# PINBALL EXPO 2018 - SATURDAY

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2018-10-20  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2018/10/20/pinball-expo-2018-saturday

---

## Analysis

Coverage of Saturday at Pinball Expo 2018 (October 17-20, Westin Chicago North Shore), featuring seminars from industry figures including Mirco Stefan on playfield manufacturing, Jack Danger on streaming/content creation, Scott Danesi and Charlie Emery on homebrew/Spooky development, Keith Elwin on game design, Steve Ritchie's confessional, and George Gomez's Deadpool design presentation. The day concluded with Stern-O-Rama featuring playable Deadpool machines and announcements of upcoming code updates.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Mirco Playfields has developed a fully-robotic system for playfield manufacturing including cutting, insert placement, printing, and clearcoating with no minimum production run required — _Mirco Stefan seminar presentation on playfield manufacturing technology_
- [HIGH] Scott Danesi's Total Nuclear Annihilation was his first game; his second game Haunted House Party! is planned as the next Spooky Pinball game after Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle — _Scott Danesi and Charlie Emery seminar on Total Nuclear Annihilation and upcoming Spooky releases_
- [HIGH] George Gomez announced V1.0 updates coming soon for Deadpool, Batman 66, and additional updates for Iron Maiden and Kiss — _George Gomez Deadpool design seminar conclusion_
- [HIGH] George Gomez stated Ghostbusters updates have been delayed because the original coder handles updates and becomes unavailable when tied up with other projects — _George Gomez seminar on code update bottlenecks_
- [HIGH] Jack Danger transitioned from running an animation studio and streaming to making streaming his primary job and building a custom pinball machine — _Jack Danger seminar on career path and personal projects_

### Notable Quotes

> "He said they don't really have a minimum production run, as long as they have the CAD file and the artwork they can do individual or custom playfields."
> — **Mirco Stefan (paraphrased by reporter)**, Saturday morning seminars
> _Indicates manufacturing flexibility and potential accessibility for smaller/custom playfield orders_

> "Jack has since given up the animation work and streaming is now his primary job."
> — **Article author describing Jack Danger's career**, Jack Danger seminar section
> _Documents the viability of pinball streaming/content creation as a full-time career_

> "For the second game, Scott will do the designing, prototyping and engineering, while the rules, software, storyboarding, animations and audio will be done by others – mostly at Spooky."
> — **Article author summarizing Scott Danesi's process**, Scott Danesi seminar section
> _Shows division of labor between homebrew designer and manufacturer on Spooky's upcoming title_

