Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep 130: 2023 TWIPYs Results!
56 Plays2 years ago
We're revealing all the winner of the 2023 TWIPYs for the pinball industry and community.
Recommended
Transcript
Jaws Pinball Machine Reveal
00:00:07
Speaker
Thanks for tuning into the loser kid pinball podcast.
00:00:09
Speaker
We are on episode one 30 with me, my co-captain as always Scott Larson.
00:00:15
Speaker
And this episode is going to be dedicated towards the twippies and the results will has sent those over to us.
00:00:19
Speaker
But before we dig into those results, we want to talk to you about jaws and where to get it.
00:00:26
Speaker
Scott, you saw the reveal.
00:00:27
Speaker
You saw Joel with flipping out and triple drain play this game.
00:00:31
Speaker
What are you thinking of jaws?
00:00:32
Speaker
Are you going to get one?
00:00:33
Speaker
Okay, I think that Joel was sweating because he was so excited, not because he was scared of the shark.
00:00:40
Speaker
But that's a little awkward because he was kind of in love with the shark.
00:00:43
Speaker
Legitimately, I am so excited for this because Jaws seems like it's going to continue the cornerstone dominance that Elwynn's had over the last, you know, since Iron Maiden.
00:00:55
Speaker
I am definitely going to call Zach and Nicole Minnie flipping out pinball.
00:01:00
Speaker
They've always been able to step up and help us out with whatever mods we want.
00:01:06
Speaker
I even brought my rush downstairs and installed the shooter rod that I got from
Support from Flippin Out Pinball
00:01:10
Speaker
Flippin' Out Pinball.
00:01:10
Speaker
So they can hook you up with anything, including toppers, shooters.
00:01:15
Speaker
And even if you have that eye on a game that's no longer being produced, they also are able to work and use stuff.
00:01:21
Speaker
So reach out to them, Flippin' Out Pinball.
00:01:24
Speaker
They've always been good to us.
00:01:26
Speaker
Totally agree.
00:01:27
Speaker
And I'm excited for JAWS.
00:01:29
Speaker
I've got premium on order and I can't wait to get this in my house.
00:01:33
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:33
Speaker
The only problem is you have to figure out what to do with this space because we're all out of space.
00:01:38
Speaker
Exactly.
00:01:38
Speaker
I got to get rid of one.
00:01:39
Speaker
One has to go one off the island.
00:01:40
Speaker
So we'll have to figure that out.
00:01:42
Speaker
So one more thing before we dive into these Twippy results.
00:01:46
Speaker
I know you're excited for this.
00:01:47
Speaker
I know that you've been waiting all year long to hear these results.
00:01:50
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:52
Speaker
I want to talk to Scott about he just went to Guatemala.
00:01:55
Speaker
This is a trip you've had to put off for COVID reasons for a while now.
00:01:59
Speaker
So tell us about your return to Guatemala.
00:02:03
Speaker
We were actually able to go back last year.
00:02:05
Speaker
So that was actually nice.
Scott's Medical Mission in Guatemala
00:02:06
Speaker
We took two years off.
00:02:07
Speaker
This is a foundation that I'm very lucky to be a part of.
00:02:11
Speaker
We go down every year and do surgeries for kids that have primarily cleft lips and pellets.
00:02:19
Speaker
And they have...
00:02:21
Speaker
They just don't have the resources, the bottom line.
00:02:24
Speaker
So we are able to come down and fix those things.
00:02:27
Speaker
In addition to other things that like ears, their ears are crazy complex to develop.
00:02:35
Speaker
And sometimes they are not developed.
00:02:37
Speaker
And if you want to look into it more, it's called Microtia.
00:02:40
Speaker
And what they do is they, they take, they actually take part of the rib and create a cosmetic ear and put it on.
00:02:47
Speaker
So people are, so people can actually see, you know, seem a lot, have a lot more normal life.
00:02:55
Speaker
And we actually got one of the, one of the patients that we worked on, we, we found out from the mom that she had been,
00:03:05
Speaker
She had been bullied because of her ear and she was so grateful that we were able to go down.
00:03:10
Speaker
So again, this is, this is nothing on me.
00:03:12
Speaker
I feel very lucky to be able to be part of the organization.
Role of Twippy Awards
00:03:16
Speaker
We were able to do 43 surgeries and about 80 dental procedures on, on kids who needed it.
00:03:22
Speaker
So again, that was, that's awesome.
00:03:25
Speaker
So it's called Hershey Smiles.
00:03:28
Speaker
And we're, again, we go back every year.
00:03:31
Speaker
This is my sixth time and I have no desire to stop anytime.
00:03:35
Speaker
And you donate all your time and efforts.
00:03:37
Speaker
You don't get paid to do this.
00:03:39
Speaker
This is you paying for the plane ticket and everything.
00:03:41
Speaker
We pay to go down.
00:03:43
Speaker
It's crazy cool.
00:03:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:45
Speaker
So I know a lot of people like to hear from that and hear how you do that.
00:03:49
Speaker
And so I figured you just did it.
00:03:51
Speaker
You just got back.
00:03:52
Speaker
Was it like two days ago?
00:03:53
Speaker
It's really great.
00:03:54
Speaker
I did.
00:03:54
Speaker
I got back Monday morning and then went to work.
00:03:57
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:59
Speaker
You messaged me last night.
00:04:00
Speaker
I just, I can't record.
00:04:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:03
Speaker
I'm so tired.
00:04:05
Speaker
So, okay.
00:04:06
Speaker
Let's, before we dive into this Twippy stuff, let's give a little introduction of the Twippys.
Challenges Facing the Twippy Awards
00:04:11
Speaker
It's been going on for what?
00:04:12
Speaker
Seven years now?
00:04:13
Speaker
20, 20, 20, somewhere around there.
00:04:14
Speaker
When the first one came out and,
00:04:22
Speaker
We want, I mean, obviously we're not oblivious to everything that happened in the last couple months, but Will did reach out to us about just talking about these results.
00:04:31
Speaker
You know, with there not being a show anymore in Texas, Emoto actually has a lot of great, awesome things going on at Texas Pinball Festival.
00:04:38
Speaker
Was already having a hard time doing this video and all the other stuff she has planned going on.
00:04:43
Speaker
We're excited for her.
00:04:45
Speaker
We're excited for Lucas and his stuff that he's got going on in his life.
00:04:47
Speaker
And Lucas is in a show right now.
00:04:49
Speaker
He's in into the woods.
00:04:50
Speaker
And if you don't know that Lucas is an amazing singer, he
Twippy Results Presentation
00:04:54
Speaker
just check him out.
00:04:54
Speaker
He's really good.
00:04:55
Speaker
He's so good.
00:04:56
Speaker
And so we just, Scott, you, you kind of wanted to take the reins on this.
00:05:01
Speaker
Tell us your thoughts on this.
00:05:02
Speaker
I, okay.
00:05:03
Speaker
This is, this is the elephant in the room, right?
00:05:05
Speaker
Because obviously twippies have gone through some evolution.
00:05:09
Speaker
And this year I would say was a little bit of a,
00:05:15
Speaker
it was a transition zone.
00:05:17
Speaker
And there were some things that needed to be changed.
00:05:20
Speaker
There were some things that needed to be addressed.
00:05:22
Speaker
And
Best Theme Finalists
00:05:23
Speaker
there were some things that were not, I would say, not in keeping with what the spirit of TWIPI would be.
00:05:31
Speaker
which would be a positive celebration of the show or the show of pinball, the hobby of pinball, whatever you want to call it.
00:05:39
Speaker
So we, and certainly, Hey, I, I spoke out against what I felt was, was wrong and where I felt that lines were crossed.
00:05:49
Speaker
So this is a,
00:05:51
Speaker
if you decided to hold back this year, I totally understand.
00:05:54
Speaker
And there are some people who reached out and said, yeah, I just don't want to deal with the drama.
00:05:57
Speaker
I'm hoping that we can try to refocus and, and look at Twippies for what they are.
00:06:03
Speaker
There's supposed to be a fan celebration of,
00:06:07
Speaker
the best parts of pinball, including the machines, including the events, and even including the people who help us celebrate and enjoy pinball.
00:06:17
Speaker
So take it for what it is.
00:06:19
Speaker
We want to be able to show this is Twippy's going forward, and we just want to include people and welcome everybody back if you wanted to take a break.
00:06:28
Speaker
Definitely.
00:06:29
Speaker
I reached out to some content creators across the community at large.
