# Venom Pinball Vault Celebration Stream

**Source:** Stern Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2026-07-13  
**Duration:** 19m 38s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNKQfYjRI08

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## Analysis

Jack Danger hosts a Vault Celebration stream for Stern Pinball Inc. game with members of the design team (Dwight and Brian), playing cooperative games while discussing the game's design philosophy, mechanics, and development. Key topics include save-as-you-go progression, fast locks, character-specific playfield changes, RPG elements, and how Venom influenced subsequent games like Dungeons & Dragons. The stream showcases Venom's unique features: eight unlockable characters, dynamic playfield layouts, progress persistence, and cooperative play.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Venom introduced save-as-you-go progress mechanics to pinball, allowing players to progress toward wizard mode over months — _Jack Danger and design team discussing design goals: 'this is the first game we started playing with save as you go, save your progress... we wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game. Even if it took them months, they could eventually see it.'_
- [HIGH] Venom features eight total characters that can be unlocked, with Ghost Rider being the most recent addition — _Jack Danger: 'there's like eight characters total you can eventually unlock now with Ghost Rider, right?' Design team member confirms._
- [HIGH] Players can change characters mid-game (each ball), unlike typical character-selection games that lock you in at the start — _Design team: 'this is the first time that you can change characters mid game... you can change it each ball... the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time.'_
- [HIGH] Venom's fast locks mechanic was pushed further after initial implementation, making it one of the fastest games ever made — _Jack and design team: 'Fast locks when it first started out weren't as fast as they ended up... we pushed really far on this game... It's like one of the fastest games ever made.'_
- [HIGH] Venom is the second game in a series of thematically-linked titles; Dungeons & Dragons is the third, with game four currently in development — _Design team member: 'This is mine and Brian's game number three... No, two. Two. This is game two. D and D was game three, and we're currently working on game four.'_
- [HIGH] Each character in Venom has different music genres (funk, rock, etc.) reflecting the character's personality — _Design team: 'each of the there's four different genres of music. Um Flash, Eddie, Gwen, and Peter each have their own music... Gwen's music's like funk.'_
- [HIGH] The playfield physically changes depending on which character is selected, with different ramp layouts and features — _Jack Danger: 'the game changes physically depending on which character you pick... each character has a different layout of the playfield... each one has like a different feel.'_
- [HIGH] Dungeons & Dragons & Dragons sequel would not have been possible without the save-as-you-go and story progression systems developed in Venom — _Design team: 'D and D wouldn't have happened the way it did without Venom either, right? Saving your progress and adding a story to it that's deeper.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "this game came out 75 years ago"
> — **Jack Danger**, Early in stream
> _Humorous exaggeration about Venom's age; part of running joke about the game's longevity and continued support_

> "we wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game. Even if it took them months, they could eventually see it."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, Mid-stream design discussion
> _Core philosophy behind Venom's save-as-you-go mechanic; reflects shift in design priorities toward player accessibility_

> "It's like one of the fastest games ever made."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, Discussing fast locks
> _Characterizes Venom's signature mechanical speed and constant ball motion as a distinguishing feature_

> "the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time... we want you to do it more than once a game."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, Character-swap mechanic discussion
> _Explains thematic reasoning for mid-game character changes; ties mechanical innovation to IP fidelity_

> "I've been putting co-op in games since Turtles. Since 83."
> — **Design team member (likely Dwight)**, Co-op discussion
> _Indicates long-standing design philosophy; references Williams' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1991) and earlier co-op experience_

