# Deep Dive: The Walking Dead PREVIEW **Source:** Pinball Party Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2024-04-20 **Duration:** 5m 28s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://pinballparty.podbean.com/e/deep-dive-the-walking-dead-preview/ --- ## Analysis Pinball Party Podcast's Deep Dive episode #6 analyzes Stern's The Walking Dead (2014), designed by John Borg, Lyman Sheets, Kevin O'Connor, and Greg Freres. Hosts Jon and Zach Sharpe discuss trim level differences between Standard/Premium/Limited Edition versions, focusing on mechanical features (bicycle ramp lift, crossbow swing, well magnet) and the Gilligan's Island playfield lighting as the most significant differentiator. The episode positions Walking Dead within Stern's SAM system era before transitioning to Spike hardware. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The Walking Dead was released in 2014 and designed by John Borg, Lyman Sheets, Kevin O'Connor, and Greg Freres — _Zach Sharpe stating game credits at episode start_ - [MEDIUM] The Walking Dead is from the middle of Stern's strong output period alongside X-Men, Metallica, and Star Trek, with some underperformers like Mustang and Avengers — _Zach Sharpe discussing Stern's SAM system era quality_ - [MEDIUM] SAM system had been around since approximately 2006, and Spike arrived shortly after Walking Dead with WWE — _Zach Sharpe on hardware evolution timeline_ - [HIGH] Premium Edition includes upgrades like well magnet, bicycle ramp lift, crossbow swing, and RGB lighting inserts — _Zach Sharpe detailing trim-level mechanical differences_ - [HIGH] The Gilligan's Island playfield lighting is the most significant difference between trim levels, with Premium having red/green/white and Standard having all white — _Zach Sharpe emphasizing Gilligan's Island as landslide differentiator_ - [MEDIUM] Many people modify the Standard Edition lighting, and it's not even considered a notable mod to enjoy the game — _Zach Sharpe on Standard Edition customization practices_ - [HIGH] Some players are polarized between Standard and Premium editions, with debate over whether the bicycle ramp lift smoothness is desirable — _Zach Sharpe discussing player preferences and ramp variation_ ### Notable Quotes > "It is from a different era, right? So it's a Sam Stern game...this is when Sam Stern is starting to hit their stride in the SAM system which had been around since around 2006" > — **Zach Sharpe**, early-mid > _Establishes Walking Dead's position in Stern's hardware and output timeline_ > "The biggest difference between these two is a landslide. Take all those other things away...the RGB and not the RGB, the actual Gilligan's Island, which when we talked about Star Wars in the past, really well coded Gilligan's Island is a huge part of a game as big of a difference as I think music is." > — **Zach Sharpe**, mid-late > _Identifies Gilligan's Island lighting as the primary quality differentiator between trim levels_ > "So I drink a half a pot of coffee and I have kind of an energy drink. So, but, but I mean, I was being honest. I have a strong caffeine tolerance." > — **Zach Sharpe**, early > _Casual banter establishing host personality and energy levels_ > "Well, for those paying attention to our stimulants, I have not yet tried the Ritalin. Maybe next episode." > — **Jon**, early > _Running joke about podcast format and host energy/performance_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of The Walking Dead pinball machine and multiple games discussed in context of SAM and Spike hardware eras | | The Walking Dead | game | 2014 Stern Pinball game by John Borg et al., subject of this deep dive episode with multiple trim level variants | | John Borg | person | Lead designer of The Walking Dead and recognized as prolific Stern game designer | | Zach Sharpe | person | Co-host of Pinball Party Podcast, provides detailed technical and game analysis during deep dive | | Jon | person | Primary host of Pinball Party Podcast, facilitates conversation and drives episode narrative | | Lyman Sheets | person | Designer credited on The Walking Dead | | Kevin O'Connor | person | Designer credited on The Walking Dead | | Greg Freres | person | Art director credited on The Walking Dead | | Pinball Party Podcast | organization | Podcast series featuring in-depth game analysis with deep dive format | | X-Men | game | Stern game from same era as Walking Dead, referenced as part of strong output period | | Metallica | game | Stern game from same era as Walking Dead, referenced as part of strong output period | | Star Trek | game | Stern game from same era as Walking Dead, referenced as part of strong output period | | Mustang | game | Stern game from SAM era referenced as underperformer alongside Walking Dead timeline | | Avengers | game | Stern game from SAM era referenced as underperformer | | WWE | game | Stern game marked as early Spike hardware release shortly after Walking Dead and SAM era | | Star Wars | game | Referenced in comparison to Walking Dead regarding playfield code and Gilligan's Island lighting impact | | SAM | product | Stern's hardware platform active from approximately 2006 until replaced by Spike, used in Walking Dead | | Spike | product | Stern's successor hardware platform to SAM, arriving shortly after Walking Dead production | ### Topics - **Primary:** Trim level comparison and mechanical differences, Playfield lighting design and Gilligan's Island feature - **Secondary:** Stern hardware evolution (SAM to Spike), Game designer credits and production team, Player polarization and preferences between versions, Aftermarket modifications and customization - **Mentioned:** Stern's output quality during SAM era, Podcast format and production elements ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.75) — Hosts demonstrate enthusiasm and detailed engagement with The Walking Dead, appreciating the game's features while acknowledging player polarization. Light, conversational tone with humor establishes positive rapport. Discussion is analytical and in-depth rather than critical or disparaging. ### Signals - **[design_philosophy]** Stern's Walking Dead demonstrates deliberate feature stratification across Standard/Premium/Limited Edition trims, with mechanical features (bicycle lift, crossbow, well magnet) positioned as optional customizable upgrades rather than core gameplay (confidence: high) — Zach notes