# Jarvis on RePlay Podcast, Talks Career of Thrills

**Source:** Replay Magazine  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-06-19  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.replaymag.com/jarvis-on-replay-podcast-talks-career-of-thrills/

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## Analysis

Eugene Jarvis, a legendary video game and pinball designer with a ~50-year career, was interviewed on the RePlay Magazine Podcast discussing his work from Atari through Williams (where he contributed to early talking pinball and multiball innovations) to his iconic arcade games (Defender, Robotron) and his founding of Raw Thrills in 2001. He reflected on his transition from pinball to video games, the arcade crash of the early 1980s, and Raw Thrills' survival and evolution into a 25-year-old arcade game company.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Airborne Avenger (1977) was Steve Ritchie first pinball machine, and Jarvis did the programming and sound — _Eugene Jarvis in RePlay Magazine Podcast interview, citing his early career work_
- [HIGH] Gorgar (1979) was the first talking pinball machine, developed with Barry Oursler — _Eugene Jarvis describing his pinball work at Williams_
- [HIGH] Firepower (1980) was the first multiball pinball game and was co-developed by Ritchie and Jarvis — _Eugene Jarvis in RePlay Magazine Podcast interview_
- [HIGH] Defender (1981) was Jarvis's biggest game and his first arcade video game — _Eugene Jarvis stating 'That was the biggest game I did'_
- [HIGH] Raw Thrills was co-founded by Jarvis, Andy Eloff, and Deepak Deo in 2001 — _Eugene Jarvis describing Raw Thrills founding_
- [HIGH] Raw Thrills has been operating for 25 years — _Eugene Jarvis quote: 'What's shocked me is this company's been going for 25 years'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I was thinking, 'I'm never going to come here – ever.' Then somehow one year later I said, 'Hell with it.' I just loved pinball too much and wanted to work with Steve and make some pins."
> — **Eugene Jarvis**
> _Explains his decision to move from California to Chicago in 1979 to work with Steve Ritchie at Williams, despite initial reluctance_

> "That was the biggest game I did. My first and biggest game. I've been working the last 45 years trying to make a better game and I'm still working on it."
> — **Eugene Jarvis**
> _Reflects on Defender's lasting impact and his lifelong pursuit of game design excellence_

> "I play it now and again, but my scores are falling. I'm really more addicted to my game Robotron. I enjoy kicking in the coin door on that one."
> — **Eugene Jarvis**
> _Personal anecdote about his current arcade game preferences_

> "It was over – it was like disco or the pet rock. Everybody either got laid off or quit and we all went our separate ways for a while."
> — **Eugene Jarvis**
> _Describes the impact of the video game crash on the industry and his colleagues_

> "What's shocked me is this company's been going for 25 years. From that whole cataclysm of the early 2000s we as an industry kind of went back to our family entertainment roots."
> — **Eugene Jarvis**
> _Reflects on Raw Thrills' survival through industry downturns and the arcade industry's recovery_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Eugene Jarvis | person | Legendary video game and pinball designer; ~50-year career spanning Atari, Williams, and Raw Thrills; designer of Defender, Robotron, and other arcade classics |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer; created Airborne Avenger (1977), first pinball game; worked with Jarvis at Williams on Firepower, High Speed, and F-14 Tomcat |
| Barry Oursler | person | Legendary pinball designer; worked with Jarvis on Gorgar (first talking pinball), Laser Ball, Time Fantasy, Star Light, and Space Shuttle; inducted into Amusement Industry Hall of Fame |
| Larry DeMar | person | Co-programmer on Defender with Jarvis; co-founder of Vid Kidz with Jarvis; Amusement Industry Hall of Fame inductee |
| Joe Kaminkow | person | Pinball designer; co-designed Space Shuttle (1984) with Barry Oursler |
| Mark Ritchie | person | Pinball designer; worked with Jarvis on Firepower II (1983) |
| Andy Eloff | person | Co-founder of Raw Thrills with Jarvis and Deepak Deo in 2001 |
| Deepak Deo | person | Co-founder of Raw Thrills with Jarvis and Andy Eloff in 2001 |
| Randy Chilton | person | Host of RePlay Podcast; conducted the interview with Eugene Jarvis |
| Atari | company | Video game company where Jarvis began his career in the late 1970s |
| Williams | company | Pinball and arcade game manufacturer; Jarvis worked here on pinball games (late 1970s-1980s) and arcade games including Defender and Robotron |
| Midway | company | Successor entity to Williams; Jarvis worked as a contractor developing 3D hardware systems that became the Cruis'n games |
| Raw Thrills | company | Arcade game company co-founded by Jarvis, Andy Eloff, and Deepak Deo in 2001; developed Target: Terror (2004) and The Fast and the Furious (2004) |
| Vid Kidz | company | Development company founded by Jarvis and Larry DeMar after Williams refused bonus on Defender; published Robotron through Williams |
| Airborne Avenger | game | 1977 Atari pinball machine; Steve Ritchie's first design; Jarvis did programming and sound |
| Gorgar | game | 1979 Williams pinball machine; first talking pinball machine; co-designed by Jarvis and Barry Oursler |
| Firepower | game | 1980 Williams pinball machine; first multiball pinball game; co-designed by Steve Ritchie and Jarvis |
| Defender | game | 1981 Williams arcade video game; Jarvis's breakthrough arcade title; his self-described biggest game |
| Robotron: 2084 | game | 1982 arcade video game by Jarvis; developed by Vid Kidz after Defender bonus dispute; published through Williams |
| Cruis'n USA | game | 1990s Midway arcade game; developed using 3D hardware system created by Jarvis and team over four years |
| The Fast and the Furious | game | 2004 Raw Thrills arcade game; developed after Target: Terror |
| Target: Terror | game | 2004 Raw Thrills arcade game; first release from Raw Thrills |
| RePlay Magazine Podcast | organization | Podcast where Eugene Jarvis was interviewed; Episode 12 features his career retrospective |

