Transcript
Speaker: Thanks for tuning into the loser kid pinball podcast. We are on episode one 67. I am Josh Roop with me. My co-captain Scott Larson and Scott. We got a really cool episode today. I'm excited to talk about some homebrew.
Speaker: Some of these awesome projects are winning twippies and doing amazing things. They're in my opinion might be doing some better than some of the manufacturers out there. but We'll get to that a second. If you want those new games, where getting your game from Scott?
Speaker: I contact Zach and Nicole at Flippin' Out Pinball. um The Godzilla topper for the 70th edition for my friend just came. So they hooked me up with that. um If you want pinball, if you want new, if you want used, and if you want accessories, they can hook you up with anything. Zach and Nicole at Flippin' Out Pinball. They've always been good to us. They'll be good to you.
Speaker: Exactly. We have two people that are doing amazing things in the pinball world right now. And... I don't know if I can do the justice with titles right now, but we got Brian Soros who owns game room pinball. If I understand correctly,
Speaker: And is doing and insane things with custom pinball, making homebrews that look like games that came out of manufacturing place. And we got Reby Hardy, the legend, the WWE wwe wrestler.
Speaker: She's also been modeling and she has her own Hardy pinball. So I want to thank both of you for coming on and to talk about the hangover trilogy. This game looks amazing. yeah You guys have knocked it out of the park. It's insane.
Speaker: So thank you. Yeah. Thank you very much. So tell tell me where this came from. Tell me like why, why the hangover um and what made you decide to take on this project?
Speaker: That's all Brian, because I would never choose this title.
Speaker: That's usually what happens. Antithesis of anything that I would ever choose. I get asked all the time, like, oh my God, can you do this title next? Can you do this theme next? I'm like, I wish I could choose them, honestly, but ah it's all Brian that chooses them and I just kind of go with it. So let's let's hear it.
Speaker: Yeah. So I'll try to keep the story short, but um so I have a good friend, Robert Mooney, yeah who, who, oh That's a big pinball collection. I've made about, don't know, I guess this was a third game for him over the years.
Speaker: um We were talking after last year's Pintastic show. I was telling him how like i had ah we had an insane line for um Happy Gilmore, the the whole show. Everybody wanted to play it.
Speaker: And, you know, Reby and I kind of hang around the room. We listen to the stories and people, you know, saying the lines and kind of singing along with the music. And it was just a good time. So anyways, i was talking with Robert and I said, you know, I think really what the key is for these games is it's it's got to really, you know, cross a lot of demographics, um you know, just things people get into, you know? And um so we started talking movies and, you know, movies his family liked, my family liked, and, you know, said something about the hangover would being really funny.
Speaker: And he's like, oh yeah, my family likes that. And, you know, one thing led to another, I think three days later, I i really started digging in on on the hangover. And then you, it was just a done deal at that point, right?
Speaker: Yeah. For me, you know, a lot of times it it ends up being, you know, it's like, okay, I could do the hangover and, you know, do I want to do you know, each and movie or do all three? In this case, I thought, you know, like I know my kid, my and kids are older, college age. Now, you know, we, we kind of laugh at, you know, there's a lot of lines from, from all three movies. So I thought to get the best game, it would be to use, use all three.
Speaker: Now, definitely. This seems to be definitely the ultimate dude pinball machine. Okay. Right. I mean, if you if you're looking at demographics, I can totally see. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: So, so I, Revy, I'm curious, what would you, uh, and obviously Brian chose the theme, but you know, you're part of it too. So what is your connection to the theme and maybe which ones, which other themes would speak more to you?
Speaker: ah You know, I really have no connection to the movie, i but negative experiences with it, honestly. It's really terrible. But I got into it, and it's it's funny because everything everything that we've done, i haven't previously seen what the theme was about. Like, I hadn't seen Faris Bula. i hadn't seen Happy Gilmore.
Speaker: So I kind of watch these movies on, like, 3X speed over and over and over while I'm, like, thinking of play field designs and stuff, and it just comes to me that way. Yeah. I think what's cool about the theme for me is that as a woman, I feel like I could get away with being maybe a little cheekier, ah maybe a little bit more, ah for lack of a better word, objectifying to some of the sexy girls in the film. I feel like a guy would get a lot of flack for that.
Speaker: And I was able to kind of put some things in like the stripper flipper. Like, I feel like if a guy in 2025 was like, let's put a naked girl on a flipper and call it a stripper flipper, like he'd probably get a lot of backlash for that. But yeah.
Speaker: you know it was It was fun doing the the more cheeky, sexy, girly things. um I had a lot of fun with that. Maybe not so much like the drug and alcohol references for me, but the whole game is really funny. And the whole thing is very tongue in cheek and...
Speaker: Like you said, it's a very dude-bro game, and I think that is like intersecting with a lot of the major demographic of pinball. So it was really cool to just be in the room with it when it was at Pintastic and the line of people and hearing and everybody's responses. Sometimes I'll just like melt into the wall and be in a corner just to kind of eavesdrop on what people are saying and how they're enjoying it. and Everyone was very much in with the vibe of it.
Speaker: Well, you are taking a little bit of a page out of really the Elvira handbook where, you know, it's, there are certain things that if a guy put in an Elvira pinball machine, they may get a side but since Elvira is putting it out, then, you know, she's in on the joke. And, you know, if you look at it up from mass appeal, people will give you more grace if you want it to be a little more risque than if, if a dude this does it. I think for sure. So I really pushed, I really pushed the boundaries on it with that one. So I'm glad that I did. i had a lot of fun with that.
Speaker: So tell me what is your, both of your specific roles when you go into making a pinball machine and ah designing it and whatnot? Kind of choose the game, um you know, the title.
Speaker: And then I start looking through all the different ah machines that we could possibly use. And then, You know, once I come up with a machine, I look at like the rule set, try to kind of write the story, you know, to all these games. You know, a lot of the, yeah a lot of times when I'm making regular rethemes of like old valleys and stuff, you know, there's, there's only one mode.
Speaker: Well, when you're like retheming Mustang, there's eight modes when you're retheming, um, like family guy, I think there's a five, basically the six modes in that, you know, plus multiple multi-balls. So you kind of have to put the whole story together and then start, start thinking through all all that, that type of thing. And then, um, it's, you know, taking the game apart.
