# Pinball Omnibus: Episode 3

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2021-05-04  
**Duration:** 9m 50s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksoQBm7bxWo

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy reviews recent pinball industry developments including Steve Ritchie's podcast appearance discussing Led Zeppelin and Black Knight design freedom, community drama between Zach and Dealt on The Pinball Show, Haggis Pinball's transparency with Fathom updates and Reflecto Cab artwork reveals, John Rothermel's interview on mechanical engineering philosophy, Spooky Pinball's next game announcement before August, and Stern's official confirmation of Mandalorian as their next title. Hardy also updates his Johnny Mnemonic playfield restoration project.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Steve Ritchie said Led Zeppelin was his dream theme — _Ritchie appeared on Loser Kid Pinball Podcast and discussed this with Hardy referencing the full episode_
- [HIGH] Steve Ritchie was relieved to design Black Knight Sword of Rage because it gave him much more freedom from a licensor — _Ritchie stated on Loser Kid Pinball Podcast that previous two licensors in a row were very hard to work with, implying Star Wars and Game of Thrones_
- [HIGH] Spooky Pinball's next game will be revealed before August — _Spooky Pinball stated in official YouTube video that their next game will be revealed before August and will be their most stacked and loaded game to date_
- [HIGH] Stern has officially confirmed Mandalorian as their next title — _Stern began a 'May the Force Be With You' stream confirming Mandalorian as their next title_
- [HIGH] John Rothermel states that designers come up with mech ideas and engineers execute them, with cost often limiting final implementation — _John Rothermel, Director of Mechanical Engineering, discussed this in TPS interview_

### Notable Quotes

> "Led Zeppelin was his dream theme"
> — **Steve Ritchie**, ~2:30
> _Reveals Ritchie's long-held creative ambitions for pinball game themes_

> "He was relieved to do that game because that gave him much more freedom from a licensor"
> — **Cary Hardy (paraphrasing Steve Ritchie)**, ~2:45
> _Indicates licensing constraints on previous titles (Star Wars/Game of Thrones) limited Ritchie's design freedom_

> "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove"
> — **Zach**, ~5:30
> _Core argument in Pinball Show drama episode about substantiating claims with evidence_

> "Their next game, which also noted in their video, will be revealed before August...this upcoming game will be their most stacked and loaded game to date"
> — **Cary Hardy (reporting Spooky Pinball)**, ~15:15
> _Official timeline and positioning for Spooky's next release_

> "Metal ramps, although are durable, they also limit them to what they can put into a game, whereas plastic ramps gives them much more freedom to do whatever"
> — **John Rothermel**, ~11:20
> _Technical design philosophy explaining trade-offs between ramp material choices and gameplay possibilities_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer who appeared on Loser Kid Pinball Podcast discussing Led Zeppelin dreams and Black Knight Sword of Rage design freedom |
| Cary Hardy | person | Pinball content creator hosting Pinball Omnibus series, currently restoring Johnny Mnemonic playfield |
| John Rothermel | person | Director of Mechanical Engineering, interviewed by TPS about mech design philosophy and cost constraints |
| Zach | person | Participant in Pinball Show drama episode discussing evidence-based claims in pinball community |
| Dealt | person | Co-participant in heated drama episode on The Pinball Show with Zach |
| Stern Pinball | company | Announced Mandalorian as their next official title with May the Force Be With You stream |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Announced next game will be revealed before August and described as most stacked and loaded game to date |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Released videos showing Reflecto Cab artwork and Fathom trailer, known for transparency in production updates |
| Black Knight Sword of Rage | game | Steve Ritchie-designed game that gave him freedom after restrictive previous licensors |
| Mandalorian | game | Stern Pinball's officially confirmed next title, announced via May the Force Be With You stream |
| Fathom | game | Haggis Pinball game receiving production transparency updates and official trailer |
| Johnny Mnemonic | game | Playfield restoration project by Cary Hardy, currently in final clear coat and sanding phase |
| Reflecto Cab | product | Haggis Pinball cabinet artwork with luminescent/light-reactive decals shown in recent videos |
| Loser Kid Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast where Steve Ritchie was interviewed about dream themes and design freedom |
| The Pinball Show | organization | Podcast featuring Zach and Dealt in heated drama episode about evidence and claims |
| TPS | organization | Media outlet that interviewed John Rothermel about mechanical engineering |

