# Homebrew Showcase: Cuphead Pinball by Scott Miller

**Source:** Marco Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-11-07  
**Duration:** 9m 43s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLWBjJhv0Fc

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## Analysis

Scott Miller showcases his Cuphead homebrew pinball machine at Pinball Expo 2025, detailing his journey from Visual Pinball designer to physical machine builder. Starting with a modified Visual Pinball table and an inexpensive Allied Leisure Thunderbolt donor machine, Scott spent 6-9 months building the game in his basement using Mission Pinball Framework, with custom graphics, a holographic fan topper, addressable LEDs, and gameplay refinements including 2-in-1 flippers and two-ball multiball. He credits collaborator Adrien Bordaloo for graphics and Ben Heck for design feedback, and plans future projects rewiring classic EM machines.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Scott has released approximately 16 Visual Pinball tables and helped write scripts for another dozen or so. — _Scott Miller, direct statement about his VP history_
- [HIGH] The original Cuphead VP table had 3-in flippers making it too easy to play, so Scott and Adrien Bordaloo modified it to 2-in flippers to make it more EM-like. — _Scott Miller explaining the modification rationale_
- [HIGH] The physical Cuphead machine started as an Allied Leisure Thunderbolt purchased for approximately $150. — _Scott Miller, direct statement about donor machine_
- [HIGH] The machine took between 6 and 9 months to build, completed in 2021 in Scott's basement. — _Scott Miller's direct statement_
- [HIGH] The game is coded in Mission Pinball Framework, which Scott found difficult due to strict typing, though the community support was excellent. — _Scott Miller discussing MPF experience_
- [HIGH] Ben Heck (Scott's friend) provided critical feedback on the whitewood, suggesting the pop bumper direct shot design was problematic. — _Scott Miller crediting Ben Heck's design critique_
- [HIGH] The holographic fan topper uses software to convert MP4 videos into executables, with animations created in Blender and Photoshop. — _Scott Miller explaining the topper technology_
- [HIGH] All graphics are hand-done decals, pieced together from 8.5" x 11" pieces, with two playfields created (one displayed with addressable LEDs). — _Scott Miller describing the artwork process_
- [HIGH] Peter Morrison (original VP Cuphead table designer) approved the physical machine and released the VP version as 'Cuphead Pro'. — _Scott Miller recounting his contact with Peter Morrison_
- [HIGH] Scott plans future homebrew projects focusing on rewiring classic EM machines using relay logic instead of computers. — _Scott Miller discussing future plans at end of interview_

### Notable Quotes

> "I always wanted to do a homebrew for a number of years, but I didn't think I was creative enough to come up with a good theme for it."
> — **Scott Miller**, 0:30-0:50
> _Reveals Scott's initial hesitation and how seeing the VP Cuphead table inspired him to take on the physical build project._

> "What do you think of it? I think it's great. I said, 'You know what's missing?' He said, 'Yeah, 2-in flippers.'"
> — **Scott Miller**, 1:15-1:30
> _Describes the collaborative moment with Adrien Bordaloo that shaped the design philosophy toward EM-like gameplay._

> "My idea was I wanted a table that you played for about 5 minutes and said, 'Wow, that's was a lot of fun. Let's do it again.' So, it's not going to be real deep as far as playing time is concerned, but um you can hold that. But, uh but I wanted it to be fun nonetheless."
> — **Scott Miller**, 1:40-2:10
> _Articulates the core design philosophy: accessible, quick-play fun over deep ruleset complexity._

> "If you don't do it quite right, it's not going to work cuz it's very strongly typed. So, for me, it was hard. It was easy to get the game running, but it was hard to do some of the finetuning on it."
> — **Scott Miller**, 4:00-4:30
> _Technical assessment of Mission Pinball Framework's learning curve and strictness._

> "The ones that are animated like that are done by um a series of uh PGs and Photoshop turned into a movie."
> — **Scott Miller**, 8:30-8:50
> _Describes the technical workflow for creating the holographic topper animations._

> "I threatened to my wife that I was going to take in the backyard, pour kerosene on it and light it on fire a few times."
> — **Scott Miller**, 9:15-9:35
> _Candidly acknowledges the frustration and challenges inherent in homebrew construction, a common experience in the community._

