Intervju med John Youssi

John Youssi är konstnären bakom den fantastiska grafiken som pryder många spel.
Bland annat:Gilligan´s Island, The Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Road Show, Medieval Madness...

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This first question is actually forwarded from Brian Eddy to you:
B.E: ask Youssi which backglass was the hardest and most detailed to do?
Youssi:My most difficult backglasses were Twilight Zone & Medieval Madness.
I just got back from the Gaming show in Las Vegas & the AMOA show was there as well.
Our new pingame "Roller Coaster Tycoon" was in the STERN PINBALL booth.
The game was well received & I hope you can play it real soon.
It was also good to see so many ex-pinball people out there.
'Not sure when it will be available in Europe.
Pat Lawlor is already working on our next game we had an art meeting a couple of weeks ago.
Can't tell you anything about it now but the theme is rich & lends itself to pinball perfectly!
Regards: John

SLJ: How did you get involved in the pinball business?
Youssi: I was working on toy concept design & as it turned out, one of the employees at the toy company was a friend & advisor to Ken Fedesna, a Williams executive. They were in need of an artist & I was called in to work on "Jokkerz" with Python. Just backglasses at first. My 2nd glass was "Police Force"

SLJ: Starting with Whirlwind you have worked on all Pat Lawlor designs'. What is it that makes you work together every time?
Youssi: Ken Fedesna called me in to meet Pat Lawlor. He had finished "Banzai Run" & "Earthshaker" & his new game was to be called "Whirlwind". Although I was nervous about taking on an entire game, I took the leap & the rest is history! I did work with other game designers during my years with Williams but I liked Pat's approach to the whole team concept.

SLJ: Do you own any pinball machine? If so have you gotten a pin just for the artwork on it?
Youssi: I own 4 games right now, (actually 2 of them belong to my sons.) Whirlwind , Funhouse, Medieval Madness & my last pingame for Williams, Cactus Canyon. Williams was very generous with their games & I was allowed to purchace each of my games for a very small amount. I have'nt bought any games by other artists.

SLJ: You seem to use a more humorous style on pins with an original theme and a more serious style on pins with a movie/licensed theme. How much is the theme influencing your style?
Youssi: Theme has everything to do with my technique. I've developed several styles over the years & feel free to use whatever conveys the idea best! The computer has added a whole new dimention to my work.

SLJ: The artwork on the back glass and the playfield are lit. Is this something you take into account while you work on it?
Youssi: Lighting is very important, both on the playfield & the backglass. We had to design a lighting grid for each backglass using up to 35 small GI lights. (Now the Stern games are illuminated with a flourescent bulb.) The lighting was tied in to Game play & it was always tough printing a glass & balancing the correct amount of color with the various amount of illumination! The playfield lights are layed out by Pat but I have the freedom to move them around if I have a particular reason. Because the playfield light locations are routed out of the wood, it's difficult to change the position once we're into the game.

SLJ: The artwork on Twilight Zone plays a big part in making the game a classic. Had you seen most of the episodes before the start of the project? What gave you the idea for the curio shop?
Youssi: Thanks for the compliment on "TwilightZone." As a kid growing up I was greatly influenced by the tv show & never missed an episode if I had my studies finished. 'Guess I have'nt seen every episode but I did buy the book "Twilight Zone Companion" which is a good source of info on all the episodes. Pat had the idea for the curio shop right from the begining. It was my idea to move the viewpoint outside "looking in" (similar to a Norman Rockwell illustration of a barber shop). I had to do an early rough sketch to submit to Viacom & Carol Serling. We only had a few days for this but it's amazing how little the art changed from this early rough!

SLJ: Which pinball artwork are you most satisfied with, counting both your own and others?
Youssi: Twilight Zone & Medieval Madness are my own 2 personal favorites. Other favorites are Greg Freres' "Star Trek, next generation" & Kevin O'Connor's "Star Wars".

SLJ: Is your artwork the final part on a new pin, or are you involved from the beginning? I mean, the art is often integrated with the toys on the playfield.
Youssi: The artist is traditionaly part of the team right from begining. Some artists are more involved in actual game design then others. Greg Freres &Doug Watson are good examples of this, both of those guys contributed lots to the game play & design. Since I'm not a good player, I leave game design to the game designer but never hesitate to suggest a toy or 2.

SLJ: Which pinball game is your all-time favourite, all categories?
Youssi: My favorite would have to be "Addams Family".

-Hope these are of interest to you : John

Ja

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