### Topics

- **Primary:** New game announcements and confirmations, Designer interviews and creative philosophy, Mechanical engineering and game design constraints
- **Secondary:** Manufacturer transparency and community engagement, Community drama and evidence-based discourse, Playfield restoration and customization, Licensing constraints on game design

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Generally optimistic about upcoming releases (Mandalorian, Spooky) and appreciative of designer/industry transparency. Mild criticism of Haggis' delayed promotional timing. Positive about personal restoration progress. Community drama noted but treated as interesting rather than condemning.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** The Pinball Show episode featuring Zach and Dealt generated heated debate about substantiating claims with evidence vs. speculation (confidence: medium) — Hardy describes moment as 'showdown' where Zach emphasized 'It's not what you know, it's what you can prove' regarding factual claims
- **[design_philosophy]** Mechanical ramp material choice (metal vs plastic) significantly impacts design freedom; plastic allows more creative possibilities despite metal durability benefits (confidence: high) — John Rothermel explained metal ramps limit design options while plastic ramps provide 'much more freedom to do whatever'
- **[licensing_signal]** Steve Ritchie experienced restrictive licensing constraints on previous two titles (implied Star Wars and Game of Thrones), finding relief in Black Knight Sword of Rage's freedom (confidence: high) — Ritchie stated previous two licensors were 'very hard to work with' and Black Knight gave him 'much more freedom from a licensor'
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Haggis Pinball maintaining transparent production updates for Fathom with consistent playfield progress reveals (confidence: high) — Hardy notes Haggis has 'been very transparent in what they are doing' and released Reflecto Cab artwork and Fathom trailer videos showing production details
- **[market_signal]** Haggis Pinball released Fathom trailer after initial reveal rather than simultaneously, suggesting suboptimal promotional timing (confidence: medium) — Hardy notes Fathom trailer 'should have been released on their reveal day, but, oh well, it is what it is'
- **[personnel_signal]** John Rothermel identified as Director of Mechanical Engineering providing insight into mech design decision-making and cost-benefit trade-offs (confidence: high) — TPS interview features Rothermel discussing designer creativity vs. engineer execution constrained by production costs
- **[announcement]** Stern Pinball officially confirmed Mandalorian as their next title via May the Force Be With You stream (confidence: high) — Stern began official stream announcing Mandalorian, moving it from speculation to confirmed status
- **[product_strategy]** Spooky Pinball's next game will be revealed before August and is described as their most feature-rich release to date (confidence: high) — Spooky Pinball stated in official YouTube video next game reveals before August and will be 'most stacked and loaded game to date'