> "D and D wouldn't have happened the way it did without Venom either, right? Saving your progress and adding a story to it that's deeper."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, Game progression discussion
> _Demonstrates Venom's foundational influence on subsequent Stern titles and narrative design_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jack Danger | person | Stern Pinball designer and Head of Community; host of Vault Celebration stream; played Venom and discussed design philosophy |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Venom pinball machine; organized Vault Celebration stream event |
| Venom | game | Marvel-themed pinball machine by Stern featuring character-selection, save progression, fast locks, eight unlockable characters (including Ghost Rider), and dynamic playfield changes. Available in Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition variants. |
| Dwight | person | Designer/game team member for Venom; co-designer on Dungeons & Dragons (game three in series); engaged in stream gameplay and design discussion about playfield mechanics and character progression |
| Brian | person | Designer/game team member for Venom and Dungeons & Dragons; participated in stream gameplay and design discussions |
| Dungeons & Dragons | game | Third game in Stern pinball series (game three), co-designed by Jack Danger and Brian; sequel to Venom that builds on save-as-you-go and narrative progression systems |
| Game Four (Untitled) | game | Fourth installment in Stern pinball series currently in development by Jack Danger and Brian; described as 'coming along really well' |
| Deny Kitty | person | Artist credited for Venom's background artwork; described as creating vivid, alive-feeling backgrounds of various New York locations |
| Eddie Brock | product | Character in Venom pinball; playable character that provides quick multiball access; associated with rock music genre |
| Gwen Stacy | product | Character in Venom pinball; playable character with funk-themed music; originally planned to have Prince-inspired music |
| Spider-Man | product | Character in Venom pinball; playable character with scoop-down layout; easiest character for lighting locks |
| Flash Thompson | product | Character in Venom pinball; requires mini-combo sequences to light locks |
| Ghost Rider | product | Character in Venom pinball; most recently added/unlockable character in the eight-character roster |

### Signals

- **[design_innovation]** Venom introduced persistent save-as-you-go mechanics allowing players to reach wizard mode over extended play periods (months); first Stern implementation of this feature (confidence: high) — Design team: 'this is the first game we started playing with save as you go, save your progress... we wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game'
- **[design_innovation]** Venom features character-specific playfield changes (ramps, scoops, posts) that shift during mid-game character swaps; novel mechanical design requiring heavy programming (confidence: high) — Jack Danger: 'the game changes physically depending on which character you pick... each character has a different layout of the playfield'
- **[design_innovation]** Fast locks mechanic evolved during development to create constant ball motion; described as 'one of the fastest games ever made' with zero downtime between shots (confidence: high) — Design team: 'Fast locks when it first started out weren't as fast as they ended up... there's a ball in travel at all times. Even when you lock something, someone's still moving on the plate.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Venom represents experimental integration of RPG mechanics (level progression 1-99, character selection, boss encounters, damage scaling) into pinball platform; foundational for subsequent games (confidence: high) — Jack Danger: 'this is another step in in trying to get more RPG elements into pinball... in this game, you can go all the way to 99. And the higher level you are, the easier the game should get'
- **[design_innovation]** Venom allows character selection changes each ball (not locked in at game start); tied to thematic concept of shapeshifting character; enables grid-filling strategy (confidence: high) — Design team: 'this is the first time that you can change characters mid game... you can change it each ball... the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time'
- **[product_strategy]** Eight unlockable characters with distinct music genres (rock, funk, etc.), playfield layouts, and mechanical characteristics; Ghost Rider added as post-release content expansion (confidence: high) — Jack Danger: 'there's like eight characters total you can eventually unlock now with Ghost Rider, right?... Gwen's music's like funk'
- **[design_philosophy]** Venom incorporates co-op play mechanics as continuation of long-standing design tradition dating to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1991) and earlier (confidence: high) — Design team: 'I've been putting co-op in games since Turtles. Since 83... Co-op is in this thing, too... It works well in this.'
- **[design_innovation]** Experimental 'line game' inspired grid system where completing mini-modes fills squares to earn bonuses; described as successful innovation by designers (confidence: high) — Jack Danger: 'Mini modes is a new thing that we sort of tried with this game... I'm proud of the grid. It was an experiment and I think it worked out pretty well.'
- **[product_launch]** Venom continues receiving character additions years after initial release (Ghost Rider added); indicates sustained development and content support strategy (confidence: high) — Jack Danger joke about game release: 'It's been like three years... Well, it was like seven years ago when we did this game, right? 75 years ago.'
- **[design_innovation]** Venom features character-specific original music in distinct genres (funk, rock, etc.); reflects character personality; Gwen originally planned for Prince-inspired style (confidence: high) — Design team: 'Each each each of the there's four different genres of music... Gwen originally was going to be like Prince... we evolved from that and I think it went in a better direction'
- **[design_innovation]** Players can select number of balls in multiball (2-6 range) with risk/reward mechanics; lock location determines multiball type (Mayhem, Carnage, etc.) (confidence: high) — Jack Danger: 'your choice to be able to choose the number of balls you want in your multi... risk reward is there... depending on where you lock your balls changes what the multiball is going'

