History Pinball / Orbitor1

* SelectiveMagnetism: Averted; ''Orbitor 1'' doesn't use magnets at all, though that hasn't stopped some people from [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer mistakenly attributing the pinball's odd motion to magnets]].
* SpaceshipSlingshotStunt: The primary point of the game.
* {{Title 1}}

* AppealToNovelty
* BattleTops

* {{Title 1}}

'''Orbitor 1''' is a widebody PhysicalPinballTable released by Creator/SternElectronics in 1982. It was the last table made by Stern before their pinball division declared bankruptcy and closed its doors.

* SpaceshipSlingshotStunt: The primary point of the game.

* [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale Sci-Fi Pinballs Have No Sense of Scale]]: The backglass has three astronomical bodies impossibly close to each other.

Instead of a regular pinball's flat surface, the ''Orbitor 1'' playfield consists of two parts: the bottom was molded plastic that was painted to resemble a lunar surface, while above it was a transparent warped plexi-bowl layer where the ball moves. Two spinning bumpers sat in the middle and a set of dropdown targets sat on the sides; in a moderately-lit room, the upper playfield was almost complete invisible, resulting in games that looked like pinballs orbiting the bumpers over a lunar surface. The curved table even extended behind the flippers, and skilled players could make potential drains orbit around and back onto the playfield. Even the backbox got into the act, with a molded planet and orbiting moon protruding from the art.

Instead of a conventional pinball's flat table, the ''Orbitor 1'' playfield consists of two layers: the lower layer was plastic, molded and painted to resemble a lunar surface, while above was a transparent warped plexi-bowl layer where the ball moves. Two spinning bumpers sat in the middle and a set of dropdown targets sat on the sides; in a moderately-lit room, the upper playfield was almost complete invisible, resulting in games that looked like pinballs orbiting the bumpers over a lunar surface. The curved table even extended behind the flippers, and skilled players could make potential drains orbit around and back onto the playfield. Even the backbox got into the act, with a molded planet and orbiting moon protruding from the art.

''Orbitor 1'' received a lot of attention from distributors when the game was first shown, and Stern reportedly received orders for several thousand games. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save the pinball division, and only 800 tables were made before the company exited the industry. Unfortunately, ''Orbitor 1'' has not been vindicated over time; while it's a radical novelty at first, the sparse layout, simple rules, and sheer difficulty of aiming shots on an uneven surface quickly turns off most players. It gets the best reception in larger collections as a change of pace from mainstream pinball games.

Instead of a conventional pinball's flat table, the ''Orbitor 1'' playfield consists of two plastic layers: the lower layer was molded plastic, painted to resemble a lunar surface, while above was a transparent warped plexi-bowl layer where the ball rolls. Two spinning bumpers sat in the middle and a set of dropdown targets sat on the sides; in a moderately-lit room, the upper playfield was almost complete invisible, resulting in games that looked like pinballs orbiting the bumpers over a lunar surface. The curved table even extended behind the flippers, and skilled players could make potential drains orbit around and back onto the playfield. Even the backbox got into the act, with a molded planet and orbiting moon protruding from the art.

The game was originally conceived by Dixie Rinehart and Al Gross of Aspen, Colorado; their company, New Product Development People (NPDP), had invented and developed various devices for NASA, such as zero-gravity toilets and improved astronaut gloves. After seeing a museum exhibit on gravity that featured marbles rolling around a bowled surface, they realized it could be turned into a game. When a pitch to Disney failed to yield fruit, NPDP contacted Stern Electronics, who agreed to develop it as the world's first "3-D pinball".

Instead of a conventional pinball's flat table, the ''Orbitor 1'' playfield consists of two plastic layers: the lower layer was molded plastic, painted to resemble a lunar surface, while above was a transparent warped plexi-bowl layer where the ball rolls. Two spinning bumpers sat in the middle and a set of dropdown targets sat on the sides; in a moderately-lit room, the upper playfield was almost complete invisible, resulting in games that looked like pinballs orbiting the bumpers over a lunar surface. The curved table even extended behind the flippers, and skilled players could make potential drains orbit around and back onto the playfield. Even the backbox got into the act, with a molded planet and orbiting moon protruding from the background art.

''Orbitor 1'' received a lot of attention from distributors when the game was first shown, and Stern reportedly received orders for several thousand games. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save the pinball division, and only 800 tables were made before the company exited the industry. Unfortunately, ''Orbitor 1'' has not been vindicated over time; while it's a radical novelty at first, the sparse layout, simple rules, and sheer difficulty of aiming shots on an uneven surface quickly turns off most players. It gets the best reception in larger collections as a change of pace from conventional pinball games.

* SpaceshipSlingshotStunt: The primary point of the game.

The game was originally conceived by Dixie Rinehart and Al Gross of Aspen, Colorado; their company, New Product Development People (NPDP), had invented and developed various devices for NASA, such as zero-gravity toilets and improved astronaut gloves. After seeing a museum exhibit on gravity that featured marbles rolling around a bowled surface, they realized it could be turned into a game. After a failed pitch to Disney, NPDP contacted Stern Electronics, who agreed to develop it as the world's first "3-D pinball".

''Orbitor 1'' received a lot of attention from distributors when the game was first shown, and Stern reportedly received orders for several thousand games. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save the pinball division, and only 800 tables were made before the company exited the industry. Unfortunately, ''Orbitor 1'' has not been vindicated over time; while it's a radical novelty at first, the sparse playfield, simple rules, and sheer difficulty of aiming shots on an uneven playfield quickly turns off most pinball players. It gets the best reception in larger collections as a change of pace from conventional games.

[[caption-width-right:350:''Top:'' The pinball table.\\
''Bottom:'' A close-up of the curved playfield.]]