| 1 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joe-kaminkow_6115.jpg]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ->''"I think it had the first deaths by diarrhea or farts ever in video games. All I can say is, we had no good taste, no good decorum, and no good style. There almost wasn’t anything that was off limits."'' |
| 4 | -->--Joe K. describes ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins'' [[http://gameological.com/2013/04/splattered-ink/ (source)]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | Joe Kaminkow is a longtime veteran of the arcade and entertainment industries, having worked in many design and executive positions during his career. While most players may not know his name, they're sure to recognize the games and companies he's worked for -- Creator/WilliamsElectronics, Creator/DataEastPinball, Creator/{{Sega}}, ''Pinball/BatmanForever, Pinball/StarshipTroopers, Pinball/StarWarsTrilogy''... |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ...oh, and ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins''. Yep. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Kaminkow grew up in Maryland, where his father worked in commercial distribution for companies including General Vending and Creator/{{Bally}}. After graduating from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, with a business and political science degree, Joe started a game development business called Logical Highs, and joined Creator/WilliamsElectronics to learn the ropes. Though his first game was the overlooked ''Pinball/{{Defender}},'' Joe quickly rose to prominence when he secured licensing rights from NASA that led to Williams' 1984 smash hit ''Pinball/SpaceShuttle.'' He left Williams soon afterward and briefly joined Game Plan, where he met Gary Stern, son of Creator/SternElectronics' President Sam Stern. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Seeing a resurgence in pinball games in the mid-eighties, Joe and Gary started their own company in November 1986. After their proposal was rejected by Creator/{{Konami}}, the two found a receptive audience at Creator/DataEast, who wanted to expand beyond video games. Though Creator/DataEastPinball started with original titles like ''Pinball/LaserWar'' and ''Pinball/SecretService,'' Joe rapidly leveraged his talents at securing licenses, resulting in a flurry of LicensedPinballTables such as ''Pinball/RoboCop, Pinball/BackToTheFuture, Pinball/TheSimpsonsDataEast, Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesDataEast, Pinball/{{Star Trek|DataEast}}'', and ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3.'' When Data East Pinball was bought out by Creator/{{Sega}}, Joe remained as Executive Vice President of Game Design, supervising parts, productions, and licensees. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Joe Kaminkow left arcade gaming in 1999 to join International Game Technology, where he revolutionized slot machines by the extensive use of licensed titles. He also co-founded Spooky Cool Labs, a subdivision of Zynga that designs social games for casino gaming and the Internet. Joe is also a founder of Back Lot Tour Productions, a studio specializing in {{Game Show}}s and RealityTV programs, and joined slot machine manufacturer Aristocrat Technologies in February 2013. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Joe Kaminkow was inducted into the Pinball Hall of Fame in 2004, and has been named one of the top ten most important people in the history of casino gaming. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | He's renown for being unabashedly zealous and over-the-top -- he arranged for a man in a chicken costume carrying balloons to appear for an introduction of his friend and mentor Ed Cebula, and one of his first acts after joining Aristocrat Technologies was to give everyone in his department the title of game designer. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | As for ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins,'' Joe's not embarrassed by it at all. “It’s amazing because here we are 20 years later, and people are still talking about the game, and remembering, and playing it. It’s a cult favorite now. We’re probably like ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.” |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | !!Games that Joe Kaminkow was involved with include: |
| 24 | [[index]] |
| 25 | * ''Pinball/{{Defender}}'' (Williams, 1982) |
| 26 | * ''Pinball/SpaceShuttle'' (Williams, 1984) |
| 27 | * ''Pinball/LaserWar'' (Data East, 1987) |
| 28 | * ''Pinball/SecretService'' (Data East, 1988) |
| 29 | * ''Pinball/{{Time Machine|DataEast}}'' (Data East, 1988) |
| 30 | * ''Pinball/Playboy35thAnniversary'' (Data East, 1989) |
| 31 | * ''Pinball/RoboCop'' (Data East, 1989) |
| 32 | * ''VideoGame/SlySpy'' (Data East, 1989) |
| 33 | * ''Pinball/BackToTheFuture'' (Data East, 1990) |
| 34 | * ''Pinball/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' (Data East, 1990) |
| 35 | * ''VideoGame/CrudeBuster'' (Data East, 1990) |
| 36 | * ''Pinball/{{Checkpoint}}'' (Data East, 1991) |
| 37 | * ''Pinball/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|DataEast}}'' (Data East, 1991) |
| 38 | * ''VideoGame/JoeAndMac: Caveman Ninja'' (Data East, 1991) |
| 39 | * ''Pinball/{{Batman|DataEast}}'' (Data East, 1991) |
| 40 | * ''Pinball/{{Star Trek|DataEast}}'' (Data East, 1991) |
| 41 | * ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3'' (Data East, 1992) |
| 42 | * ''Pinball/LastActionHero'' (Data East, 1993) |
| 43 | * ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins'' (Data East, 1994; unreleased) |
| 44 | * ''Pinball/WWFRoyalRumble'' (Data East, 1994) |
| 45 | * ''Pinball/TheWhosTommy'' (Data East, 1994) |
| 46 | * ''Pinball/{{Baywatch}}'' (Sega, 1995) |
| 47 | * ''Pinball/BatmanForever'' (Sega, 1995) |
| 48 | * ''Pinball/{{Apollo 13}}'' (Sega, 1995) |
| 49 | * ''Pinball/SpaceJam'' (Sega, 1996) |
| 50 | * ''Pinball/StarWarsTrilogy'' (Sega, 1997) |
| 51 | * ''Pinball/StarshipTroopers'' (Sega, 1997) |
| 52 | [[/index]] |
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