and location of flippers and bumpers, lanes and ramps. Next I design features and layout necessary targets or holes. Also the necessary amount and position of lights are decided. At this stage, the game doesn’t have a theme or a name! I show Reiko this picture and discuss the potential theme. For Crystal Caliburn, we decided to go with Arthurian legend. Then we give appropriate names to each ramp, lane, and feature, such as “Knight,” “Camelot,” “Glass Island,” “Merlin,” “Dragon,” and so on. Since it is difficult to give a complete storyline to the game, we adjust or add or delete features to fit the story. Next, I begin to code and develop the necessary algorithms, while at the same time Reiko begins to design the artwork. Reiko instructs me to change the position of items, such as ramps, to give the artwork more authenticity. This way we modify both the artwork and layout while coding at the same time. For Crystal Caliburn, Reiko simultaneously created sound effects and designed the package including photo shooting and illustrations, all using a Macintosh. The last stage of development is writing the manual and merging sound effects with the program.
IMG: How long did it take you to write your three games?
Fujita: Tristan took about a year. Eight Ball Deluxe and Crystal Caliburn took six months each.
IMG: How did programming a pre-existing pinball game (Eight Ball Deluxe) compare with designing and programming your own?
Fujita: Making a pre-existing pinball game was a good experiment. Compared to creating an original, it seems like “archaeological” work since it reproduces old machines which cannot be seen or played today. So in the creation we intended to reproduce it exactly as it was and not add anything to it. Creating original games has allowed much more flexibility in design, which is difficult at times.
IMG: Which of your three games do you like the most?
Fujita: We love all three of our products.
IMG: What do you prefer in a pinball game: lots of ramps and targets and multi-ball play (like Crystal Caliburn) or a more simple, classic design (like Eight Ball Deluxe)?
Fujita: I prefer multi-level, multi-ball machines. But I also love old machines which remind me of my childhood. What is regrettable is that, generally, it is not possible to play old machines today. The reason I made the Mac version of Eight Ball Deluxe was because I wanted to reproduce such an old machine on a computer.
IMG: What are your favorite “real” pinball games?
Fujita: Mine are Black Knight and Black Knight 2000. Reiko likes Indiana Jones and Dracula.
IMG: Would you ever like to design a real pinball game?
Fujita: Of course I would like to design real games. But for me, creating video pinball games is an enjoyable simulation of creating real pinball games.
IMG: For players who want to really challenge themselves, what’s your personal high score on each of your three games?
Fujita: Tristan, 300 million; Eight Ball Deluxe, 4 million; Crystal Caliburn, 260 million. My high scores are not so high compared to the world high scores. As far as I know, the present high scores are 2,000 million for Tristan, 8 million for Eight Ball Deluxe, and 500 million for Crystal Caliburn. I didn’t expect that such high scores would be achieved. New techniques and strategies which I couldn’t anticipate have been developed by users.
IMG: Why do you think that more modern pinball games feature higher scoring (hundreds of millions) as opposed to older games which usually stay under a million in your average game (like Eight Ball Deluxe)?
Fujita: Though I’m not exactly sure, one possible reason is the advent of the “Jackpot” in many games. This feature could earn millions with one shot and became very popular at the time when there were only six digits on the score board. It became an essential feature in modern pinball. Meanwhile, game rules were getting more complex and the Jackpot became ten million. Then finally a billion machine appeared. Accompanying it, the scores for mid-range difficulty features became millions and helped to increase the digits on score boards. Other possible reasons for the score increases may be because LEDs got cheaper or because of the advent of dot-matrix score boards which could have a larger spread of digits.
IMG: Do you have any aspirations to program anything other than pinball games?
Fujita: Sure I have. Though I cannot mention any concrete ideas now, I’m interested in creating software which features more of Reiko’s artwork.
IMG: What do you think of the current state of the Macintosh market?
Fujita: I’ll be glad if the PowerPC project succeeds so that Macintosh will have a larger share of the market. A more powerful machine gives me more possibilities to implement my ideas.
IMG: Are there any Macintosh games you are particularly fond of?
Fujita: Cosmic Osmo and MYST.
IMG: What do you have to say to people who dismiss pinball games as 90% to 100% luck?
Fujita: Play pinball (non video) anyway. I believe you will get another opinion.
IMG: Why do you emphasize that they should play non-video pinball? For you, what’s the big difference between video and real pinball?
Fujita: Video pinball is fundamentally a simulation of pinball. So if people judge that the original, real pinball, is not any fun by playing only a simulation, I feel sorry for alienating them from real pinball. If people judge video pinball as not fun by playing video pinball, that’s too bad, but OK. The ultimate difference between real pinball and video pinball is that the former is a 3D object but that the latter can only exist on the flat planes of monitors. One of our main purposes is to make users not recognize this difference.
IMG: What do you say to fans of real pinball games who hate video pinball, claiming it is nothing like the “real thing?”
Fujita: I want them to play Crystal Caliburn. If he or she feels it is not fun, please allow us some more time.
