Big Bang Theory Slot Machine

[angryninjas]

Recently got into modifying machines, and am having a custom run printed of reels and glass.  I've done other smaller machines in the past (pachislo), but this will be my first skin for an IGT slot.  It fits a 16" top, and I might do a round top version as well if there is enough interest.  The printing and glass is quite expensive, so just trying to get a feel for if it's worth selling any of these custom kits, or if it's just best for my own personal collection.  Kit comes complete with top glass, belly glass, reel strips, and both software chips.  This particular Big Bang Theory machine has up and down nudge, as well as spin till you win features (uses a 3-coin Coral Reef chip and an SP872 as the supporting software).  Song that plays during the respin is customizable.  It's hard to tell in the small pics, but the nudge features use the screwed up elevator as the theme, making the symbols nudge up or down with the elevator that is on the fritz.  I have high quality images if anyone wants to see the symbols better.  Here are the images.  1st one is what the kit looks like installed in an S Plus (works for S2000 too), and the second one shows all the components on a print sheet.  Third is just a sample of the reel symbols so you can see them closer up and see the elevator buttons incorporated for the nudge feature. 

Looking for opinions, any changes you might want to see, and what you think you would pay for the kit if you were to order one (like I said, production cost is not cheap on these, since the kit is complete with chips, reels, graphics, and top and bottom glass pieces... I have a feeling cost is going to be higher than market value).  This is just an example, I can do other themes as well, but I wanted this one for my personal collection.

[mvco]

In my opinion, AWESOME!  And what a great theme to clone, that game does everything from nudge to spin to win.

If affordable, I would pick one of these up from you for a 16" S-plus cabinet.  What kind of number for a kit?

[Neonkiss]

I'd be careful that you don't get a cease and desist letter from  the lawyers of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady
They own the images and rights of the show. 

Just my 2 cents.

[angryninjas]

Yep, and a cease and desist is exactly that... they have to warn you first.  Once I get one, I would stop making them, lol.  Seriously though, All images used are public domain, artwork, stock photos and public likeness images, so not too worried there.

[angryninjas]

I can add custom sounds as well, but won't include that in the kit.  I will supply the how-to information and parts needed for anyone that wants the kit and wants to know how to do it.  The only reason I wouldn't include it is that the parts would bring production cost too high for the kit (if not already too high), and probably not something that everybody would want.  But it is possible, and I've done it on other themed machines.   Kind of cool to hit a jackpot and have the theme music play, or random quotes from the show during certain actions or whatever... There are two different methods to easily add custom sounds.  One costs $8 per sound clip needed, and the other is $50 but includes up to 4 sound effects.  The $50 option is push button though, and not upon winning certain combinations like the cheaper option.  Might be kind of cool to have some on demand sound effects with push buttons in the tracking bar though... haven't tried that yet.  Anyway, anyone that wants a Big Bang Theory kit that wants to know how to add the custom sound effects, I'll give you the how-to and parts information with the kit.

[Neonkiss]

All images used are public domain, artwork, stock photos and public likeness images, so not too worried there.

True, but for private use only.....
You can't sell their images.

[ROCKET]

ITS IGT I WOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT .. DEEP POCKETS THEY HAVE--------THEY START WITH  MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE . AFTER THE KNOCK KNOCK TAKES EVERYTHING AWAY UNTIL ITS DECIDED IN COURT .

[angryninjas]

True.  Like I said, just entertaining the idea of selling the kits at the moment, but wanted one for my own collection.  I honestly think that cost to produce is more than most would want to pay for the kit anyways.  With printed artwork, reel strips, top glass, belly glass, 2 software chips and shipping, my cost is around $125, and that's not counting paypal fees if someone buys one.  I'd have to charge like $175, which is probably more than most would want to pay... But was worth it for my personal collection.  Might be able to get cheaper if I order enough for like 10 kits at a time... Wouldn't have to be all the same theme, as the printer charges by the square foot, regardless of the graphics, and all the other parts are interchangeable for any theme I print (chips, glass, etc).

As far as IGT, I didn't use any of their images whatsoever, so they wouldn't have any legal ground.  He'll, even cutting my own glass, not using theirs.  We own the machines, we can customize them as we see fit.

[ROCKET]

JUST A WORD OF ADVISE -AS FAR AS KIT COST I HAVE SEEN S+ KITS LIKE THAT SELL FOR 500.00 PLUS
AS FAR AS IGT OR WHOEVER IS ON THE PICTURES OR DOING THE COPIES A WORD OF ADVISE

SEEN IT HAPPEN --SEEN IT HAPPEN SEEN IT HAPPEN -AS I SAID IN A POST THE OTHER DAY IF YOU DONT THINK THE SLOT CO'S DONT WATCH THIS SITE LIKE A HAWK .. WHEN THEY HAVE A LAWYER ON RETAINER FOR 1/2 MILL A YEAR THEY JUST GO GRAB EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AND LET THE COURTS DECIDE .. SO YOU DECIDE IS IT WORTH IT ??