Speaker: Well, I'll kind of reengineering all the code, all the, the audio, doing the animations. um Like she said, all the hard stuff. She gets the easy stuff.
Speaker: So when you're doing the- It ain't easy. Hold Let me stop you right there. If it was easy, you'd see a lot more of these games floating around. Notice how most the homebrew looks like a piece of plank wood with some marker on it. All right? It ain't easy. Yeah.
Speaker: So when when you're retheming these, do you use the original boards or do you use like a fast board or something like that? Everything's original. Awesome. So you're like rewriting chips and stuff like that for these games. Well, um, let me see how okay it's, it's, ah I'll try to simplify it, but it's no. So I, so tell me like I'm five.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, yeah. I said she, she used to drive her crazy when I did her, you know, husband's game. Basically, you know, like when I'm using a a stern Sam, There's some software that allows you to look at the code.
Speaker: And i think, you know, when it initially came out, I think the intent, the way I understood it, was that, you know, someone had ACDC or Metallica and they wanted to change the songs. And, you know, so people could upload new music.
Speaker: But i think i I think I've kind of taken it to the extreme where, you know, maybe somebody changes a couple pictures, a couple texts, but I'll painstakingly go through the entire thing and create an Excel spreadsheet with, you know, thousand lines of whatever. And it'll say, all right, at, at, you know, ah request one, this is what it says, this is how long it is.
Speaker: And, and figure out, you know, basically where all the text goes, where all the audio goes. And then on top of that, you have to do all the animation, you know, it might be 2000 screens of animation. So I think this is why you don't really see anybody you know, do, I mean, I've done for four, four of these Stern games now, and I haven't seen anybody else do any.
Speaker: And I think the, really the reason is it's just, it's a pain in the ass. Like, like it's one of those things, like from the end, you know, I'm an, I'm an engineer. I've been a mechanical engineer for 30 years and I just, I like the challenge of trying to figure things out. So for me that this whole thing is just a giant engineering project for me, really.
Speaker: You know, and then I got, you know, I i do on some graphic art from other games, but she's much better than me. And it just, you know, we formed a partnership when we worked on the first game at Hardy's Expedition of Gold.
Speaker: And, you know, we just kind of hit it off. And um so we just kind of where we're at now. now Now, so Revy, after Brian does his part, what do you what are you bringing? Like, what's your part?
Speaker: So pretty much what goes where artwork wise, I'll kind of like lay out like what what targets will be what. And then it's up to me to put any corresponding arrows and lanes and artwork and toys and stuff.
Speaker: any extra like what should the plunger be? Like what's a cute little gimmick? Like we have the actual camera from the movie that was gutted with like a little LCD that's showing pictures from the movie. So just just random things like that. There was a project where I did like the rotating LED fan as a topper years and years ago. And I wish I had a patent it because someone else came and patented it. Like it was their idea, like pinball fan LED. d And I'm like, wow, that could have been me. um But just, you know, just random things that I always thought, hey, this, this would be cool to have in a game that have never been in there and find a way to make it work.
Speaker: Yeah. And so just to, yeah sorry, just to cut cut you off, but just to add on. So that's, I think my favorite part about her is that She completely thinks outside the box, you know, like in, in the engineering field, you know, there's like a idea, idea guys, you know, and that's what I think of Rebi as, you know, she'll come up with some crazy stuff sometimes.
Speaker: And, you know, I always tell her everybody, usually I tell her, no, I can't do that. And then a couple of days later I figure it out, but because she just thinks outside the box, she doesn't necessarily. And and this, I mean, this in a good way.
Speaker: She might not think about how we to actually do it, but she'll come up with the idea. And then i try to figure out how to incorporate it you know into the game and make it work. That's what I like best about her.
Speaker: So what I'm hearing is she's the mad genius and you're her Igor to make it happen, right? i like that Yeah. Something like that. So who's making the toys and stuff too? Cause like the Mr. Chow toy is really cool. Like, is this a custom sculpt? Like how, how do you guys make the toys for these?
Speaker: Um, so it's a combination of things. I mean, in that case, that was actually, you know, when we started on the project, sometimes I'll go on eBay or whatever and, or Amazon yeah'll or, i'll you know, do search on Google. I'll try to find toys and I'll buy up a whole bunch of different things.
Speaker: I might not use them, but I want them for inspiration. And I didn't know for the longest time, I knew I wanted Chow to be there and I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. But um that was actually a bobblehead. They made ah you know, small run, I guess, of, of hangover bobbleheads and Mr. Chow was one of them. And so I basically, you know, cut, bought a few of them, cut it up on a, um you know, with a Dremel, popped the head off.
Speaker: you know, so it it's basically, that was just a bobblehead when it started, but I kind of MacGyvered it to, to work for what what we're doing with it. Um, a lot of the other tools, so say like the other toys in that game. So there's like a finger, um, supposed to be Teddy's finger.
Speaker: Um, I have a, like a Hollywood prop master that, that made that, he he makes a lot of those types of things. So I bought that from him. i wanted the, uh, Stanford University ring. I try to make these things all as authentic as possible. So, you know, watching the movie, Teddy, like the year he was graduating from Stanford, it had a yeah you know, he's in the medical field. So I had a a real ah college class ring made and put that on the finger. um You know, she kind of told you about the the camera idea. you know, we find the exact camera that they used in the movie, like the the model by Canon.
Speaker: I find a broken one on or one of them was broken, one of them I guess was new or and you know working on eBay, just buy it, take the thing apart and then you know figure out how to mount a LCD screen inside and and run video to it.
Speaker: So it's it's a series of things. you know there Sometimes I'll design things on CAD. um I could buy ah buy models and I have a prototype shop locally that that makes a lot of things, airbrushes them for me. So multitude of different places, I guess I get the toys made.
Speaker: That's an insane amount of detail. Like just talking about the ring and the finger. That is so cool. Like you guys are taking it to the next level. It's it's so cool. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. So tell me about selecting the game.
Speaker: Cause I, that seems to be, one of the more challenging things, because one, you have to go for game availability. You also have to go with, does the layout fit with your theme?
