# Making of Game of Thrones Pinball - From Stern Pinball

**Source:** Stern Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2016-02-19  
**Duration:** 11m 5s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKECwPs2PBg

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball's official documentary on Game of Thrones pinball development showcases the design philosophy, mechanical innovations, and rule complexity behind the game. Steve Richie (lead designer) and Dwight Sullivan (lead software engineer) discuss the three-phase development process, the unprecedented differences between Pro/Premium/LE versions, and innovative features like the dual-playfield system, dragon mechanics, battering ram, and house-selection strategy. The game emphasizes accessibility for casual players while offering deep strategic depth for competitive players, with theme integration central to the experience.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Steve Richie spent more time on Game of Thrones than any other game in his entire career — _Direct statement by Steve Richie, lead designer, at opening of video_
- [MEDIUM] Game of Thrones LE has full-size flippers on upper playfield, potentially first time this has been done — _Steve Richie states 'I don't know if it's ever been done' regarding full-size flippers on upper playfield_
- [HIGH] LE multiball feature is exclusive to LE/Premium, not available in Pro version — _Direct statement: 'I think for the first time the LE will get a multiball that the Pro doesn't have'_
- [HIGH] Game of Thrones is one of the biggest differences between Pro and LE/Premium tiers in Stern history — _Steve Richie: 'I think for the first time ever we have one of the biggest differences between the Pro and the LE and the Premium'_
- [HIGH] Dragon mechanism differs between Pro and LE: LE uses cam-driven spur gears with linkages, Pro uses solenoid-driven mechanism — _Detailed mechanical explanation of dragon drive systems by designer_
- [HIGH] Upper playfield features 2X and 3X playfield multipliers not available on lower playfield — _Steve Richie describes upper playfield rules: 'this playfield will have different playfield multipliers two x and a 3X'_
- [HIGH] Pop bumpers feature slot machine mechanic with locking tiles when two match — _Description of pop bumper rule: 'each pop bumper represents a tile on the slot machine' and 'when two of them are the same they lock in'_
- [HIGH] Game includes house selection at start with power-up incentives tied to each house — _Dwight Sullivan: 'we added a reason to pick a different house at the beginning of the game there's a power up if you will different from house to house'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I spent more time on this game than any other in my entire career it's sort of in three phases we kind of figure out what do we want to do how do we make a game out of that and then we make it fun and entertaining"
> — **Steve Richie (Lead Designer)**, Opening
> _Establishes the scope and development process for Game of Thrones; indicates this is Richie's most ambitious project_

> "the theme has to be well integrated into the pinball side for it to be a great game and of course we want to make great games"
> — **Steve Richie**, Early
> _Core design philosophy: theme-gameplay integration is essential for quality_

> "I think for the first time ever we have one of the biggest differences between the Pro and the LE and the Premium the Pro is everything you want in a pinball machine and then the LE just basically stacks on top of it one more level of gameplay"
> — **Steve Richie**, Mid
> _Unprecedented tier differentiation; LE adds complete upper playfield with separate rules_

> "I don't know if it's ever been done...usually another playfield has the short flippers this has actual full size flippers"
> — **Steve Richie**, Upper playfield section
> _Potential innovation: full-size flippers on upper playfield may be first in pinball history_

> "it's like the Taj Mahal of pinball and then we got some toppers in the works that will also add to that"
> — **Steve Richie**, Upper playfield description
> _Indicates Game of Thrones LE is positioned as pinnacle mechanical achievement; additional toppers planned_

> "I want people out there debating you know no no if you pick Lannisters and then you battle with the Greyjoys and the Martell together during Blackwater multiball that's the way to go and I want five guys to disagree with him"
> — **Dwight Sullivan**, Rule complexity section
> _Design goal: create competitive debate around optimal strategy; hallmark of deep rule design_

> "there's nowhere in the game where the ball is just not doing anything you're always hitting something collecting gold going up a ramp doing something so it's fun"
> — **Steve Richie**, Late game design
> _Flow philosophy: continuous engagement; no dead time in playfield_

