Gorgar
1979 pinball machine
title: "Gorgar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1979-pinball-machines", "williams-pinball-machines"] description: "1979 pinball machine" topic_path: "general/1979-pinball-machines" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1979 pinball machine ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Pinball | title = Gorgar"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| manufacturer | Williams Electronics |
| system | Williams System 6 |
| image | [[File:Gorgar (pinball).jpg |
| caption | Arcade flyer |
| designer | Barry Oursler |
| artwork | Constantino Mitchell, Jeanine Mitchell |
| sound | Eugene Jarvis |
| release | December 1979 |
| production | Approximately 14,000 |
| programmer | Paul Dussault |
| :: |
|manufacturer = Williams Electronics |system =Williams System 6 |image = [[File:Gorgar (pinball).jpg|250px]] |caption = Arcade flyer |designer= Barry Oursler |artwork= Constantino Mitchell, Jeanine Mitchell |sound= Eugene Jarvis |release = December 1979 |production = Approximately 14,000 |programmer=Paul Dussault}} ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Gogar_Pinball.jpg" caption="''Gorgar'' at UK Pinfest 2025"] ::
Gorgar is a 1979 pinball machine designed by Barry Oursler and released by Williams Electronics. It is the first speech-synthesized ("talking") pinball machine, containing a vocabulary of seven words.
Design
The game was planned for a year before its introduction at the 1979 AMOA show; a single prototype of an earlier game, Disco Fever, with speech was shown at the 1978 AMOA show, but the table never went into production with this feature.
Sound design
The game uses its vocabulary of seven words ("Gorgar", "speaks", "beat", "you", "me", "hurt", "got") to combine to form varying broken-English phrases, such as "Gorgar speaks" and "Me got you". The pinball machine also has a heartbeat sound effect that increases in speed during longer gameplay.
The sound board uses a Motorola CVSD chip. The words were played back about 30% slower than they were recorded for a robot-like sound.
The background sound improved on that used on Flash released in January 1979.
According to the game's programmer, Paul Dussault, "the voice was John Doremus, an announcer in Chicago that we recorded and then digitized his voice. He was the voice of the in flight audio for various airlines. We had tried in house voices but weren’t getting the bass effect we wanted to make Gorgar sound menacing."
A promotional flexi-disc for the machine titled Gorgar Speaks was produced by Bud Solk & Associates. This however credits John Doremus as the announcer, and Tom Erhart as Gorgar.
The designer of the game thought it worked well because the speech was primitive, but so was the creature "Gorgar".
General design
The game includes a magnet that holds the ball while points are awarded; this feature was taken from a 1971 Williams game called Zodiac.
Layout
At the top of the machine are A-B-C lanes above three thumper bumpers; this area can be reached when the ball is launched from the plunger, or by hitting a lane on the right which contains a spinner. The top left side includes a "snake pit" which can hold the ball with a magnet; just below this are three G-O-R drop targets. In the middle of the playfield are three more drop targets, labelled G-A-R. Towards the lower part of the playfield are four bullseye targets, 1-2-3-4. A single kick-out hole is recessed on the left side.
Gameplay
The player can advance the bonus multiplier by completing the upper rollover lanes. Completing the 1-4 bullseye targets advances the "snake pit" score and its magnet. Completing G-O-R-G-A-R lights the kick-out hole, which can then award an extra ball. A maximum of one extra ball per ordinal ball can be earned.
Reception
In a review for Play Meter Roger Sharpe awarded the game 3/4, praising the artwork both on the playfield and on the backglass, but criticized some aspects of the layout leading to unfair ball drains. He said it had "phenomenal earning potential" due to the novelty of the voice and short games.
RePlay published a special feature about the machine.
Digital versions
FarSight Studios released the table for Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection on several systems between 2008 and 2011.
Gorgar was released by the same developer in 2012 alongside Monster Bash as table pack 3 for The Pinball Arcade for multiple platforms, and was available until June 30, 2018, when the license for Williams tables expired.
In popular culture
German power metal band Helloween's 1985 album Walls of Jericho includes a track titled "Gorgar" that symbolizes the machine as a form of gambling addiction.
References
References
- Tilley, Ray E.. (September 15, 1980). "Williams planning entry into video marketplace".
- Horowitz, Ken. (2023). "From pinballs to pixels: an arcade history of Williams-Bally-Midway". McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
- (August 24, 2013). "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Gorgar".
- Shaloub, Michael. (2004). "The Pinball Compendium 1970-1981". [[Schiffer Publishing]].
- Flower, Gary. (1988). "Pinball". Apple Press.
- (January 15, 1980). "He does everything but walk".
- Dussault, Paul G.. (2023). ""The Voice" of early solid state Bally, post #42".
- Williams Electronics. (1979). "Gorgar Speaks". Eva-Tone Soundsheets.
- Eiden, Heribert. (1992). "Pinball Machines". Schiffer Publishing.
- (September 1979). "Gorgar instruction manual". Williams Electronics.
- Sharpe, Roger C.. (January 15, 1980). "Critic's Corner".
- (November 1979). "Gorgar speaks at Williams AMOA exhibit".
- Harris, Craig. (2009-09-18). "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection Review [PS3/Xbox 360]".
- Bryant, Paul. (2012-09-04). "PlayStation Store Update - Zen Pinball 2, Plants vs. Zombies table, NFL Sunday Ticket".
- Lawson, Aurich. (2018-05-08). "The Pinball Arcade is losing its classic tables; grab them while you can".
- Helloween. (2016-07-29). "Helloween - Gorgar". Noise Records.
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