00:06:34
Speaker
So we've got people all over the world that have helped us this evening with presenting these awards.
00:06:40
Speaker
We may not be the level of danger and a moto or Zach and Greg of flipping out.
00:06:46
Speaker
And really honestly, Zach, many, you know, we acknowledge this is definitely your baby.
00:06:50
Speaker
I did reach out to Zach and he was just, he couldn't do it this year.
00:06:54
Speaker
But man, like if it wasn't for him,
00:06:57
Speaker
and for Jeff Patterson and making this a celebration that they do every year.
00:07:03
Speaker
And we won't have the Twippies.
00:07:04
Speaker
And so shout out to them as well.
00:07:06
Speaker
Hey, Josh, before we start this thing, we want to make sure that we recognize all of the games that were produced this year and the ones who are up for the majority of the awards.
00:07:16
Speaker
So go ahead and read them off for us.
00:07:19
Speaker
All right.
00:07:20
Speaker
Drained by amusement only games.
00:07:22
Speaker
Honey factory by pinball.
00:07:24
Speaker
Avengers foo fighters by stern.
00:07:27
Speaker
This is spinal tap by home pin.
00:07:29
Speaker
Scooby doo pinball by spooky pinball.
00:07:33
Speaker
Queen by Pinball Brothers, Labyrinth by Barrels of Fun, Final Resistance by Multimorphic, Galactic Tank Force by American Pinball, The Godfather by JJP, Venom by Stern, James Bond, 60th Anniversary, and Elton John by JJP.
00:07:50
Speaker
So let's move on to the first award, Scott.
Importance of Sound in Pinball
00:07:54
Speaker
The first one is Best Theme, and here to introduce Best Theme is Don from Don's Pinball Podcast.
00:08:04
Speaker
Hey, what's up, everybody?
00:08:05
Speaker
It's Don here from Don's Pinball Podcast.
00:08:07
Speaker
How are you doing?
00:08:08
Speaker
I am very excited to be here to reveal the winner of the 2023 Twippy Award for Excellence in Pinball Theme.
00:08:16
Speaker
Now, theme is a tremendously important thing when it comes to pinball.
00:08:20
Speaker
Theme is what will elevate a good layout into a great game.
00:08:25
Speaker
When it comes to the call-outs, the sound, the music, all of that is a byproduct of the theme that goes into it.
00:08:31
Speaker
Theme is what will cause us to walk across a crowded arcade and put our tokens into that machine on a location.
00:08:37
Speaker
Theme is what will drive a man to spend ungodly amounts of money to put a box of lights in his basement.
00:08:44
Speaker
Previous winners of this award have included Rick and Morty in 2020, Godzilla in 2021, James Bond 007 Cornerstone in 2022.
00:08:54
Speaker
And so for this year, the top three finalists were Labyrinth from Barrels of Fun Pinball, Foo Fighters from Stern Pinball, and from those mad men in Benton, Scooby-Doo, where are you from Spooky Pinball?
00:09:07
Speaker
I'm very excited now to reveal the winner of the 2023 Twippy Award.
00:09:11
Speaker
Fourth theme in pinball is none other than Scooby-Doo, where are you from spooky pinball?
00:09:18
Speaker
Huh?
00:09:19
Speaker
How about that?
00:09:21
Speaker
You guys did it.
00:09:23
Speaker
Great theme, man.
00:09:24
Speaker
Congratulations to the spooky pinball crew and the rest of Benton, Wisconsin.
00:09:28
Speaker
We're looking forward to what 2024 has to bring with us.
00:09:32
Speaker
Let's get back to the rest of the show.
00:09:45
Speaker
Oh hey everybody, it's Bug here from Spooky Pinball.
00:09:48
Speaker
I'm just hanging out in the mystery machine because I heard there may be a mystery as to who won the best theme of the 2023 Twippies.
00:09:55
Speaker
But uh, it sounds like that mystery was solved.
00:09:57
Speaker
It's Spooky Pinball for Scooby Doo, which that makes sense, doesn't it?
00:10:01
Speaker
It's just as we thought.
00:10:03
Speaker
Right Scooby?
00:10:04
Speaker
Right?
00:10:05
Speaker
So thank you everybody who voted for us, we really appreciate it.
00:10:10
Speaker
Does that shock you with best theme?
00:10:12
Speaker
Does Scooby-Doo shock you?
00:10:14
Speaker
It doesn't because Scooby-Doo, a lot of people have been excited about Scooby-Doo.
00:10:19
Speaker
I grew up watching Scooby-Doo.
00:10:22
Speaker
And this is something that has resonated with us.
00:10:24
Speaker
There were a lot of people who were not even involved in pinball who reached out when Scooby-Doo was released and said, hey, what do you think about this?
00:10:32
Speaker
So that's the purpose of the theme.
00:10:35
Speaker
The theme is the hook.
00:10:36
Speaker
The theme is what draws you in.
00:10:38
Speaker
And Scooby-Doo doesn't surprise me at all.
00:10:42
Speaker
What's your thoughts, Josh?
00:10:43
Speaker
It doesn't surprise me at all either.
00:10:45
Speaker
It's a very well-loved, beloved theme and licensed throughout all of time between adult to child.
00:10:52
Speaker
So it doesn't shock me that it won.
00:10:54
Speaker
I do want to mention one thing.
00:10:56
Speaker
Scott brought this up.
00:10:57
Speaker
Michael Barnard did all the title cards that you're seeing in between our acceptance speeches and our intros.
00:11:04
Speaker
And so next next one you see, which is coming up right after we introduce it.
00:11:09
Speaker
Take a quick take a close look.
00:11:10
Speaker
It's Michael Barnard's artwork.
00:11:12
Speaker
And to remind you, he's the one who did Rush.
00:11:15
Speaker
He's the one who did Jaws and escape from the megaverse.
00:11:19
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
00:11:20
Speaker
No, he's he's a great artist.
00:11:22
Speaker
Go check him out online.
00:11:24
Speaker
He's a good friend of the show, too.
00:11:26
Speaker
Next up, best sound.
00:11:28
Speaker
Some would argue best sound.
00:11:31
Speaker
Sound is what makes a pinball machine.
00:11:33
Speaker
Ryan Kaz of Head to Head Pinball says this is what makes from the 90s
00:11:38
Speaker
You know, it was the sounds that created the game.
00:11:41
Speaker
And I'm not going to disagree with them.
00:11:42
Speaker
Sound is very important in a pinball machine.
00:11:45
Speaker
Whether it subconsciously hits us or consciously hits us, you know, there's a lot of little noises that give us ticks of, hey, this is what we need to be doing next.
00:11:53
Speaker
Or there's just some games that just the sound ruins it.
00:11:57
Speaker
But we're going to talk about the games that it
Celebrating Creativity and Community
00:12:00
Speaker
doesn't.
00:12:00
Speaker
You ready for this, Scott?
00:12:01
Speaker
Let's do it.
00:12:02
Speaker
Okay.
00:12:03
Speaker
So for our finalists for best sound, we have Elton John by JJP.
00:12:09
Speaker
Scooby-Doo by Spooky Pinball.
00:12:11
Speaker
And Foo Fighters by Stern.
00:12:15
Speaker
Who do you think took that one, Scott?
00:12:18
Speaker
Okay, I would say it's really between...
00:12:23
Speaker
It's between Elton John and Foo Fighters.
00:12:26
Speaker
Now, Scooby-Doo is great, too, because it has the original call-outs.
00:12:29
Speaker
However, there's a reason why music pins have such a lasting effect on the home market.
00:12:35
Speaker
Because, one, the music is there.
00:12:39
Speaker
There's a reason why you're buying it.
00:12:41
Speaker
You're unlikely to buy a music pin unless you're a fan of the band.
00:12:46
Speaker
Those are definitely the frontrunners to take it.
00:12:50
Speaker
What about you, Josh?
00:12:52
Speaker
No, I agree with everything you said.
00:12:56
Speaker
I'm partial to Foo Fighters myself, but then again, I really enjoy their music.
00:12:59
Speaker
So that's where I land.
00:13:01
Speaker
So should we get to the winner?
00:13:03
Speaker
Go ahead.
00:13:03
Speaker
All right.
00:13:05
Speaker
Winner is Foo Fighters by Stern.
00:13:08
Speaker
Nice.
00:13:11
Speaker
I am very excited to accept the award for best audio on behalf of Stern Pinball and the entire Foo Fighters development team.
00:13:18
Speaker
Big thanks to the fans for voting for us.