> "I think it's probably common to everybody that you run into something that you really you run into a wall and and how you recover from those and how you uh deal with it is uh a big determination as to whether or not it works."
> — **Scott Miller**, 10:00-10:30
> _Reflects on problem-solving and persistence as key skills for homebrew builders._

> "If I do another homebrew, I think I'm going to do I'm an EM guy, so I think I'll take an EM and rewire an EM and program it, you know, via the the wiring looms to make it a different game, something different."
> — **Scott Miller**, 12:45-13:15
> _Reveals future direction toward EM rewiring projects, indicating a shift away from computerized systems toward relay logic._

> "So I would probably do like an asymmetrical playfield with uh maybe a cross playfield launch like 4 million BC and a multiball like Capersville and some sort of combination of that."
> — **Scott Miller**, 13:30-14:00
> _Specifies the design direction for future EM homebrew projects, referencing classic EM game mechanics._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Scott Miller | person | Retired Visual Pinball designer and builder of the Cuphead physical pinball machine, experienced in VP table design (16+ released tables) and homebrew construction. Interviewed at Pinball Expo 2025. |
| Marco Pinball | person | Video host and narrator of the Cuphead homebrew showcase at Pinball Expo 2025. Conducts the interview with Scott Miller. |
| Adrien Bordaloo | person | Graphic designer collaborator on the Cuphead homebrew project. Identified as brilliant in graphic design; suggested the 2-in flipper modification to make the VP table more EM-like. |
| Peter Morrison | person | Original designer of the Cuphead Visual Pinball table. Approved Scott's physical machine modifications and released the VP version as 'Cuphead Pro'. |
| Ben Heck | person | Friend of Scott Miller who provided critical design feedback on the Cuphead whitewood, particularly regarding the pop bumper direct shot issue. Known as an expert in pinball design/engineering. |
| Anthony Van Wickl | person | Homebrew designer met by Scott at Pinball Expo 2025. Designed the back glass reels for the Cuphead machine with cartoony rolling animation. |
| Cuphead | game | Video game IP adapted as a pinball machine. Scott Miller's physical homebrew machine and the original Visual Pinball table by Peter Morrison. Features animated reels, multiball, and Cuphead/Mugman/Devil/King Dice characters. |
| Cuphead (Visual Pinball Table) | product | Original VP table designed by Peter Morrison, featuring 3-in flippers and easy gameplay. Modified by Scott and Adrien to create the physical machine version, later released as 'Cuphead Pro' on VP Universe. |
| Cuphead Pro (Visual Pinball) | product | Modified version of the Cuphead VP table released by Peter Morrison after Scott's input, featuring 2-in flippers and EM-like gameplay characteristics. |
| Allied Leisure Thunderbolt | game | Vintage pinball machine purchased by Scott Miller for approximately $150 as the donor machine for the Cuphead physical build. Parts were salvaged and remaining components resold on eBay. |
| Mission Pinball Framework | technology | Open-source software platform used to code the Cuphead physical machine. Described by Scott as difficult due to strict typing requirements but with strong community support. |
| Pinball Expo 2025 | event | Annual pinball trade show and community gathering held in October in Chicago. Hosted the homebrew showcase where Scott Miller's Cuphead machine was featured. |
| Visual Pinball Universe | platform | Platform for distributing and playing Virtual Pinball tables, including the Cuphead tables designed/modified by Scott Miller, Peter Morrison, and others. |
| Ted Zales | person | Legendary EM pinball designer. Cited by Scott Miller as a major influence on his future homebrew plans, specifically regarding asymmetrical playfield design. |
| Blender | technology | 3D animation software used by Scott Miller to create and rotate the Cuphead character model displayed on the holographic fan topper. |
| ESP32 | technology | Microcontroller used to drive the addressable LEDs in the Cuphead machine's playfield and plastics. |
| 4 Million BC | game | Classic EM pinball machine referenced by Scott as inspiration for future homebrew projects, specifically for its cross-playfield launch mechanism. |
| Capersville | game | Classic EM pinball machine referenced by Scott as inspiration for future homebrew projects, specifically for its multiball mechanics. |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Homebrew machine construction and design, Virtual Pinball to physical machine adaptation, Mission Pinball Framework coding and technical challenges, EM-style gameplay in modern homebrew machines, Collaborative design and creative partnerships in homebrew
- **Secondary:** Custom graphics, decals, and artwork techniques, Holographic and interactive display technology for pinball, Pinball Expo 2025 homebrew showcase

