Lyman F. Sheats Jr.

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Lyman F. Sheats Jr.
Born(1966-03-24)March 24, 1966
Colorado, U.S.
DiedJanuary 19, 2022(2022-01-19) (aged 55)
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesLyman Sheats, LFS
OccupationPinball software engineer
Years active1993–2022
EmployerStern Pinball, Inc.
Partner(s)Penni C. Epstein

Lyman F. Sheats Jr. (March 24, 1966 – January 19, 2022) was an American pinball designer and coin-operated game operating system software engineer who had worked for Bally, Williams, and most recently Stern Pinball, among other companies.

Biography[]

Lyman began his career in the early 1990s at Data East where he worked on the game and dot matrix display programming for The Last Action Hero (1993),[1] Guns N' Roses (1994),[2] and The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard (1994).[3] After Data East Pinball became Sega Pinball, he was recruited by Williams/Bally (Now WMS Industries) to work on programming their pinball games.

His first game for Bally/Midway was Attack From Mars[4] which he programmed with designer Brian Eddy. Lyman and Brian again teamed up on the very popular Medieval Madness[5] produced by Williams in 1997.

Lyman worked with designer George Gomez to program Monster Bash, which was produced by Williams in 1998. The Monster Bash game has a “Lyman’s Lament” Easter Egg which can be accessed through a series of right and left flipper sequences.[6][7] If done correctly, a recording of Lyman saying “Totally” is announced by the game. The game has different music in this mode, and Lyman's voice comments on various things as you play the game. Lyman had certain special modes hidden in a few of the games that he programmed documented in “Cheat Sheet” pages on Reddit.

He was involved in Williams’s Pinball 2000 project through October 1999 when Williams closed their pinball division to concentrate on other gaming machines such as slot machines and video games. After a few years of programming video games at Midway Games, Lyman rejoined the pinball arena when Gary Stern hired him in 2003 at the newly renamed Stern Pinball. Shortly after being hired by Stern, Lyman teamed up with fellow ex-Williams employee Steve Ritchie to work on a series of blockbuster games such as Spider-Man (2007)[8] and AC/DC (2012, 2018).[9][10][11] Lyman also reunited with George Gomez to create the game produced by Stern Pinball in 2008.

In later years, Lyman worked with the team that updated the rule sets for The Walking Dead (2014)[12] and Batman '66 (2016)[13][14] games that were produced by Stern Pinball.

He was a multi-time pinball tournament champion and considered one of the greatest pinball players of all time. Lyman won the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association world championship three times in 1993, 2004, and 2006. Lyman also won the European Pinball Championship in 2007. Lyman was an active player in several Chicago area pinball leagues and won numerous local championships.

Personal life[]

Lyman was a coffee enthusiast and roasted his custom blend of coffee beans in a cast iron pan on his stovetop.

Death[]

Lyman F. Sheats Jr. died in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the evening of January 19, 2022, at 55. The official cause of death is listed as suicide.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Data East 'The Last Action Hero'". ipdb.org.
  2. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Data East 'Guns N' Roses'". ipdb.org.
  3. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Data East 'The Who Tommy Pinball Wizard'". ipdb.org.
  4. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Midway 'Attack From Mars'". ipdb.org.
  5. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Midway 'Medieval Madness'". ipdb.org.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Williams 'Monster Bash'". Ipdb.org.
  8. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'Spider-Man'". ipdb.org.
  9. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'AC/DC (Premium)'". ipdb.org.
  10. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'AC/DC (Pro)'". ipdb.org.
  11. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'AC/DC (Luci)'". ipdb.org.
  12. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'The Walking Dead'". ipdb.org.
  13. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'Batman '66 (Premium)'". ipdb.org.
  14. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'Batman '66 (Limited Edition)'". ipdb.org.
  15. ^ "Lyman F. Sheats Jr". Morizzo Funeral Home. January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.

External links[]

"Lyman Sheats Dies". Pinball News. . January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

"Lyman Sheats Games". Pinside. January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

"Lyman F. Sheats Jr. Patents and Patent Applications". Justia. January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

"Lyman F. Sheats Jr. - IFPA Ranking". IFPAPinball. January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

"Slam Tilt Podcast 100th Episode with Lyman F. Sheats Jr". Fun With Bonus. January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

"Pinball News/Pinball Magazine Podcast January 2022". Apple Podcasts. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.

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