00:13:20
Speaker
We really do appreciate it.
00:13:22
Speaker
Also, a big thanks to Jerry Thompson, who is the other audio designer on this project.
00:13:26
Speaker
And finally, thanks to my family, Jennifer, CJ, Jack, and Emily.
00:13:31
Speaker
I love you guys.
00:13:32
Speaker
Thanks, Twippies.
00:13:36
Speaker
Monkey wrench all the way, baby.
00:13:38
Speaker
Monkey wrench.
00:13:39
Speaker
See, and the funny thing is I probably would have leaned a little bit toward Elton John, but because I'm a lot more familiar with Elton John's catalog than Foo Fighters.
00:13:47
Speaker
But the integration is great.
00:13:49
Speaker
It's not just the music, by the way.
00:13:51
Speaker
It's the way they integrate the music into with the call outs and with everything else, because it's not like they put on a Foo Fighters CD and just start playing.
00:14:01
Speaker
It's very true.
00:14:02
Speaker
And by the way, I said CD and yes, I am that old.
00:14:06
Speaker
Well, then at least you didn't say a track, I guess, huh?
00:14:09
Speaker
Yeah, no, no, no.
00:14:10
Speaker
But because my records are back in style, baby, like vinyl is vinyl.
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:16
Speaker
All right.
00:14:16
Speaker
So we're moving on to favorite mod with and this gentleman is killing it over in England.
00:14:23
Speaker
He has done a great job of building up this YouTube channel.
00:14:26
Speaker
If you haven't checked him out, his name is Gonzo's Pinball Flipper Rama.
00:14:30
Speaker
Here to introduce best mod, Chris Gonzo.
00:14:35
Speaker
Good morning, good afternoon, and of course, good evening, everybody.
00:14:38
Speaker
You are watching the Loser Kid Pinball podcast, and you probably have one question.
00:14:43
Speaker
Who's that guy?
00:14:44
Speaker
And what's he doing on our favorite podcast?
00:14:46
Speaker
That's two questions.
00:14:47
Speaker
But let me introduce myself.
00:14:49
Speaker
I'm Gonzo.
00:14:50
Speaker
I run a pinball YouTube channel called Gonzo's Pinball.
00:14:53
Speaker
Flipperama, we play a lot of pinball, we talk a lot of pinball, we show off a lot of pinball machines, and we just love pinball.
00:15:00
Speaker
And hopefully for that reason, the guys over at Loser Kid Pinball Podcast have asked me to announce the nominees for this year's favorite mod of the year award,
00:15:10
Speaker
from the Twippies.
00:15:12
Speaker
Now, not only do we love pinballs over at the Flipparama, we love mods.
00:15:15
Speaker
I love mods so much.
00:15:16
Speaker
I've just bought myself a new one, which is this big cannon, which apparently is meant to fit on the tank, but I'm having real trouble fitting it inside the play field here.
00:15:24
Speaker
So I'll get back to that after I've done this video.
00:15:27
Speaker
Anyway, you're wondering who are the nominees for this fantastic category?
00:15:30
Speaker
And I do love me mods.
00:15:32
Speaker
So let's just tell you who they are.
00:15:34
Speaker
First of all, you have the Godzilla Noodle Bar, which is from Stumble or Pinball.
00:15:39
Speaker
And Stumble or Pinball, you may remember, have actually already won a Twippies for their Tokyo Neon sign.
00:15:44
Speaker
What a great modification that was.
00:15:48
Speaker
The second nominee is the Inclusive Controller from Inclusive Go.
00:15:53
Speaker
Game works!
00:15:54
Speaker
And last but not least, and I really do mean not least, is the James Bond 007 Scuba Kick Mod from Avid Creations and Morel's Pinball Wireforms.
00:16:04
Speaker
That mod is so good, I almost bought one even though I don't have a James Bond pinball machine.
00:16:10
Speaker
But anyway, there you go.
00:16:12
Speaker
So, drum roll.
00:16:16
Speaker
And the winner is...
00:16:19
Speaker
It's Davey Stumlore from Stumlore's Pinball Mods for, as chance would have it, this wonderful noodle bar modification.
00:16:28
Speaker
It's absolutely magnificent.
00:16:31
Speaker
So well done, Davey.
00:16:32
Speaker
Well done, Stumlore.
00:16:33
Speaker
As you can see, I've not even opened this beautiful thing yet.
00:16:37
Speaker
Oh, it's fantastic.
00:16:40
Speaker
Congratulations, Stumble or Pinball.
00:16:42
Speaker
Well done, Swippies.
00:16:43
Speaker
Well done, everybody at LoserKids Pinball Podcast.
00:16:46
Speaker
I'm going to go and try and install this in this galactic tank force.
00:16:52
Speaker
Hey guys, Davey from Stumble or Pinball here.
00:16:55
Speaker
Thank you so much for giving us this honour for the Noodle Bar to have come out on top this year.
00:17:01
Speaker
Just so incredible and blown away.
00:17:04
Speaker
So yeah, thank you to all the people who bought the mod and who then went on to vote for us.
00:17:09
Speaker
in this year's Twippies.
00:17:11
Speaker
You guys continue to just be the most awesome and supportive people.
00:17:16
Speaker
So thank you for being there for us this year and continuing to be so enthusiastic for the work that we do.
00:17:22
Speaker
Also a massive shout out to all the other mod makers in the scene.
00:17:26
Speaker
It was such a competitive lineup of mods this year.
00:17:30
Speaker
And so you guys just continue to be some of the most creative, funny, enthusiastic and inspirational people.
00:17:39
Speaker
Uh, you know, and I love working with you, uh, you know, in this scene.
00:17:42
Speaker
So yeah, let's go out there next year and create some incredible stuff.
00:17:44
Speaker
Thanks so much.
00:17:45
Speaker
See ya.
00:17:48
Speaker
Dude, I, it's, it's Dumbler.
00:17:50
Speaker
Like it did not shock me when he won.
00:17:52
Speaker
What'd you think, Scott?
00:17:54
Speaker
Yeah, the funny thing is each time he comes out with a new mod, I always think, dang, I just spent another $200, $300, $400 for my game because it does take it to the next level.
00:18:04
Speaker
It also looks like it should have been OEM.
00:18:12
Speaker
That's a big key for me that I'm not a huge fan of the ones that look a little bit like a matchbox car with an LED because some there's a lot of mods that I for me fall into that category.
00:18:25
Speaker
I like that he is able to make these things that look like they are a significant upgrade to what the original is.
00:18:32
Speaker
And I want to point out, he won last year for the Neon Tokyo sign.
00:18:36
Speaker
So now with the noodle bar, he just released.
00:18:39
Speaker
If you haven't seen this yet, go to his website, stumblerpinball.com.
00:18:43
Speaker
He has just released the subway building mod.
Innovation in Homebrew Pinball
00:18:46
Speaker
And it looks like Godzilla melted half of it.
00:18:50
Speaker
Yeah, it looks good.
00:18:51
Speaker
So good.
00:18:52
Speaker
All right, let's get moving on to our next one.
00:18:55
Speaker
Convention.
00:18:56
Speaker
Scott, pinball conventions have been a staple for the last 40 years.
00:19:01
Speaker
It seems like they've become a hometown representation of these different pinball groups that have popped up over the nation and over the world.
00:19:09
Speaker
So when you say favorite convention, it's almost like saying, what's your favorite backyard activity with your friends?
00:19:17
Speaker
Right.
00:19:19
Speaker
We're here to introduce the favorite convention for 2023.
00:19:23
Speaker
For the top three options, the finalists in no apparent order, we have Texas Pinball Festival.
00:19:29
Speaker
We have Northwest Pinball and Game Show Festival.
00:19:32
Speaker
And we have Chicago Pinball Expo.
00:19:35
Speaker
And Josh, what is the winner?
00:19:38
Speaker
The winner is Chicago Pinball Festival.
00:19:44
Speaker
Hey guys, I just got the news.
00:19:47
Speaker
Pinball Expo won the Twippy for the best convention and we're so excited here in Pinball Expo land here in Warren, Ohio.
00:19:54
Speaker
But it's a lot of work involved with these shows as all show promoters know.
00:19:58
Speaker
But we're tickled to get it.
00:20:00
Speaker
Thank you for everyone who voted for us.
00:20:02
Speaker
And I see there's someone out here in the audience.
00:20:05
Speaker
Hey, my old buddy Flippy's here.
00:20:07
Speaker
Anyways, Pinball Expo, our 40th year is coming up around the corner, guys.