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.87) — Strong enthusiasm from both the host and Scott Miller about the project. Marco expresses excitement about the machine's appearance and gameplay. Scott speaks candidly about frustrations but frames them as normal challenges overcome through persistence. No negativity toward manufacturers, designs, or community members.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Cuphead physical pinball machine exhibited at Pinball Expo 2025 homebrew section, representing the growing homebrew community presence at the annual trade show. (confidence: high) — Direct attendance and showcase of working machine at Pinball Expo 2025 homebrew section
- **[design_innovation]** Successful methodology for adapting Virtual Pinball tables to physical machines, using VP physics validation and community designer collaboration. (confidence: high) — Scott's documented process of testing VP table, modifying gameplay with collaborators, and translating to physical machine
- **[design_philosophy]** Intentional shift toward EM-style mechanics (2-in flippers, quick play sessions, straightforward rules) in modern computerized homebrew machines, bridging classic and contemporary design. (confidence: high) — Scott's explicit design rationale for 2-in flippers and 5-minute play sessions; future plans to rewire classic EM machines
- **[technology_signal]** Mission Pinball Framework continuing to be used by homebrew builders for physical machines; community support cited as strong but learning curve steep for newcomers. (confidence: high) — Scott's detailed experience learning and using MPF; commentary on strong user group support
- **[community_signal]** Strong collaborative patterns in homebrew community, with expertise shared across graphics design, mechanical engineering, and software development; peer feedback (Ben Heck, Anthony Van Wickl, Peter Morrison) integral to design iteration. (confidence: high) — Multiple collaborators (Adrien Bordaloo, Ben Heck, Anthony Van Wickl, Peter Morrison) contributing specialized skills and feedback
- **[restoration_signal]** Homebrew builders practicing sustainable parts sourcing by salvaging working components from inexpensive donor machines and reselling salvageable parts, reducing waste and offsetting costs. (confidence: high) — Scott's approach to Allied Leisure Thunderbolt purchase for $150, reusing parts and reselling remainder on eBay
- **[technology_signal]** Emerging use of holographic fan displays in homebrew pinball machines as an interactive visual element, with custom animation workflows via Blender and MP4-to-EXE conversion. (confidence: medium) — Scott's detailed technical implementation of holographic topper with Blender animations and EXE conversion software
- **[design_philosophy]** Visible interest among homebrew builders in rewiring and reprogramming classic EM machines using relay logic and storm motors rather than computerized systems, potentially signaling nostalgia-driven design philosophy. (confidence: medium) — Scott's explicit plan for future EM rewiring projects and references to Ted Zales, 4 Million BC, and Capersville
- **[content_signal]** Marco Pinball producing video content showcasing homebrew machines at industry events, continuing media coverage of homebrew culture at Pinball Expo. (confidence: high) — Marco Pinball hosting and filming Cuphead showcase video at Pinball Expo 2025
- **[community_signal]** Homebrew construction involves significant frustration and technical challenges, with persistence and problem-solving cited as critical success factors. Community acknowledges difficulty as normal. (confidence: high) — Scott's candid discussion of threats to abandon the project, frustration with software learning curve, and host's acknowledgment of commonality