> "it's easy for somebody to walk up and start playing and then the deeper you get into it the more gameplay you'll get out of it it's one of those games that will suck you in and you'll keep coming back to it"
> — **Steve Richie**, Accessibility section
> _Dual appeal: accessible to casual players while offering depth for enthusiasts_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Steve Richie | person | Game designer and team leader of Game of Thrones pinball at Stern; spent more time on this project than any other in his career; designed multiple licensed games over 17 years at Stern |
| Dwight Sullivan | person | Lead software engineer at Stern Pinball; code designer for Game of Thrones; contributes to rule design and feature implementation |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Game of Thrones pinball; major pinball manufacturer |
| Game of Thrones Pinball | game | Licensed pinball machine based on HBO's Game of Thrones series; features three tier variants (Pro/Premium/LE); includes dragon mechanics, dual playfields, sword multiball, and house selection system |
| Game of Thrones | ip | HBO television series and book franchise; licensed IP for the pinball machine; described as 'one of the most popular shows' with 'awesome action and excitement sweeping huge battles nights swords magic dragons' |
| HBO | company | Licensor of Game of Thrones IP; provided dragon assets from show for animation and video incorporation |
| Iron Throne | game_feature | Primary objective in Game of Thrones pinball; ball travels via elevator and ramp to sit in throne; represents king of Westeros goal |
| Blackwater | game_feature | Multiball mode in Game of Thrones pinball; referenced in context of strategic decision-making (combining house battles during Blackwater multiball) |
| Dragon mechanic | game_feature | Playfield mechanism featuring animated dragon that flaps and reacts to hits; different implementations in Pro (solenoid-driven) vs LE (cam-driven with spur gears); flies and screams; described as one of coolest mechanical features |
| Battering Ram | game_feature | Mechanical unit simulating castle door breaking; risk-reward element where hitting it correctly sends ball back at player; thematically represents breaking down castle doors |
| Sword mechanism | game_feature | Multiball starter; crossing gate design; integrated into game theme |
| Upper Playfield | game_feature | LE-exclusive playfield with full-size flippers, 2X and 3X multipliers, separate rule set; accessed via elevator; features dragon and castle/house battles; potentially first upper playfield with full-size flippers |
| House selection | game_mechanic | Player chooses family/house at game start (Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, Greyjoys, Martells, Tyrells, Dorne); each has power-up incentive; affects gameplay path and strategy |
| Pop bumper slot machine | game_mechanic | Innovative pop bumper implementation where bumpers represent slot machine tiles; matching two locks them; matching three provides award; thematic naming planned |
| Jet bumper transformation | game_mechanic | Each jet bumper represents different thing; they change as you progress; when two match they lock in; when three match provides award; alternative to standard leveling system |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Game design philosophy and development process, Pro/Premium/LE tier differentiation strategy, Mechanical innovations (dragon, battering ram, sword, upper playfield), Rule complexity and strategic depth, Theme-to-gameplay integration
- **Secondary:** Accessibility vs. competitive depth balance, LED lighting system capabilities, Game of Thrones IP licensing and show integration