00:20:13
Speaker
And we have got so many surprises going on.
00:20:15
Speaker
If someone had a great time last year, just get ready to rock your socks off because we've got so many special things going on.
00:20:23
Speaker
People come from all over the world to the show and so many new things happening that it should be really a lot of fun.
00:20:29
Speaker
So I hope to see you there.
00:20:31
Speaker
And once again, thank you so much for the great award and great honor.
00:20:34
Speaker
Thank you.
00:20:37
Speaker
Okay, Josh, Pinball Expo won.
00:20:40
Speaker
Are you surprised at all of this?
00:20:42
Speaker
I'm not.
00:20:43
Speaker
And honestly, this last year, 2023 expo was amazing.
00:20:48
Speaker
It's just growing this year.
00:20:49
Speaker
It's the 40th anniversary.
00:20:51
Speaker
I have already got my hotel booked.
00:20:53
Speaker
I'm excited for this.
00:20:54
Speaker
It's double the size of what it was last year.
00:20:57
Speaker
I don't know how he's going to pack this place.
00:20:58
Speaker
What do you think, Scott?
00:20:59
Speaker
I think I don't think you'll have a problem.
00:21:01
Speaker
It's the the advantage is.
00:21:04
Speaker
he was able to take a lot of the great things that people liked about Texas and incorporate them into a hometown show where all the manufacturers are.
00:21:14
Speaker
So you have the advantage of the, of the tours of the, of the factories.
00:21:20
Speaker
You also have a lot of industry people who don't have to fly down.
00:21:23
Speaker
They can just come over.
00:21:24
Speaker
So there is a slight advantage and there's a reason why expo has been
00:21:30
Speaker
Anchored in Chicago because that's where all the stuff is.
00:21:32
Speaker
Now, I'm still a huge fan of Texas Pinball Festival too.
00:21:35
Speaker
So it's just a good option.
00:21:38
Speaker
And the good news is they're roughly six months apart.
00:21:40
Speaker
So it's good to check them both out.
00:21:44
Speaker
I am super excited for Expo this year too.
00:21:46
Speaker
And just like you, I'm planning on being there.
00:21:48
Speaker
Okay.
00:21:49
Speaker
And now from the Pinball Degenerates, we have Joe C. Who's going to be talking about the best toys and mechs inside a pinball machine.
00:22:01
Speaker
Hey everybody, Joe Ciaravino here.
00:22:02
Speaker
I'm here to present the TWIPI Award for Best Toys and Mechs.
00:22:06
Speaker
If only there were an acronym that would represent a mechanical wonder that we love so much.
00:22:11
Speaker
And the winner for the TWIPI for Best Toys and Mechs goes to... Labyrinth Pinball Barrels of Fun.
00:22:21
Speaker
Congratulations, you are the TWIPI Award winner for Best Toys and Mechs.
00:22:26
Speaker
That's for Travis Mosman of Barrels of Fun.
00:22:28
Speaker
Congratulations.
00:22:30
Speaker
Back to you folks.
00:22:33
Speaker
Thank you for all the people that voted in the TWIPI's 2023 Best Toys and Mechs.
00:22:39
Speaker
It means a lot to us.
00:22:41
Speaker
This is our first game.
00:22:42
Speaker
We are super excited to win this award and we really appreciate your votes.
00:22:47
Speaker
Thank you.
00:22:50
Speaker
What do you think, Scott?
00:22:50
Speaker
Do you think Labyrinth earns the title of Best Toys and Mechs?
00:22:54
Speaker
You know what?
00:22:55
Speaker
Labyrinth is eye candy.
00:22:58
Speaker
For a first, it's the second coming of like Wizard of Oz.
00:23:04
Speaker
When people first saw Wizard of Oz, they looked at it and said, wow, this has a lot of stuff.
00:23:10
Speaker
And it draws you in.
00:23:12
Speaker
It makes you interested in wanting to play it.
00:23:14
Speaker
I say that Labyrinth has also done this for a great first impression.
00:23:20
Speaker
So the way that they've, they've put all the little things and people who are labyrinth fans, it is going to really talk with them and the movements.
00:23:28
Speaker
So I, yeah, I think it's well, it's well deserved.
00:23:31
Speaker
Moving on to best location.
00:23:33
Speaker
There is a ton of amazing arcades across this great nation and barcades all, you know, all the way down to Australia, all the way over to Germany.
00:23:42
Speaker
And it's just like your convention, right?
00:23:44
Speaker
It's like your favorite place.
00:23:45
Speaker
It's you want to go hang out at like art here in Salt Lake is Keto's.
00:23:48
Speaker
We love our kids, man.
00:23:51
Speaker
And I love my Nickel Manians, man.
00:23:52
Speaker
Like if you want a ton of pinball machines, Mike has just put them in all these different locations.
00:23:58
Speaker
So we're talking best location.
00:24:00
Speaker
The top three, we all know TNT Amusements.
00:24:04
Speaker
So that's an option.
00:24:05
Speaker
We have Pinball Lounge and that and TNT Amusements is in Southampton, Pennsylvania.
00:24:11
Speaker
We have the Pinball Lounge in Oviedo, Florida, and we have Next Level Pinball Museum in Hillsborough, Oregon.
00:24:19
Speaker
Josh, who took home the trophy this year?
00:24:22
Speaker
Congratulations to Next Level Pinball Museum for winning it for a third year in a row.
00:24:28
Speaker
That's three times.
00:24:29
Speaker
Woo-woo!
00:24:33
Speaker
Our, you know, pinball is crazy up in the Pacific Northwest.
00:24:37
Speaker
It really is.
00:24:39
Speaker
I keep, I keep hearing we need to go up to the show up there.
00:24:42
Speaker
Yeah, no, I, I'd like to get up there.
00:24:45
Speaker
Okay.
00:24:47
Speaker
Moving on to our next category.
00:24:48
Speaker
This is a good friend of the show.
00:24:50
Speaker
Dan Rostenstein is going to be talking to us about best homebrew, best homebrews.
00:24:55
Speaker
What do you think, Scott?
00:24:57
Speaker
The best home, ooh, the challenge is there are so many that are really good and interesting and everything's in a different stage of development.
00:25:06
Speaker
It's funny because I think back to when I first started seeing more homebrews, you can see games that came out of the homebrew.
00:25:14
Speaker
You have Total Nuclear Annihilation.
00:25:17
Speaker
which basically jumped from the homebrew into a production game.
00:25:23
Speaker
You also have Sonic, which was basically an audition to say, hey, I can develop pinball machines.
00:25:31
Speaker
Would you like to hire me?
00:25:32
Speaker
And he was.
00:25:33
Speaker
So this is great.
00:25:36
Speaker
And the good news is a lot of people at the major shows are familiar with these because they tend to try to go as much as they can to these shows to get exposure.
Lyman Sheets Award Significance
00:25:46
Speaker
Yep.
00:25:48
Speaker
So without further ado, Dan Rosenstein with Pinball Pinnovators podcast.
00:25:53
Speaker
If you haven't checked him out, he's had some amazing people on to talk about these wonderful machines.
00:25:59
Speaker
Take it away, Dan.
00:26:02
Speaker
Hello, pinball community.
00:26:04
Speaker
For those of you I don't know, I'm Dan Rosenstein, and I do a pinball podcast that focuses on those makers and innovators who have decided to go on the often hard and daunting journey to design and develop their own homebrew or custom pinball machines.
00:26:17
Speaker
Homebrews are those machines that started from an idea where most of the machine is net new, and custom pinballs are based on a previous design, but have altered or changed some foundational aspect of the game.
00:26:28
Speaker
In both cases, the innovators and makers display creativity, grit, willingness to learn, and a level of cross-discipline mastery and craftsmanship that is truly inspiring and brought to life under the playfield.
00:26:41
Speaker
It is an absolute honor to announce the 2023 Twippy Award nominees for Best Homebrew or Custom.
00:26:48
Speaker
Eight Ball Beyond by Sean Irby, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Andrew Kress, and Circuit Meltdown by the robotic students at Northeast Metro Tech.
00:26:58
Speaker
All of these machines are stunning, and their makers are deserving to win and extremely creative people.
00:27:04
Speaker
This year, the winner for Best Homebrewer Custom goes to Eight Ball Beyond by Sean Irby.
00:27:12
Speaker
Hi everyone.
00:27:13
Speaker
Receiving this award means so much to me.
00:27:15
Speaker
Thank you.
