1A/N: Pinball was the way to fame in the 1975 movie "Tommy", but old gives way to new over time.
Feel Me
"All done" the thin, long-haired man said as he sat down on a bar stool. He set his pouch of tools on the stool beside him as the bartender walked over from behind the bar. "I replaced a few bulbs, and the kicker spring was broken on the Stingray machine. The Buckaroo had a bumper that was about ready to go, so I replaced it while I was at it. Otherwise they look to be in pretty good shape, Andy." The man with the British accent ran his hand back through his hair and smiled.
"Oh, my name's not Andy" the bartender laughed. "Sure, it may say Andy Capp on the sign but it's strictly from the cartoon. My real name is George Folkes." Tommy Walker had walked into the bar unannounced with a bag of tools and offered his services to tune up the few pinball machines that were huddled off in one corner of the Andy Capp's Tavern. "Here's your money" George said, laying out some cash in front of the technician. "I'll even throw in a glass of house draft if you'd like" he offered. "Compliments of the best bar in Sunnyvale, California."
"That would be smashing – I could use a cold one." Tommy took the money and stashed it in his shirt pocket, then gladly accepted the drink before pulling a quaff from it. "Never read the comic, but I think I've heard of it." He glanced around for effect. "Seems like a nice enough place; good spot to have a few machines that work properly. I see you've got a Kings & Queens by Gottlieb - that's a great game and one of the classics."
"I'm not surprised that you found they were in good shape; right now everyone seems to want to play that new thing" George said as he pointed to a cabinet. "They line up for it; I leave it unplugged off-hours because I'm afraid it might overheat or something."
"What is it?"
"Guy comes in here and says he works nearby and invented this electronic game and asks me if he can try it out here. I figure sure, why not - I just moved the other games closer together and made room."
"You shouldn't crowd pinball machines; they need their space, just like people. You need room to play."
George laughed. "Right. But I only have so much room, so I had to crowd 'em a little."
"Electronic, eh? Ever have any trouble with it?"
"So far, only had to call someone once about it. Turns out the coin slot was jammed from too many quarters. I think that company has really got something there; it might even be bringing a few more people into the bar here by the looks of it."
Tommy looked over at the cabinet. "How does it work?"
George looked up at the clock; he still had a few minutes before opening. "Let me show you." He grabbed a few quarters from the till and led Tommy over to the game. He reached behind the cabinet and fished around for the electrical plug before finding it and plugging it in; the buttons lit up and after a few moments the screen came to life.
"Like a telly."
"That's the screen you play on. It's pretty simple, kinda like tennis. A little blip comes to you and you block it with your paddle that goes up and down on the screen. You turn this knob to move it up and down."
"It doesn't sound that riveting, George."
"Try it." George inserted a quarter and the game when 'gloop'. "Press the start button when you're ready."
Tommy pushed the button and watched the blip move across his side of the screen until it reached the edge. The score on the opposite side changed from zero to one. Almost immediately the next blip came. Even though it was slow, Tommy missed it while he got a feel for the paddle. The third time he blocked it and the blip bounced back to the other half of the screen before it went off the opposite edge. His score changed from a zero to a one. "No challenge to it."
"Here, let me take this side; the whole thing is to play against someone" George said as he reached for the other paddle control knob. The blip came to him and he blocked it; ready for it now, Tommy was able to keep the blip in play until George finally missed after it had sped up it's movement.
"You can't play by yourself?"
"No, it takes two. But when it gets busy there's no shortage of opponents ready to play; they even had a tournament here last weekend, and I've only had the thing a month."
The game continued to serve, but Tommy walked away from the cabinet after a few points and sat back in front of his beer. "Thanks for the demonstration" he told George as he worked the level down in this glass.
"You're pretty good; you don't want to play some more? I haven't done it much, but it's fun."
"No thanks, mate. I just don't like the...I don't know...the feel of it."
"How do you mean? It's just a game."
"It's hard to describe. A proper game has a feel all to itself. Lights and sounds are important, but you have to feel the game playing in your hands. With those machines over there" he said, gesturing to the pinball games in the corner "I can feel the ball moving around inside the game; bumpers bouncing, targets dropping and kickers ejecting. It's alive, in a way. That..." he squinted to read the name on the cabinet across the room but couldn't quite make it out in the lighting of the bar "...game doesn't feel alive to me. Probably can't even tilt it."
"I'll take your word for it; I don't really play either kind much. Maybe the novelty will wear off, or maybe they'll come up with some new stuff that's different. I'm just a businessman, and I pay attention to where the quarters go" George said as he watched Tommy finish off the glass. "Would like one more for the road?"
"I better not. I'm gonna grab my tools here and stash them in my van before I grab a bite of lunch. I'm working my way south at the moment; no phone, no office, and no schedule."
"You seem to know your way around the inside of those games. Got tired of seeing England and now you're working your way around the US of A?"
"Funny thing; I traveled around England quite a bit when I was younger but never saw any of it - it's a long story. Now I let the wind take me from town to town and find an arcade or pub, make some cash and see what I can see, hear what I can hear and just soak it all in like standing out in the sun. Good luck George; thanks for the beer and the demonstration." Tommy ran his hand through the loops of the tool bag and hoisted it off the stool before shaking the bartender's hand and turned toward the exit. On the way to the door he walked past the new game and read the simple name on it.
Pong.
"Odd name" he thought to himself as he slipped through the door and out into the sun.
The End
A/N: I like pinball. I like Pong. But they are two entirely different types of games; both were more than happy to take a fair share of my quarters over the years. If I remember right, they've came out with a few other video games since then!