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Developers express genuine enthusiasm and pride in the project. Multiple superlatives used ('coolest,' 'awesome,' 'best'). Tone is confident and celebratory about innovations. No critical perspectives or concerns voiced; this is official promotional content from manufacturer.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Developer explicitly designs for community debate and discussion: wants to see players arguing about optimal strategy (e.g., 'Lannisters + Greyjoys + Martell during Blackwater multiball') with disagreement encouraged (confidence: high) — Dwight Sullivan: 'I want people out there debating...I want five guys to disagree with him and if I ever see that conversation I've succeeded'
- **[design_innovation]** Multiple rule innovations mentioned: pop bumper slot machine mechanic with locking tiles, jet bumper transformation system, mode selection with pass-through option for strategic stacking, overlapping mission completion, house-selection power-ups tied to gameplay paths (confidence: high) — Multiple design features discussed: 'each pop bumper represents a tile on the slot machine...when two of them are the same they lock in' and ability to 'pass' on mode selection to stack with multiball
- **[design_philosophy]** Continuous ball engagement philosophy: every moment of gameplay involves hitting, collecting, or moving; no dead time on playfield to maintain entertainment value (confidence: high) — Steve Richie: 'there's nowhere in the game where the ball is just not doing anything you're always hitting something collecting gold going up a ramp doing something so it's fun'
- **[design_philosophy]** Game of Thrones pinball explicitly designed with three-tier accessibility: casual players can enjoy playfield flow without rules mastery; intermediate players get tactical decision-making; advanced players engage with deep strategic stacking and mode interaction optimization (confidence: high) — Steve Richie: 'it's easy for somebody to walk up and start playing and then the deeper you get into it the more gameplay you'll get out of it' and 'we try to make games so that the lower level player and the middle level player and the high-end player all have things to do'
- **[licensing_signal]** HBO provided dragon assets from show for animation integration; Stern incorporated actual show dragon into mechanical playfield feature and video content (confidence: high) — Steve Richie: 'HBO got us the dragon that was in the show so we could animate it and incorporate into our videos probably one of the best dragons on any show'
- **[personnel_signal]** Steve Richie spent more development time on Game of Thrones than any other game in entire career, indicating this project received exceptional resources and focus compared to prior work (confidence: high) — Steve Richie opening statement: 'I spent more time on this game than any other in my entire career'
- **[product_strategy]** Game of Thrones represents unprecedented tier separation at Stern: Pro contains full base game; Premium adds features; LE adds entire upper playfield with separate rule set and exclusive multiball mode — claimed as 'one of the biggest differences' between tiers in Stern history (confidence: high) — Steve Richie: 'I think for the first time ever we have one of the biggest differences between the Pro and the LE and the Premium' and 'I think for the first time the LE will get a multiball that the Pro doesn't have'
- **[technology_signal]** Full-size flippers on upper playfield may represent first implementation in pinball history; designer states uncertainty about precedent but indicates this is novel mechanical design (confidence: medium) — Steve Richie: 'I don't know if it's ever been done I think it does make it challenging it's advanced like Stewie's pinball was cool and Family Guy this is like twice that'