00:27:16
Speaker
I want to start by saying that it's an honor to be nominated alongside all these other talented individuals that created their own pinball machine.
00:27:24
Speaker
That process takes a lot of work and also a lot of support from other people, so I'd like to say thanks to some key individuals that helped me out with making 8Ball Beyond.
00:27:34
Speaker
First of all, I'd like to thank Johnny Krap, the artist behind the game's incredible art package.
00:27:39
Speaker
You know, it really made the game something special, and I don't think I'd be talking to you today if it weren't for his contributions.
00:27:46
Speaker
I also want to thank Travis Meisch, who was very gracious with sharing his expertise with me, and I had a lot of questions for him, and he just gave me some great guidance early on in the project.
00:27:57
Speaker
I want to thank Travis Eckert for letting me set up 8 Ball Beyond at his barcade, Adaball, for a few weeks this past summer.
00:28:05
Speaker
It was just a great opportunity to get some real-world playtesting in on the game.
00:28:10
Speaker
And I want to thank, of course, the pinball community and all those in it that showed their support for the game.
00:28:16
Speaker
And I want to thank the Twippy Committee and Loserkid for making these awards happen and for recognizing the independent creators in the hobby.
00:28:25
Speaker
So yeah, thanks again.
00:28:29
Speaker
So, Josh, homebrew, what do you think?
00:28:32
Speaker
It did not shock me.
00:28:33
Speaker
I mean, if you're listening to podcasts around expo time, everyone was ranting and raving about 8-Ball Beyond.
00:28:40
Speaker
I don't think there's a single person out there watching the show right now that was like, huh, did they really deserve it?
00:28:46
Speaker
Because Sean did an amazing job with 8-Ball Beyond.
00:28:50
Speaker
I mean, it's like get on the line ready.
00:28:54
Speaker
I think it's...
00:28:55
Speaker
I wouldn't be shocked if someone wants to buy it off of him and make it a game.
00:28:58
Speaker
So nice.
00:29:00
Speaker
So moving on, animations have been getting progressively better.
00:29:05
Speaker
It feels like this last couple of years, there's been leaps and bounds, right?
00:29:09
Speaker
You know, absolutely.
00:29:10
Speaker
And the funny thing is when you think about it, because the first game that had an LCD screen, okay.
00:29:15
Speaker
Aside from wizard of Oz, the first mass production one, aside from wizard of Oz and Hobbit, when it started getting into stern games too, I,
00:29:24
Speaker
You saw Aerosmith.
00:29:25
Speaker
I mean, Aerosmith, they kind of look like, okay, how to say it?
00:29:30
Speaker
You know, like South Park where they have the cutout characters and they kind of dance around.
00:29:36
Speaker
That's how it felt.
00:29:38
Speaker
And Jersey Jack has been doing this for a long time with either some...
00:29:45
Speaker
some new animations or with clips of movies.
00:29:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:49
Speaker
So it's interesting because now we are what, 14 years into, into that.
00:29:56
Speaker
Something like that.
00:29:57
Speaker
Something like that.
00:29:58
Speaker
And so it's interesting to see where we've gone and you can even see from even the first Jersey Jack to their current ones.
00:30:05
Speaker
And you can even see it from the first Stern to their current ones.
00:30:08
Speaker
And I know that I'm, I'm leaving a few out, but I, other, other manufacturers are also using that in even Chicago gaming with their updated DMD versions of their classic games.
00:30:21
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:22
Speaker
So yeah,
00:30:23
Speaker
The ones that came out last year.
00:30:24
Speaker
So let's talk about the, let's talk about the top four.
00:30:28
Speaker
We'll just do that and just say, these are the finalists.
00:30:31
Speaker
So we have, we have Elton John, we have Scooby-Doo, we have Labyrinth and we have Foo Fighters.
00:30:37
Speaker
So those are all visually appealing band or not bands.
00:30:41
Speaker
These are all visually appealing options, right?
00:30:44
Speaker
Yes, definitely.
00:30:46
Speaker
So the winner is, and he had a drum roll.
00:30:50
Speaker
It is Foo Fighters by CERN.
00:30:52
Speaker
And here is Stern to accept the award for best animations.
00:31:05
Speaker
Thank you to everybody who voted for Foo Fighters.
00:31:07
Speaker
Stupid!
00:31:08
Speaker
It was a really fun project.
00:31:09
Speaker
Thank you to the whole team.
00:31:11
Speaker
You're stupid and your animations are stupid.
00:31:19
Speaker
That was an amazing video for animation.
00:31:22
Speaker
Good job, Stern.
00:31:23
Speaker
Your animations have really come up.
00:31:26
Speaker
The best part is it was an award for animation that was accepted with animation.
00:31:32
Speaker
Yes, that is the best part.
00:31:34
Speaker
That's next level.
00:31:35
Speaker
That's next level.
00:31:37
Speaker
So up next, before we move on, we definitely have to bring this up.
00:31:42
Speaker
Lyman sheets award for best rules.
00:31:44
Speaker
Lyman sheets passed away two years ago this last month.
00:31:48
Speaker
And it definitely has there.
00:31:52
Speaker
It was amazing to see the outpouring this last month of those that were close to him.
00:31:57
Speaker
And I can't think of a better way to honor him.
00:32:00
Speaker
Right.
00:32:00
Speaker
Then, then saying, giving him the award.
00:32:03
Speaker
Right.
00:32:04
Speaker
in his name, right?
00:32:06
Speaker
Because he, and I agree.
00:32:07
Speaker
He, he was the rules guy from like the nineties until now.
00:32:11
Speaker
I mean, people bought games if they knew that Lyman was doing the rules.
00:32:16
Speaker
Yep.
00:32:17
Speaker
I can't remember which podcast it was, but I was listening to one where they said they should hire someone just to follow Lyman Sheets around just to learn how he codes and how he does rules so they could try to make another clone of Lyman Sheets because his code is what pushed and drives him into the modern day.
00:32:35
Speaker
I will say I we can still draw upon those lessons and you can see the next generation of coders.
00:32:42
Speaker
They all owe a great, great debt of gratitude for at least the direction that Lyman was driving rules.
00:32:51
Speaker
So thank you, Lime and Sheets, for giving us an amazing, amazing industry and hobby that we
Twippy Awards Categories
00:32:59
Speaker
all love.
00:32:59
Speaker
Right.
00:32:59
Speaker
And it's because of your codes.
00:33:01
Speaker
So here to present this award is our good friends, Triple Drain Pinball Podcast.
00:33:10
Speaker
Don't talk about anime porn.
00:33:12
Speaker
Got it.
00:33:14
Speaker
I think we'll just start with that.
00:33:15
Speaker
I think we'll just start with that quote.
00:33:16
Speaker
So, okay.
00:33:17
Speaker
So welcome.
00:33:20
Speaker
Thank you, Loser Kid.
00:33:21
Speaker
Thank you, Scott and Josh, for inviting us on here.
00:33:23
Speaker
We are the Triple Drain Pinball Podcast.
00:33:26
Speaker
Myself, Joel, we have Travis, and that beautiful man, Tom Graff.
00:33:32
Speaker
Yes, we are Triple Drain.
00:33:33
Speaker
We talk...
00:33:35
Speaker
I don't know.
00:33:36
Speaker
We are what we are.
00:33:37
Speaker
If you listen to us, sorry about you, but enjoy it.
00:33:40
Speaker
I hope people enjoy the show.
00:33:42
Speaker
We have been asked, believe it or not, to announce the Lyman F. Sheets Junior Award for Best Rules and Code.
00:33:47
Speaker
Best Rules and Code.
00:33:50
Speaker
This is what makes the game work.
00:33:52
Speaker
Travis, do you like code?
00:33:54
Speaker
Hey, if you know anything, Joel, if you're an expert on anything, it's definitely rules and code.
00:33:58
Speaker
I am.
00:33:59
Speaker
I have seen your gameplay.
00:34:00
Speaker
You have gotten super deep into these games.
00:34:03
Speaker
Yeah, I may not be able to do the thing, but I know the thing.
00:34:08
Speaker
I kind of know what to do.
00:34:09
Speaker
Some of it, but not the tournament strat.
00:34:12
Speaker
I know the moments.
00:34:13
Speaker
I know how to get to the moment, you know?
00:34:15
Speaker
The coded moments.
00:34:16
Speaker
I may not see the moment, but...