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## Transcript

guys. All right, we are back once again. Pinball Expo 2025 in the homebrew section. A special treat right here. If you're a VPinner, this looks familiar to you because this the playfield at least because this is Cuphead that you can download on VP Universe. Well, Scott here has made it into an actual game and we're here right now with Mr. Scott Miller here. You're going to be right here. I'm here. Scott, very [music] nice to see you here at Expo. Um, what gave you the inspiration to do?
Actually, I always wanted to do a homebrew for a number of years, but I didn't think I was creative enough to come up with a good theme for it. So, uh, I'm very active in visual pinball. I've uh released probably 16 tables and uh helped write scripts for another dozen or so. And uh I saw this Cuphead table released in Visual Pinball and I thought, "Wow, this is a great table, but it was super easy because it had these big 3-in flippers. It's hard to drain on it." So, one of the guys that I work with quite a bit, uh you can get death saves. Isn't that cool? Uh Adrien Bordaloo, who is just brilliant when it comes to uh graphic design, I said, "Have you seen the new cuppet table?" I said, "Yeah, I have." And I said, "What do you think of it?" I think it's great. I said, "You know what's missing?" He said, "Yeah, 2-in flippers." So, the two of us went through and modded the table to make it more em like. So, my idea was I wanted a table that you played for about 5 minutes and said, "Wow, that's was a lot of fun. Let's do it again." So, it's not going to be real deep as far as playing time is concerned, but um you can hold that.
But, uh but I wanted it to be fun nonetheless.
I I I I wanted to get on this one, guys, because this is Cuphead and it looks beautiful. So, so Scott's gonna hold his own microphone.
No worries.
Okay. So, so you you thought you couldn't do it and then you looked at this and said, "All right, I'm going to give it a shot."
Yeah. Well, I I didn't think I could do the graphics and the design work, but once I saw that we had a really nice table that we could modify, uh, we went through and added a two ball multiball to it, put twoin flippers on it, and I did not know Peter Morrison at the time, but uh, I contacted him afterwards and said, "Hey, we love the table. what you did with it. We made a few changes to it to make it a little more EM like and uh he said, "Wow, that's wonderful. Can I release it as Cuphead Pro, which is probably the version you may have played on Visual Pinball." Uh so once that was done, I knew that this was going to be a table that would play well because the physics of Visual Pinball, although it's not real pinball, is perfectly very good as far as uh
Right. Right. Right.
Hey, Francis. It's It's perfect as far as the ability to um
as far as the ability to mimic the shots and and tune things. So, I knew it was going to play well in reality. And that that got me started with my pre-Whitewood, if you will.
Okay. And so, where did you build this? In your garage.
I built this in my basement uh sort of during CO. It finished up in 2021 and uh it's coded in Mission Pinball Framework. So the first thing I did is I wanted to make sure that I could get the software running before I spent any time with uh hardware or spent any money on hardware. And
how was it in working in Mission Pinball Framework and stuff? How was that?
I I found it kind of difficult because there's a lot of I I I don't know how to describe it, but if you don't do it quite right, Oh, wow. Nice save. If you don't do it quite right, you know, it's not going to work cuz it's very strongly typed. So, for me, it was hard. It was easy to get the game running, but it was hard to do some of the finetuning on it, if that will.
Right. Okay.
But it's such a wonderful uh user group that uh
you know what, I keep hearing that over and over and over again that everybody in the group is fun and easy and it's driving me nuts.
Yeah. [laughter] Well, I I mean, you look at the uh the reels that are in the back glass. Those didn't exist until Anthony Van Wickl, who's here at the show. I met him for the first time. He designed those for me and he did such a beautiful job because they're cartoony. They don't go step step. They go roll stop roll stop.
Yeah. I don't see it. I spell soul. I know a little bit about this game. Oh, okay. There we go.
Yeah, they do. They chunk.
Yeah, they kind of chunk along. So, it's it adds to the cartoony effect to it. Uh the game started out as a Allied Leisure Thunderbolt that I picked up for about 150 bucks.
Okay. And uh then I went on and um reused any of the parts in it that I could and sold off the rest on eBay so that you know no Allied Leisure suffered from it. That just helped other machines get re rehabbed again.
Excellent.
And uh and it was a very economically uh worked out quite well economically.
Um then once the Whitewood was done, I had my friend Ben Heck stop by.
My friend Ben Heck.
Ben Heck. Yeah.
Are you friends with Ben Heck?
Yeah, I am. Wow.
