# Five Minutes to Tilt #11 – Zombie Yeti on Going from Popadiuk to Stern Pinball

**Source:** Dutch Pinball Museum  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2026-03-25  
**Duration:** 5m 9s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd0N8dF5mbE

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## Analysis

Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti), studio art director at Stern Pinball, recounts his career trajectory from working with John Papa at Zidware on Magic Girl and Alice in Wonderland, to being recruited by Dennis Nordman and Greg Ferrer to Stern, where he became the lead artist on major licensed titles including Ghostbusters, Iron Maiden, Deadpool, Primus, TMNT, and Avengers. He discusses the intensity of working on multiple games simultaneously and reflects on the fortunate path his career has taken despite early setbacks in the indie/smaller manufacturer space.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jeremy Packer started making art for pinball games with John Papa at Zidware, creating Magic Girl, Raza, and Alice in Wonderland — _Jeremy Packer speaking directly about his early career, transcribed from video_
- [HIGH] Dennis Nordman reached out to Jeremy and introduced him to Greg Ferrer, who hired him to work on Ghostbusters approximately two to three weeks after their lunch meeting — _Jeremy Packer's direct recounting of how he joined Stern_
- [HIGH] Jeremy worked on Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Primus all in the same year, which he describes as not recommended — _Jeremy Packer explicitly stating his workload that summer_
- [MEDIUM] Iron Maiden was released before Deadpool, though Jeremy expresses uncertainty about the exact order — _Jeremy Packer's statement: 'Iron Maiden came out first, I think. I could be wrong, my brain, but but it seems like it did.'_
- [MEDIUM] After Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Primus, Jeremy's next project was likely Turtles, followed by Avengers — _Jeremy Packer's recollection: 'I think the next thing I did was Turtles, maybe. And then um Avengers.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "My name is Jeremy Packer, also known as Zombie Yeti. I am currently the studio art director at Stern Pinball."
> — **Jeremy Packer**, 0:00-0:30
> _Self-identification and current role statement_

> "Dennis Nordman reached out to me... and he's like, 'Hey, I like what you did. Do you want to work with me?'"
> — **Jeremy Packer**, 1:00-1:30
> _Key moment of recruitment to Stern ecosystem_

> "Greg and I hit it off pretty well. And Greg about two or three weeks later hired me to work on Ghostbusters."
> — **Jeremy Packer**, 1:30-2:00
> _Describes how he became Stern's artist on flagship Ghostbusters title_

> "I did Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Primus all in one year. I don't recommend doing three games."
> — **Jeremy Packer**, 2:30-3:00
> _Highlights intense work schedule and workload challenges_

> "I came into pinball at just the lucky time... I've been fortunate."
> — **Jeremy Packer**, 4:00-4:30
> _Reflection on career fortune and timing in the industry_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jeremy Packer | person | Studio art director at Stern Pinball, known by alias Zombie Yeti, lead artist on numerous major Stern licensed titles since ~2015 |
| Zombie Yeti | person | Professional alias of Jeremy Packer |
| Dennis Nordman | person | Stern Pinball designer who recruited Jeremy Packer, grew up near Jeremy's residence, credited with design work including White Water side art |
| Greg Ferrer | person | Art director at Stern Pinball who hired Jeremy Packer to work on Ghostbusters approximately 2-3 weeks after meeting him |
| John Papa | person | Early collaborator with Jeremy Packer at Zidware where they created Magic Girl, Raza, and Alice in Wonderland |
| Keith Ellen | person | Artist hired to work on Deadpool after Jeremy moved to Iron Maiden |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer where Jeremy Packer currently serves as studio art director |
| Zidware | company | Early pinball game maker where Jeremy Packer created art for Magic Girl, Raza, and Alice in Wonderland with John Papa |
| Ghostbusters | game | First Stern game Jeremy Packer worked on as artist, served as his entry point to Stern |
| Iron Maiden | game | Stern pinball game Jeremy worked on, appeared to release before Deadpool, created alongside Deadpool and Primus in same year |
| Deadpool | game | Stern pinball game Jeremy Packer worked on; initially sidetracked when Keith Ellen was hired, later returned to complete alongside Iron Maiden and Primus |
| Primus | game | Stern pinball game featuring the band Primus, created by Jeremy Packer in same year as Deadpool and Iron Maiden |
| Magic Girl | game | Early collaborative project between Jeremy Packer and John Papa at Zidware, featured artwork displayed at Dutch Pinball Museum |
| Alice in Wonderland | game | Early pinball game worked on by Jeremy Packer at Zidware |
| Raza | game | Early pinball game with a version created by Jeremy Packer at Zidware |
| TMNT | game | Stern pinball game (Turtles) worked on by Jeremy Packer, came after Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Primus |
| Avengers | game | Stern pinball game worked on by Jeremy Packer, came after TMNT |
| Dutch Pinball Museum | organization | Museum conducting the interview, collects pinball history and stories; has Magic Girl artwork in collection |