00:34:18
Speaker
i don't know but you know what exists yeah yeah tom i don't know what you just did with your hands but i'm okay with it you're clicking you're oh things are coming together got it got it okay well this is yeah enough of us um if you like this feel free to listen you know this is what you get with the triple drain but here we go the three finalists the three finalists are stern's foo fighters stern's venom
00:34:43
Speaker
And Stern's Bond 60th.
00:34:46
Speaker
Three very different games, you know.
00:34:48
Speaker
They're all good games.
00:34:49
Speaker
All great games.
00:34:50
Speaker
You got your music pen.
00:34:50
Speaker
I know, Tom, I see that Foo Fighters right behind you.
00:34:52
Speaker
That LE looks real good.
00:34:54
Speaker
I know Venom.
00:34:55
Speaker
I had a blast with Venom.
00:34:56
Speaker
Dwight, you know, kind of went in a cool direction this year with all the XP and the ranking up.
00:35:01
Speaker
It helped players like myself see the final wizard mode, which was exciting.
00:35:04
Speaker
And Bond 60th, what a unique and fun take to like kind of an older game, but yet code that actually had depth and complexity.
00:35:13
Speaker
Yeah, it was all a good time.
00:35:14
Speaker
So I enjoyed the games.
00:35:17
Speaker
I think they're all good games.
00:35:18
Speaker
But there was one winner.
00:35:19
Speaker
And the winner of the best rules and code for 2023 was Foo Fighters.
00:35:26
Speaker
There we go.
00:35:28
Speaker
Congratulations.
00:35:29
Speaker
Congratulations to Tanya and Ray Day and Jack Danger.
00:35:32
Speaker
What an amazing game.
00:35:33
Speaker
Fun code that keeps you coming back.
00:35:35
Speaker
And thank you for acting like you're clapping and not clapping in the mic.
00:35:38
Speaker
That's great.
00:35:39
Speaker
You're welcome.
00:35:40
Speaker
All right.
00:35:40
Speaker
Well, there you go.
00:35:41
Speaker
Notice Tom, you and I, the only ones clapping.
00:35:44
Speaker
So everybody on the Foo Fighters team, you know, we're our, our loyalties lie.
00:35:50
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:50
Speaker
I, cause I didn't clap.
00:35:51
Speaker
Great.
00:35:52
Speaker
All right.
00:35:52
Speaker
Well, that's that.
00:36:01
Speaker
I'm so happy to be here accepting this award on behalf of Stern Pinball and their game Foo Fighters.
00:36:08
Speaker
Thank you so much for voting and naming us the team with the best rules.
00:36:14
Speaker
I don't know what to say.
00:36:16
Speaker
It was a blast working on this game.
00:36:19
Speaker
You know, we couldn't have done it without Jack and Tanyo bouncing ideas off each other, us three just collaborating like crazy.
00:36:26
Speaker
It was a super fun time.
00:36:28
Speaker
Just, I was so much fun.
00:36:30
Speaker
And thank you so much for choosing us for your Best Rules nomination.
00:36:41
Speaker
Best Rules, Foo Fighters.
00:36:43
Speaker
Are you shocked?
00:36:43
Speaker
Raymond Davidson?
00:36:45
Speaker
I'm not.
00:36:46
Speaker
No, no.
00:36:46
Speaker
Okay, so we talked about the next level of coders that all are tied to the umbrella that is Lyman Sheets.
00:36:57
Speaker
And Raymond Davidson is definitely up there.
00:36:59
Speaker
He is all he is as well as Lyman, a top level player.
00:37:04
Speaker
So he understands competitive pinball.
00:37:07
Speaker
He understands tournament pinball, but he also understands what makes a game fun.
00:37:13
Speaker
So it is it is unlocking that Da Vinci code of what is what is accessible and fun for for all levels.
00:37:21
Speaker
You know, and I'm just going to leave it at that.
00:37:24
Speaker
I agree.
00:37:25
Speaker
And Raymond really has come pretty far since he started on his first game, Led Zeppelin.
00:37:29
Speaker
And it's awesome.
00:37:31
Speaker
I love Foo Fighters right behind me.
00:37:33
Speaker
And I love this game, man.
00:37:34
Speaker
The rules have really, it really makes the game amazing.
00:37:37
Speaker
So yeah, now it's fine.
00:37:38
Speaker
Moving on.
00:37:39
Speaker
Favorite topper.
00:37:41
Speaker
And you know what?
00:37:42
Speaker
Who better to have us talk about toppers than people that have their own topper segment on their show?
00:37:48
Speaker
We have with us Buffalo Pinball.
00:37:50
Speaker
Take it away, Buffalo.
00:37:53
Speaker
Hello everyone, my name is Gorin from Topper Talk with Gorin.
00:37:57
Speaker
Topper Talk with Gorin is a segment on Buffalo Pinball's Bro to Even Talk Pinball podcast.
00:38:01
Speaker
Now, Kevin and Nick were kind enough to invite me to announce the Twippy Award winner for Favorite Pinball Topper.
00:38:08
Speaker
Now, for those who don't know, a pinball topper is really anything that goes on top of
00:38:13
Speaker
your pinball machine.
00:38:14
Speaker
It can be static, it can be interactive, sometimes it's even critical to the gameplay experience.
00:38:19
Speaker
And sometimes they're fan made and sometimes they're put out by the manufacturer as an upcharge or they even come with the game.
00:38:26
Speaker
So with that said, let's get into the nominees for this year's favorite pinball topper.
00:38:29
Speaker
They include Godzilla by Sturm Pinball, Godfather by Jersey Jack Pinball, and Labyrinth by Barrels of Fun Pinball.
00:38:35
Speaker
And the winner is
00:38:39
Speaker
Labyrinth by Barrels of Fun Pinball.
00:38:41
Speaker
Congratulations to the Labyrinth team.
00:38:45
Speaker
Wow.
00:38:46
Speaker
Best topper for 2023.
00:38:49
Speaker
Thank you for the people that voted for us.
00:38:51
Speaker
It means a lot to our team.
00:38:53
Speaker
We didn't make it to win an award, but when it does happen, it feels pretty amazing.
00:38:59
Speaker
Thank you very much.
00:39:03
Speaker
Does it shock you, Scott?
00:39:05
Speaker
Does Labyrinth taking the topper shock you?
00:39:07
Speaker
No, Labyrinth, it looks like they stole this from like Jim Henson's like trunk.
00:39:13
Speaker
It looks like it really does.
00:39:14
Speaker
They ripped off the Muppets.
00:39:15
Speaker
They're like, well, well, he wasn't looking and just put them on top of the pinball machine.
00:39:19
Speaker
I, I will say, I also, I'm impressed anytime it's 3d or has something interact interactive and other options are great.
00:39:29
Speaker
And by the way, I'm a huge topper guy.
00:39:31
Speaker
I buy toppers for all my machines, uh, labyrinth.
00:39:34
Speaker
It is definitely eye catching.
00:39:36
Speaker
So there's, for me, there's no question that that should have been the winner.
00:39:41
Speaker
Yeah, I agree.
00:39:43
Speaker
Well, moving on to the next one, best artwork there.
00:39:47
Speaker
You know, art has really ramped up over these last few years and just redefined what what a pinball machine looks like.
00:39:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:56
Speaker
And our good friend George Fisher is here to talk about best artwork.
00:40:02
Speaker
We take away George Fisher with Don't Panic Flip.
00:40:05
Speaker
Take it away, George.
00:40:09
Speaker
Hello, my name is George and I stream pinball in a channel called Don't Panic Flip on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.
00:40:16
Speaker
I've also recently started podcasting with my co-host Paul on Basement Dad's Pinball Podcast.
00:40:22
Speaker
Oh, hi there.
00:40:24
Speaker
Were you there the whole time?
00:40:26
Speaker
Yep.
00:40:27
Speaker
Did you come prepared with your own microphone?
00:40:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:30
Speaker
What a coincidence.
00:40:31
Speaker
Would you mind helping me present the Twippy Award for Best Artwork in 2023?
00:40:35
Speaker
Oh, sure.
00:40:36
Speaker
Well, in that case, you better hold on to your banishers, folks, because 2023 was packed with a heck of a lot of fantastic artwork.
00:40:44
Speaker
I couldn't agree more.
00:40:46
Speaker
And on that note, the finalists for Best Artwork Category are Spooky Pinball's Scooby-Doo with artwork by Jeff Zorno and Matt Frank.
00:40:55
Speaker
Stern Pinball's Elvira Blood Red Kiss with artwork by Greg Freres, and Stern's Foo Fighters with artwork by Zombie Yeti.