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## Transcript

it's been fun to make but a long haul very long haul I spent more time on this game than any other in my entire career it's sort of in three phases we kind of figure out what do we want to do how do we make a game out of that and then we make it fun and entertaining we're also trying to come up with um some very Innovative things um hi my name is Dwight Sullivan um I'm a lead software engineer for Stern Pinball I'm currently working on the Game of Thrones project which is pretty awesome I'm Steve Ritchie I'm a game designer and I'm the team leader of game of Thrones pinball there's two halves to every game there's the pinball side where it's mostly about how do I score how do I start multiball how do I start jackpot and then there's the theme the theme has to be well integrated into the pinball side for to being a great game and of course we want to make great games in the past I've worked pretty much on the same licenses over and over and over again for the last like 17 years now that I'm here at Stern I get to experience all these different genres Game of Thrones is one of my favorite shows this is great I mean who doesn't like a good Dragon Story people love it I'm a huge game of Fells fan everybody everywhere knows about Game of Thrones it's an awesome book and then HBO made an awesome show it's like one of the most popular shows right now and it's on a channel that you have to pay to watch it's a show with Fantastic action and excitement sweeping huge battles nights swords it's got magic it's got dragons it's bloody sex violence you name it it is I think for the first time ever we have one of the biggest differences between the pro and the Le and the premium the pro is everything you want in a pinball machine and then the Le just basically stacks on top of it one more level of gameplay awesome Steve Ritchie shots it's got a dragon that flies and screams there's a dragon I'll tell you that and flaps it swings reacts to hits originally when we started designing the dragon it was for the Ellie then we decided to go for the pro we had a little more room to play with so we changed ched up the design a little bit that was a fun little Mech to do HBO got us the dragon that was in the show so we could animate it and incorporate into our videos probably one of the best dragons on any show actually being able to see it in person and manipulate it for our videos and have it do what we want it to do is is like I think is the coolest thing exra ball um it's got a sword mechanism for multiball it's kind of like a crossing gate it's got a battering ram unit you smash the ball into it and it smacks into a Target battering ram is pretty cool mainly because you hit it just right it's rewarding but it also sends the ball back at you it's a you know risk reward thing it's like breaking down Castle doors you just kind of bang on the on the on the battering ram so I think the pro is awesome totally proud of it this is one of the coolest Le's we've ever done in addition to all of that the Le has a large upper Playfield an upper Playfield that's pretty crazy that's huge with two full size Clippers this Playfield will have different Playfield multipliers two x and a 3X you're going to battle castles and houses and dragons and white walkers all up here and then there'll be game rules reasons to go up here just during main play when you're not in a battle and you just want to do stuff usually another Playfield has the short flippers this has actual fulls size fets I don't know if it's ever been done I think it does make it challenging it's Advanced Stewie's pinball was cool and Family Guy this is like twice that like Star Trek every single light is going to be able to be any color we can make the whole Playfield red when you get a jackpot we can make the whole play Field Green when you get a lock is it convenient for you to fire off that extra braw effect yeah this is very cool and you want a movie of it choose so what should I focus on the play WoW ball I'll do it again it has a nice elevator that brings the ball up to two different levels either up to the upper play field or off to the Iron Throne where you may visit or where you finally end up that's the goal of the game to reach the Iron Throne the ball actually goes down a ramp and into the Thrones you can sit your ball as king of Westeros this one has it all it's like the Taj mahall of pinball and then we got some Toppers in the works that will also add to that I know I've ordered my machine it's spectacular of a Kind machine so we had to do a whole another set of rules just for the Le just for the premium I think that's a new thing I think for the first time the Le will get a multiball that the pro doesn't have I have a few favorite features one of the things that my team and I did just recently is we added a reason to pick a different house at the beginning of the game there's a power up if you will different from house to house so right off the bat you're making a decision about what am I going to do what's the path I'm going to take how do I like to play this game you choose your house the targaryens are a family as well as well they're the seventh family but you can't play them you always have to battle the targaryens in fact we're making that more special than any of the other families one of the cool features I like is the pop bumpers kind of play a slot machine game where each pop bumper represents a tile on the slot machine it makes it more than just leveling up your pop bumpers another Innovative thing it's been done only a couple times before I'm calling piop pops here but it's going to have a more thetic name basically what it is is each jet bumper is a different thing and as you go they change and then when two of them are the same they lock in and then when you get off three they give you that award so that's kind of a fun thing that's not just 13 more for this and 17 more for that and level three I'm going to say it's probably my dragon overseeing the battle I love battling the dragon it's fun it's also you know kind of scary in terms of pinball scary if there's such a thing cuz who doesn't like a dragon on the play field you have the game of thron dragons here there are going to be two they're both derivative of the same type of mechanism two Spur Gears driven by a camp it originally started off with just a pair of wings being mounted on two linkages basically as you see the dragon is slapping because of the two spur your linkages there's basically