Speaker: And also, you know, do you mainly stick with like DMD era Stearns? Would you consider doing other games too? So ah I won't get into all the details of how I, I fully select the game. I mean, cause it gets, it gets kind of complicated.
Speaker: um I basically, i I mean, I'll say I have a spreadsheet that, I list every Stern DMD era game. um I have a bunch of criteria that I fill out on this spreadsheet and the ones that I think will work best for me is is what I end up moving ahead with.
Speaker: um The thing that I think a lot of people get confused about, um and this happens all the time with when I used to make like a lot of sports themed games out of EMs, like I don't really care what the donor game started life as.
Speaker: you know um You know, like I i used to use um Sky Jump a lot from the old Gottlieb EMs. Once I got it down and it just becomes ah a blank game. So it's a new canvas.
Speaker: You know, Revy comes in and and she can put whatever we want for the artwork. You know, like this one with, with say, Family Guy um and making it it into Hangover.
Speaker: Well, I know there's five modes. So I kind of pick like, all right, what's important to me? So it's like one, i call it Vegas Baby. And you know, they go into Las Vegas. There's, um, I kind of had, had to keep, I wanted to keep the fight with the the chicken, but I modified the animation. So I do have, instead of a chicken versus, um, Peter, it's, uh, there's two chickens and in hangover three, i think you find out that that Chow was, uh, had some rooster, we call them rooster birds and they always, he was cockfighting.
Speaker: And he kills one of the black chickens at the end. His name's Wallace. He said, we had a lot of good fights, Wallace. So anyways, I made Wallace the other chicken that the white chicken fights against.
Speaker: um You know, I had him going to Bangkok and that one I kind of chose because I like, I love the music when they're on the boat. It's a song by, I think it's by Love Train by Wolf Mother or something.
Speaker: It's kind of catchy. I don't know. So I, I like that, but I basically just, I have to fit the entire, but whatever the layout is and however many modes there are, i just kind of get creative with with that type of thing.
Speaker: I want to rewind just a couple of seconds, maybe a couple minutes. So you said that you met when Reby contacted you to do Hardee's Gold, the run of Gold, right? Exhibition Gold. Exhibition addition of gold yeah was ah So tell me, Reby, how did you find Brian and like where did you come up with this idea of making a pinball machine for your husband?
Speaker: ah So I was on Pinside just looking for mods for my Data East Royal Rumble and was looking for some video thing. And I guess he had found me in there and he reached out and was like, hey, I do custom games if you ever want a custom game. And I was like, you know what?
Speaker: Actually, that's a great idea. And um and then pretty soon after we started working together, I kind of took over everything and he was like, okay, just you do it then. so then I did all the design and stuff and he, you know, kind of like we're doing now and it ended up working really well and that turned into a partnership because we were like, hey, this actually turned out to be a pretty kick-ass thing. We make a good team.
Speaker: So it was really just like, you know, sliding in the DMs on Pinside over here looking for video mods for for a Royal Rumble pin. That's awesome. now ever since You heard about people like they build a house together and they never want to talk to each other again. It's like you guys built ah a pinball machine together and you're like, this amazing. Let's just keep this going.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. No, it's it's great. I think we're like such opposites that it bounces out really well. Like he's like... Mr. Studious engineer brain and I'm like wild and crazy out there and like it's it's a good balance of stuff.
Speaker: I think what's really cool like going back to what he was saying about how he changes every mode and everything is so different and code by code like there has been so many people who've come up to the machines even like serious pinheads and they have to like second guess like wait what is this and that's always the coolest feeling when someone goes up to a game that we've done and they can't even they they have no they've zero zero way of telling what the game was previously. Like no idea what the donor game is because it really is just that gutted that like completely revamped, like every single centimeter of it is completely new and different. So I love that part of it.
Speaker: I've got to ask though, cause you're like a social media powerhouse. You've got your WWE TNA wrestling stuff. You're doing so much on ah everywhere. How are you finding time to help make custom pinball machines?
Speaker: Well, so it's funny because it usually takes me like six months to a year. Honestly, every machine that we've done, it's gotten like progressively shorter in the amount of time that it takes me. But with this one, it's the fastest game or really like art project I feel like I've ever done in my life. I got the entire play field done and translate in two weeks.
Speaker: like between travel between kids and I homeschool and we were filming for TNA wrestling. And it was just like, so like just concentrated marathon sessions of pinball design. And that was the fastest that I was ever able to do it. But usually it is kind of spaced out in between a few things. There's like certain things that need to be done first because they take a lot longer. Like we always start with the cabinet first and then he kind of does whatever he has to do with that and then takes it all apart.
Speaker: And then we'll move on to the play field. But this was really just like jam packed in between brand deals and commercials and wrestling and putting people through tables in my living room and kids. And, you know, it was it's been a whirlwind 2025 far for sure.
Speaker: sounds like I will have to say it sounds like you won at life and right now you're just doing the side quest because you're like i beat life and I'm just definitely a random side quest that's what everybody says because like the the main focus of my social media isn't like gaming or pinball so whenever I do post about this like as my like day job you know like my big girl job people are like wait what's like that like people think I'm making it up it doesn't even make sense but it's it's real we're fitting in there Now, have you always been involved in pin like interested in pinball? Like, or I'm just wondering, because it's less common, I would say more common for dudes of middle, you know middle age, like my demographic that get really into pinball.
Speaker: So you, you're a little bit of an outlier. So what is your pinball story? So my dad was a superintendent of our apartment building in New York, 17 floors, always busy. When people would die and have no next of kin, they would just leave the apartments abandoned. And a lot of times that would be like the furniture for our house. And he would like go and take whatever was left and put it in his shop in the basement or in our little apartment.
Speaker: And one of those things was a pinball machine. Yeah. And it was really my only access to pinball because, you know, I was like a little girl and we didn't really have money like that. So that that's what sparked my interest in it at first. And I've always been a gamer and into arcades and stuff. So it really started, though, with my dad, so somebody dying and my dad taking over their pinball machine.
Speaker: what What pinball machine was it? It drives me crazy. i can't remember. And it kills me. ill ever i was so little. I remember it was yellow. And that's all i remember about it. And I wish that I remembered because it's such a good story. But I'm like, I truly, I don't remember.