00:41:03
Speaker
Listen, I just got to say, as a father, I've learned to take the time to appreciate the finer things in life because there's not a whole lot of time for anything else these days.
00:41:16
Speaker
And there's a lot of art packages out there like Galactic Tank Force,
00:41:22
Speaker
Final Resistance, Venom, Labyrinth, and I mean, I know nobody got their Pulp Fictions yet, but they all didn't make the cut.
00:41:31
Speaker
That is some fantastic artwork that didn't make the cut, but the people have spoken and we do have a clear winner.
00:41:38
Speaker
Do you think you know which game stuck the landing?
00:41:42
Speaker
Let's find out.
00:41:44
Speaker
The 2023 winner of the Twippy Award for Best Artwork is...
00:41:48
Speaker
Foo Fighters with artwork by Zombie Yeti.
00:41:51
Speaker
Hey there, congratulations Stern and Zombie Yeti.
00:41:54
Speaker
My hat's off to some of Zombie Yeti's best artwork yet.
00:41:58
Speaker
I love how you never take your hat off.
00:42:00
Speaker
I kind of forget I'm wearing a hat most times.
00:42:13
Speaker
Oh, Marmaduke.
00:42:16
Speaker
Hi.
00:42:18
Speaker
I'm told it's a great honor to be accepting the award for Best Art Package for Foo Fighters Pinball by Stern Pinball.
00:42:25
Speaker
Whatever you guys say.
00:42:28
Speaker
I'd like to thank the team.
00:42:31
Speaker
A lot of amazing talent involved helped make this game better than it should have been.
00:42:38
Speaker
Jack for letting me be a part of it.
00:42:40
Speaker
Tanyo for letting me have terrible ideas.
00:42:43
Speaker
Appreciate it.
00:42:45
Speaker
And thanks to everyone who voted.
00:42:47
Speaker
I'm not sure that you voted correctly.
00:42:48
Speaker
I would have gone for Elvira, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
00:42:53
Speaker
It means a lot.
00:42:54
Speaker
Thanks.
00:42:57
Speaker
Foo Fighters again with best artwork.
00:43:00
Speaker
Zombie Yeti is just a classic, man.
00:43:02
Speaker
It's hard.
00:43:03
Speaker
Now, I will say this is actually one of those years where I felt that there were a lot of good options.
00:43:10
Speaker
Yes.
00:43:11
Speaker
I feel bad for Christopher Franchi because he puts so many art packages out this year.
00:43:17
Speaker
And I wonder if that was his detriment because you got four, you got four art packages just from Franchi alone.
00:43:25
Speaker
I mean, you're splitting the vote four different ways with Franchi.
00:43:27
Speaker
Right.
00:43:28
Speaker
And so if you're, if you're a big fan, absolutely.
00:43:29
Speaker
Which one are you going to pick?
00:43:31
Speaker
The, the challenge.
00:43:33
Speaker
Now I will say, okay, I like all of these options.
00:43:38
Speaker
There isn't one that I thought these aren't good.
00:43:40
Speaker
I mean, Foo Fighters was great.
00:43:42
Speaker
Scooby-Doo was great.
00:43:44
Speaker
Elvira.
00:43:45
Speaker
Hey, again, if you are an Elvira fan, that is a nail of a theme.
00:43:52
Speaker
The Blood Red Kiss, obviously, is the version that was available last year.
00:43:55
Speaker
Labyrinth, Elton John, Venom.
00:43:58
Speaker
All these games, there wasn't an art package that I didn't like.
00:44:03
Speaker
So that's saying how far we have gone from the clip art packages of, you know, of Game of Thrones.
Top Contributors and Games Recognized
00:44:12
Speaker
Yep.
00:44:12
Speaker
All right.
00:44:15
Speaker
We're almost done with these awards.
00:44:16
Speaker
Can you believe that, Scott?
00:44:17
Speaker
We've got a couple left to go.
00:44:19
Speaker
No, no.
00:44:20
Speaker
But we're coming up on our big ones, right?
00:44:23
Speaker
We are.
00:44:23
Speaker
We saved the best for last.
00:44:25
Speaker
Let's talk best play field layout and gameplay.
00:44:28
Speaker
So this is the way it shoots, the way things interact with each other, you know, that kinetic satisfaction you get when you're flipping on a machine, right?
00:44:39
Speaker
So, Scott, why don't you tell us who the finalists are for this best play field gameplay and layout?
00:44:44
Speaker
Okay.
00:44:44
Speaker
So the finalists, the top three were Labyrinth,
00:44:50
Speaker
Foo Fighters and James Bond, the 60th anniversary edition.
00:44:55
Speaker
Okay.
00:44:57
Speaker
So the winner is Josh.
00:45:00
Speaker
Who do you think wins or who wins?
00:45:02
Speaker
Just tell us.
00:45:03
Speaker
It's hard to bet against Keith that one, but the winner is Foo Fighters.
00:45:16
Speaker
Internet, oh my gosh, you're nuts.
00:45:19
Speaker
Thank you.
00:45:20
Speaker
Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything.
00:45:24
Speaker
Thank you for this award.
00:45:25
Speaker
Thank you on behalf of the entire Stern team, on the entire Foo team.
00:45:32
Speaker
These games are a labor of love from a whole mess of people coming together to bring this thing to life.
00:45:40
Speaker
And I wouldn't be successful in any part of this procedure, this process, if it wasn't for the awesome people that I had by my side the entire time.
00:45:51
Speaker
So thank you.
00:45:54
Speaker
On behalf of the entire team, we can't thank you enough.
00:45:58
Speaker
I love you, and I'm in love with you.
00:45:59
Speaker
And we'll see you on the next one, I guess.
00:46:03
Speaker
Thanks, guys.
00:46:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:46:07
Speaker
And, and, and that's the, that, that is the right option.
00:46:10
Speaker
Foo Fighters, it came out really hot and people who played it, they said, this is such a fun layout.
00:46:16
Speaker
And it's, it's great.
00:46:18
Speaker
I congratulations on that.
00:46:20
Speaker
And it's, that wasn't much of a question in my book of which, and I think that the best layout should also reflect in the best sales and Foo Fighters had a great year.
00:46:35
Speaker
Definitely.
00:46:37
Speaker
So moving on to what could be arguably a controversial category this year.
00:46:42
Speaker
Originally, this was YouTube streaming and podcasting.
00:46:46
Speaker
But as of this year, we'll decide to condense it down to one category.
00:46:51
Speaker
And the previous winners have kind of went into a Hall of Fame.
00:46:55
Speaker
So let's do a quick knowledge of them, Scott.
00:46:57
Speaker
There was Straight Down the Middle, who won YouTube almost every year except for Todd Tucky came in and won for TNT Amusements.
00:47:06
Speaker
Streaming, hands down, was won by Dead Flip, Jack Danger.
00:47:11
Speaker
And then podcasting was Chris Kalouris, the Canadian Spinball Podcast.
00:47:16
Speaker
So those were not allowed to win this year as per the content creator of the year.
00:47:22
Speaker
But we're getting a new Hall of Famer this year.
00:47:25
Speaker
Let's kick it over to Todd Tucky in honor of Hall of Famers to announce this award.
00:47:38
Speaker
Well hello folks.
00:47:41
Speaker
Today's a special day because I've been asked by the Twippy Association this week in pinball to present the best content for our hobby.
00:47:56
Speaker
And look, I am a two-time Twippy winner.
00:48:00
Speaker
I'm pretty great, aren't I, Jonathan?
00:48:02
Speaker
What do you mean by an ehh?
00:48:04
Speaker
I produce hundreds and hundreds of videos for all of you people.
00:48:10
Speaker
Wait a minute, I just happened to have a status sheet.
00:48:16
Speaker
I have had 16 million views.
00:48:19
Speaker
I have, good heavens, I got 50 views.
00:48:24
Speaker
46,000 subscribers.
00:48:26
Speaker
Stephen, doesn't that make me great?
00:48:31
Speaker
I have restored more Pimbo machines than anyone in the country.
00:48:35
Speaker
Isn't it because people like you or they want to see you fail?
00:48:38
Speaker
Or they want to see me dead.
00:48:41
Speaker
Dead!
00:48:41
Speaker
They want to see me dead!
00:48:46
Speaker
Oh God, how come our hobby doesn't get a lot of views?
00:48:52
Speaker
I'm so happy to tell you of the finalists.
00:48:59
Speaker
There's three of them.
00:49:01
Speaker
Who will it be?