NOT TRYING TO BE NASTY --WE GUYS ON THE SITE FOR A LONG TIME HAVE SEEN LITTLE THINGS TURN INTO BIG TROUBLES ..
THE GUY IN NEW HAMP A FEW YRS AGO . POLICE CAME TO DOOR TO TELL HIM SOMETHING -NOTHING TO DO WITH SLOTMACHINES ..SAW A RED WHT BLU PLAYING IN BACKGROUND .. A HOUR LATER CONFISCATED .

CATCH MY DRIFT ??

[angryninjas]

Gotcha.  Not worth the headache, lol.

[Neonkiss]

IGT won't have an issue, Nothing of theirs is being reproduced. Many companies make specialty kits for slot machines. As long as you don't infringe on someone else's protected material. You could make a kit for your favorite sports team, but the images would have to be al least 20% different from the original.
Some people do this with different colors or similar looking logos, just stay beyond the 20% margin which can be subjective.

Now you could make those kits and sell the machine to the producers of the show for a ton of money. Just pitch the idea with your photos before you print them up. Concept photos are OK.

And K+ for all the good art work you did. 

[angryninjas]

I was thinking along the same lines.  More than 80 percent of the artwork is in fact custom.  Still, not sure there's enough demand, but if anyone wants a kit pm me and we'll go from there.  As far as selling the machines to the show itself, good idea but tons of work trying to line up meetings with the right people.  Plus, I just like to do it, not in it so much for the money.  Thanks for the kudos on the artwork.  Opinions and suggested changes are always welcomed.

[knagl]

Very interesting, although I'll echo what the others have said about using a copyrighted work as the basis for the game.

I am particularally interested in how your custom sound stuff works, if you'd care to elaborate for the group?

[CommTech]

Awesome work angryninjas! 
I second knagl's comment ... Interested in how your custom sound stuff works.    Would make a very interesting topic!!!

[angryninjas]

Sound is done by "piggybacking" the existing sounds instead of replacing them.  In other words, we are not replacing the existing sounds, we are simply adding in more of them.  There are two methods...

1)  Using stuffed animal or greeting card sound modules.  This is the method I have used in the past, and they work surprisingly well.  One would think that they wouldn't be loud enough, but thats not the case at all.  These modules run about $8 with free shipping from ebay.  They come in different versions, such as push button, photosensor activated (light), motion activated, etc.  I use the ones that have the photosensor activation.  Now, I havn't used this in a full size slot yet, only pachislo slots, so I would have to think a bit to find the appropriate lights that would trigger certain events, but in a pachislo, I simply record the MP3 sound that I want onto the module, then cut off the mini speaker attached to the module.  I then splice the speaker wires into the speakers on the slot machine.  Sound comes through loud and clear when played.  I then desolder (or cut) the lead from the circuit board of the sound module to the photosensor and run extension wires, to make the photosensor on a longer lead.  I place the wires with the photosensor next to one of the light bulbs that come on during a certain pay combination.  On a pachislo, there seems to be more choices, as I would have one sound for a respin, when the respin light gets lit, one sound when the door is opened (simply place the photosensor anywhere on the inside door towards the bottom), one sound when the big bonus is hit, as this also triggers a separate light bulb, etc.  This might be a little trickier on a full size slot, as there arn't as many lights that come on.  You could use the candle light, except if it's a flashing light it wouldn't work, as the sound stops and restarts based on the flash.  The change light in the candle might be good to play the theme music though, it would come on and play in a loop until the change light was turned off.  With this method you need to spend the $8 for each sound that you want.

2)  I haven't used this one yet, mainly because of the upfront cost, but there is a module similar to the ones above that contain 4 different sounds, and each one is triggered by an arcade style jamma push button (like the buttons found on an arcade machine... the round plastic ones, in different colors).  This one costs $37, plus shipping of $20 from Canada, so it's a $57 investment, and wouldn't be triggered by "events" like above, but I've always thought of using this one and just simply mounting 4 nice looking push buttons in the player tracking bar, so that your sound effects would be "on demand" and simply play when the buttons are pushed.  Could be fun to buy 2 or 3 of these and hook the buttons into a keypad for a player tracking system, having buttons 0 through 9 each play a different sound when pressed.

