History Creator / GregKmiec

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''[[Pinball/{{Wizard}} Wizard!]], [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, Pinball/TheSixMillionDollarMan, Pinball/HarlemGlobetrottersOnTour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors such as Creator/{{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989 after Williams' acquisition of Bally, but eventually returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

* ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' (Capcom, 1996)

Though retired today, Kmiec remains active attending pinball and gaming conventions. He is a lifelong amateur radio enthusiast, and is a member of the Metro Amateur Radio Club and Chicago ARES. He also served as a volunteer member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary as a Communications Staff Officer, and can be found on the airwaves with the call sign [=W9WIZ=] (a [[WPUN vanity call sign]] that's a reference to ''Wizard'').

Though retired today, Kmiec remains active attending pinball and gaming conventions. He is a lifelong amateur radio enthusiast, and is a member of the Metro Amateur Radio Club and Chicago ARES . He also served as a volunteer member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary as a Communications Staff Officer, and can be found on the airwaves with the call sign [=W9WIZ=].

[[caption-width-right:250:Where's the red post?]]

* CreatorThumbprint[=/=]EasterEgg: Kmiec always includes a solid red post on his playfields. The tradition started in TheSeventies, when Bally refused to identify their designers for fear of competitors poaching their talent. Kmiec included a red post (at the time reserved for bingo games) as a way around the edict. Photos of Kmiec's red-post pinballs can be found [[http://www.jeff-z.com/pinball/redpost/redpost.html here.]]

* ''Pinball/BowAndArrow'' (Bally, 1974)
* ''[[Pinball/{{Wizard}} Wizard!]]'' (Bally, 1975)

* ''Pinball/{{Supersonic}}'' (Bally, 1979)

* ''Pinball/{{Cybernaut}}'' (Bally, 1985)
* ''Pinball/CitySlicker'' (Bally, 1987)
* ''Pinball/TransporterTheRescue'' (Bally, 1989)

* ''Pinball/RedLineFever'' (Capcom, unreleased)

* [[CensorDecoy Feature Decoy]]: During his Bally years, Kmiec always put in two new features in every game, one that he wanted along with a more expensive decoy. During review, Bally's design head Norm Clark would inevitably insist on removing the expensive feature, allowing Kmiec's preferred toy to remain.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''[[Pinball/{{Wizard}} Wizard!]], [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, Pinball/TheSixMillionDollarMan, Pinball/HarlemGlobetrottersOnTour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors such as {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989 after Williams' acquisition of Bally, but eventually returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''[[Pinball/{{Wizard}} Wizard!]], [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, Pinball/TheSixMillionDollarMan, Harlem Globetrotters On Tour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors such as {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989 after Williams' acquisition of Bally, but eventually returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

* ArtifactTitle: Greg Kmiec is sometimes referred to as "Gypsy", a nickname given to him by artist Dave Christensen during development of ''Wizard!''. Kmiec was in the midst of moving at the time; Christensen jokingly called him "gypsy" due to the difficulty of finding him when key decisions had to be made.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''[[Pinball/{{WWizard}} Wizard!]], [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, Pinball/TheSixMillionDollarMan, Harlem Globetrotters On Tour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors such as {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989 after Williams' acquisition of Bally, but eventually returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''Wizard!, [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, The Six Million Dollar Man, Harlem Globetrotters On Tour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors such as {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989 after Williams' acquisition of Bally, but eventually returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

* ''Pinball/PowerPlay'' (Bally, 1978)

[[caption-width-right:250:The Gypsy]]

Raised in Illinois, Kmiec first got hooked on pinball when he started working part-time for Creator/BallyMidway in Chicago while still attending school. He graduated from college with credentials for teaching English, but after a brief stint as a teacher, Kmiec signed on with Bally full time. There, he worked his way through every department, and eventually taught himself enough about pinball to become one of Bally's two full-time designers.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''Wizard!, [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, The Six Million Dollar Man, Harlem Globetrotters On Tour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors such as {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989, after Williams' acquisition of Bally. Kmiec returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

--->''Kmiec:''' "If players have to pour over ihe iistruction card, it's not good."

* CreatorThumbprint: Kmiec always includes a solid red post on his playfields. The tradition started in TheSeventies, when Bally refused to identify their designers for fear of competitors poaching their talent. Kmiec included a red post (at the time reserved for bingo games) as a way around the edict. Photos of Kmiec's red-post pinballs can be found [[http://www.jeff-z.com/pinball/redpost/redpost.html here.]]

* ArtifactTitle: Greg Kmiec is sometimes referred to as "Gypsy", a nickname given to him by artist Dave Christensen during development of ''Wizard!'' Kmiec was in the midst of moving at the time; Christensen jokingly called him "gypsy" due to the difficulty of finding him for key design decisions.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which have become icons of the early solid-state years: ''Wizard!, [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, The Six Million Dollar Man, Harlem Globetrotters On Tour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors like {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989, after Williams' acquisition of Bally. Kmiec returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

At Bally, Kmiec designed numerous titles, many of which icons of the early solid-state years: ''Wizard!, [[Pinball/CaptainFantastic Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,]] Power Play, The Six Million Dollar Man, Harlem Globetrotters On Tour, Supersonic,'' and ''Pinball/{{Xenon}}''. Kmiec remained at Bally for over twenty years, refusing offers from competitors like {{Atari}} and Creator/WilliamsElectronics. He eventually left the field in 1989, after Williams' acquisition of Bally. Kmiec returned in 1995, designing ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}'' for Creator/{{Capcom}} in their short-lived foray into pinballs.

Though retired today, Kmiec remains active attending pinball and gaming conventions. He is a lifelong amateur radio enthusiast, and is a member of the Metro Amateur Radio Club and Chicago ARES . He also served as a volunteer member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary as a Communications Staff Officer, and can be found on the airwaves with the call sign W9WIZ.

The Gypsy

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