# DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Pinball | Familiar Features or New Ideas?

**Source:** Dirtypool Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-01-07  
**Duration:** 1m 34s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3C7tkEu75g

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## Analysis

Jeff from Dirty Pool Pinball reviews the official announcement of Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye, Stern's next cornerstone title. He highlights the game's innovative features including a procedurally generated dungeon, dragon toy mechanics inspired by Jurassic Park, gelatinous cube multiball, and shield mechanics on flippers. He praises the production quality including voice talent (Michael Dorn, Kevin Smith) and composer Chris Velasco (God of War, Bloodborne), noting the game appears to balance accessibility with depth for long-term players.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Dwight Sullivan is programmer and lead designer on Dungeons & Dragons — _Stern's official live stream announcement_
- [HIGH] Brian Eddy is steering away from his fan layout for the D&D design — _Official announcement context_
- [HIGH] The game features a procedurally generated underground dungeon using pinball mechanics rather than only video screen navigation — _Stern's official feature reveal_
- [HIGH] Dragon mechanic is learned from Jurassic Park's mechanics, spitting balls instead of swallowing them — _Official design reveal_
- [HIGH] Voice talent includes Michael Dorn and Kevin Smith — _Stern's official announcement_
- [HIGH] Music score by Chris Velasco, known for God of War and Bloodborne soundtracks — _Official music department announcement_

### Notable Quotes

> "You are on the road to Darkhold."
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**
> _Thematic tagline introducing the D&D game's setting/journey_

> "instead of navigating only with the video screen—something I was definitely concerned about"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**
> _Expresses relief that procedural dungeon uses pinball mechanics, not just digital navigation_

> "It seems like there's enough interesting stuff going on in the game to help long-term players stick to it and still be accessible enough for new players."
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**
> _Assessment that the game balances depth and accessibility, a key design goal_

> "which should bring a welcome change from some of the other Stern soundtracks by bringing an infusion of some AAA game talent music production"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**
> _Indicates previous Stern soundtracks viewed as weaker; Velasco represents upgrade in production quality_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye | game | Stern's officially announced cornerstone pinball title for 2025 |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of D&D pinball; announced as lead developer |
| Dwight Sullivan | person | Programmer and lead designer on Dungeons & Dragons pinball |
| Brian Eddy | person | Designer working on D&D, moving away from his fan layout toward production design |
| Keith Elwin | person | Designer whose King Kong game was speculated to bump D&D forward in release schedule |
| King Kong: Myth of Terror Island | game | Keith Elwin's pinball game that was speculated to affect D&D announcement timing |
| Michael Dorn | person | Voice talent for D&D pinball |
| Kevin Smith | person | Voice talent for D&D pinball |
| Chris Velasco | person | Composer for D&D pinball; known for God of War and Bloodborne soundtracks |
| Jeff | person | Host of Dirty Pool Pinball; provides analysis and commentary on D&D announcement |
| Jurassic Park | game | Referenced as mechanical inspiration for D&D's dragon toy design |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Game Announcement - Dungeons & Dragons Pinball, Mechanical Design Features, Audio/Music Production Quality
- **Secondary:** Voice Acting Talent, Accessibility vs. Depth Balance, Stern Cornerstone Title Strategy, Designer Personnel (Eddy, Sullivan)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Jeff expresses genuine interest and approval of D&D design choices, particularly praising the procedural mechanic approach, talent caliber (Velasco, voice actors), and balance of accessibility with depth. Minor concern about video screen reliance was addressed by the design. Overall optimistic tone about 2025 pinball market.

### Signals

- **[design_philosophy]** Implied criticism of previous Stern soundtracks as lacking AAA-quality production; Velasco hire represents remedy to this weakness (confidence: medium) — which should bring a welcome change from some of the other Stern soundtracks
- **[design_philosophy]** D&D incorporates procedurally generated dungeon using pinball mechanics rather than relying solely on video screen navigation, representing a design philosophy choice to balance digital and physical play (confidence: high) — an underground dungeon which is procedurally generated using pinball mechanics to get through it, instead of navigating only with the video screen—something I was definitely concerned about
- **[personnel_signal]** Dwight Sullivan confirmed as programmer and lead designer; Brian Eddy moving from fan layout toward production design (confidence: high) — Dwight Sullivan is programmer and lead designer, Brian Eddy is steering away from his fan layout for something that looks pretty interesting
- **[announcement]** Stern officially announces Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye as next cornerstone title via live stream (confidence: high) — Stern has finally announced its next cornerstone title and it's Dungeons & Dragons. Kind of, no surprise it's Dungeons & Dragons after speculation that it would have been bumped forward by Keith Elwin's game
- **[product_strategy]** D&D features multiple unique mechanical elements (dragon spitting mechanic, gelatinous cube multiball, shield mechanics on flippers) designed to provide long-term depth and accessibility (confidence: high) — A large Dragon which is clearly learned from Jurassic Park's mechanics where instead of swallowing balls it spits them. Gelatinous Cube for multiball and a shield mechanic used on the flippers
- **[technology_signal]** Chris Velasco brings AAA game soundtrack production quality (God of War, Bloodborne experience) to Stern, representing an upgrade in music composition standards (confidence: high) — music score brought to you by Chris Velasco, known for his soundtrack work in God of War and Bloodborne, which should bring a welcome change from some of the other Stern soundtracks by bringing an infusion of some AAA game talent music production
- **[licensing_signal]** High-caliber voice talent (Michael Dorn, Kevin Smith) secured for D&D pinball, indicating strong IP investment and professional production (confidence: high) — The music and sound department at Stern is really up in the game, bringing in an excellent list of voice talent including Michael Dorn, Kevin Smith, and other professional voiceover actors

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## Transcript

after much speculation Stern has finally announced its next Cornerstone title and it's Jurassic Park 2 kind of no surprise it's Dungeons and Dragons after speculation that it would have been bumped forward by Keith elwin's game of King Kong it has been officially revealed in a live stream D Stern that Dwight Sullivan is programmer and lead designer Brian Eddy is severing away from his fan layout for something that looks pretty interesting you are on the road to darkhold the game sports a number of interesting features at underground dungeon which is procedurally generated using pinball mechanics to get through it instead of navigating only with the video screen something I was definitely concerned about a large Dragon which is clearly learned from Jurassic Parks mechanics where instead of swallowing balls it spits them gelatinous Cube for multiball and a shield mechanic used on the flippers which will help block balls it seems like there's enough interesting stuff going on in the game to help long-term players stick to it and still be accessible enough for new players the Music and Sound Department Stern is really up in the game bringing it in excellent list of voice Talent including Michael Dorne Kevin Smith and other professional voiceover actors and a music score brought to you by Cris Velasco known for his soundtrack work in God of War and bloodborne which should bring a welcome change from some of the other Stern soundtracks by bringing a infusion of some AAA game Talent music production either way it looks like a title that I'm certainly interested in but let me know what you think I'm Jeff from Dirty poool pinball tune in next time for more pinball news it's going to be a big one 2025 pinball heaven a

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: af92c91a-8920-4713-99c1-cb2ed08767e0*