> "He said updates to Ghostbusters have been delayed because the original coder does the updates and if they are tied up with other projects, the update has to wait."
> — **George Gomez (paraphrased by reporter)**, George Gomez final seminar
> _Reveals code update bottleneck issue tied to single developer availability at Stern_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Mirco Stefan | person | Founder/operator of Mirco Playfields; presented on advanced robotic playfield manufacturing technology |
| Mirco Playfields | company | Playfield manufacturing company with fully-robotic production system for cutting, insert placement, printing, and clearcoating |
| Will Russo | person | Chicago pinball league organizer; presented on local league structure and requirements |
| Jack Danger | person | Former animation studio owner turned full-time pinball streamer and content creator; builds custom pinball machines |
| Daniel Spolar | person | Co-host of raffle/prize draw at Expo; associated with Project Pinball charity |
| Scott Danesi | person | Designer of Total Nuclear Annihilation; collaborating with Spooky Pinball on Haunted House Party! |
| Total Nuclear Annihilation | game | Scott Danesi's first pinball game; uses Python programming language for rules |
| Haunted House Party! | game | Scott Danesi's second game; planned as next Spooky Pinball release after Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle |
| Charlie Emery | person | Spooky Pinball representative; co-presented with Scott Danesi on homebrew and upcoming titles |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; producing Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle and Haunted House Party! |
| Keith Elwin | person | Tournament player and game designer; presented 'The Road to Game Design' seminar covering custom builds and Iron Maiden design |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer; hosted confessional-format audience participation seminar |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball designer; presented comprehensive Deadpool game design process and announced upcoming code updates |
| Deadpool | game | Stern Pinball game; featured in George Gomez design seminar and Stern-O-Rama launch event |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; hosted Stern-O-Rama event and announced upcoming code updates for multiple titles |
| Batman 66 | game | Stern Pinball game receiving V1.0 code update announcement |
| Iron Maiden | game | Keith Elwin/Steve Ritchie design receiving additional code updates; discussed in Keith's design seminar |
| Kiss | game | Stern Pinball game receiving code updates as announced by George Gomez |
| Ghostbusters | game | Stern Pinball game with delayed code updates due to single developer availability bottleneck |
| Pinball Expo 2018 | event | Premier pinball industry convention held October 17-20, 2018 at Westin Chicago North Shore |
| Project Pinball | organization | Charitable organization benefiting from Pinball Expo raffle fundraiser |
| Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle | game | Spooky Pinball game; upcoming Spooky title Haunted House Party! is planned to follow this release |
| Stern-O-Rama | event | Evening launch event at Pinball Expo 2018 featuring playable Deadpool machines, design team meet-and-greet, free beer, DJ, and two-minute tournament |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Playfield manufacturing technology and production, Game design process and philosophy, Code updates and software development bottlenecks
- **Secondary:** Pinball content creation and streaming as career, Tournament scene and competitive pinball, Homebrew/custom pinball design and builder community
- **Mentioned:** Pinball Expo 2018 event structure and seminars

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.8) — Reporting is factual and event-focused with implicit positivity from speaker diversity, technological showcase, and community engagement activities. No controversies, criticisms, or negative sentiment detected.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Stern Pinball hosting Stern-O-Rama with playable Deadpool machines, design team availability, free beer, DJ, and two-minute tournament for community interaction (confidence: high) — Stern-O-Rama event description: 'the chance to play the latest Deadpool machine, meet the design team, drink free beer and play some competitive pinball, all the the music from a professional DJ.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Scott Danesi handling design/prototyping/engineering on Haunted House Party! while Spooky handles rules, software, storyboarding, animations, and audio — division of creative labor between homebrew designer and manufacturer (confidence: high) — Scott Danesi seminar description of role division: 'For the second game, Scott will do the designing, prototyping and engineering, while the rules, software, storyboarding, animations and audio will be done by others – mostly at Spooky.'
- **[event_signal]** Pinball Expo 2018 Saturday featured 7+ major seminars from industry figures (Mirco Stefan, Will Russo, Jack Danger, Scott Danesi, Charlie Emery, Keith Elwin, Steve Ritchie, George Gomez) with Games Halls, vendor hall, autograph sessions, and competitive events (confidence: high) — Comprehensive coverage of Saturday seminar schedule and event programming
- **[community_signal]** Jack Danger successfully transitioned from animation studio owner to full-time pinball streamer, documenting custom pinball build to inspire others (confidence: high) — Jack Danger seminar: 'Jack has since given up the animation work and streaming is now his primary job. He is also building his own custom pinball which he is documenting and hopes it will inspire others to do the same.'
- **[announcement]** Code update announcements for Deadpool (V1.0), Batman 66, Iron Maiden, and Kiss from George Gomez at Stern-O-Rama event (confidence: high) — George Gomez seminar final remarks: 'He also announced V1.0 updates coming soon for Deadpool, Batman 66 and another update for Iron Maiden and Kiss.'
- **[product_strategy]** Ghostbusters code updates delayed due to single original coder being unavailable when tied up with other projects (confidence: high) — George Gomez statement: 'He said updates to Ghostbusters have been delayed because the original coder does the updates and if they are tied up with other projects, the update has to wait.'
- **[rumor_hype]** Scott Danesi's second game Haunted House Party! confirmed as planned for Spooky Pinball after Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle (confidence: high) — Scott Danesi seminar: 'Scott then spoke about his second game, titled Haunted House Party!, which Scott said is planned to be the next Spooky Pinball game after Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle.'
- **[technology_signal]** Mirco Playfields demonstrates fully-robotic manufacturing system with visual AI for insert sorting and consistency in direct digital printing across materials (confidence: high) — Mirco Stefan presentation on advanced robotics, visual sorting, and multi-material printing capabilities