### Signals

- **[personnel_signal]** Jeremy Packer's transition from indie/smaller manufacturer (Zidware) to Stern Pinball marks significant career advancement and demonstrates recruitment of established talent (confidence: high) — Direct personal account of being recruited by Dennis Nordman and hired by Greg Ferrer
- **[design_philosophy]** Jeremy Packer describes becoming Stern's lead artistic voice across major licensed franchises, suggesting concentration of visual design direction in his hands (confidence: high) — Timeline of consecutive major franchise titles (Ghostbusters, Iron Maiden, Deadpool, Primus, TMNT, Avengers) all featuring his artwork
- **[community_signal]** Dutch Pinball Museum's interview project systematically capturing industry stories before they disappear, documenting career narratives of key figures (confidence: high) — Museum framing: 'we collect stories before they are lost... pinball history doesn't live only in machines. It lives in people.'
- **[historical_signal]** Career path illustrates transition from indie/boutique pinball manufacturers (Zidware) to established major manufacturer (Stern) during modern pinball renaissance (confidence: high) — Jeremy's progression from Zidware projects through Stern's major licensed franchises
- **[operational_signal]** Jeremy explicitly warns against simultaneous production of three major games in one year, indicating sustainability and burnout concerns in modern pinball development (confidence: high) — Direct quote: 'I did Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Primus all in one year. I don't recommend doing three games.'
- **[machine_intel]** Confirms Iron Maiden release preceded Deadpool, though Jeremy expresses uncertainty; clarifies Deadpool was sidetracked mid-production (confidence: medium) — Jeremy's statement: 'Iron Maiden came out first, I think. I could be wrong'

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## Transcript

At the Dutch Pinball Museum, we collect stories before they are lost. Because pinball history doesn't live only in machines. It lives in people. In stories that are often told once and then disappear. 5 minutes, one act timer. When it rings, the story ends. Okay. So, who are you? What are you doing in Pimbo? Can you tell us story? Okay. Uh, my name is uh Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti), also known as Zombie Yeti. Um, I am currently the uh studio art director at Stern Pitball. Uh, but for the last decade or so, uh, plus I would I've been making uh, art for games. Uh, um, I started with uh, working with John Papa uh, at Sidwear. uh created u Magic Girl and a version of Raza back in the day uh and Alice in Wonderland, a bunch of others. And um because of that, uh I I once everything sort of went a little south there. Um here's my story. I uh was approached by Dennis Nordman. Dennis Nordman reached out to me and was working on some pitching back aches. Um, and he's like, "Hey, I like what you did. Do you want to work with me?" And I'm like, "Uh, you know, I talked to him for a little while. Turned out he actually uh grew up near where I actually was living at the time." And so we had a a lot of uh back and forth and and uh had a good rapport. And so I'm like, "Yeah, let's work together." And so we did. From that he introduced me to uh Greg Freres. Um we went to went to lunch and Greg and I hit it off pretty well. and and uh Greg uh about two or three weeks later hired me to work on Ghostbusters. So yeah, just sort of it just all happened. It it uh fell into place. I got lucky. Yeah. But um and and ever since I've been really good friends with Alt. So it's uh So yeah, it's it's a very famous name. So can you tell us more about games that you uh Ghostbusters? Yeah, Ghostbusters was the first one that obviously got produced with Stern and then uh then I started working on Deadpool, but Deadpool got sidetracked and Keith Ellen got hired and I jumped on to Iron Maiden. Okay, so Iron Maiden came out first, I think. I could be wrong, my brain, but but it seems like it did. And then uh and then went back to Deadpool. Um and that same summer then I ended up um uh because I had worked with the band Primus. Okay. Uh, I ended up working with them and so I did, uh, Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Primus all in one year. Willy Wonka Primus game 100 times, mate. Yeah, I don't recommend doing three games. No, no, no. I have a le and it's for Yeah, it's for adults. There are a lot of vaginas on the Everyone tells me that, you know. Everyone tells me that. I don't know that that was intentional. at least 15 vaginas on the back. So like you say chim chungas. How do you say that the wrong vagina? But also look at the Lord of the Rings game. Hey there is a vagina. It's you know and if you see the white water game the side art from Dennis Northman he's holding his finger on the waterfall. That's a good point. That is something I mean you know it it uh it could just be because it's such a male centric industry. I don't know. Yeah. It's always the Easter egg hidden. Yeah. So we still have some so the magic girl we had it in the museum. We have some artwork from it. It's it's a very nice it is a lot different. I appreciate that. Yeah. No, I I just I you know I came into uh pinball at just the lucky time. I mean like I I you know working with John um you know we had some good times. I mean like like uh I learned a lot. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out so well in the end, but um but it did. It did in the grand scheme of things. And and uh you know, I've been fortunate. I mean, after after uh Deadpool and Iron Maiden, Primus, I think the next thing I did was Turtles, maybe. And then um Avengers. Ah, wrap it up. Jeremy Zeti. Yes. Thanks for your mini interview. Appreciate it. I appreciate it. Great to see you.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-06-06 | Item ID: d9a7cf3a-d6ff-4be0-8182-44fdf22563a5*