Speaker: do you remember if it was an EM? Old, electromechanical. know, it was old school. Yeah. Old and yellow. Okay. I do remember we we explored someone's house that was...
Speaker: don't if was vacant. I can't remember exactly what it was, but we sneaked into this house that was going to be, that was sold kind of vacant. And there was a pinball machine in there. And don't know, I had to have been like 10 or something like that.
Speaker: We had the same story. Yeah, yeah. So this would have been like 1984, 85. And i I truly have no idea what machine it was, but it seemed like it had like some space thing.
Speaker: But I know it wasn't an EM. So i I still would love to figure out exactly what type of game it was. But it probably was like Space Shuttle or Space Station or something like that. Because I do remember wire forms, but that's about it.
Speaker: Oh man, that's so cool. You're the only other person I've heard that's ever said that. ah now but ah Random machine when you're a little kid. Yeah. Yeah. It was cool, but we, we couldn't play it. Cause you know, there was no power in the house and everything, but I just thought what in the world there's a pinball machine in someone's house. That's awesome.
Speaker: Oh yeah. Yeah. So Brian, in a recent interview, i was reading with Kinesis that you guys talking about this, you say that you make about 10 games a year through your, your game room pinball.
Speaker: Um, how long does it take? are Are they as all as extensive what you're doing here at hangover or is it more just general re themes? Like walk me through that. Yeah. It's most of the time it's a, it's a re theme. I mean, i Yeah, it's it's pretty much always just a regular re-theme of like an old Bally or Williams type game. um you know For many years, it was always the Gottlieb EMs.
Speaker: And you know early on, it was it was mainly like sports themes. you know Being up the Boston area, there's a you know big following of the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, ah Patriots.
Speaker: So that that everybody kind of knew me as the ah sports pinball guy for a long time. Then I started doing a few of the of the ah early solid state games.
Speaker: And then ah you know the one for Revy's husband, Matt, that was the first time I ever got involved in ah and a Stern. and And that was not the plan going in. like When she says she took over, she took over. I tried to i tried to sell her like they know't like a nice Eldorado modified and then maybe a Cactus Jacks if she wanted something little sexier.
Speaker: And she's like, no, no, no, it's gotta be a stern. i'm like, how the hell am I gonna do a stern? And then I, you know, that's where the first one took, uh, what would it take us? It wasn't quite two years, a little, little into two, maybe 20 months or something to the first one, because I was, you know, doing these other games and trying to, find it out yeah yeah, trying to, trying to learn how to do it, you know? And because the the theming part is the same to me on every game. It doesn't matter.
Speaker: It's on. on the Stern style, you know, DMD games, it's just, uh, you know, I don't want to a nightmare, but it's kind of a nightmare, you know, if you, especially if you have to re-engineer everything, come up with a story and then, you know, it just takes hours and hours getting audio bites, getting, you know, creating animations, um, you know, and, and in the last two happy Gilmore and now family guy, like I've, I've handled all the animations myself where.
Speaker: you know prior i had i mean i kind of did on hers but i didn't know what i was doing and i was you know using using images and don't know it came out pretty good but i think i think the last two are uh the animations came out really good they're they're looking pretty awesome and so yeah thanks so when you're doing just a general re-theme how many hours versus when you're doing one of these i don't count No, I know it sounds funny. People used they used to be the first question everyone to, and I'd say 200 hours. I i really, i don't i don't know.
Speaker: It's kind of changed because, see, I used to always do um the graphic design on those games, but um the majority of my customers are are not pinball people.
Speaker: Like, I deal with people, honestly, all over the world. um You know, like last year, i I did three for the president of Indonesia. Random. Random. But, you know, and in a lot or it could be yeah yeah like Owens Corning I worked with, Pacifico Beer.
Speaker: um And a lot of times with the corporate ones, they have their own internal graphic design teams that they like to have like full control over that. So, you know, we'll enter an agreement and then I work through that kind of stuff with their but they designers. So, you know, the design time.
Speaker: I can appreciate how long it takes her when she does the graphics, because I know how long it used to take me and hers are much more detailed than mine were. So i yeah, I used to be a a lot of the time. And then, you know, i also used to do every bit of the modification and painting and in order to get a much higher end product, um, there's a company I partner with locally that, um,
Speaker: You know, it does a lot of prototyping and in these guys like right right now I'm working with the guys from, I can't show you the design yet, but like the show on Netflix called Cobra Kai.
Speaker: um um I'm working with the creators of that show to do a couple games. And so like I have this local shop that, you know, the guys used to restore antique cars. So they do a beautiful job fixing the cabinet, um you know, prime and painted with automotive paint, we decal it and heavy clear coat. So it's like a really high end looking kind of like a piece of art at the end of the day.
Speaker: So I kind of outsource some of that stuff nowadays. Can you tell us us what the machine is like what the re theme is going to be?
Speaker: Uh, Well, it's Cobra Kai. Right. But what's the, what's the base game that you're, Oh, the donor cactus Jacks. Okay. That's a favorite of mine. Okay. but I'll tell you why the the reason, you know, I always liked the game. So even when I, you know, prior to me going crazy on re themes, um, know, it's always been kind of a goofy game and that game got more action in, in our basement with all the kids and, you know, nephews and stuff that would come over.
Speaker: um I like it because, um you know, it's a simple game to play. It's got, you know, it's easy to get multi-ball. You get the three guys in the back that dance around.
Speaker: so you know, I've used that for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they've won a Stanley Cup, St. Louis Blues when they won a Stanley Cup. Someone that, what was it, the Cincinnati Reds.
Speaker: I've done the Goonies. It's just a, for me, it's ah it's like it's a cool game. So, I like that one. You know, it's got, it's got the depth so you can put toys in there versus like the, the Valley, you know the early valleys and Williams that aren't as deep.
Speaker: So another question is, so when Revy contacted you about, you know, doing a Matt Hardy one, mean, there are two wrestle games. Like I, I love that you chose a Mustang because it feels a little bit out of the box, but why, why did you go that direction as opposed to, you know, WrestleMania or w WWE? I hate WrestleMania. That's okay.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, that that's what, like I said, I can't, I can't fully get into the, the I don't really want to get into all the the details, but, um, when I, when I examine the software, I'll say it like that.
