'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
He first started playing pinball when he was a teen.
"I remember the local fish and chip shop had a pinball machine," he said. "I would put 20 cents in and have a game."
He said it's the randomness of the game that drew him in.
"The ball has a mind of its own and you try to control it. I think that's fascinating," said Dave.
For the past four or five years, Dave and his wife Kim, can often be found playing pinball machines at the Sherbrooke Pub.
"It's our thing. It might not be for everybody but it's what we do," said Kim Formenti.
Kim & Dave Formenti play pinball at Sherbrooke Pub. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)
They were there on Easter weekend for a few games on the Foo Fighters pinball machine.
"It's fast. It's a three flipper game with multiple ramps and a very interesting code to try and complete," said Dave. "An extremely challenging game with a great soundtrack and lots of fun."
Foo Fighters pinball machine at Sherbrooke Pub. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)
It's a machine Dave has played at least 100 times over the past year. Soon into that two-player game he earned an extra ball.
"Originally it was like, 'Oh man he's got the extra ball. He's just going to keep going. I'm on my phone for a bit. This is going to be awhile before I get my turn,'" Kim joked.
She said 20 minutes later Dave was still playing.
"I'm like, 'OK, I'd better pay attention here.' We've never been this far and sometimes he looks to me to kind of cue him," said Kim.
Foo Fighters pinball machine at Sherbrooke Pub. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)
"You have to be very strategic about your gameplay and accomplishing modes in order to progress within the game," Dave said.
"The big points come from the final battle. So if you can progress through the game and get to that final battle there's massive points," he added.
Dave completed all of the modes required to finish the game – the display then rolling the end of game credits.
"It shows all of the characters from the game as it rolls through. It runs across an old movie script in black and white that shows Jack Danger's name as the credits are rolling through at the end of that game," Dave said.
"Then a little rewind icon pops up and the movie film zips back and everything resets back to the beginning and you start the game over again," he added.
"I said to my wife we want to watch this 'cause we will never see it again."
"We sat there in awe together. We were just kind of immersed in the moment and the excitement of it all," said Kim.
Foo Fighters pinball machine at Sherbrooke Pub. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)
Dave earned five extra balls during his game. He said he still had two left to play after the game reset. His entire game took about 40 minutes.
"It generated a 6.2 billion point score which I had never achieved before, not even remotely close to that," said Dave.
"I've seen him do 1.4, 1.6 but I've never seen him go that high," said Kim.
Dave Formenti's high score on the Foo Fighters pinball machine at Sherbrooke Pub. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)
"It's extremely hard," said Jason Zazula, another local pinball player.
Zazula has played for more than a decade and competitively for about nine years.
He bought his own Foo Fighters machine in August and plays it at least six times a day.
"I haven't even cracked one billion yet and Dave has done six billion," he said.
"Doing that on a game that's not in your house, where you can just take off the glass and cheat is a huge feat," he added.
Zazula posted a photo of Dave's high score on a social media page for fans and collectors of the machine.
One of the comments came from a 'Dead Flip Pinball Streaming' – a page run by Jack Danger.
"He's the chief game designer for Foo Fighters. He acknowledged that that score was a big fat WTF, literally blown away," Dave said proudly.
It's a shout-out Dave said made him feel special.
Dave Formenti playing Foo Fighters pinball machine at Sherbrooke Pub. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)
"It was a special game. It happened once, probably never happen again but I’m terribly grateful for people acknowledging that it's something a little bit special," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA
The pro-Palestinian demonstration that paralyzed Columbia University ended in dramatic fashion, with police carrying riot shields bursting into a building that protesters took over the previous night and making dozens of arrests. On the other side of the country, clashes broke out early Wednesday between duelling groups at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.
National strategy must recognize caregivers as 'backbone' of society: centre
Canadians need help looking after family members who are aging, sick or have disabilities, and many caregivers are seniors who need help themselves, says a new report calling for a national strategy that recognizes the mental and financial toll of the job.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Lawyers for alleged Winnipeg serial killer point to opinion poll in bid to get jury tossed
The lawyers of an alleged serial killer in Winnipeg are questioning whether pre-trial publicity in the high-profile case may have influenced the jury’s decision-making ability, after a public poll commissioned by the defence found 81 per cent of respondents believe the accused is guilty.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when provincial fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least debt expert.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
WATCH Moose strolls through Fredericton
A Fredericton woman is awe-struck after seeing a moose stroll down a city street on Tuesday.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.