Here's something that I've been dying to write about for over a year. Now that the project is nearing completion I can. I met Michael Mandola on Pinside sometime last year after talking to him about the fantastic homebrew Overwatch pinball machine that he is building with his sons and documenting there. I've always had a soft spot for anything Overwatch-related because when my boys were little we used to play it together on the TV down in my basement arcade.
For those who aren't familiar with it, Overwatch is a First-Person Shooter (FPS) video game, along the lines of the now more popular Fortnite and Call of Duty. The main difference is Overwatch is more cartoony and has much more unique characters. Back in the day Overwatch was super popular, though its popularity has dropped off significantly lately.
Since I used to play the game with my young sons and Michael was building a custom homebrew Overwatch pin with his boys, the story really struck a chord with me. Michael was kind enough to send me a ton of pictures of the project. Let me tell you, the game looks absolutely amazing. From the beautiful machine itself to the code and on-screen graphics that look better than some production games...this game is stunning.
Michael told me yesterday that the game and code are about 90% done at this point. He and his sons are going to bring their machine to the upcoming Chicago Pinball Expo this fall for its public debut. I'm hoping to be able to make it down to see the Overwatch game in person this sometime this summer. Below is a link to the Pinside thread where the entire Overwatch build is documented and the YouTube channel for the game.
