# Pinball Odds & Ends: New Hires at Stern & Jersey Jack, New Digital Pinball **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2023-08-31 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/pinball-odds-ends-new-hires-at-stern-jersey-jack-new-digital-pinball --- ## Analysis Jersey Jack Pinball hired Tom Kopera, a veteran mechanical engineer and designer, as COO from Stern Pinball, prompting Stern to hire Kevin Payne as his replacement Director of Mechanical Engineering. Zen Studios announced a new horror pinball collection for Pinball M, and the digital pinball game XENOTILT launched as a spiritual successor to Demon's Tilt. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Tom Kopera was Stern's Director of Mechanical Engineering since 2021 — _Official announcement by Jersey Jack Pinball and Stern Pinball_ - [HIGH] Tom Kopera designed the glove mechanic in Johnny Mnemonic and basketball shooter in NBA Fastbreak — _Knapp Arcade article citing Kopera's design portfolio_ - [HIGH] Kevin Payne previously worked with George Gomez at Incredible Technologies (Golden Tee maker) — _Stern Pinball announcement cited by Knapp Arcade_ - [HIGH] Zen Studios is developing a horror pinball collection for Pinball M with original tables — _Zen Studios official announcement_ - [HIGH] XENOTILT is a Lovecraftian digital pinball game and sequel to Demon's Tilt from 2019 — _Knapp Arcade article; XENOTILT Steam page reference_ ### Notable Quotes > "The interesting part is that they hired him away from Stern Pinball." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Highlights the notable talent acquisition from a major competitor to a boutique manufacturer_ > "a unique, fresh creation from the darkest, goriest franchises" > — **Zen Studios (quoted by Knapp Arcade)** > _Describes the design philosophy for the new horror pinball collection_ > "Its fun, I bought it to play on my Steam Deck." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Personal endorsement of XENOTILT, suggesting positive reception_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Tom Kopera | person | Veteran mechanical engineer and designer; hired by Jersey Jack Pinball as COO from Stern Pinball; designed Johnny Mnemonic glove, NBA Fastbreak basketball shooter, co-designed Cactus Canyon, designed Stern Rolling Stones | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; hired Tom Kopera as new COO | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; lost Tom Kopera as Director of Mechanical Engineering; hired Kevin Payne as replacement | | Kevin Payne | person | New Director of Mechanical Engineering at Stern Pinball; has mechanical engineering experience across multiple industries including work with George Gomez at Incredible Technologies | | George Gomez | person | Legendary designer; worked with both Tom Kopera at Midway/Bally/Williams and Kevin Payne at Incredible Technologies | | Zen Studios | company | Digital pinball developer; announcing new horror pinball collection for Pinball M platform | | Pinball M | product | Zen Studios digital pinball platform receiving new horror-themed original tables | | XENOTILT | product | Digital pinball game; Lovecraftian-themed; sequel to Demon's Tilt; launched on multiple platforms including Steam | | Demon's Tilt | product | Digital pinball game from 2019; spiritual successor to TurboGrafx's Devil's Crush | | Midway Games | company | Former employer of Tom Kopera and George Gomez | | Incredible Technologies | company | Maker of Golden Tee; employed Kevin Payne and George Gomez | | Johnny Mnemonic | game | Pinball machine featuring glove mechanic designed by Tom Kopera | | NBA Fastbreak | game | Pinball machine with basketball shooter mechanic designed by Tom Kopera | | Cactus Canyon | game | Pinball machine co-designed by Tom Kopera | | Stern Rolling Stones | game | Pinball machine designed by Tom Kopera | ### Topics - **Primary:** Personnel moves between manufacturers, Mechanical engineering and game design talent, Digital pinball development - **Secondary:** Zen Studios product announcements, Horror-themed pinball content ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0.5) — Knapp Arcade reports these developments matter-of-factly with mild interest ('collectively are pretty interesting'). Some positive sentiment toward XENOTILT personal endorsement, but overall tone is informative rather than opinionated. ### Signals - **[event_signal]** XENOTILT digital pinball game launched as sequel to Demon's Tilt; Lovecraftian-themed with availability across multiple platforms (confidence: high) — Product launch; Steam page reference; author purchased and tested on Steam Deck - **[personnel_signal]** Kevin Payne hired by Stern Pinball as Director of Mechanical Engineering to replace Tom Kopera; brings experience from Incredible Technologies and work with George Gomez (confidence: high) — Stern Pinball official announcement - **[personnel_signal]** Tom Kopera, veteran mechanical engineer and designer, hired by Jersey Jack Pinball as COO from Stern Pinball where he was Director of Mechanical Engineering since 2021 (confidence: high) — Jersey Jack Pinball and Stern Pinball official announcements citing the hire - **[announcement]** Zen Studios announced new horror pinball collection for Pinball M platform with original tables themed around 'darkest, goriest franchises' (confidence: high) — Zen Studios official announcement --- ## Transcript Here's a couple of news items that I've seen over the past several days that I didn't really get excited enough about to write an entire article on, but collectively are pretty interesting. First up, yesterday Jersey Jack Pinball announced that it has hired Tom Kopera as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). The interesting part is that they hired him away from Stern Pinball. He had been Stern's Director of Mechanical Engineering since 2021. For those of you who aren't familiar with Tom, he is an industry veteran who worked previously with George Gomez at Midway Games and Bally / Williams. He has created pinball mech such as the glove in Johnny Mnemonic and the basketball shooter in NBA Fastbreak, co-designed Cactus Canyon and designed Stern Rolling Stones. Tom's hiring at JJP explains why last week Stern Pinball announced that it has hired Kevin Payne as it's new Director of Mechanical Engineering. Kevin has mechanical engineering experience in a number of industries, including a stint with George Gomez at Incredible Technologies, the maker of Golden Tee. On the digital pinball side of the hobby, yesterday Zen Studios teased a new horror pinball collection that it is working on. Its upcoming "Pinball M" is a collection of original "tables" each of which is "a unique, fresh creation from the darkest, goriest franchises." No word yet on when these new tables will launch. Last up, the sequel to the fairly well-known virtual pinball game Demon's Tilt from 2019 - which itself was the spiritual successor to the iconic TurboGrafx game Devil's Crush, XENOTILT has launched. Available on most platforms, XENOTILT: HOSTILE PINBALL ACTION is a unique Lovcraftian digital pinball creation that you really have to see to understand. I'll place a link to its Steam page below for anyone who wants to check it out. Its fun, I bought it to play on my Steam Deck. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2008980/XENOTILT_HOSTILE_PINBALL_ACTION/#:~:text=XENOTILT%2C%20th _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 14e65c9a-7ad1-493c-add7-a978e80565c1*