Tom Voros

@tom.voros.ca

2510 Followers 304 Following

Programmer at Blackbird Interactive. Occasional indie game developer. Previously at Ubisoft Toronto. I made Pinball Spire! https://pinballspire.com he/him | 🇨🇦 | No AI 🚫

Front side of a physical box of Taz Mania for the Genesis.
* Microtransactions * Consumables * Loot boxes * Gambling mechanics * Designing for "whales" * In-game ads * Energy mechanics * Daily rewards * In-game currencies * Retailer-exclusive bonuses * Day 0 patches * Day 1 patches * Early access (normalizing shipping broken/unfinished games) * Pre-order to play early * Subscriptions for online play * Game-specific online passes * DRM * License activation limits * Code in a box * Game-key cards * Battle passes * Time-limited DLC * Mods behind a walled garden * NFTs * Exploitation of user-generated content * Digital only * Delisting digital games * Shutting down access to redownload digital games
Frame from the Baby Cries sketch on I Think You Should Leave. A man with a concerned look is telling a woman: "I'm worried that the baby thinks people can't change."
Star Fox SNES promo image featuring real puppets for the Star Fox crew.
Photo of a hand holding a copy of Metroid: Other M for the Wii.
Fan art by リミュー・オルゴール🜸 (@sodalite105) showing speedrunner kagetar0 holding a smiling pinball above his head.
Promotional image for Pinball Spire in the Fusion Festival, which runs Nov 3 - 11 at 10 am Pacific.
Screenshot of Pinball Spire showing the ball rolling through a gate to enter the spire.
"Over 300+ games from creators all over the world." Text over an atmospheric dark orange pixel art skyline.
A JSON document with metadata describing Hollow Knight: { "schema": "game-metadata", "schema-version": "0.1", "title": "Hollow Knight", "description": "Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.", "developer": "Team Cherry", "publisher": "Team Cherry", "links": [ "https://www.hollowknight.com/", "https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/Hollow_Knight/", "https://www.gog.com/en/game/hollow_knight" ], "genre": [ "Metroidvania", "Platformer", "Singleplayer" ], "tags": [ "2D", "Indie", "Exploration" ] }
A very rough comparison of the first prototype for Pinball Spire with the final game. At the top it says "Just make it exist first" with a very crude/simple pinball table that looks like it was drawn in MS Paint (but was actually implemented and playable!). At the bottom it says "You can make it good later" showing one of the large rooms in the Overgrown Bastion area (sort of a red castle theme) with fancy lighting, glowing arrows, green gems, flying eyeball enemies, and other little elements.
Screenshot of a tutorial dialog in Pinball Spire. The title is Cradling Technique. The text on the bottom says: Look for opportunities to grab and hold the ball against a flipper. Starting a shot from this position makes it much easier to aim, especially combined with the Focus ability!
Cropped screenshot of the review score for Pinball Spire on Steam. "ALL REVIEWS: Very Positive (300)."
Screenshot of the product summary section for Pinball Spire on Steam. It shows that the game currently has 299 reviews! 😱
A screenshot of Kirby's Pinball Land next to a screenshot of Pinball Spire, both showing the ball sitting on the right flipper.
Promotional image for Pinball Spire in the indie.io Publisher Sale on Nintendo Switch. The game is on sale with a 20% discount!
Promotional image for the Canadian Game Sale featuring a cute cartoon beaver and red maple leaves. "300+ Games by Devs from Coast to Coast. July 1st to July 8th. Proudly Canadian."
Promotional image for Pinball Spire in the Steam Summer Sale. The game is on sale with a 30% discount at $10.49 (regular price $14.99).
Games listed in order from 1 to 10: Rez, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Bloodborne, Final Fantasy XII, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Photo of someone using a hose to spray water on the motherboard of an open PC case. Text at the top says Butlerian Jihad Time.
Photo of Pinball Spire on a Switch 2. There's a Link amiibo next to it.
Screenshot of Pinball Spire showing a blue room with several narrow channels.
Photo of my Switch showing the store page for Pinball Spire. (Note that price is shown in Canadian dollars! US price is lower.)
Screenshot of the Daily Deals on the Steam homepage. Pinball Spire is one of the featured games with a 30% discount!
A scene from the Simpsons with Mr. Burns and Smithers driving past a "Gabbo is Coming" billboard, but it's crudely photoshopped to say "Pinball Spire is Coming (to Switch)". Mr. Burns appears delighted.
A screenshot of Pinball Spire with a side-by-side comparison of the old (left side) and new (right side) versions of the game. They look virtually identical. :)
Screenshot of the Big Rigs description on Steam showing the "Psychological Horror" tag.
Frame from the Simpsons: "No. Once again, I have failed."
Screenshot of Pinball Spire. The ball is launching upward in a narrow channel. There's a big orange gear attached to some kind of piston blocking the ball's path.
Screenshot of text from the article: "As an avid pinball and video pinball player, I seek out every game project that tackles the silver ball in one way or another. Not every year sees a game that stands out in that area, but 2024 saw the release of Pinball Spire, an amazing little pinball action-puzzler where you flip your way up the eponymous spire. There are also powers, like slo-mo or casting yourself as a fireball. – Robert Glashüttner"
Screenshot of the pause menu in Pinball Spire showing the controls with a Switch Pro controller.
A screenshot of a Christmassy scene in Pinball Spire. The ball is dressed as Santa in front of a dark green forest decorated with multicoloured lights. The mysterious spire pops against a cold blue and white sky dotted with snow.
Screenshot of the Pinball Spire title screen but it's Christmas themed. The ball is dressed like Santa and the trees in the background are decorated with multicoloured lights.
Promotional image for Pinball Spire in the Steam Winter Sale. The game is on sale with a 20% discount at $11.99 (regular price $14.99).
Artwork for my 2011 flash puzzle/rhythm game Pulse.
A screenshot from Pinball Spire showing a dark diamond-shaped room in a purple and green dungeon-like environment. The ball is sitting on top of a pinball plunger.
Screenshot of a room in Pinball Spire with the outside walls missing so you can through to the background where the walls should be.
Promotional image for the Steam Awards. Text on the left side says: "Nominate Us - Innovative Gameplay - Steam Awards 2024". On the right side is the cover art for Pinball Spire.