# Homebrew Showcase: Top Gun Pinball at Texas Pinball Festival 2026

**Source:** Marco Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2026-04-07  
**Duration:** 18m 4s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkSvtMebMB8

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## Analysis

Marco Pinball interviews Brad, an Austin-area homebrew pinball designer, about his Top Gun Pinball machine debuting at Texas Pinball Festival 2026. Brad discusses his development process using VPX virtual simulation, Fast Pinball hardware, and Claude AI for learning coding, while showcasing the game's movie-themed modes, multiball mechanics, and player-focused design philosophy emphasizing flow over clunkiness.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Brad spent approximately 6 months developing Top Gun in VPX before building the physical machine — _Brad stated 'after about 6 months of that, I got the idea that I can build this for real'_
- [HIGH] Brad contacted Aaron from Fast Pinball and spent an hour and a half on the phone to discuss the project and acquire necessary hardware — _Brad: 'I contacted Aaron from Fast Pinball. Spent about an hour and a half on the phone with him telling him everything I had envisioned'_
- [HIGH] Brad used Claude AI to learn coding by prompting it with step-by-step requests at a beginner level — _Brad: 'I'm using Claude AI to help teach me how to do it... Tell me at a first grade level how do I do this?'_
- [HIGH] The game features 10 training missions, with 5 from the original 1986 Top Gun and 5 from Top Gun Maverick — _Brad: 'The top five are from the 1986 movie. The bottom five are from Top Gun Maverick'_
- [HIGH] This was the first public showing of Top Gun Pinball at Texas Pinball Festival 2026 — _Marco: 'this is the first show that Top Gun has been at'_
- [HIGH] Brad has no prior experience with CAD, coding, or welding and works in finance/marketing — _Brad: 'I didn't know how to do anything. I work in finance marketing... No experience with CAD, coding, welding or anything like that'_
- [HIGH] Brad used Trident Pinball for the initial playfield blank and then designed features on it — _Brad: 'I contacted Ernie from Trident Pinball and uh got a playfield... just basically the shooter lane'_
- [HIGH] Brad's future project ideas include Fast and Furious and potentially Twilight-themed pinball machines — _Brad: 'my wife and I are on the same page. We both would like to do Fast and Furious' and 'I would do Twilight, but I just can't mentally grasp how I can make that a pinball game'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I don't like clunkiness. I like flow."
> — **Brad**, early in interview
> _Core design philosophy emphasizing smooth shot mechanics and playfield coherence over technical complexity_

> "I didn't know how to do anything. I work in finance marketing... No experience with CAD, coding, welding or anything like that, but I wanted to teach myself some new skills"
> — **Brad**, mid-interview during coding discussion
> _Demonstrates homebrew accessibility and self-directed learning barriers in the community_

> "My goal for this game was for people to feel like they're part of the movie experience, have fun, talk about it, and then walk away and think that's not a garage game."
> — **Brad**, near end of interview
> _Reveals design intent and aspiration to create production-quality homebrew_

> "I'm using Claude AI to help teach me how to do it. So I put prompts in there saying, 'I want to do X, Y, and Z. Tell me at a first grade level how do I do this?'"
> — **Brad**, coding section
> _Emerging use of generative AI as learning tool for code self-instruction in homebrew development_

> "What I've seen is excitement, which it warms the heart because that's the goal, right? Everyone has just been so excited and had such great things to say about it."
> — **Brad**, post-play discussion
> _Reflects positive community reception and emotional validation of labor-intensive homebrew project_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Brad | person | Austin-area homebrew pinball designer who built Top Gun Pinball; works in finance/marketing; premiered machine at Texas Pinball Festival 2026 |
| Marco Pinball | person | Host/interviewer; pinball community content creator and tinkerer; based in Austin area |
| Aaron | person | Founder/representative of Fast Pinball; provided hardware package and consultation to Brad for Top Gun Pinball project |
| Ernie | person | Operator/owner at Trident Pinball; provided initial playfield blank to Brad |
| Top Gun Pinball | game | Homebrew pinball machine designed and built by Brad; themed after Top Gun movies (1986 original and Maverick); debuted at Texas Pinball Festival 2026 |
| Fast Pinball | company | Pinball software/hardware platform provider; supplied control system and hardware components for Top Gun Pinball |
| Trident Pinball | company | Pinball venue/supplier that provided initial playfield blank for Top Gun Pinball project |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Pinball convention/expo where Top Gun Pinball debuted; occurred over Thursday-Saturday timeframe; hosted in Texas |
| VPX | product | Virtual pinball simulation platform used by Brad for 6 months to design and test Top Gun Pinball mechanics before physical build |
| [name withheld pending review] | product | Generative AI tool used by Brad to learn and scaffold coding concepts for Top Gun Pinball development |
| Top Gun (1986 film) | product | Original movie that inspired Top Gun Pinball; Brad's favorite film; informs game modes and themes |
| Top Gun: Maverick | product | Modern Top Gun sequel; referenced in game modes and design; Brad's family enjoys the film |