---

## Transcript

Date: 17th - 20th October, 2018 Location: Westin Chicago North Shore, 601 North Milwaukee Avenue, Wheeling, IL 60090, USA Saturday is the last official day of Pinball Expo, although the tournaments continue into Sunday. We are back in the Seminars Hall for a full day of talks. The first seminar was by Mirco Stefan from Mirco Playfields. ![Mirco Stefan](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/109-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Mirco Stefan He talked about how he first got into making fully-licensed pinball playfields, with the first being Attack from Mars. That router was pretty basic requiring manual changing of the cutting tool, so it wasn’t long before he expanded and developed his own multi-tool router. Now he has a fully-robotic system doing everything from playfield cutting, insert placement and gluing, direct digital printing and clearcoating. He said they have a visual robot for the inserts which can sort through an assortment of inserts, detect the colour and shape of them and sort them so they can be inserted into the appropriate holes. He said they have a new digital printer which can print onto all kinds of different materials using the same printing method to ensure consistency of quality and colour. Mirco said they don’t really have a minimum production run, as long as they have the CAD file and the artwork they can do individual or custom playfields. VIDEO Next to the stage was Will Russo who was talking about the league scene in Chicago. ![Will Russo](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/111-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Will Russo He explained what the requirements are for a location to be used for league play. He showed a map of ten bars in the Chicagoland area they use and the format of the league meetings and matches. He said coaching is both allowed and encouraged, and players are encouraged to visit the locations and practice ahead of the next league night. VIDEO Jack Danger was the next speaker in the Seminars Hall. ![Jack Danger](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/112-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Jack Danger Jack ran an animation studio in Chicago and explained how he first got into pinball by purchasing one for his studio. He and his friends got into local league play and wanted to find out everything about the games they were playing. He also wanted to record their games at the studio so he could go back an analyse them later. He then worked out how to move their equipment out of the studio and into bar locations using a portable rig. He took that to Pinball Expo one year and was invited by Stern Pinball to stream the launch party for The Walking Dead. Jack has since given up the animation work and streaming is now his primary job. He is also building his own custom pinball which he is documenting and hopes it will inspire others to do the same. A draw then took place for the prize raffle to win a World Poker Tour machine to benefit Project Pinball. Daniel Spolar joined Jack on the stage to make the draw. ![Daniel with Jack](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/113-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Daniel with Jack Following that, a draw was made for a streaming rig with cameras, microphones, stands and more. VIDEO There was then a pause in the action as the autograph session took place in the confines of the Birch Room. ![The autograph signing session](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/122-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The autograph signing session ![The autograph signing session](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/123-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The autograph signing session ![The autograph signing session](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/124-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The autograph signing session ![The autograph signing session](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/125-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The autograph signing session We then popped into the first of the two Games Halls. This one was in the usual position behind the vendor hall and across from Rob Anthony’s room. ![In the first Games Hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/117-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) In the first Games Hall ![There are quite a few videos in here too](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/115-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) There are quite a few videos in here too ![More videos](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/114-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) More videos ![It is mostly pinball though](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/116-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) It is mostly pinball though ![More pinballs in the first Games Hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/118-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) More pinballs in the first Games Hall ![More pinballs in the first Games Hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/119-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/120-pinball-expo-2018-1024x683.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/120-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/121-pinball-expo-2018-1024x683.