Speaker: Um, There's certain games for me that that meet all this criteria for me to be able to to change the code. And um ah edit the code. I don't know. I hope I don't offend any programmers.
Speaker: I forget what the correct terminology is. But there's got to be enough space left because when you you know you add ah images to the animation screen, it it removes memory. that there's ah There's a whole laundry list of of things that go into it.
Speaker: um So yeah, Mustang, I don't know. I'm not a Ford guy, so I didn't mind. i don't know. Like with a wrestling, it just seemed too obvious. I don't really like that game. And it's already an uphill battle against people who are like, hey you just change a couple of things and you call it a new game. Like that would have been hitting too close to home. So just want to be totally different.
Speaker: Well, it also had space for the different belts that Matt's won, right? Yeah, and all the little toys and stuff that I wanted. Like, I wanted a little ladder. i wanted every aspect of his career represented and arms his, what do you call it?
Speaker: Andre the Giant Trophy and things like that. So there we did need space. So that little upper play field really would have done nothing for me. Yeah. Well, and if I remember correctly, you were having a game made for yourself, right, Reby? Did that ever come to fruition?
Speaker: No, what I was doing, and this was just kind of like another side quest of the side quest, is I had taken CERN Playboy. it? No. Was it?
Speaker: Is it a CERN? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it And I was retheming it myself to be all of my Playboy stuff. It was just a vanity project. So I was just switching out all the pop-ups in the magazines and all the curtains that open and stuff to my actual Playboy pictures. ah Gotcha. And then I was going to get started on the translate in the play field, but me and Brian ended up working a lot more together on like commission projects. So that never came to be. So half of that Playboy is, is my stuff from Playboy.
Speaker: And the rest is just like stock game. Gotcha. Okay. Yeah. I didn't know if that was one that you were trying to do more like like the Hardee's expedition for gold or something. No, no, no. That was just me being dumb, honestly.
Speaker: You got to get your hands dirty somewhere, right? Yeah. Yeah. So what what's been your favorite one so far? I mean, you've made four together so far. Which one was it just like, are they just getting better and better? Is there one that spoke to you more than the others? Yeah.
Speaker: ah For me, I think it was Happy Gilmore. Not because I had any like specific affinity for the theme, but just the little mods and all the crazy ideas that I had with it. um I don't know. It just seemed like a like a fun, no pun intended, like happy game to play. Yeah.
Speaker: Cool subject matter, pretty chill, ah bright and colorful. I do like that. And I was able to go really bright with that one, um especially the green cabinet and the rails and stuff. So that's that's my personal favorite.
Speaker: Love the subway the subway launcher too. Yeah. yeah Actually, that that is is all Brian. I would have never done that. I told him that was very phallic. I did not like that at all.
Speaker: she did play it a lot, though. I thought that was funny. I did not like that one. But yeah, no I liked it. But that being said, i feel like The Hangover is a more polished game overall, and it does have like more interactive things and and additions to it and and more customizations than all the other ones. So as as a whole, as a game, that's probably the quote-unquote best one. But my favorite is probably Happy Gilmore.
Speaker: Which one were had the the biggest challenge, the unanticipated challenge to overcome? Matt Hardy's because it was the first one.
Speaker: Honestly, because honestly got going into it. He won another one actually when you were doing it, right? Yes, mid design. And I had to change the color of one of the belts on the translate because I was like, God damn.
Speaker: Like I was trying to incorporate every single title that he's won. That's the point of the game. And like right at the end, he goes and he wins another title. I was like, mother freak.
Speaker: But what made it so difficult, Brian? What what made Hardy's exhibition? Well, it it was really just. the The software part, you know, editing all that, like I i knew nothing, like I said changing that the artwork on the cabinet or the play field, the translate, to me, all that stuff was, you know, I've done that so many times, like that stuff was no big deal.
Speaker: It was trying to understand, um you know, how the software worked that I was going to use to change the actual code in the game. you know, she she was very helpful.
Speaker: you know, picking out all the titles and and the music. Like, i I mean, obviously, like I i know about wrestling, um but i didn't I didn't know everything about him. So from that standpoint, she was, you know, very involved and and we could choose. I'd say like, oh, look, we need, you know, these titles for their main the main part. And then you got the mini wizard mode and the wizard mode.
Speaker: um But it was, you know, trying to figure out how to, you know, do the animation stuff. And um yeah, it was really just the whole code thing.
Speaker: i You know, after we did that one, you know we, which she kind of brings up early on in this call, um you know, we got a lot of, don't know, I don't have say negative negative feedback, I guess, you know, oh, they're always using Mustang.
Speaker: Well, if if you knew how many hours I spent painstakingly re-engineering you know, where everything goes, you know what i mean? Like I wanted to get, kind of get some mileage, you know, use it again and make it better. So by the time, you know, Ferris was better, I think, than Matt's.
Speaker: I think Happy Gilmore was better than that. yeah And she drew the line. She said she to work with me again if I used Mustang. So I had to come up with something different for for the hangover, you know, what but everything that – we did on the first three games. um I think that's why i think overall hangover is the most polished out of all of them.
Speaker: Well, I like that you're taking games that that aren't necessarily like critically acclaimed Stearns. Yeah. And I mean, you're giving them life. You're giving a giving them life. You're like raising the bar for these games. Cause seriously to see a Mustang rethemed as Ferris Bueller or whatever,
Speaker: I actually want to play it now. Like I'm not a Ford guy either. So it's not like I don't get excited when I walk into a room with a Mustang. but um you're on It's an enjoyable game, but it's just one of those things where it's like, there's something else I could be playing.
Speaker: Yeah. And it's the call outs. Like I said ah earlier, I was talking about, you know, what people like about things. it's the It's the call outs and the music that I think really get everybody into it because the first time she came up to the Pintastic show and we brought Ferris Bueller, I mean,
Speaker: there was There was quite a few people, right? I mean, and she live streamed, I think, one one day. at all times. It's open like 24 hours. There's people at three o'clock in the morning playing it with a line. I mean, I've never seen anything like that. It was unbelievable.
Speaker: You know, so just everybody knowing the lines from the movie and, you know, catchy songs and stuff. And it and we carried it over again with with a Happy Gilmore then Hangover. So I think that kind of took a, you know, kind of a crappy game and I think made a little more exciting to play, you know?
