HIDDEN TREASURES

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Hidden Treasures

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Rule Sheet "A"

Rule Sheet "B"

The $10,300 Scared Stiff!

A Scared Stiff Birthday Cake

Hidden Treasures can be many things - they can be game modes that aren't normally seen, special meanings in artwork, the infamous flipper codes, or hidden  'Easter Eggs.'  Scared Stiff has many of these which, to the casual player, would never be evident.  Here is a list of known Hidden Treasures -

  • COWS - cows have been in pinball machines for quite some time.  The history and documentation of their origin is sketchy at best.  Most is heresay and speculation, as the real truth is only known by the creators of the games.  But what is known is the presence of cows in Scared Stiff.  There are three known ways to access the cows hidden within SS.
  1. Enter MOO as high score initials - you'll see this DMD display
  2. Flipper code - B, 13L, 15R, 15L, 1R - LISTEN!
  3. Flipper code - B, 3L, 15R, 23L, 1R - watch the DMD, or sneak a peek here
  • FLIPPER CODES - as described above, flipper codes are entered while the game is in attract mode.  They are usually someone's initials or spell something in particular.  Flipper code 2 above spells what you hear and code 3 spells something more obvious.  The following codes are the initials of certain members of the design team.
  1. B, 13L, 1R, 2L, 1R - watch, listen, and enjoy the show!
  2. B, 3L, 10R, 19L, 1R - my machine says something a little different
  3. B, 6L, 18R, 14L, 1R - performs a system reboot
  4. B, 2L, 4R, 1L, 25R, 1L - this works better on one of the 'birthdays' listed below
  5. B, 19L, 20R, 9L, 6R, 6L, 1R - watch the coffin!
  6. B, 2L, 1R, 20L, 19R,1L - hold on, 'cuz this one's hilarious!
  7. B, 20L, 8R, 18L, 5R, 5L, 1R - do this code, then start a game.  First shot to spider hole gives the "3" award (see 'Game Play" below)
  • GAME PLAY - when you drop in the spider hole with "Spin Spider" lit, watch the DMD as the spider crawls up the web.  If the number '3' digit crawls up the web instead of a spider, press the start button three times before it reaches the top of the web.  The wheel will spin again after you stop it the first time, allowing you to get a second web award.   There is also a mode where Level 3 on the Stiff-o-Meter will flash too.  What does this do?  Nothing!  According to Cameron Silver "It comes on at random during the spider game.   Dwight Sullivan loved putting ester eggs in his games based on the number three. The net (rec.games.pinball) was going a bit insane over this, so Mike and I thought we'd do this totally random thing just to stir-up the net people even more."  Funny guy, huh?
  • ARTWORK - many things have hidden meanings in the artwork on SS, and some were even altered for production!
tapes.jpg (22744 bytes)VIDEO TAPES - Looking at the backbox, you'll notice there are three video tapes sitting next to Elvira.   Black Thursday refers to the day everyone was laid off at WMS.  Note that this tape was by UM Productions.  Speculation has it that UM refers to Upper Management!  Corn Men from Mars was Pat McMahan's name for the Martians that Doug Watson designed for AFM. Pat thought they looked like they had corn in their bodies.  Curse of the Zombie Cows was just more cow stuff.

DMD DEADHEADS - Bad Head is actually Steve Ritchie, as drawn by Pat McMahan.  He was apparently always doing funny sketches of people that worked there.

ss_rrr.jpg (16369 bytes)RRR - on the side of the cabinet, you'll notice that there is a 'sticker' that has RRR on it with claw marks through it.  Well it didn't always have claw marks through it - seems the 'RRR rating' was a little too risque', even for a machine based on the queen of risque'!   If you want to know why, take a look at what the sticker originally looked like.  You'll also notice on the game flyer and poster that the sticker is in the uncensored form.  And, for the record, it was Greg Freres' idea to put that on the cabinet in its original form.  If you can't read the original sticker, it said "Rated RRR - Real Raunchy and Ribbed for your Pleasure."  An added note - there is a radio station in Australia that has this as their logo(just the RRR part).  Cameron had a sticker of the logo in his office and Greg Freres noticed it AFTER he designed the cabinet logo.  Very amusing similarity.