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/121-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) More pinballs in the first Games Hall Then, at 3pm, the seminars resumed with Scott Danesi. Scott was joined by Charlie Emery from Spooky Pinball. ![Scott Danesi](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/126-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Scott Danesi ![Charlie Emery](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/127-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Charlie Emery After introducing themselves, Scott described his Total Nuclear Annihilation game, how he created it and what he wanted to achieve with it. He showed a sample of the Python programming language from the game to illustrate how readable it is, before moving on to the development of the artwork. Scott explained the meaning of some of the hidden elements in the backglass artwork. Scott then spoke about his second game, titled Haunted House Party!, which Scott said is planned to be the next Spooky Pinball game after Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle. For the second game, Scott will do the designing, prototyping and engineering, while the rules, software, storyboarding, animations and audio will be done by others – mostly at Spooky. Scott and Charlie then did a Q&A session with the audience covering how easy it was to make tapes of the music in the game, whether using Python introduces any limitations, what the ‘butter’ cabinets are, who is buying TNA, and how the earnings have been so far. VIDEO Keith Elwin was the next speaker with his The Road to Game Design seminar. ![Keith Elwin](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/128-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Keith Elwin Keith began by showing a South Park game he and a friend made, which was his first foray into game design. Keith kept hounding his brother Randy to make a custom pinball together , and eventually he relented and they started on their Archer game. Keith showed pictures from its development, from playfield drawing to prototype, illustrating how they made their own ramps, changed a number of playfield components, and wired the playfield. Finally, Keith took questions from the audience about how his tournament experience influenced the development of Iron Maiden, if he prefers to have more than two flippers in his games, why Iron Maiden doesn’t have an action button on the lock bar, and his experience working with Steve Ritchie. VIDEO Speaking of Steve Ritchie, he was the next speaker on the stage. ![Steve Ritchie](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/129-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Steve Ritchie Steve held his pinball confessional where members of the audience came up to the stage to confess to their pinball sins. ![Steve takes confessional](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/130-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Steve takes confessional Steve concluded by bringing back all the sinners to participate in a pirate song. VIDEO The final seminar of the day and of the show was from George Gomez who was talking about his Deadpool pinball design. ![George Gomez](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/131-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) George Gomez George began by premiering the promotional video for Deadpool before starting with the earliest ideas and inspirations for the game’s design. He showed the Solidworks model of the playfield, the storyboarding they did for key scenes in the game, the video animations for various characters, and the design and building of the Lil’ Deadpool model. ![The Deadpool game in Solidworks](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/132-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The Deadpool game in Solidworks George then showed a mix of pictures from the Stern Pinball offices, showing the individuals and the teams who worked on the game. He also announced V1.0 updates coming soon for Deadpool, Batman 66 and another update for Iron Maiden and Kiss. He said updates to Ghostbusters have been delayed because the original coder does the updates and if they are tied up with other projects, the update has to wait. VIDEO After George’s seminar it was time to clear away the seating and start Stern-O-Rama – the chance to play the latest Deadpool machine, meet the design team, drink free beer and play some competitive pinball, all the the music from a professional DJ. ![The seating is cleared ahead of the start of Stern-O-Rama](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/133-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The Stern-O-Rama ![The Deadpool team from Stern Pinball ](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/134-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The Deadpool team from Stern Pinball ![The Deadpool team from Stern Pinball ](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/135-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) ](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/136-pinball-expo-2018-1024x642.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/136-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) The Deadpool team from Stern Pinball ![Mutliple Deadpool machines were set up in the room](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/137-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Mutliple Deadpool machines were set up in the room ![A Two-Minute Tournament saw who could score the most in 120 seconds](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/140-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) A seconds ![Free beer, with a cash bar for other drinks](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/139-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Free beer, with a cash bar for other drinks ![Music from our local DJ](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2018/138-pinball-expo-2018.jpg) Music from our local DJ Stern-O-Rama closed the official schedule of events at Pinball Expo 2018, although the tournaments continued into Sunday. We’ll cover the finals of those and look at the Games Halls and the Vendor Hall in the concluding part of our Pinball News coverage.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 526654e8-e1ca-44c2-a5b6-909d00ceb4a2*