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## Transcript

 Well, it's official that this is the way. What's up guys, welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball. So, if that sounds interesting to you, then hit that subscribe button down below. Welcome to Pinball Omnibus episode 3, where I talk about a lot of things going on in this hobby in a short amount of time. So let's get started. As per usual, all sources to this information will be linked in the description down below. First up I have Steve Ritchie was on Kevin Loza Kid Pinball Podcast. They talked for a good hour I want to say. But a couple of notes that I just want to mention to head you over there in case you want to hear the entire thing. Is that he said that Led Zeppelin was his dream theme. Okay. He also talks about Black Knight Sword of Rage and how he was relieved to do that game because that gave him much more freedom from a licensor. He said that he really wanted to do Black Knight because the previous two licensors in a row were very hard to work with. he didn't state their names but it leans towards the two previous titles being star wars and game of thrones next up on the list is pinball drama and believe me if you want to hear some drama then by all means head over to the pinball show the previous episode with zach and dealt was a little bit of a showdown it got pretty interesting in certain spots i was driving and there was a certain moment that happened where I was like, whoa. My point is... You have no fucking evidence. Here's what I get soft about. I get soft about bullshit fucking people who state shit that's not facts. It's not facts. I don't know why you got to do it in front of the kid with the effing. Why do you say earmuffs to him? Earmuffs. Then you can say fuck, shit, bitch, whatever you want. Things are getting a little emotional here. Definitely many times through this discussion I'm going to call it, I felt like Zack needed to say this. It's not what you know, it's what you can prove. And evidently many times throughout this discussion at that And Haggis has released a couple of videos since our last omnibus and one of them is showing off the Reflecto Cab artwork or the decals whether it's paint, I don't know, I'm going to assume it's decals, but it's basically showing off how luminescent it is and reactive to light. And they also released a trailer for their Fathom, like an actual video going over the game, which I feel should have been released on their reveal day, but, oh well, it is what it is. But I honestly feel that throughout this entire process of them doing Fathom and everything, Haggis has, in the past, been very transparent in what they are doing and what they are working on while they are working on it. Showing off all the things that they are working on when it comes to the playfield, protection layer, and stuff like that. I feel that they don't have a reason to hide anything. I would agree so what is it going to hurt to show everyone out there hey just so you know this is what the game is going to look like hey just so you know this is what we are working on putting in the games right now so I feel like you're definitely going to get consistent updates with them showing off what the game is looking like in production and stuff like that so if you want more updates from them directly at a timely manner instead of getting it from me then by all means head to their YouTube channel down below and subscribe that way you will get updates and next on the list we have tps interviews they interviewed john rothermel that's gonna say his name right i must hope i didn't mess it up john rothermel he is the director of mechanical engineering and honestly i really enjoyed this interview because they were interviewing somebody that is in my field so it really like i was hanging on every word of what they were talking about so it was very interesting to hear him speak about a lot of things when it comes to designing mechs and things that he worked on in previous games and also something to note on a game that's coming up he states their next impressive mech is in an upcoming game now i don't think that's going to be in their next title which was actually just revealed today i'm thinking it's probably going to be the game after this title if it's in this next game then great by all means i hope it is impressive but chances are it's not going to be in this next game that we are going to go over here just a little bit And he also states that designers are the ones that come up with a lot of these mech ideas and things that they want to put into their game And the engineers will begin doing it and as they get further into it it turns into like well we can because of cost It's like not that they just can't do it, it's just the price it's going to cost to go on to putting it into the game. He also states that metal ramps, although are durable, they also limit them to what they can put into a game, whereas plastic ramps gives them much more freedom to do whatever. Spooky Pinball has put up a video on their YouTube channel talking about a number of things, but a couple of things to take note of is that they said that their next game, which also noted in their video, will be revealed before August. So we're looking at, you know, July is where I think they were already kind of saying summertime. So, but from what they say in the video, it looks like we're going to be getting it at least before August. And this upcoming game will be their most stacked and loaded game to date. So that's good to hear. And as of today, Stern has officially given us the coming soon for their next title, which can no longer be a rumor. it is now in stone that it is Mandalorian. So Stern just started up a May the Force Be With You stream. Okay, so. There it is! all right i i there you go there's the official announcement that's that's all the information that we got at this point if so far when it comes to rumors and speculations from kaneda we are still on course from what it was being one the possible teaser to what the theme was So if the third is correct, we should get all the information we need coming this time next week on the 11th. And we'll wrap it up here with a little update on my Johnny Demonic. I have applied the final coat of clear and I actually in the process of doing the sanding as we speak I taking a break from the sanding outside coming in here to do this video So chances are I going to get it all down to about 3,000 grit before the day is done and then it will sit for probably two weeks at least. We'll see how hard the clear is by that time. If I feel that the clear has completely cured before then then i'll move on to polishing but uh but yeah and i'm not gonna lie guys this play field looks pretty dang good i'll tell you what i'll give you a little sneak uh teaser right here i'm really happy with how it came out all the touch-ups and everything that i had to do went over really well. I planned to do an airbrushing video. Whoa. Uh-oh. It looks like I'm losing electricity. So that's something interesting. Don't know how long this is gonna last guys that was enough of a drop in voltage that my pinball machines reset on me so okie dokie anyways as i was saying i plan on doing an airbrushing video showing you how i went about doing certain um like airbrushing techniques as well as you know touch-ups and everything for this johnny mnemonic i'm probably going to do that one for straight down the middle and i believe that's going to be it for pinball omnibus episode three if you like what you've seen here give me the thumbs up it really helps out the channel by all means hit that subscribe button if you haven't already ding the dong so that way you can be notified whenever i upload something for your viewing pleasure and until next time guys peace out Thank you.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 296d21da-1e6a-457c-a855-ddc2efa520c4*