Interview with Romain Fontaine – Electronics
by Sabine Botella

Hello Romain, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you tell me what led you to become an electronics engineer and what your career path has been?

At a very early age, I became interested in all things technical and electronic, and I used to take apart everything I could get my hands on. I was lucky enough not to have to wonder about my professional future, because I knew what I wanted to do, and I was well looked after by my dad, who was a great handyman, and a cousin who was already into electronics, whom I used to watch doing it with my little eyes full of wonder. It was all magic and I wanted to be part of it, so as soon as I graduated from high school, I enrolled in an electrical engineering DUT where I learned how to make power electricity for everything to do with industrial electrical machines, and at the same time, in my spare time, I presented robotics competitions reserved for students. We set up a student team and took part in national competitions.

A little personal curiosity: what was the first robot?

These were autonomous line-following robots. During the competition, they had to follow their own trajectories drawn on the ground from start to finish, giving way when they crossed another robot, and it was the first robot to reach the end of the course that won the round.

It’s clear that you already had a wider range of interests, so how did you go on to develop your career?

I’m originally from Normandy and was lucky enough to move to Brittany with my best friend to study engineering. Our apartment was overrun with electrical, electronic and robotic equipment, because he was as passionate about it as I was. There were batteries and robot parts everywhere, and that’s all we devoted ourselves to. We took part in the “Coupe de France de Robotique” competition, which at one time aired on the TV show E=M6. I took part in this competition for several years while I was studying engineering, twice with my friend, and we managed to come 5th in France, which qualified us for the Eurobot competition, which is the same competition but with a European version, and we came 5th there too. We did it for fun, and we were very happy with our ranking. We didn’t have a lot of money and we built everything ourselves, and this passion led us to do some practical work directly in application of our lessons.

Was the pinball machine already present?

In fact, I’d already started my pinball activities in parallel, but it was all my dad’s fault. In the 90s, he took my brother and me to an auction where a lot of game operators were going out of business and their equipment was being auctioned off. My dad bought 2 pinball machines and that’s how it all started. I must have been 8 years old, and I could barely reach the pinball machine, so I had to climb on some crates to see the marble. Which was an advantage, because when the machines broke down, I can still remember going in through the door of the coin-operated machine to repair them inside, and that’s how I did my first soldering. Everything else followed on from these early experiences, and I built up my collection by buying pinball machines, repairing them and carrying on. During my student years, I got together with other enthusiasts on the “Flipjuke” forum, and between the various robotics competitions, we decided to create our own pinball machine. I was in charge of the electronics, another person was in charge of the software on a computer and a third person was in charge of the board, the wiring… We met up at a pinball show and put all this together to finally build the first computer-controlled machine, a prototype that was playable for a while.

At what point does Pinball enter your professional life?

At the end of my studies I worked for 2 years in research in France in the field of electronics, working on what is known as the Internet of Things, and some of my research had direct applications on today’s objects. At the time, I wanted to improve my English and get some international experience, so I resigned and started looking for a position as an international volunteer in a company, a kind of internship offered to young people in companies over a fixed period, but places were hard to come by. I then decided to force fate and went to pinball shows where I met someone who wanted to set up a company to manufacture pinball machines in Wales, so I went to work for Heighway Pinball from 2013 to 2016. Then I set up on my own, I’m a freelance electronics and software designer in various fields of activity but pinball represents around 50% of my business and in this field and this specialty there’s no one else in France to my knowledge.

Can you tell me more about your work on Flipper?

In fact, it’s quite simple: I have to get the machine up and running. Less synthetically, I’ll be taking care of the input and output system, also known as the control system. I create all the elements that control the movement of the ball, the mechanisms, the lamps and lighting, everything that has to do with the game and the operation of the machine. I create the electronic input/output, interface and power supply boards that link all these elements to a computer. The whole system boils down to connecting a computer via USB to the rest of the pinball machine, and yes, it’s reminiscent of our student project, but reworked dozens of times because I’d already reused the project at Heighway Pinball, even though they went in a different direction that made things more complex.

Is that why you developed your own electronic board?

Yes, I wanted to go back in time when I left Heighway Pinball and set up my company “Team Pinball” specializing in pinball machine design with two former colleagues. We went for simplification, because more complexity means more components and therefore more risk of failure. We designed a new pinball machine based on a single electronic board to which all the elements of the pinball machine were connected, and thanks to this we were able to cut costs. We released “Le Mafia”, which was produced in 10 units, and then decided to refocus our activities on providing services to pinball manufacturers by integrating their development teams. We have thus participated in the design of numerous pinball machines, some of which are currently being released.

What sets your electronic board apart from those developed by other companies?

As it happens, current solutions increase the number of cards in a pinball machine, as well as the wiring, whereas my system uses less electronics and is more cost-effective. A single card is an elegant and safer solution, and what’s more, it’s made in France. Our card can be adapted to any pinball machine, but each card will have its own specific features.

I imagine you have some international Pinball customers?

Yes, absolutely, but we also work in France with “Pinsound”, who make replacement and upgrade electronic boards for Flippers. This company makes a lot of accessories, whether sound cards or display cards for existing Flippers.

How did you come to meet Hexa Pinball?

Alexandre Mak called me and asked me a million questions about my Pinball experience, then we talked about his project. There were a lot of very dense calls to explain how to design a pinball machine. I was involved in the Hexa Pinball project from the outset to guide Alexandre in this new adventure, and put him in touch with Luis Dos Santos, who had produced a prototype for him that had been put away in boxes and could serve as a starting point for Hexa Pinball.

At what point do you become involved in the design of Flipper?

I intervene at the project level because there are technical constraints to take into account, in particular to avoid redesigning an electronic solution from scratch. We start from the capabilities of the electronic system to provide a framework for game design that also takes into account what the designer wants to offer the end user, in this case the player. I operate in this way because I have the skills in electronics, but also the experience as a pinball machine designer. In fact, I’ve shared some files I drew up a few years ago as a basis for the design of Hexa Pinball. As far as the Space Hunt is concerned, we had to make another card to assist the main card, the active card. The second card does the feeding part, so it’s more of a passive card.

Who have you worked with most on the Hexa Pinball team?

I worked more with Luis Dos Santos, who designed the game in all its mechanical and integration aspects, Alexandre Mak, who supplied the components, and Albéric Aublanc, who worked on the programming of the electronic board. Albéric and I complement each other very well, as he works on the microcontroller that creates the interface between the computer and the electronic world. I was also delighted to discover Alexandre’s great ability to federate and facilitate relations between the different people on the team.

The “Space Hunt” pinball machine is now on the market. Does it live up to your expectations?

I have to say that I’m impressed by the overall level of finish of the game. It’s probably the most accomplished Pinball game I’ve ever worked on. I salute all the hard work put in by the team. It’s been a great project with a great team, and I hope the second Pinball game will be out soon.

I imagine you’ve played on this pinball machine. Can you tell me about your experience?

So I haven’t played enough, and yes, that’s possible. But I’ve got my “Space Hunt” which I’m going to unwrap very soon unless my dad tries to steal it. At the salon, we prefer to let people play, and I’m often more into it than on the pinball machine – childhood has left its mark! I’ve done a few missions and I find the game very refreshing compared with what’s being done today, we have nothing to be ashamed of in what we’ve achieved. Despite the fact that the big American manufacturers have other financial and human resources than we do, we’re up to the challenge, and that’s something to be proud of.