### Signals

- **[design_innovation]** Brad's development approach demonstrates a structured homebrew pipeline: VPX simulation → conceptual playtesting → physical playfield build → Fast Pinball hardware integration → iterative code development. This represents a replicable methodology for aspiring homebrew designers. (confidence: high) — Brad spent 6 months in VPX, tested the concept on blank playfield before coding, then integrated Fast Pinball hardware and used community/AI resources for code learning.
- **[technology_signal]** Claude AI is being actively used as a learning tool to scaffold code education in homebrew pinball development, lowering the barrier for non-programmers to teach themselves necessary skills. (confidence: high) — Brad explicitly stated he used Claude AI with step-by-step prompts to learn coding concepts at beginner level, describing it as 'a key to teach me how to do what I needed to do'
- **[community_signal]** Homebrew pinball is becoming more accessible to non-technical makers through available platforms (VPX, Fast Pinball), hardware-as-a-service vendors, and AI-assisted learning. Brad's successful project with zero prior CAD/coding experience demonstrates lower barriers to entry. (confidence: high) — Brad had no CAD, coding, or welding experience and works in finance/marketing; community forum shared code examples; Fast Pinball offered turnkey solutions; Claude AI provided instruction.
- **[event_signal]** Texas Pinball Festival 2026 featured prominent homebrew showcase with Top Gun Pinball as centerpiece debut. Strong positive community reception indicates festival's role in elevating homebrew visibility and celebrating custom projects. (confidence: high) — Top Gun Pinball debuted at TPF 2026 Thursday-Saturday; Marco noted excitement and positive responses; families bonding over the machine; positioned as gallery-quality experience.
- **[design_philosophy]** Brad's core design philosophy emphasizes 'flow' and shot coherence over mechanical novelty, with deliberate avoidance of 'clunkiness.' Ramps designed with variable ball returns to maintain player engagement and unpredictability while keeping shots feeling smooth and responsive. (confidence: high) — Brad repeatedly emphasized dislike of clunkiness and commitment to flow; ramps designed with different ball travel paths; shots tweaked to 'feel clean and make you feel rewarded'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Top Gun Pinball features layered rule complexity: 4 training missions with perks, 10 pilot missions (5 from each film), multiball with dynamic MiG combat, and specialized modes like inverted (reverse flippers, switch-based). Rules encourage repeated play and skill progression. (confidence: high) — Brad detailed training missions (ICEMAN), pilot missions (TOP GUN spelling), multiball (LOCK), and Inverted mode with reverse flippers and 10 random punishments for MiG attacks
- **[product_strategy]** Brad's IP strategy focuses on family-resonant, personal-value films (Top Gun, Fast and Furious, Twilight) rather than licensed commercial properties. Games serve dual purpose: entertainment and familial bonding/memorial (dedicated to grandfather and service members). (confidence: high) — Brad: 'My favorite. It's my wife's favorite. My kids enjoy it. Something we can bond with.' Future projects tied to family watching habits (Top Gun, Fast and Furious, Twilight all watched together).
- **[gameplay_signal]** Game is deliberately challenging ('a little bit like evil' per Marco) with unpredictable ball physics and punitive multiball mechanics (no-hold flippers, reverse flippers, GI blackout, MiG respawns). Design aims to keep players engaged and 'on their toes' rather than forgiving. (confidence: high) — Brad: 'It's got to be fast. It's got to be in your face. It's got to keep you on your toes.' Inverted mode described as 'switch-based' with challenges; MiG mode has 10 random punishments.
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Brad intentionally tested playfield printing and clear coat processes on the first physical machine. Whitewood artwork served dual purpose: aesthetic and production validation for future iterations or larger runs. (confidence: high) — Brad: 'I got to test the printing process and the clear coat as well to see how it looks in production... I think it worked out pretty well'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Top Gun Pinball received enthusiastically positive reception at Texas Pinball Festival debut. Marco reported excitement, family bonding moments, and general acclaim, with Brad expressing emotional satisfaction at feedback quality and community reaction. (confidence: high) — Marco: 'I'm obsessed. I will bogart your line if I have an opportunity.' Brad: 'What I've seen is excitement, which it warms the heart... Everyone has just been so excited and had such great things to say about it.'
- **[content_signal]** Marco Pinball producing dedicated long-form content on homebrew machines at major festivals (Texas Pinball Festival 2026). Indicates growing media focus on homebrew category as newsworthy/engaging content for community. (confidence: high) — Full podcast/video episode dedicated to Top Gun Pinball interview; Marco described joy of covering homebrew projects; reference to future YouTube publication