your cam now the pro is different the pro will be driven by a soul from underneath so the motion will be larger the Del linkages will be similar with regard to the spur but the action will be different it's kind of similar to the car engine the cylinder this goes back to my previous experience as a gear engineer all right your objective always is to try to reach the Iron Throne first of all you pick a family and I play the game by battling other families to try and get the iron throne I would like to command the Seven Kingdoms and you also would love to be a megalomaniac and control the world from the iron trone it's an adversarial game again and I hate to say it but I love them there's actually a bunch of overlapping rule sets so you can play each mode individually or play houses versus each other if they have overlapping missions you can actually complete multiple things at the same time pretend that these are colorcoded on the real artwork each of these has a color around them shoot orange to light orange and shoot red to light red so that's one two more to light house if you shoot the dragon that's the targaryens of course two more to light targaryens one more targaryens are lit Lannisters are lit this is one of the things that's sort of innovative you light modes and then you can pick which one you want to play like you can say I want to battle the Lannisters I want to battle the barians or I can battle the targaryens and the Lannisters together or you can pass that's another Innovative thing that we're going to do like I don't want to play any mode right now because I want to stack them with multiball or I want to put a different set together because that makes sense and what I want to do strategically in the game all of that's kind of advanced you don't need to know any strategy to actually have fun but we're wanting to have the strategies there there are ways to collect scores and there's ways to build those scores up and make them gigantic what I want is people out there debating you know no no if you pick Lannisters and then you battle with the Grey Joys and the Martel together during Blackwater multiball that's the way to go and I want Five Guys to disagree with him and and if I've if I ever see that conversation I've succeeded we try to make games so that the lower level player and the middle level player and the highend player all have things to do so I want two things they had fun I always hope that a player has fun he has to have fun I hope they get a good amount of fun from the pinball aspect but also get an idea of what Game of Thrones is like and they should especially with everything that we're doing it's action-packed games need to supply entertainment to enthusiasts who buy them I want to make sure that the game is jam-packed with fun great experiences memorable things that happen and challenges that well if you don't make it all the way you just go I have to get that I'm going to keep trying they can't wait to play again there's always one more thing you didn't do you need to come back and do you need to play again there's nowhere in the game where the ball is just not doing anything you're always hitting something collecting gold going up a ramp doing something so it's fun I think they'll have a lot of fun I think just the Playfield itself like if we had no rules I think people would still like it cuz there's so much on this Playfield it's incredible the thing I really like about this it's easy for somebody to walk up and start playing and then the deeper you get into it the more gameplay you'll get out of it it's one of those games that will suck you in and you'll keep coming back to it I think this has potential it has more potential than any game I've ever worked on it has an a license right the show is awesome everybody loves it and then pinball wise it's got a layout that's classic it's got lots of flow and then we're trying some pretty Innovative stuff only a couple of which I've showed you I think it's pretty awesome what character would I be which is a slightly different question than what's my favorite character oh man wow Jon Snow of course he does have a tough life but what a challenge it would have been joh snow if he hadn't got killed hopefully he'll come back as maybe a wolf or maybe as a zombie I think I wouldn't mind being Joffrey just because he's so mean I would love to be that mean Hodo actually no I take back cuz I hate BR I'm going to go with Tywin I like him I would say I want to be an Ice Spider but I have not seen those yet I've heard tale of them I would probably be the Ice King man who wouldn't want to raise the dead that one scene in that show was awesome he's like I'm at your docks raising your dead you know what are you going to do about it I think I would be Tyrion cuz I'm not a fighter I'm I'm a thinker and I like manipulating things behind the scenes one of my favorite characters though is Arya I relate to her too I think hands down Arya is my favorite character anytime you got like a 13-year-old girl sticking people with swords thumbs up she's like a stealthy medieval ninja oh sir would you like to buy some oysters stick stick what family do I relate to most H oh God they're all dysfunctional it's a lot like my family all right so the Lannisters are corrupt and evil Lannisters are just creepy Lannister maybe because of Tyrion Bolton are even creepier and the Grey Joys are just bad nobody wants to be the Great the gy joys are pretty creepy we had to go through there and try to find something to represented the Grey Joys it was tough and the Starks keep getting beheaded I would have to say I would align with the Starks but they seem to die at a kind a crazy rate the barians can't win a fight but the Martel they've been sitting back and they've been biting their time they've got their own strong beliefs and World Views and I think I can relate to that the Caines of course they're the most brutal weird nasty people on earth I guess probably the Starks I guess I'd have to stay with the Starks they're about the only ones with a moral compass that's still TR true which is also part of their downfall I guess it would be the Starks got a very Regal Noble background and they're fighting back possibly the Starks my for real Z's last name is Zac Stark so I kind of have to go with Zac Stark but at the same time I don't want to die that's a problem what do you feel is your biggest accomplishment on this I got to play with a sword

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3dd70aea-0949-422a-8814-2f5f42c541cb*