Starfighter

Starfighter was designed by Barry Oursler for Williams Electronics, though according to Oursler himself the project never went beyond a whitewood prototype, which was ultimately scrapped as pinball sales slumped (design work reportedly began around August 1981) — the game was never put into production. Its outer-space, science-fiction theme and ambitious mechanical design nonetheless make it a fascinating unrealized project from Williams' catalog.

The design called for an unusually elaborate layout: two flippers, four pop bumpers, two slingshots, fifteen standup targets, seven drop holes, and a kick-out hole, with the ball kicked into play from below the flippers. A 'reverse scoop' running along the top edge of the playfield would have fed the ball onto an elevated mini-playfield containing the seven drop holes — a concept Oursler compared to a similar, smaller feature later used on Williams' 'Whodunnit.' A diverter magnet, operated in short pulses like the magna-save feature on 'Solar Fire' and 'Grand Lizard,' let players nudge the ball into a side kicker lane. Notably, the game had no conventional outlanes, drain, or shooter lane, running instead as a timed 'center shooter' game with earnable extra time.

Because it never reached production, Starfighter survives only through Oursler's original drawings and recollections — an ambitious early-1980s design that offers a rare look at ideas Williams was exploring during a difficult period for the industry.