Speaker: So is is there a short list that you have now of games that you're going to use as donors that you'd be willing to share? um
Speaker: Great secret. Great secret. I get you. I get you. I'm digging way too deep. I better, I got to keep it. Yeah, we're going to cut this off. We're going to cut this off.
Speaker: Okay. However, we we work with designers and we've we've talked to them before. A lot of times they don't have one project going. They usually have a few that are cooking. Do you have things that are in the pipeline that you are working on?
Speaker: um i have At all times, I have multiple games. I mean but like i have ah four games right now that I'm at different phases on, but they're all for clients.
Speaker: There's um nothing I'll say for next year's Pintastic as of today. i mean I'll just say that Reby and I have already talked about, you know she's pushing me. the only thing I will say is that you know she's been pushing me for a couple of years.
Speaker: about a um ah newer style stern with an LCD screen. Let's go. um That'd be amazing. See, for her, it's easy. Yeah, he says let's go.
Speaker: it's It's not that easy. So I figured out kicking your ass the whole time, then that's what happened. period How that works. hello That's see, she just yells at me all the time.
Speaker: So sometimes i need to go away for a couple of weeks and think about it. So like solved, I solved one of the problems I haven't told her yet. She's going to find out now. I'm partially solved one of the other problems that I'm having. So I'm i'm getting, I'm edging closer, but I can't commit to anything yet. I'm just, I'm so overwhelmed with the other work that I'm doing that I i have to get these other clients, you know, that have their projects done, but as,
Speaker: when I need a break, sometimes I i pick away at at stuff like, like our next big one. So, so in the interview you did with kinetic, you did talk about, you have call outs coming out for a new game for the creators of South park.
Speaker: Oh, that's where that came from. i was wondering. you Yeah. So the only thing I can say on that, I, one, I really thought it was going to be out by now. I can't, you know, I'm under NDA. So I,
Speaker: I would have guessed. No worries. We don't want to get you in trouble. We don't want knocks your door. No, i know. i really thought stuff would have been out in like January or February at the latest, and now I'm in May.
Speaker: And um so, yeah, so I did, it's one game, but I made five of these games for them. um I think it's, I think it's, it's pretty, ah it's, it's pretty impressive. I think when you see it in person, it,
Speaker: the other thing I can say is I guess in this case, I started with, uh, I'll just say it's like, like Pabst and one and one Nelly. So they, they needed, they needed a vintage style game, but for where it's going, they needed something that was going to, something that's going to get a lot of plays. So I kind of, the stuff that I've learned from, you know, the last big four that her and I have worked on together, you know, these run on a spike system.
Speaker: So, um, Yeah, i guess I can just say that i you know it looks vintage, but it's it's a modern style game you know ah on the insides. But it's it's it's pretty freaking cool.
Speaker: It took me a little while to get into it because I didn't understand the stuff that they were doing, but um it was cool. I worked with their but they design team, you know the graphic design team and their audio team on it. So yeah, it came out pretty darn cool.
Speaker: So one question. Oh, go ahead, Scott. I'm just actually surprised that there hasn't been a new South south Park manufactured game, considering yeah how old that was and how many seasons they've had since then, that I would be excited to see a new South Park game because there's there's just so much more that they could put in there.
Speaker: Yeah, that's true. This one, it's, um I'll just say it's from the creators of South Park. So it's those two main guys, but it's not, it's not actually South Park. That's the only thing I can say, I guess.
Speaker: but Bring on the basketball. Oh, see, I was thinking of the Book of Mormon, so. I can't. I can't. The Book Mormon musical. I did, I did talk to those guys about, about that. you Just, just.
Speaker: in general about things. I had no idea they did that. Yeah, they've been involved a lot of different things. they've been this is They've been really busy. Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. so So it's something cool that they're doing. And yeah, I can't wait to see I look every day on Instagram.
Speaker: Like, did they tag me or did they post it yet? But nothing yet. so So one question I have swimming around my mind, and I don't know if you can talk to this because it might involve NDAs or whatever, but Have you had a pinball company approach you guys about contracting out and building these games? There's too many hurdles and loopholes with that.
Speaker: yeah You know, i keep hoping like when her and I did Ferris Bueller, that was the one I really thought, you know, we were going to get some attention.
Speaker: i mean, because people like seem to go crazy over that fantastic. And i was like, oh, maybe then We did Happy Gilmore, and that one was like – that was a rock star even compared to Ferris Bueller. I mean it really was at the show.
Speaker: and ah And like I – her and I sat with – what's his name? Jack Guarini from Jersey Jack. We had like an autograph session, and he stayed for like an hour and just talked to us about like the pinball business. It was like the nicest – I thought it was like the nicest thing ever. you know He's such a nice guy. He's kind of giving us advice about different things.
Speaker: then he came down, he played the game with us, and then um you know she she filmed for a video. She might be able to talk about it. I'm not sure if she can not. But you know with his Elton John. um so this it's like we seem like we get a lot of interest, but I don't know.
Speaker: and um maybe Maybe it's because they're you know they don't want to make a Sam-style game or maybe there's licensing. I don't know. But I don't really know. what I don't really understand everything that goes into that.
Speaker: But I would have hoped you know something like that would happen. i think that would be yeah our ultimate goal. There is an interest in retro style games. I mean, you look at Pulp Fiction and Pulp Fiction actually does very well on location.
Speaker: So it's, I wouldn't be surprised if they start dipping their toes into that. You know, right now DMV is kind of that semi vintage. It's not quite ah old enough, but it's ah i was kind of like when I was growing up, you saw someone with an eight track and you're like, Hey, what's that?
Speaker: So, yeah, yeah, no, I can see that. So I don't know if I dare ask this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Reby, last week you posted a video about some of the haters I want you to explain because it was like 20 seconds long.
Speaker: i'm sorry. No, you're good. No, seriously, like you guys put a lot of work into these games and there should be ah I think you should respond at least and say, Hey, like this is, this is kind of ridiculous in my opinion. Cause like, seriously, you guys are doing so much for these homebrews.