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## Transcript

Hello the internet. I'm back. I haven't been on this microphone since the morning. I am very excited because I get to be here with my friend Brad who is also from the Austin area. And I have been watching Brad build this Top Gun over Facebook for what feels like forever. And this is the first show that Top Gun has been at. So Brad, how did we get to Top Gun Pinball? Where did your inspiration come from to make Top Gun? Uh, the movie. It's my favorite. It's my wife's favorite. My kids enjoy it. Something we can bond with. Um, and then I wanted to uh build something in dedication to my grandfather and all of his servicemen and women out there uh just to kind of show thanks to everything they do and support them. Well, I can say that. So, I have a really funny story where um when I was getting the internet at my house, Jordan left me two movies to watch on repeat and one of them was Gone in 60 Seconds and the other one was Top Gun. So for four days all I watched was Top Gun and Gone in 60 Seconds. Um so I am wondering what system are you using? How did you build this out? Did you start virtually or in CAD or like were you a foam core person? Where did we start with this? Yeah, so I started with VPX in the virtual platform. Um, I had an idea, concept, drew it out on paperwork, and then I transferred that over to the program just to make sure that things worked and they were going to be something that I could tweak and make it flow properly cuz I don't like clunkiness. I like flow. Um, so after about 6 months of that, I got the idea that I can build this for real because it was working well and I was enjoying it in the virtual environment. So, I contacted Ernie from Trident Pinball and uh got a playfield that um he sent me just basically the shooter lane and I went through and I just started measuring out where I wanted flippers and slings and lanes and all my shots and drew it on and started populating it. And at that point, I didn't even start with any hardware coding or anything like that. I just wanted to see if the concept still translated before I put the investment into it. Um, so I was just literally throwing the ball around the playfield and it worked. I liked it. So that's when I contacted Aaron from Fast Pinball. Spent about an hour and a half on the phone with him telling him everything I had envisioned and what I needed to buy and how I could make it work. He uh put a package together for me, sent it, and uh started building the real playfield um that you actually see here. This is the first playfield that actually flipped. Um, you know, it's it's a funny story is everyone I talked to, they said why do you have art on a whitewood? I said, well, I got to test the printing process and the clear coat as well to see how it looks in production. Right. So, the final playfield, well, I'm going to tweak a few things to make it better. Um, but, uh, I think it worked out pretty well. So, I'm happy with the layout. I am also very happy with this layout. Um, I played it for the first time on Thursday night and it gives me the I want to play it again. I want to play it again. Um, it is such a I like how you pointed out like flow because this game really does flow. And so I think it is pretty amazing that you know you built it out and then you tested everything just to make sure everything would work. Um, Press both flippers. And so why did Manu just press both flippers there? So, it's Top Gun. In the movies, they have to eject. Sometimes they eject successfully and sometimes they don't, right? So, in the artwork, you'll see that there's two eject handles above basically where the player's hands are at. So, you qualify that with the first skill shot or by spelling GOOSE three times. The left lane will light for eject and the magnum will catch the ball. You have to flip the flippers. If you do, shoots the ball up the playfield to eject you successfully. If you don't pay attention, you don't flip the flippers, you die. And it plays the Goose scene where he dies in the movie. I was devastated, by the way. Uh I will never forget the experience from when I watched Top Gun and all I could think of was I was like, I love Goose. I love Goose so much. And then I will never forget the moment when Goose died and I was like, oh my god, I'm so upset. Um so we've talked about kind of how you've built this out. um you know you're using the Fast system. We know where you got your playfield. This has obviously been a labor of love and the big thing that it sounds like you had to work on was coding. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about your process with coding. Like what did that look like for you? So um to step back uh I didn't know how to do anything. I work in finance marketing. you know, my primary responsibility is creating leads for our sales team, right? Yeah. So, no experience with CAD, coding, welding or anything like that, but I wanted to teach myself some new skills, so this was the opportunity to do it. So, for coding specifically, um the community forum is great. Uh I reached out. I was really struggling with the concept. A couple guys shared their code with me so I could read it because I can generally if I see it, I can understand it. I just don't know what to write. Um, so after seeing and understanding it, I got the basics, but I still wasn't grasping it. So I'm using Claude AI to help teach me how to do it. So I put prompts in there saying, "I want to do X, Y, and Z. Tell me