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## Transcript

Hey there, pin heads. Jack Danger here from Stern Pinball and we're here with another Vault Celebration. This time I'm with the game team of Venom. Uh, this game came out 75 years ago. [laughter] Yeah, right. I remember I remember beating this game up in my studio a long time ago trying to get through everything, leveling up, unlocking all the characters. It's a really cool unique layout. It's a really cool unique way of playing pinball. So, we're going to play a game. Uh, we're going to chat a little bit about, you know, what it took to bring this game to market. some of the fun anecdotes they may have. And uh I'm going to start us off by logging in. You are now a part of us. Let me log in. That's cool music. One one thing that's good about this game is Oh, yeah. Do you save progress? Yes or no? Hell yeah. Should I log in too? You should log in. Or should we wait till I'm going second? Yes. Yeah. Well, if you just do nothing, it's just cool. And uh if you guys want to talk, use that microphone like talk together. But if we're in a game, just talk. Yeah. If you're in a game, this is for when you're in a game. Unless Here, I'll just give this to you. Oh, do you do you want this? Okay, let's just get into it. All right, so I like choosing Eddie Brock because you get your locks for your multiball right off the rip. Yeah, that's what I um but if you're like that's cheating. One of the best players on the planet. [laughter] Yeah, thanks Dwight. I appreciate it. Um but if you choose somebody else in order to get your locks, you just have to like, you know, these little mini twoot combos is how you light your locks eventually. So, uh we'll do Flash Thompson. Why not? Since Dwight was guilting me. Shaming. Shaming me. So, all all the music on this game is different for each character. Yeah. Each each each of the there's four different genres of music. Um Flash, Eddie, Gwen, and Peter each have their own music. Get up there. Come on. Um and what made you choose like Gwen's music's like funk and stuff like that? Like what what made you choose what? Well, Gwen Gwen originally was going to be like Prince and that was my my I like I made a whole playlist of like I want I want Gwen to be like this and then we we evolved from that and I think it went in a better direction but but it started off being like Prince I want funk I want Prince early Prince from the you know okay funky prince the character most like Dwight but it's definitely Dwight what Venom reporting for you just call you a prince you bring the funk I bring the funk all right I bring the funk. Um, I'm going to take Gwen because [laughter] I I like the music. So, this was our first um experimenting with well, not not it's not not the first, but this is another step in in trying to get more RPG elements into pinball. And and I'm and I can't talk and play at the same time. [laughter] But you notice I'm level 73. Huh? That's disgusting. You notice I'm level 73 though. That's cool. 73? Damn. What do you mean? So, in this game, you can go all the way to 99. And the higher level you are, the easier the game should get with some caveats. Yeah. Level 25. That's not too bad. Well, I'm going to take Eddie Brock cuz I'm level 25. I mean, we all know I'm the best player, right? All right. Just Just saying. But I'm at 25. So, if I don't win. Wait, I'm 31. I didn't even notice it. Heck yeah. I I'm remember I It's been like a minute since we played this game. Is it coming back? Well, I'm just I'm loving these these backgrounds. Oh, yeah. This background was made by Deny Kitty. Kitty, what's his name? Kitty. Um Samurai. Yeah. Deny. But yeah, like they feel alive. Like they're really awesome background. We're at different locations throughout New York. Yeah. One of the things I I really liked is this is the first game we started playing with save as you go, save your progress, right? And Dwight and I, right from the beginning, this is what we wanted to do. We wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game. Even if it took them months, they could eventually see it. That was the first thing we sort of wrote on the board is like we want we want everyone to be able to play the wizard mode at the end of the game. And a lot of it was a learning experience, but I think it ended up turning out pretty well. Yeah, we we got a lot of feedback from players who played for a long time and they finally