Speaker: And like you said earlier, like some homebrews are just like the codes there and stuff, but you're they're not putting the attention to detail with the white wood and stuff like that. It's markers on the wood. I just didn't know if there was something you wanted to address. to them Nobody is doing it the way we are in terms of building fully fledged top to bottom, completely customizable, ah customized machines, aesthetically pleasing. If you look at it, you wouldn't automatically say, oh, yeah, some somebody made that in their basement. Oh, yeah, that's a homebrew.
Speaker: And for people who have no idea what actually goes into the process of it, you know, we've just been talking about it for the last 40 minutes and we haven't even scratched the surface of it to say, oh, yeah, I could slap ah another sticker over a play field and I could make a homebrew. I mean, so then do it literally then do it. And you'll very quickly see that it's not that easy. It takes.
Speaker: a lot of foresight, a lot of like artistic direction that you have to have. like Me and Brian do the job of, I feel like, an entire team of like normally 10 people, a whole production line. It's just us. um you know So it's it's really frustrating when people think that it's just very surface level modifications.
Speaker: I mean, like when I say that people cannot identify donor games when we're at shows, I mean, it is not just me blowing smoke up our own asses. It is like truly a labor of love and you can tell in the finished product.
Speaker: And no, I don't think anybody could do it like we could. And for those that say, oh you know, no big deal. It's just a retheme. Try your hand at it, honestly. And you'd probably give up in the first week or so. Yeah, it's very annoying. And I think part of that also goes into like,
Speaker: the fact that I'm not like a traditional pinball presenting person, you know what I mean? So that's even more of a reason for people to kind of diminish the work that I do and my involvement in the projects, but it really is a ton of work. And if you don't think it is, then let's see your bills and um let's compare.
Speaker: Let's let you, you whip yours out and I'll whip mine out and we can have a content. Love it. I told you, don't get her fired up. I love it. I'm, come And she restrained, trust me. It's okay. we we We got the measuring tape idea.
Speaker: When you have WWE slash TNA wrestler on your on your podcast, you know they can throw down, so you least got to let them do their thing. I was expecting the yeah the flash bombs and the smoke grenades and the laser light entrance.
Speaker: Yeah. But there is some truth to it. And it's refreshing to have people like Reby in the community and in this industry. Because it like b Brian said multiple times, yeah it's attacked from different angles. if we have that perspective in, we can push different boundaries, right?
Speaker: And so it's it's awesome. For sure. Where can they play the games? like what where are Where are you going to be next that someone can come and play the game? Usually just in my basement.
Speaker: you right Your address is... We're going to be everywhere this year, whether he likes it or not. I'm going drag him out of his comfort zone I'm going drag him out to the shows and you're going to be able to play everywhere. And if you have any doubts on the quality or the skill of the craftsmen, then you can come and you can see for yourself.
Speaker: Really, honestly, I think you guys, it should be you guys and the Saw team next to each other going head to head. Let's go already. I think that you two are the only ones. ah so Yeah, you two are the only two that are. big Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. And don't get me wrong. We have plenty of friends in the homebrew company in homebrew and they're doing fantastic things. But like you guys seriously are, you've got like off the line quality machine that you could confuse someone with. Like did did a pinball company really make this? Like, is this being produced? Where can I buy one?
Speaker: Whereas where some of the other homebrews, you're definitely not like it's, it's ah it's a project. Um, so yeah, I think, I think we should, if you're willing to come to expo, we should, we should set it up with Rob Burke and do like a head to head.
Speaker: Let's go. His is really, his is really nice. I look, I'm going to admit from, from the engineering stand standpoint, I love his game. It's, it's really awesome. you know, I, I don't know. Did he, I think is his game though. All new code though.
Speaker: think it is. I think there's even custom animation. they They might actually have an LCD in theirs as well. Yeah. But I mean, but the day did he, does he use like fast pinball though or something? yeah Yep. That's, that's the thing. So like, um, and I can really appreciate all of his work because like, that's the next thing that I want be able to do Like, um, I think I'm really good at modifying like,
Speaker: like what people don't understand when they see our game, it's like, no, open it up. This whole thing is just like it came out of Stern. it's not it's not There's not an extra system. There's not anything else. so That's one thing I think it's hard to compare.
Speaker: like i mean I have my limitations. I'm a mechanical engineer. I'm not an electrical engineer. electrical engineer and a software engineer. so I'm modifying what is right there um where I think someone that knows how to do you know, fast, it's, I don't want to say it's, it's not really apples to apples, kind of apples to oranges, really. You know what i mean? If you, if you have a whole different system, but, um, so I, yeah, I hate, I, hate I kind of hate, you know, when they do Twippies all that stuff and they compare them. I mean, his is, it's just different, but I, I absolutely love the look of that game. I love all the mechs on it.
Speaker: Um, yeah, they, they do a fabulous job. yeah yeah I will say I'm totally impressed that you are able to code it at all because my major was mechanical engineering.
Speaker: So that was my major. And i took I took one computer class and I knew this was not my wheelhouse. i was not any good at it. I had no idea what I was doing. And so the fact that you're actually programming this blows me away because it was – it's If anybody does mechanical engineering, you know how to make things move and and in stress points and being able to do that kind of stuff. Being able to do coding is a completely different skill set.
Speaker: Well, um I'm going to stop you there though, because I know like my, my coder friends from up here in Massachusetts, I had a discussion with, ah you do you know, Lynn, he does a lot of the custom like haunted cruise and frozen and.
Speaker: Okay. Yeah. his own yeah So yeah, he lives like 15, 20 minutes away. And I, and I asked him, um at Pentastic this year, you know, what what I should call it, because I think I do a disservice to the ah software guys. I call it coding. It's not, I wish I remembered the word now he used.
Speaker: It's not really coding, but it's because I use a different software that looks at the code and I work in that software package to make my changes. So there's some terminology that real you know, software people would use to to say what I do. So and just want to make sure that I don't want people to think that I'm actually coding okay but and i software in the software.
Speaker: You know mean? Like I don't want, I just don't want to upset anybody. Well, you're modifying the code, which is still a flex. So there you go. Right. Yeah. By me saying that you are incorporating new code into the system, however that is done, that is still an impressive feat. And I don't want you to downplay your involvement in it because That's a skillset I don't have even on that level.