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Confirmation of Gorgar (1979) as first talking pinball machine and Firepower (1980) as first multiball pinball game, both with Jarvis's involvement (confidence: high) — Eugene Jarvis interview discussing his work on these landmark games with Barry Oursler and Steve Ritchie
- **[historical_signal]** Jarvis's transition from pinball design (1970s) to arcade video games (1981+) and subsequent 3D arcade hardware development reflects industry evolution and technological shifts (confidence: high) — Career timeline from pinball work through Defender, Robotron, and Cruis'n USA development
- **[personnel_signal]** Eugene Jarvis reflects on his 50-year career across multiple major companies and game franchises, positioning him as foundational to arcade and pinball history (confidence: high) — Entire interview establishing his roles at Atari, Williams, Midway, and Raw Thrills
- **[business_signal]** Raw Thrills has survived 25 years in the arcade industry, navigating the 2000s industry downturn and returning to family entertainment roots (confidence: high) — Jarvis stating 'this company's been going for 25 years' and survival through 'cataclysm of the early 2000s'
- **[industry_signal]** The early 1980s video game crash caused widespread industry upheaval; Jarvis and peers like Larry DeMar left the industry temporarily, with Jarvis pursuing Stanford MBA (confidence: high) — Jarvis: 'It was over – it was like disco or the pet rock. Everybody either got laid off or quit and we all went our separate ways'
- **[design_innovation]** Jarvis led a 6-person team developing 3D arcade hardware (equivalent to or more powerful than PlayStation) over 4 years, resulting in Cruis'n USA (confidence: high) — Jarvis describing development: 'We had six guys – two hardware guys, two programmers and two artists. It took us about four years'
- **[content_signal]** Eugene Jarvis interviewed on RePlay Podcast Episode 12, discussing career spanning pinball innovation, iconic arcade games, and arcade industry history (confidence: high) — RePlay Podcast Episode 12 with host Randy Chilton featuring Eugene Jarvis

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## Transcript

One of the pre-eminent video game makers ever, Eugene Jarvis joined Episode 12 of the RePlay Podcast with host Randy Chilton. He spoke at length about his nearly 50-year career, which started at Atari in the late 1970s and soon onto Williams. (CLICK HERE TO WATCH!) One of his first claims to fame was doing the programming and sound on Steve Ritchie’s first pinball machine, the 1977 Atari game Airborne Avenger. When Steve moved over to Williams, he invited the California kid Eugene to a snow-covered Chicago in March 1979. “I was thinking, ‘I’m never going to come here – ever,’” Jarvis recalled. “Then somehow one year later I said, ‘Hell with it.’ I just loved pinball too much and wanted to work with Steve and make some pins.” He also worked with another legendary pinball designer, Barry Oursler, on Gorgar (1979), which was the first talking pinball machine. The second such game was Firepower (1980), which was a Ritchie-Jarvis machine. That one was also the first multiball pingame. It was at Williams, after a bit more time working on pinballs, that he tried his hand at video games. Of course, the game that came from his effort was 1981’s Defender. “That was the biggest game I did,” he said. “My first and biggest game. I’ve been working the last 45 years trying to make a better game and I’m still working on it.” As expected, Jarvis still has one at his house today. “I play it now and again, but my scores are falling,” he said with a laugh. “I’m really more addicted to my game Robotron. I enjoy kicking in the coin door on that one.” He explained that game, Robotron: 2084, which came out in 1982, was a result of Williams not giving him a bonus on Defender. He and fellow Amusement Industry Hall of Fame inductee Larry DeMar, who also worked with Jarvis on Defender, started their own development company called Vid Kidz and published Robotron through Williams. (Their first Vid Kidz game was Stargate, the 1981 follow-up to Defender.) Shortly after, the video game crash hit. “It was over – it was like disco or the pet rock. Everybody either got laid off or quit and we all went our separate ways for a while.” It was at that time that Jarvis ended up going to Stanford for his MBA. All told, Jarvis worked on pinball games for about a decade. His other games with Barry O were Laser Ball (1979), Time Fantasy (1983), Star Light (1984) and Space Shuttle (1984), which Oursler co-designed with yet another industry icon, Joe Kaminkow. He also worked on Firepower II (1983) with Mark Ritchie and a couple other Steve Ritchie machines – High Speed(1986) and F-14 Tomcat (1987). Jarvis resigned from what was then Midway and worked as a contractor to develop a new 3D hardware system “that eventually became the Cruis’n games of the ’90s.” “It was pretty amazing. We had six guys – two hardware guys, two programmers and two artists. It took us about four years to get this thing done. We developed basically the equivalent of a Sony PlayStation – actually more powerful than that – and did the game Cruis’n USA.” By the late ’90s into the early 2000s, in an oversaturated arcade game market, Jarvis had plans to develop a consumer game and co-founded Raw Thrills in 2001 with Andy Eloff and Deepak Deo. But after running out of money for the project, it turned into a make-what-you-know push toward what eventually became The Fast and the Furious (2004). Just before that, also in 2004, they released their first game, Target: Terror. “What’s shocked me is this company’s been going for 25 years,” Jarvis said. “From that whole cataclysm of the early 2000s we as an industry kind of went back to our family entertainment roots.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: c2e8b61b-4f17-488d-ad39-3f36b89f0553*