at a first grade level how do I do this? Give me step-by-step instructions of how do I add this to my game?" and it will give me instructions on what I need to do in order to make it achievable. And it gets pretty close. It's like everything AI based to where you know you got it's not the finest product or anything like that, but it gets me close enough to where I can start adding in the features that I want, the light shows and the animations. Um, and it kind of gets me progressed along that way. But it's really been a key to teach me how to do what I needed to do. I know that I do not know how to code and I feel like that would be I think that's probably a solid barrier for a lot of people, but it sounds like there are resources out there that people can kind of use to learn that skill. And what's been interesting is watching people learn to play this game. Tell me a little bit about the rules that you have kind of built in. How do I start my mode? How do I get to a multiball? What are we trying to do here? Yeah. So, uh, there's several different types of modes in the game. So, I'm going to start with training missions. Okay. So, training missions, you spell ICEMAN. Okay. Once you spell ICEMAN, it'll light. So, you see the blue light in the playfield right now. That is a pilot training mission. So, that will be lit when he finishes this particular mode he's in right now. You shoot under that left flipper. You can also shoot the top orbit. There's a diverter on the top of the game that gets the ball back there as well. In those four missions, the Inverted Missiles, Wingman, and Afterburner, when you play those, if you complete it, it gives you a perk because you're training to get better, right? Got it. So, for the rest of that ball, it makes it easier for you to complete the mode. So, like for example, Wingman, think smart missiles, right? So, it literally lights up four inserts. If you if you got missiles under your wing, right? Yeah. when you roll over that insert, it gives you that mode step and it progresses you through the mission. So that's one example of how that will work. Like Wingman, if you're in multiball, it recreates your multiball when you die. So it gives you two shots in multiball. So it just kind of makes the game easier and more fun as you progress. Now the pilot missions are the ones in the middle. The top five are from the 1986 movie. The bottom five are from Top Gun Maverick. They're inspired by the pilots that are on the playfield. So each mode features that pilot and their scenes in the movie. You light those by spelling TOP GUN by hitting the white shots when you're not in another mode. Uh multiball is by spelling LOCK. So L and O are on the left lane. C is by the tower ramp and K is by the right ramp. You spell that lights lock. You hit that top ramp and it physically locks the balls under the F-14 Tomcat jet and it lights up the cockpit. So you lock two balls, you shoot the center scoop and you're off in multiball. And in multiball is the end of 1986 Top Gun where you're battling the MiGs. All five MiGs show up and they will attack you. So if you don't shoot them in time, they will shoot you and they'll punish you with like no holds flipper, reverse flippers, GI turns off, all your MiGs respawn. So, there's 10 different punishments that you can get randomly based off of them shooting you and you not shooting them. Oh my god, this is amazing. Um, like there's so much thought that's been put into this. Like, that's nuts. I feel like I've gotten to like two modes. Um, I've heard some rumblings about Inverted. Now, tell me what Inverted is. So, in the movie uh 1986 original movie, at the beginning of it, Top Gun, uh Maverick goes inverted over the MiG and that's the iconic scene where he flicks them off and he takes the picture, right? Yep. Got to be in the game, right? So, I thought inverted. What can I do with inverted that feels like inverted? Reverse the flippers, right? So, it's a multiball, two ball multiball because it's two airplanes that are in the movie. Two ball multiball, reverse flippers, and it's switch based. So, you have to hit a set number of switches to light your jackpots, and there's three ways in order to successfully complete it and get that perk for the rest of the ball. I feel like that I'm going to continue to be astounded and amazed at all of the thought that you've put into this. And also, like the tournament director in me is like it's a little bit like evil. And I think that I really love that. Um, it really makes me feel very challenged. And so, as you've built this out and you've coded it and you've changed it and you've tweaked it, what changes have you made kind of from the start to now? Like, what have you tweaked? What's been adjusted? A lot of the things that I've tweaked from the original playfield to this playfield is just getting the shots to feel clean and make you feel rewarded when you hit them. Um, there's one thing that I can't stand personally is clunkiness. I don't like a game that the shots rattle. They don't go where they're supposed to go. So, I spent a lot of time making it to where everything feels like it's cohesive and it flows. But, it's Top Gun. It's got to be fast. It's got to be in your face. It's got to keep you on your toes. So that's why all the shots like the ramps lift and they have different ways the balls can travel underneath the ramps that come back at you in different ways. So that way as a player as you're learning it, you never know where that ball's coming and it