Speaker: Yeah, no, thanks. Yeah. and And again, as a mechanical guy, yeah, I i totally understand. I mean, i freaked out. it I went to Northeastern university. i remember taking my first coding class and I was like, Oh my God, this is, this is terrible.
Speaker: But yeah, but, but this stuff that I use, it's a, you a pinball browser software. That's how I, how I edit it. And so it's, it's still, it's a, it's a boatload of work.
Speaker: Um, But, uh, but it just, it's not like a true code like people do and faster or whatever. Gotcha. You're still, you're still making magic. I, like I said, so happy with It's just, yeah.
Speaker: You both are magicians to me. Cause I don't understand how it works and you're just like, bam, there's a machine. So yeah. yeah If we made one, it would be like the sticker books that you got in like seventh grade and like Skywalker somewhere. And yeah.
Speaker: That'd be pretty much it. Don't joke about that. Cause I someone take, someone take a fun house and they literally just print it off stickers of fortnight and then just slapped it all over the field. And they're like, it's fortnight. I'm like, Oh, honestly, that's what I think some people think. That's why like, you need to just see it. If you don't get it, you to just see it so that you can get it.
Speaker: Yep. Yeah. So it's definitely, it's, it's tough when we hear that. And you know, I, I think I keep it all in. olin I get upset when I read about that. You know, I used to see it on, you know, years ago, I saw it back in if you guys were around long enough on the ah Google rec groups.
Speaker: Yeah. know if you were part of that years ago, but you know, I think some of my first ones I did and people were commenting there and then, you know, then you get some stuff on pin side and then, you know, lately it's been like on, in Facebook and different groups, people will say things and I, it's hard sometimes to turn to,
Speaker: to you know, to to turn away from it, you know, I started engaging my one point and I'm like, I gotta, I can't, I mean, cause like she said, until people really try to do it, I don't think they understand what's involved. It's not just a new sticker or a, you know, new paint.
Speaker: on a game. so Well, let's be honest too. It's a flex, right? Like when you watch professional sports and they're so good at their job you and you think, oh, I could do that because they're so good. They make it look easy.
Speaker: You guys are doing so good. You're making it look easy. So people are just like, I could i could do that. And it's not till like, wasn't there a heckler at a women's tenants tournament where theyve the women end up pulling him out of the crowd? They made him put the skirt on and then they wailed on him. And he's like, yeah, I'm not ever doing that ever again.
Speaker: Yeah. No. If anybody knows or has tried to do any of these projects, they know how crazy difficult they are. And so the fact that someone is willing to throw lightning your way, even though they've never tried to do it, it just shows their complete, ah utter incomprehension of what you guys are actually accomplishing because they've never tried to do it themselves.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Well, is there anything else you guys, is there something we missed? I mean, there you guys, like you said, we barely scratched the surface. Is there something that you just feel like we should, we should talk about this before we wrap it up?
Speaker: I don't know. I mean, well, so I guess no, I can say, I mean, you know, everybody sees the, we've done, um, you know, for the, I call these major games when I do stuff like this, but I think, I think her and we've done maybe seven or eight altogether, but you know, the other ones are more like, you know, corporate themed games. We actually have one You know, people can play.
Speaker: um thought she's going to hate the artwork on it. It wasn't as good as what she did initially. It's at at the LaGuardia Airport in New York. yeah You remember that? We did that for American Express or no, jp sorry J.P. Chase Morgan in the in the Sapphire Lounge.
Speaker: So they did a retro lounge. And, um you know, i they said, you know, you do you know anybody from that area? You know, someone that could do graphic design. I said, yeah, I got woman I work with.
Speaker: you know, grew up in, in that part of New York. so you know, she did a, an incredible artwork package and then they pulled the rug out from under us. Right. And then.
Speaker: finally dig the theme Yeah. But it's still cool and it's there. Yeah. Yeah. know so It's still, it's still, it's a cool game. But, and you know, it's a retro, I just thinking of something that's in the wild that we've worked on. You know, it's in the, in the lounge there.
Speaker: That's cool. That's way cool. I didn't know that even existed. So next time in New York, you got to stop by the LaGuardia Chase, what you said, the Chase Morgan? It's the JP Chase. JP Chase. Sapphire Lounge or something. Yeah. think you have to have the credit card or something in. I think have to have the credit card or something to get in. Two is coming out on Netflix too. So you might want to keep an eye out for possible cross promotion there. That's all I'll say.
Speaker: did you say? I missed it. I'm going have to text you.
Speaker: do left to line myact list oh when it drops so we can we can promote it as well yes hell yeah that is awesome well cool we really appreciate i know you both are very busy we really appreciate we've been trying to work this out for about a month now and then yeah you know everyone else decided to release their games it's just been april and it's been chaos just absolute chaos crazy but i really appreciate both of your guys's time and coming on the show Scott, you got any questions before we head off?
Speaker: I just want to let them know that we always try to hook guests up with merch. So we we have hats, shirts, ah shoes. We'll ah definitely reach out to you and we'll figure out what we can get you. So we appreciate you for coming on the show.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely. Thank you. Definitely. um If you want someone to get a hold of you, how how do they get hold of you, Brian or Reby? So for me, my website is custompinballmachines.com.
Speaker: And on Instagram, it's at Game Room Pinball.
Speaker: Awesome. Yeah, you can just go to my website. It's RebbyHardy.com and all my links are there. Perfect. And if you want to get ahold of us, we are loser kid pinball podcast at gmail.com.
Speaker: We're on all the socials at loser kid pinball. Check us out on YouTube. Hit us, uh, like subscribe all that jazz yada yada. If you want some swag, like Scott's been talking about, I've got my eight bit loser kid shirt on. He's got the hat on nice.
Speaker: Uh, silver ball swag.com slash loser kid. ah Yeah. Yes. Hold on. Nice. Silver ball swag. Did you have, was it you guys that just did those new sneakers?
Speaker: Yeah, that's us. Our losers, yes. All right, don't say anything about you. Don't like tell I'll talk to you afterwards then. I thought I saw it. That is funny. So, ah yeah.
Speaker: Scott, give us our last words. You know what? Definitely go to go to one of these shows and definitely check out all of their games, especially their latest one, The Hangover. i can't wait to try it.
Speaker: you