Again, it's not like we're rewriting simm chips here or anything proper, but it is a way to get custom sound effects on a custom kit, and I was surprised how loud they actually are when spliced into the existing speakers.  The sound clips are just as loud as the factory sound effects.  The only drawback is the sound modules use batteries... 3 watch batteries (per sound clip) for the sound modules used in method #1, and 4 AA's used for method #2.  On the plus side, using method #1, I've played a machine a ton that I converted and never had to replace the batteries.  The manufacturer says that I can wire in 3-5 volt input directly to the sound module to avoid using batteries, but I havn't had any luck yet.  Tried a 5v source, and it didn't work.  The manufacturer then said 5v might be a little too high and to try 3-4 volts, but I didn't have a 3-4 volt source in the machine, and no resistors on hand to scale down my 5v source... so that remains untested.

Here is a link to a "Breaking Bad" themed pachislo slot machine that I converted with 4 different sound effects using method #1 above.  The entire kit for this was done the exact same way as the Big Bang theory kit above, to give you an idea of how the final product looks backlit and such.  Keep in mind that the symbols on a pachislo are spaced much closer together than a traditional slot machine, so the reels on the big bang theory kit will look more american and less crowded :
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/X0Bveg7TV38&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/X0Bveg7TV38&rel=0</a>

T

[ROCKET]

what he explained above i have done ten yrs ago  it works . in the( 4th of july retro post) i made a comment you can do anything with a S+ IGT slot . with correct materials & knowledge to add sounds etc a few days before this post .

To make a IGT S+ into almost anything  make it half slot --half video slot aka a Vision series !!sounds etc as you can add sounds to anything via a doorbell etc that is cheap at wallmart wireless has 15 diff crazy tones . 12.99

your correct your not rewritting chips or sim cards your just using your knowledge to wire up motion activated or hard wired sound storage devices to buttons and circuits that would be a bonus round or re-spin etc

as far as the posters saying no problem with copyright materials notice what i wrote in my post . i never said anything about copyright violations -i just said seen it seen it seen it .is it worth getting confiscated and letting the courts decide ???


then the last post i mentioned the member who had his machine confiscated . my point being is all sounds great . the posters that reposted said dont worry about IGT or any copyright issues . are they going to pay for your legal fees if in fact you do get into trouble ? posting on a wide open forum ??

I will echo as a few members said the same ---I personally would not be posting pictures of what I have done or tell people what I plan to do or how to do -->>>>>>or say its perfectly legal what I am doing<<<<< without a paper from a team of lawyer's that had contacted any of the slot co's saying my client is not in any violation. as I mentioned you have to be crazy not to think that the major slot company's dont watch this site like a hawk after a little mouse on ground .not to bust them in all cases to find out new ideas that they will apply . many of designers --lets say simply as seen on tv in the movie ::the inventor gets the apple hit on head and arrives at his new idea that made him millions overnight . the same applies here on this forum there are very talented people on this forum --
I cant say enough about the talent on this forum .  I know many personally they dont post they dont talk . they listen as I do 90% of the time .to see which member has the new idea or better method of doing something etc .
once again this is just a opinion -what anybody does on there own is there business -but it is a open forum to post thoughts and help and opinions -when posting a thread like this you ask yourself is it worth getting in legal trouble over -since many of the major company's that reproduced cloned kits had the crunch put on them from the major slot company's recently or getting what you have confiscated for some simple item you overlooked as a possible violation of something

[TZtech]

Great idea -  thanks for sharing. I recently ordered one of these on ebay and would be ideal for Your project - Includes on board amp for not much more than You are currently paying

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150801617209?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

[angryninjas]

Great idea -  thanks for sharing. I recently ordered one of these on ebay and would be ideal for Your project - Includes on board amp for not much more than You are currently paying

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150801617209?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Very interesting.  The only part that would take some thought is the implementation, as the buttons are either on the device or on the remote, so no sensors involved to pick up motion, light, or other triggers from the slot.  Even with tracking bar mounted buttons (as in method #2 above), it would be hard to mount, unless you mount the entire remote control interface... that could be interesting... could basically have your own little mini jukebox in your tracking bar if you could take the housing off the remove and mount the remote pad into the tracking bar or something. 

[knagl]

Thank you and K+ for your explanation of the audio clip devices.  The implementation on that Breaking Bad pachi was very nice.

[angryninjas]

And here is the experimental round top version.  Won't be sure if my measurements were 100% correct until it comes back from the printing company.  The arc is a little tricky without a template.

[CommTech]

That is some phenomenal work! Very professional!    Are you a graphics designer?

[angryninjas]

That is some phenomenal work! Very professional!    Are you a graphics designer?

Not officially.  I used to teach Photoshop classes onboard Princess Cruise Lines, but very basic... mostly just teaching people how to remove the red eye from their photos and email them home from the ship, lol.  Other than that, I just dabble for fun... making my own slot kits and such.  I did just finish up a different custom slot theme for an NLG member today, so I do take custom work on the side 

[knagl]

Indeed, it's very nice work.