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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silverball_6893.jpg]]
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3''Silverball'' is a [[DigitalPinballTables pinball computer game]] developed by James Schmalz of Digital Extremes, and published by [=MicroLeague=]. It was Schmalz's first foray into DigitalPinballTables, and serves as a predecessor to ''VideoGame/EpicPinball''.
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5In the early Nineties, the shoddy PC port of ''VideoGame/PinballDreams'' was touted by Platform/{{Amiga}} computer users as [[MediaNotes/ConsoleWars evidence of the technological superiority of their platform.]] In response, James Schmalz and Digital Extremes created ''Silverball,'' using assembly language to make full use of the Platform/IBMPersonalComputer hardware. As with ''Dreams,'' the games were played from a top-down view, either with the entire table visible at once or with a scrolling playfield two screens tall.
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7The first release of ''Silverball'' was in 1993, and came with four tables:
8* "Blood"
9* "Fantasy"
10* "Odyssey"
11* "Snooker Champ"
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13In addition to those four, a fifth table, "Nova", was available if you sent in a brochure included with the retail package. Players who did so would receive a second floppy disk in the mail, which installed "Nova" onto ''Silverball'' and enabled it on the main menu.
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15In 1994, after the success of ''VideoGame/EpicPinball'', [=MicroLeague=] released ''Silverball Plus 2'', which featured the four tables from ''Silverball'' plus two more tables recycled from ''Epic''. Once again, players could send in a brochure to get the bonus "Nova" table.
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17Not at all to be confused with the PhysicalPinballTable ''Pinball/SilverballMania.''
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20!!''Silverball'' and ''Silverball Plus 2'' demonstrate the following tropes:
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22* AtlasPose: The god of "Odyssey" adopts this pose with a giant pinball on the playfield.
23* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: "Blood" features a set of creatures only visible by their menacing eyes at the top of the playfield.
24* DownloadableContent: "Nova" can be seen as an UrExample of the concept.
25* MissionPackSequel: ''Silverball Plus 2'', which was the same as ''Silverball'' but with two more tables lifted from ''VideoGame/EpicPinball''
26%%* NoPlotNoProblem
27* OurDemonsAreDifferent: "Blood" features an oval-headed horned devil with a forked tongue.
28* OurDragonsAreDifferent: "Fantasy" has a large red dragon on the playfield.
29* RecycledPremise: Both "Warbot" and "Duel" are rethemed versions of the ''VideoGame/EpicPinball'' tables "Excalibur" and "Magic", with very minor changes.
30* RecycledWithAGimmick: "Warbot" is the same game as "Excalibur" from ''VideoGame/EpicPinball'', but with a robot theme.
31* {{Retraux}}: "Snooker Champ" emulates an electro-mechanical pinball table.
32%%* SpellingBonus
33%%* TopDownView
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