# Transformers Pinball Documentary - PART ONE (OFFICIAL RELEASE) **Source:** Stern Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2011-10-21 **Duration:** 2m 57s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfLjJM7RSr4 --- ## Analysis Official Stern Pinball documentary introducing the Transformers Pinball development team and their roles. George Gomez (VP of Game Development) leads a multidisciplinary team including mechanical engineers (John Rothermel), software engineers (Lonnie D. Ropp), animators (Mark Galdez), and sound designers (Dave). The documentary details the tools, processes, and organizational structure used to develop modern pinball games at Stern. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] George Gomez is Vice President of Game Development at Stern Pinball — _Self-identification in official Stern documentary_ - [HIGH] Stern's development staff comprises people with double E (electrical engineering) or CS (computer science) degrees — _John Rothermel's statement about staff qualifications_ - [HIGH] Stern uses proprietary tools, Solid Works for 3D modeling, C/C++ programming, SlickEdit for coding, and Photoshop/Illustrator for graphics — _Detailed technical toolchain description by development team_ - [HIGH] George Gomez is the primary design vision/source for pinball games at Stern, with Lonnie Ropp managing software engineering and Waison and Lonnie as programmers — _Organizational hierarchy described by multiple team members_ - [HIGH] Stern creates dot matrix animations by grabbing footage from films frame-by-frame and scaling down to deluxe paint anime format — _Mark Galdez's description of animation workflow_ ### Notable Quotes > "George is really the source of everything that has to do with the game. That's his vision. Most of what you would call the pure design comes from him." > — **John Rothermel** > _Establishes George Gomez as the creative lead and primary design authority for Transformers Pinball_ > "When it all comes together, it just makes one great." > — **John Rothermel** > _Emphasizes the collaborative, integrated approach to pinball game development at Stern_ > "Lonnie is my immediate superior. He basically manages the game, makes the decisions. He obviously writes the software that drives the game." > — **John Rothermel** > _Clarifies Lonnie D. Ropp's role as software engineering manager and decision-maker below Gomez_ > "We talk all the time about what the game should be and what it should have and what would be fun." > — **John Rothermel** > _Illustrates the iterative design and communication process between mechanical and software teams_ > "They have this device that plugs in from my computer to the pinball machine directly. It communicates between my machine and the pinball machine in order to debug code." > — **Lonnie D. Ropp or Mark Galdez** > _Describes Stern's hardware-software debugging infrastructure for real-time game development_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | George Gomez | person | Vice President of Game Development at Stern Pinball; primary creative vision and design authority for Transformers Pinball | | John Rothermel | person | Mechanical Engineering Manager at Stern Pinball; manages mechanical design components and ensures manufacturability | | Lonnie D. Ropp | person | Director of Software at Stern Pinball; software engineering manager responsible for game management decisions and core programming | | Mark Galdez | person | Dot Matrix Animator at Stern Pinball; creates animations and dot matrix artwork for games | | Waison | person | Programmer at Stern Pinball; works on game rules and design implementation | | Chang | person | New hire at Stern Pinball; responsible for most dot matrix work | | J. Masset | person | Team member at Stern Pinball; specific role unclear from transcript | | Dave | person | Sound/Music/Speech Designer at Stern Pinball; handles audio production and voice work | | Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer developing Transformers Pinball with multidisciplinary engineering and design team | | Transformers Pinball | game | Pinball game in development at Stern, subject of official documentary | ### Topics - **Primary:** Game Development Organization & Hierarchy, Technical Tools & Software Development, Mechanical Design & Engineering, Audio/Visual Production (Animation, Sound Design), Stern Pinball's Development Workflow - **Secondary:** Design Philosophy & Creative Process ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Documentary presents Stern's development team in a professional, collaborative light. Team members express enthusiasm for their work and pride in the integrated development process. Tone is celebratory of both individual expertise and collective achievement. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Stern Pinball releasing official documentary content featuring development team members, tools, and workflow, demonstrating commitment to transparency and community education about game development process (confidence: high) — Official Stern Pinball release of Transformers Pinball documentary featuring named team members discussing roles and technical processes - **[design_philosophy]** Stern's collaborative design approach emphasizes iterative communication between mechanical and software teams, with George Gomez establishing vision and Lonnie Ropp managing technical implementation (confidence: high) — John Rothermel: 'We talk all the time about what the game should be and what it should have and what would be fun' - **[personnel_signal]** Documentation of Stern's core development team structure under George Gomez, with established roles for Lonnie D. Ropp (software), John Rothermel (mechanical), and Mark Galdez (animation) (confidence: high) — Multiple team members identified and their specific roles detailed in official company documentary --- ## Transcript I'm George Gomez I'm uh vice president of game development at Stern Pinball my name is John rothel I'm the mechanical engineering manager my name is Lonnie Rob and I'm the director of software was I'm a software engineer here Mark gz and I am the dot matrix animator primarily I program and design uh the software for pball games I'm in charge of all the mechanical design I guide the development efforts uh for all the games um and I also design games what tools and programs well they their proprietary tools that we've written our staff is comprised of people who have double or CS degrees we use 3D modeling tools such as solid works my primary go-to currently is uh solid works we program C C++ we use a tool called slick edit to do our coding on they have this device that plugs in from my computer to the pinball machine directly it communicates between my machine and the pinball machine in order to debug code I use Photoshop I use illustrator when we try to grab footage from films we do scenes literally frame by frame and then scale them down to a deluxe pain anime I sketch in Alias SketchBook Pro there are five of us on the page Lonnie Ro is my Co designer he's responsible for all the software engineering Lonnie is my immediate Superior he basically manages the game makes the decisions he obviously writes the software that drives the game we talk all the time about what the game should be and what it should have and what would be fun above him is George Gomez who's actually designing the game he's the head honcho the big mad scientist guy George is really the source of everything that has to do with the game that's his vision most of the what you would call the pure design comes from him and then there's Wason and Lonnie who are the programmers they make up all the rules and make the game coolon Chang he's a new hire that we've had here and he's doing most of the dot matrix work Mark Galvez is doing all of the dot matrix art any animations J Masset John Ral is the mechanical engineer at my level even though I'm the manager I'm also a mechanical designer I take care of Designing the components taking the mechanisms that he visions and make them manufacturable Dave the is doing the sounds music speech that just gives that next level of entertainment for the game I think that's everyone everyone has a crucial part when it all comes together it just makes one great _(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 4a7635f7-c5e4-49e1-86e1-1cd009ff0347*