Why is there an ostrich on my control panel overlay? That’s the Willis Joust ostrich of course, that goofy looking bird that stares back at you from the center of the overlay with the promise of fun and excitement. The overlay is a little strange, it’s one of those Willis pieces that you just have to scratch your head and say, “Huh?” While some of the elements certainly tie into the original game, like the ostritch and the flames, the rest doesn’t make sense. Why is the ostritch and his pals inside some random space craft, staring out through the cockpit windows, as their ship is apparently engulfed in flames? We see the geometric shape motif a few times in various Willis overlays, and I think this particular artist had an affinity for them. Perhaps inspired by the famous millenium falcon light speed scenes, who knows. Sure the pattern and design fill up the space on the overlay, but I would have rather seen knights on ostritch back, dragons and large eggs. That seems more appropriate. A missed opportunity for sure. I wonder if the artists were given a chance to play the games they were working on? Or did they just get an assignment and due to time and budget constraints just had to get it done. It is a bright, vibrant overlay and easily recognizable, but not a great substitue for the original artwork. Of course operators weren’t as picky as the arcade collecting community is today, and then it was probably just fine. Typical Willis quality, with 6 colors in the print, die cuts for the buttons, joysticks and hardware, and 3M materials. Sporting the © 1983 by WILLIS ™ style logo, this one may be goofy, but its a great piece of arcade history. If you have this on your Joust cabinet, please share some pictures!
From the original Tokens Only post dated…
Nope, 1st time posting about this one!
I’m always on the look out for anything Willis related. If you happen to have a piece of artwork in your stash, or on your game that has the Willis logo, drop me a line. I would love to share it with the community and add it to the gallery.