keeps you on your toes. It I mean it really does. Um I would say that I have watched the ball time on this and it's one of those things where I feel like you can get a hold of it, but then I feel like it's also been really really tough. Um, that is your last ball, Manu. Um, what have you seen from I'm curious what you've seen from people playing this weekend. I mean, it's been on the floor from Thursday to now. Um, What have you seen? Is there something that you like? Something that you're like, "Oh, it makes me want to change that." Like, what's and also, what's kind of been the general response? Like, what have you what's the experience been? I know it's been 36 hours, but What I've seen is excitement, which it warms the heart because that's the goal, right? Yeah. My goal for this game was for people to feel like they're part of the movie, experience the movie, have fun, talk about it, and then walk away and think that's not a garage game. No. and I wasn't going to bring it because I didn't think it was there. Everyone has just been so excited and had such great things to say about it. It just makes me feel great. I'm sorry. You are totally okay. Brad, can I give you a hug? Oh, yeah. Are you a hug person? It has been an absolute joy to get to play your game this weekend. It's just so rewarding. Yeah. to see people walk away and family members excited and kids with their parents sit there and just like oh yeah look at this look at that and walk away it's like a bonding moment for people and I just feel that's what's needed today and that's why I built the game to dedicate it to the service people dedicated to family ties and that's why my grandfather is a big part of it Well I can say this which is it is something where I know that and I think that when I started and got when I was very excited to get to like play all of the I was so excited to get to have someone email us to be like hey do you guys want to do this and I was like oh my god yes and then I would say um you know I've always appreciated homebrew and getting to see all of these things that people build. You know me I'm a tinkerer. We were talking about 3D printers like 2 years ago and and this is why and this is why. Yeah. Fun story for you know the YouTube when this is later. Brad and I how to get started on all of this. And I'm a huge tinkerer and it's been so much fun to get to kind of see I that's the joy of tinkering. You get to have this beautiful end product and then I love getting to see the reaction of the things that I made. And I feel like everybody I've seen who's played this game this weekend has had such a positive reaction. And I've been one of them. I'm obsessed. I will bogart your line if I have an opportunity. Um and so I would, you know, I guess my kind of my next question is is, you know, what's next for you? Are you going to work on another game? Is it, you know, is this is this it? Is this all we're going to see from you? like what's coming next for Brad? Or what? You have a you have a pinball like Hot Rod, right? Hot Rod Pinball is kind of what my wife and I came up with. We're really into cars. We're really into I'm really into pinball. She puts up with it. She's Yeah, she's great, right? She lets me do the things I want to do. Um I want to finish this. There's so much that I want to put into it that's not in it yet, but when I finish it, I really want to do more. I do. Yeah. Um I just got to figure out how I can from a time perspective how to make something else and then it's it's not cheap unfortunately, right? So figure out how I can how I can afford to make the next game. But uh my wife and I are on the same page. We both would like to do Fast and Furious. I would also like for you to do Fast and Furious. If you do Fast and Furious, the justice that you have done to Top Gun, Jordan, do you know what he wants to do next? Fast and Furious. Yes, please. It Fast and Furious. We're probably looking my right now my mindset is more the original movie because that that was the iconic movie to me. Um, my wife and I, we watch them all. We watch them every time they come on. Uh, we enjoy it. But to me, that's where the excitement comes from. So, there's three movies that or three series that we really engage with as a family. Top Gun, Fast and Furious, and Twilight. And I would do Twilight, but I just can't mentally grasp how I can make that a pinball game. I can help you with that. I can absolutely help you make a Twilight game. Um, I have watched all of the movies. I could not manage through the books. I feel like your daughters would help you make a Twilight game. My daughters not a Twilight movie, right? Your daughters not She's 16, but she's not into Twilight, right? So, that is more something that my wife and I enjoy. My wife more than me, honestly. But I still enjoy it. It's fun. Um, I just can't think of a way to integrate that into my concepts on making a pinball machine out of it. The Fast and Furious. I've got ideas. Well, Fast and Furious. Well, I love all of your ideas from Top Gun. It has been an amazing game. We are going to go ahead and sign off. Brad, thank you so much for taking the time telling me about your game and, you know, making something that everybody's been able to enjoy with us this weekend. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me and I hope everyone who gets a chance to play it enjoys it.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v4)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: 8c4856cf-3589-4eac-839a-0bd4c3065637*