made it to the final boss. And and fast locks, that's something that we sort of fast pushed really far on this game. That's pretty fun. Fast locks when it first started out weren't as fast as they ended up, right? And then Dwight and I think Cory magic into making them be super fast. And it it really does give it a unique feel, right? I remember playing it and going back to play other games and kind of getting It's like one of the fastest games ever made. Yeah, there it What's cool about it is there's a ball in travel at all times. Even when you lock something, someone's still moving on the plate. You never have to wait, right? So, what are you shooting for, Brian? Well, he's got two of the three. I'm getting carnage back. He's got two. Well, that's true. So, he he had he had two of the three little mini modes. Mini modes is a new thing that we sort of tried with this game. That whole grid. I'm I'm proud of the grid. It was an experiment and I think it worked out pretty well. I like like you complete you complete squares to get little bonuses. A take on the uh the line game. It's a take on it's a take on two or three different games. But yeah. Yeah. Is it blow Jack's turn? Uh the the line game being like I make a line, you make a line. You don't want to offer your opponent the ability to close the square. So by closing that square, you get the thing that's in the middle. But you can't stop each other in this game. Fair. But in the line game, can you? I don't think so. No. All right. I'm going to Yep. Exactly. That's right. Co-op is in this thing, too. Yeah. I've been putting co-op in games since Turtles. Since 83. And it works well in this. It does. Oh, co-op. Yeah, co-op for sure. So, I'm going to do some carnage. What a waste of time. Woo! Man, this thing's cooking. That's it. It It's It's fast. It's very fast. Stay alive. I love you. All right. My green arrows are lit for blocks. There's So, the game, like you said, um the game changes physically depending on which character you pick. So, he's he's got the right ramp as up and then takes it around to the back. Yeah. It's so cool. That's probably my third thing I think that I really like about this game is that especially if it's a home game, you can play a lot of different ways. Yeah. And each character has a different layout of the playfield. It has like a different feel. Yeah. Plus all the progression saving. Yeah. He's got that post there. That's kind of fun. And what there's like eight characters total you can eventually unlock now with Ghost Rider, right? Yeah. Ghost Rider on the top. And I say now because it's, you know, he's been around for like three years. [laughter] Well, it was like seven years ago when we did this game, right? 75 years ago. 75. Exactly. All right. So, my carnage is lit up the This is mine and Brian's game number three. Three. So, no, two. Two. This is game two. D and D was game three, and we're currently working on game four. Game four. Yeah. We We're learning as we go, and game four is coming along really well. I love that. Yeah. I mean, D and D wouldn't have happened the way it did without Venom either, right? Saving your progress and adding a story to it that's deeper. Thank you. Each one Oh, I mean Gindle. So, yeah. Yeah, because you had Gindle cuz you were waiting to do Gindle from a previous save. Oh, the That's right. Yeah, you're already at the past 10. The the flippers swapped. [laughter] It's Dwight giggling. You want to cross your hands? Yeah. No way, dude. Grenle's doing his special attack. Cross your brain. Oh, no. It uncrossed my brain now. Right. One of my favorite parts of this scene is just how how ludicrous, you know, like that giant dragon is, you know, like 5t away from [laughter] It's a big boy. Yeah. All right. I'm I'm coming after you because I I play so well in the first game, the first ball. It only takes one ball to play. Oh, you have 130,000 points. No problem. Are you shaming me? No, you're level [laughter] 75. You're fine. I'm You know, you got to multiply my level times that score. Level 73. I expect more. Level multiplication. That's coming back. I hope. Yeah. Right. So, I'm Gwen. I have that little loop. The little horseshoe loop. Nice. Ball one locked. Oh, I could cancel. Okay, I didn't need to cancel. I was just afraid. I didn't need to cancel because it was ball one. Uhhuh. Ball two is when you Yeah. And I don't know how to keep the ball alive. This is like some Casey at bat