lil_luna.jpg (15377 bytes)L'IL LUNA - by Elvira's feet is a plate of crackers and L'il Luna cheese.  This is a reference to Elvira's daughter, also seen on the top of that package (baby Elvira).  Luna is Cassandra's nickname for her daughter.

stiff.jpg (12294 bytes)STIFF IN THE COFFIN - ever wonder why the Stiff in the Coffin (center of playfield) doesn't have the top hat on his head?  Guess he really is Scared Stiff!

chelsea.jpg (14194 bytes)CAT IN THE BACKGLASS - This is a likeness of designer Dennis Nordman's wife's cat, Chelsea, and was drawn from an actual photo of said cat.  Elvira thinks it's her cat Hecate ... sorry Elvira  (an interesting side note - Chelsea isn't black, she's grey!)  See our cat Puffy doing his best Chelsea imitation here.  

foot.jpg (13245 bytes)ELVIRA'S FOOT - Why is Elvira wearing only one shoe?  In the original design sketches, Elvira was wearing both shoes.  Team Stiff felt Elvira looked sexier with one shoe off.   We agree.

flshlite.jpg (19437 bytes)BATTERIES - here's a good one.  Why is the flashlight ON but the batteries are OUTSIDE the flashlight?  Because they aren't flashlight batteries!  They're a hidden reference to one of Elvira's favorite "toys!"  You know, the kind that take batteries?  Originally the flashlight wasn't in the backglass but was later added to 'tame down' this hidden reference.  If you caught this one before, you've got a sharp eye!

rabbit.jpg (15660 bytes)RABBIT ON THE TV - You have probably already caught on to this one.  The rabbit on the TV is a reference to the old 'rabbit-ear' antennas.  Hence the size of the rabbit's ears.

notches.jpg (13352 bytes)NOTCHES ON THE BEDPOST - You can figure that one out!  But then again, maybe it IS a reference to 'extra balls!'

remote.jpg (10185 bytes)REMOTE CONTROL - ever notice the name brand on the remote control between the flippers?  SOSUMI ! (so sue me, a play on Sony)

  • MENTOS - programmed in the game ROM is the following little ditty (unedited).  Any activation codes are unknown.

The world's a gloomy place to be
Seems everything is bad
But Mentos make you happy
When you're feeling sad
 
Mentos make your teeth go chew chew chew
They flood your mouth with flavor
That lasts the whole day through
 
So smile and munch your Mentos
The treat you can enjoy
Cause you were made for Mentos
And Mentos were made for you
 

  • DMD DISPLAYS - if you let the machine sit in attract mode, certain things will be displayed at specific intervals. 
  1. Approximately every 15 minutes, the games will display the message - AIDS IS REAL, PROTECT YOURSELF.  Again, my machine says something a little different.
  2. About every 20 minutes, the cast and crew credits will scroll across the display.   Look for a really funny message at the end.  What does mine say?  It ends with "Prepare for something ... STRANGE!"
  • BIRTHDAY EASTER EGGS - these are some other hidden goodies.   Power the machine up on any of the following days (assuming you have set the date correctly on your machine) and you'll be greeted with a message and accompanying fanfare.
  1. Mike 3/16/65  (Mike Boon, software)
  2. Cameron 9/18/73  (Cameron Silver, software)
  3. Alan 2/22
  4. Eydie 1/5  (Mike Boon's wife)
  5. Heather 5/14/96
  6. Tania 12/5
  7. Paul 11/11/57  (Paul Heitsch, sound/music)
  8. Lindsey 9/24/86  (artist Greg Freres' daughter)
  9. Lauren 8/30/89  (also Greg Freres' daughter)
  10. Also listed in the ROM but not functional - Damien 5/22
     

DISCLAIMER - any ROM modifications done to my machine were done for my own enjoyment and not distributed elsewhere.