00:49:04
Speaker
They're all excited, Kirk, they're excited.
00:49:07
Speaker
Well, obviously, I'm one of them because I got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of votes.
00:49:13
Speaker
Here they are, flipping out pinball,
00:49:18
Speaker
Harry Hardy and Nap Arcade.
00:49:23
Speaker
Wait a minute, TNT must be in here.
00:49:28
Speaker
TNT is not a finalist!
00:49:30
Speaker
How is that possible?
00:49:32
Speaker
With all the content I do.
00:49:34
Speaker
Poor Toddy.
00:49:40
Speaker
When they asked me to film this, I knew I wasn't a finalist, Kurt.
00:49:45
Speaker
Don't go to the dollar store and buy you something plastic.
00:49:50
Speaker
So, who, gentlemen who out of those three?
00:49:58
Speaker
That's Goldmine, or no, Alleycats, Shuffle Alley.
00:50:03
Speaker
Who is gonna be the winner?
00:50:07
Speaker
Flippin' out, or is it gonna be Carrie Hardy, or is it gonna be Nap Arcade?
00:50:17
Speaker
They're all three really good.
00:50:25
Speaker
Carrie Hardy!
00:50:26
Speaker
You finally won, young man.
00:50:30
Speaker
Congratulations.
00:50:32
Speaker
We're all really happy that you won, except me.
00:50:36
Speaker
And we hope we'll have another competition next year.
00:50:41
Speaker
And I'll get my twippy back!
00:50:44
Speaker
Thanks for watching.
00:50:48
Speaker
Good night.
00:50:49
Speaker
Now get out!
00:50:54
Speaker
What's up guys?
00:50:55
Speaker
I just want to say thank you very much for voting for me.
00:51:01
Speaker
I wish I had a trophy.
00:51:02
Speaker
I don't have one, I guess, as of yet.
00:51:05
Speaker
I don't know if I'm ever actually going to get one.
00:51:07
Speaker
But I'll tell you what, I'll use my handy dandy Galactic Tank Force Thermos as a trophy for this.
00:51:13
Speaker
But I just wanted to say...
00:51:16
Speaker
Thank you once again for voting for me as your favorite pinball content creator.
00:51:24
Speaker
And I guess what means the most to me about this is that you voted for me and I didn't even have to ask you or request it.
00:51:34
Speaker
That's what means more to me than...
00:51:37
Speaker
anything on that is that whenever they ask you who's your favorite the majority of you chose me so thank you very much for that it's been a hell of a journey so far and I'm looking to see where I'm gonna be going next with this the channel is still growing thanks to all of you out there I'm still being discovered by people and
00:52:04
Speaker
I cannot wait to see a lot of you in person, hopefully coming up real soon at Texas Pinball Festival.
00:52:10
Speaker
And, um, yeah, I mean, I really don't know what else to say, guys.
00:52:15
Speaker
I mean, it's one of those where I would have preferred this to have been on stage and to be able to see everyone, but instead we're doing it this way.
00:52:24
Speaker
So it is what it is.
00:52:28
Speaker
Um, I guess I definitely need to give a shout out to straight down the middle, uh, Zach and Greg, uh,
00:52:34
Speaker
uh, for helping me become as well known as I am.
00:52:39
Speaker
I definitely started out just little old me and my little channel and, uh, they noticed me and created some content for them, which therefore also helped me to get a little more well known.
00:52:50
Speaker
So without a doubt, uh, special thanks to them.
00:52:54
Speaker
Uh, they're, they're a part of this as well.
00:52:57
Speaker
So, um, yeah,
00:52:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:53:00
Speaker
Keep staring at this like it's an actual trophy.
00:53:02
Speaker
Anyways, guys, thank you very much, and I'll see you later.
00:53:09
Speaker
All right, so content.
00:53:10
Speaker
I carry...
00:53:12
Speaker
It is actually no surprise to me.
00:53:14
Speaker
There are worthy people, but Kerry is one of those where I smile every time he comes on.
00:53:20
Speaker
His takes, they can be irreverent and they can be funny, but he certainly is able to let people get excited about the content.
00:53:29
Speaker
And Kerry's a good friend of the show, and I really like watching his videos.
00:53:34
Speaker
So congratulations, Kerry, and welcome to the Content Creator Awards.
00:53:40
Speaker
Awesome.
00:53:41
Speaker
All right, we're moving on to the final award.
00:53:45
Speaker
All right, Game of the Year, Scott.
00:53:46
Speaker
It's come down to this.
00:53:48
Speaker
This is the one for all the marbles, right?
00:53:51
Speaker
That's right.
00:53:53
Speaker
And so the Game of the Year this year is Foo Fighters.
00:54:00
Speaker
And congratulations, Stern.
00:54:02
Speaker
You really had an amazing year.
00:54:03
Speaker
Foo Fighters was a huge seller.
00:54:06
Speaker
So we want to congratulate you.
00:54:08
Speaker
We want to congratulate Jack Danger as the designer.
00:54:10
Speaker
We want to congratulate everybody on the team who did rules, art, sound.
00:54:17
Speaker
It is a great game.
00:54:18
Speaker
And just like Josh said, it's over his right shoulder.
00:54:20
Speaker
It is a great game and it's still available if you want it.
00:54:23
Speaker
Go ahead and get that game of the year.
00:54:26
Speaker
Let's kick it over to Tanya Kleiss with Stern to accept this award.
Reflections and Community Engagement
00:54:35
Speaker
Hey there, Twippies.
00:54:37
Speaker
On behalf of the Foo Fighters pinball team and everyone at Stern Pinball, thank you for naming Foo Fighters the Twippy Game of the Year for 2023.
00:54:45
Speaker
We're honored and grateful for the opportunity to bring this game into the world today.
00:54:51
Speaker
It's been a real labor of love for everyone involved.
00:54:53
Speaker
Big thank you to the Foo Fighters for creating their amazing music and giving the team the inspiration and the creative freedom to make something we love.
00:55:01
Speaker
And thanks to everyone out there that loves pinball as much as we do.
00:55:04
Speaker
Keep rocking, keep flipping.
00:55:12
Speaker
Well, that was awesome, Scott.
00:55:13
Speaker
I can't tell you.
00:55:14
Speaker
I know we probably didn't meet the standards of some, but you know what?
00:55:18
Speaker
I was glad that Will reached out to ask us to do the show.
00:55:21
Speaker
I'm glad we did it kind of casual.
00:55:23
Speaker
I just I can't ever met.
00:55:25
Speaker
I wouldn't I couldn't measure up to what Zack and a mother did.
00:55:27
Speaker
So I was happy with just doing this.
00:55:29
Speaker
It is great though, in that the bottom line is the awards speak for themselves and this is a fan vote.
00:55:34
Speaker
So take it for, take it for that.
00:55:36
Speaker
These are the fans they have spoken and this is the reward to the award.
00:55:41
Speaker
So congratulations and congratulations to everybody who played games, content creators, uh,
00:55:49
Speaker
people who worked on designing the games, the people who are making these games.
00:55:55
Speaker
It's obviously a huge hobby for us, and I'm appreciative of every interaction that we have with all the people who bring positivity to this to this awesome hobby and industry that we have.
00:56:07
Speaker
Yep.
00:56:08
Speaker
It was great to see over thousands of ballots cast this year and
00:56:12
Speaker
If you're checking out this show, if you want to go check out the results themselves, we'll should have them up on the site here shortly.
00:56:20
Speaker
And we thank you for tuning in.
00:56:22
Speaker
We are loser kid pinball podcast at gmail.com.
00:56:24
Speaker
If you like the show hit like subscribe.
00:56:27
Speaker
We appreciate you tuning into the content.
00:56:28
Speaker
If this is your first time, you can find us on all your podcatchers, SoundCloud, Apple.
00:56:34
Speaker
We are on all the socials, just facebook.com slash loser kid pinball or Instagram or X.
00:56:41
Speaker
Also YouTube and Twitch.
00:56:44
Speaker
Also, if you like our swag, I'm wearing our shirt.
00:56:47
Speaker
I'm wearing it all night.
00:56:49
Speaker
It is silverballslag.com slash loser kid pinball.
00:56:53
Speaker
We appreciate you guys tuning in.
00:56:55
Speaker
Scott, give us our final words.
00:56:57
Speaker
You know what?
00:56:58
Speaker
Go and play pinball and go buy a new game.
00:57:01
Speaker
Treat yourself.
00:57:02
Speaker
Treat yourself.