thing he's setting up. He's going to absolutely decimate us on ball three. Yeah, you've just destroyed my ball three just now. Peter Parker. The other thing with the fast locks I really liked is your choice to be able to choose the number of balls you want in your multi. Oh yeah. But also like riskreward is there. It's there's also like rules on the fast locks, right? Like I'm see depending on where you lock your balls changes changes what the multiball is going. Mayhem multiball foundation. Oh, he changed characters. Did you change characters? No, you didn't. No. All right, Dwight, was it hard to program for a playfield that shifted this much? Um, it was a little bit of a challenge. Um, good question. Um, so because you we're very shot driven. Look at that. Look at them change that playfield. Oh, look at all those things moving around, right? And that's another thing that's interesting is this is the first time that you can change characters mid game. Love it. You can change it each ball. Like usually these type of games, you pick a character at the beginning of the game and you're locked in. But Venom, the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time. Yep. So, we thought, you know, well, since since that's sort of the gimmick of the game is the playfield changes, we want you to do it more than once a game. And that lets you fill on that grid, too, right? And then to complete squares so that you can then collect those bonuses in the middle. Jack's cheating. I did. It's not cheating. He was cheating. Tell sure I could have a high score if I move the ball. Oh my [laughter] god. Move the game around. Move it. I'm ready. Okay. So, uh, locks are ready. Oh, I got to That scoop is, uh, up or the ramp is up. So, I got Yeah, cuz you changed characters. Yep, I did change characters. You went back to Eddie. I I shamed you out of Eddie in the beginning and then you just said I went there anyway. So, I got my Forget you, Dwight. Playfield multiplier. Hold the button to cancel. We're taking it. I'm taking it. I'll take it. All right. That's That's a mistake. Taking it. I got my 2x Playfield. That's a mistake. Got my 2x Playfield. I got my two ball multiball. And I got an addabal with sleeper tea. Oh, that you've carried over again. Again, something that's carried over from game to game. So, I get to [laughter] He was in here playing all morning. Yep. True. Just getting ready for this show. Had to. Oh, come on. Come on. Give me the ball. More ch more cheating. Oh, wait. Double danger. Okay, we got to chill out. [laughter] And And notice I didn't say jack danger. Yeah, although it should. Okay, I can uh Yeah, when the balls are just moving from the fast locks and stuff, it it's freaking awesome, dude. It everything is moving at all times on this game. All right, so I do have my attabal still. You're making me want to play Eddie. I should have played Peter cuz Peter has the scoop down as well. Okay, I need to fart. Okay, I used my ad. Oh, he used his attabol. Okay, I need to shoot that left orbit in my brain. There you go. Oh, you started doppelganger. Doppelganger. And yeah, the early doppelganger is easy to get rid of. And that's from getting infected. I drained like Jack Jack got infected or something. I'm not sure why. I am infected. Yeah. [laughter] All right. Will I break a million? You took your multiball. That's what you need. Listen, wins a win. Will I break a million? Playing competitively. I always choose because I I can get a multiball at least. But are we playing Are we playing competitive? I didn't know we were playing competitive. You're just playing to get over a million points. Oh, look at that. I have I'm I'm I'm on null. You win if Look at that. I have null already. Oh, null. Damn. So that means that I've that means that I probably failed to kill null probably multiple times. I'm level 73. Well, I probably failed at 50 and then at 55 and then [laughter] I'm I'm going to do Peter, I think. We'll close it out today. You got this. All right, here we go. We're going to beat No. We're beating right now. Or or I might start multiball, but Well, yeah. I believe. No pressure. Excellent. And you have to start it first. Well, right. In order to start multiball, I have to light lock. And in order to light lock, I have to complete these mini modes. These little two ball these two shot these two shot. Two shot combos. And Peter's the easiest one to get that done cuz he's got Can I backhand