And uh and he uh he critiqued it for me, which was awesome.
So he said, "Well, like it's a bad idea to have a direct shot on a pop bumper from the from the uh flippers." So I created this little uh you know, King Dice protects the devil, right? So he blocks you from being able to get the devil.
That's not in the Ven.
No, it's not in the VP, right? Yeah. Yeah. There's a number of things that aren't in the Ven that are in this. There are some things in visual pin like the Vpin will kick this all the way up here or kick this. You try to do that with a table that actually kicks upward and outward. you'll break the glass. So, I I changed it so it ra the sides of the uh drop targets instead.
Okay. So, you get a clean
you get a you get well you got a chance at getting a sweep
and then like I said the uh the way the multiball works is if you can get into that predition lane three times the third time you get in it locks you and then it releases the second ball which is like Mugman coming to Cuphead's rescue.
Yeah. And
but you have to hit the devil bumper. If you don't the machine dies, the ball drains and it laughs at you. It's it's it's really di diabolical, but yeah.
Oh, man. And it it is it me or is the topper interactive with the game?
No, it's it's purely programmed. It's a it's a holographic fan I picked up on Amazon. It comes with uh software for being able to turn uh MP4s into EXEs. And so the like that cup head that's spinning right now, that was done in Blender. And uh I rotated it in Blender so that you could see it, the camera view. and that turned that into an MP4 or rotate it, spin it or, you know, flip it one way to the other so you get a little action. The ones that are animated like that are done by um a series of uh PGs and Photoshop turned into a movie.
I'll try and get the camera to face for a second. But so, so from from beginning to end, it took you about what to say a year or
I think it was between 6 and 9 months, but I'm retired so I've got a lot of time.
Okay. Okay.
But it wasn't easy. There were there were a lot of problems that I had during it. Uh it was very frustrating at times and I threatened to my wife that I was going to take in the backyard, pour kerosene on it and light it on fire a few times. But
I imagine that that happens to [clears throat] a few homebrew.
I I think it's probably common to everybody that you run into something that you really you run into a wall and and how you recover from those and how you uh deal nice save. The way you deal with it is uh a big determination as to whether or not it works. And you get death saves because it had three-inch flippers and so the drain is small. So don't give up on a ball when it drains cuz you might be able to get it back.
Isaiah, play one more solo.
Yeah.
Uh the graphics are all done by hand. Uh they're decals. Uh they're very small decals, like 8 and 1/2 or 8 by 11. So it's all pieced together. I did two playfields. So you'll notice that there's one of them hanging up next to the where the machine is at that I put uh addressable LEDs behind it. So and it's driven by a ESP32 in the ball trough area. So uh all the plastics are done uh they were CNCed and the uh graphics are done in clear inverted put on the back of it and then it white over the top of that for the occlusion so that it looks like a Marc Silk screen. Scott, how much h how did you feel once you started getting this thing flipping and it was actually reacting? It was not no longer a vis virtual pin. It was an actual pin. How did that feel?
Yeah, it it was really cool. Even just setting the the blank piece of plywood in as a white wood before it it's like, wow, this looks like something. Yeah,
this look like something.
Yeah.
Well, this is absolutely beautiful. Scott, thank you for bringing this by. It really pops. So, I was setting it up and I looked at the camera and it just pops. It looks nice. What do you do you have any other plans for this or is this or is this uh
this this is pretty much done. Um
if I do another homebrew, I think I'm going to do I'm an EM guy,
so I think I'll take an EM and rewire an EM and program it, you know, via the the wiring looms to make it a different game, something different.
That's awesome.
I'm a big fan of Ted Zale, so um
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I I would probably do like an asymmetrical playfield with uh maybe a cross playfield launch like 4 million BC and a multiball like Capersville and some sort of combination of that. So just sort of thinking through what I might want to do get away from the computerized side of things and try to do it old school with relays and storm motor.
You you you my friend can do it. This is beautiful. Thank you so much for bringing this down and and bringing it over here. It's no small task for these guys to bring these machines over. So, uh, Cubad, man, I'm so happy I got to flip this.
Thank you.
Isaiah knows I don't I wasn't flipping anything and I was like, I got to get it on this one. So, thank you, man.
Thank you very much. Cheers.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7827d483-5449-4058-9c21-8c8b53283d7c*