that? Yes. No. Well, you can. All right. So, I have a I have Where's the white one? White one's on the right. I have three mini modes that are all waiting on their first shots. They're that are each just two shots. And let's let's see if I can make Let's see if I can make the first shot of any one of them. Now, it wants me this left ramp. The left ramp, which isn't There we go. That's one of the three. There's a lock. I'll I'm going to take it. Take it, baby. I'm up to 3 million. Look at that, baby. [laughter] I'm going to take it. I'm more than tripled. Quadrupled or something. Um, look at that. We'll take sleeper, too, just like you. Smart. All right, I'm coming after you, Jack. I'm only like 40 million away. Bring it. I knew I shouldn't have put money on this. You can always buy a new car, Jack. It's fine. All right. That's not your only car, you bet me, is it? [laughter] I've driven in cars. All right. So, Spider Sense could help me out here. Oh, yeah. That's the hold the action button. Yeah. Oh, man. And you're getting experience while doing it. Yeah. Am I level 74 yet? Not Not quite. You're halfway there. So, your level increases how much damage you're able to do to bosses and such. Yes. Awesome. And what was the top level? Is it 99? Correct. Yeah. Oh, there we go. Did you get it? Yeah. And you got spider sense on the left. Yep. And if I shoot that, that'll light super jackpot. Oh, that's it. And you got top out. Is it coming back? Oh my god. [laughter] I thought they're coming back. What? To your demise. You got overwhelmed. [laughter] I Well, I thought they were coming back, but Yeah, that's fair. Well, they Yeah. Thoroughly depressing end there. I had spider sense lit on the left ramp. Oh, and you were so close. But you are ahead of me now. So, but it's a good bonus. You might not You need to tilt like we need We're going to [laughter] accidentally tilt your game. kick the machine out from under and then and then I beat Brian. I just need to get multiball. That should do it. If you start multiball, I'm going to tilt your game. [laughter] Uhhuh. Team makes a dream. You've got two locks lit. I do. I'm ready for it. Oh, it's because you've already Yeah, there's one. Oh, but but I think you should go for the three ball. Oh, do you? Go for the Go for the five. Go put them all out there. What's the max number? Is it six? There we go. All right. I'm taking a You're taking a two. We're such wimps. [laughter] You're going to take sleeper. Oh, yeah. I got to get sleeper. Sleeper. All right. Now I got to remember to use sleeper. Yeah. Fair. Or until I tilt the game. Can I get tilt? 23 and a half. That's when you kick the machine. Oh. Oh, wait. Oh, he's already beat me if he if he unless he tilts right now. Yeah. Oh, no. No. Oh no. There you go. Yeah, there we go. Now it counts. Mayhem. Well, sorry. Yeah. Oh, well, [laughter] buying drinks tonight. Diet Pepsi all around. Diet Pepsi. You do realize I'm only level 25. Room temperature, guys. No, you're level 26. You went up. Did I go up one? You did level up. Yeah, you're almost 27. Yeah, did it. Nice shot. Hey, 2x is ready for you, too. You want You want the scoop? Yeah, there you go. I get my super jackpot blast. You should take your ball. I thought I did. I think you deserve. No, you didn't. Yeah, you did. I tried to. Well, I'm almost at Carnage there. Hey, we all got Mayhem. We all got Mayhem. We We mayhem is easy. Especially with Eddie. [laughter] It's a gimme, right? Well, with Eddie is with Eddie, it's a gimme. So hard for them. I I did it with Peter. Well, long as I beat Dwight, I'm I'm happy for the rest of Excellent. Well, friends, uh you paid me earlier to [laughter] Guys, don't talk about that. Um Venom's going in the vault. Make sure you get out there, go jam on a Venom. Uh contact distributors if uh you're interested in one. And uh thank you guys for joining me on this. Yeah, no problem. We can't wait to see game number four. And uh we'll see you all on the next one. Wait, Jack, we each got to get a corner. We got to carry this over to the vault, [laughter] right? The big steel vault. We actually put it. So the vault's actually over here on the right. You got to type in the combo, turn the big wheel, and then we shove it in there. Uh, it's why they're actually here is to help move it in. All right, friends. Have a good one. I love you. Bye.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-03 | Item ID: 0046a4f7-2a53-4a6d-b637-29e40b05817e*