features can be 'turned off' and RGB/magnet/crossbow are customizable, suggesting trim differentiation as product strategy - **[design_innovation]** The Gilligan's Island playfield lighting system (red/green/white vs. all-white) identified as primary quality and visual differentiator between trim levels, comparable in impact to musical composition (confidence: high) — Zach states Gilligan's Island is 'big of a difference as I think music is' and calls it a 'landslide' differentiator - **[product_concern]** Bicycle ramp lift mechanism shows variation in smoothness from machine to machine within Premium trim, with some players preferring Standard's non-lifting version (confidence: medium) — Zach notes 'varies from model to model in my experience' regarding ramp smoothness and that some prefer Standard's fixed configuration - **[collector_signal]** Standard Edition lighting modifications are common and normalized within collector community, not considered notable mods despite LED color being major visual differentiator (confidence: medium) — Zach states 'a lot of people change the lighting in the Stern AC/DC (Premium). It's not even a notable mod, if you will' - **[sentiment_shift]** The Walking Dead is characterized as 'polarizing' between trim versions, with passionate advocates for each level, less extreme than Black Knight comparisons (confidence: medium) — Zach describes game as 'almost like a polarizing game, not nearly like the Black Knight versus Premium Edition but some are very adamant' - **[content_signal]** Pinball Party Podcast operates an ongoing Deep Dive series analyzing individual games in depth; Walking Dead is episode 6 (or estimates between 5-20), indicating regular structured content production (confidence: high) — Jon introduces 'Deep dive number six, somewhere between five and twenty' and establishes this as regular series format --- ## Transcript Hey Pinball Party fans! Welcome back to another deep dive where we talk in depth about one specific game. This week, Stern's Walking Dead. Alright here we go. Deep dive number... I don't know, what's the guess? Six? Six? Is that right? Sure. Well, welcome back to Deep Dive number six, somewhere between five and 20. And this week we're doing The WalkingkingDead. Welcome, Zach. How are you? I'm doing fine. A little bit more awake than last time. So hopefully that that aids the performance, I guess. What's the over under on a thousand milligrams of caffeine in your system right now? I drink a half a pot of coffee and I have kind of an energy drink. So, but, but I mean, I was being honest. I have a pretty strong just tolerance to caffeine. Well, for those paying attention to our stimulants, I have not yet tried the Ritalin. Maybe next episode. I haven't. We'll see what happens. I was looking for that update. I needed that update. You hear it I sure it either be like Hello welcome to the Pinball Party This is Jason you know or it be like you know if it works Hello Welcome to All right. Walking Dead. Let's go. Let's talk about Walking Dead. Zach, you want to give us the facts on Stern's The Walking Dead? Yeah, it came out in 2014. John Borg, Lyman Sheets, Kevin O'Connor, Greg Freres, more art direction, I think. And then It is from a different era, right? So it's a Sam game. There's a pro premium LE, but it's from an era where Sam games kind of, you know, this is like right in the middle of like you have ACDC, X-Men, Metallica, Star Trek, but then you kind of get some bombs too, right? Like Mustang and what else is Avengers wasn't good. But at any rate, you know, this is when Stern is starting to I'm gonna hit their stride in the SAM system which had been around since around 2006. So this is near the end of SAM right before you switch to Spike with like WWE I think is pretty shortly after this. And the biggest differences between those trim models in the Pro and the Premium LE would be you get some upgrades on like the Well Walker with the guts underneath Magnet on front the bicycle Girl ramp lifts up and you can hit that sculpt underneath and then you get the crossbow swing around from the right ramp and then Trying to think here. Well, you get the well Walker bombs and have The GI different is a yeah, GI is different, right? It is it's controllable in the premium LE All this is such a touchy little thing. And I think in a game like this, there are a few things that you can't change on the pro and surprisingly, and some of the inserts are RGB as well, which in that game I actually don't think is needed. Just to stay on this trim level thing because we'll get into our standard critical reception and all that kind of stuff and I'll try not to go into impressions but this is, almost like a polarizing, not nearly black knight sort of rage pro versus premium but some are very adamant on the pro Some are very adamant on the pro over the premium like oh the left bicycle Girl ramp on the pro or the premium or le has to lift up you can disable it but it has to lift up to reveal a bash toy for the bicycle a certain mode I say a hurry up mode kind of in a way and that right because of that lift up the ramp is not quote as smooth it varies from model to model in my experience I talk about that later but the the biggest difference between the premium and the LE aside from that which probably is the other are minor and you can actually turn them off as well Like the well Walker magnet If you don like it turn it off the crossbro You don like it Turn it off Bicycle girl ramp You don like it Turn it off But the RGB Only the premium LE has the fish tank right Yes which is also just cosmetic It just it looks cool It looks cool Yeah it does look cool to me The biggest difference between these two by a landslide. Take all those other things away. It's great game. The RGB and not the RGB, the actual GI, which when we talked about Star Wars in the past, really well coded GI is a huge boon to a game as big of a difference as I think music is. So I'll talk about my opinions of the trims later, but there's big difference. This one is red, green, white, right? Oh, God, the green. I mean, there's... I think it's red, green, white GI in the premium. Is that in the pro too? Now I got to pull up the matrix. No, the pro is all white. In fact, a lot of people change the lighting in the pro. It's not even a notable mod, if you will. To enjoy the rest of this episode and more exclusive content, please join us at patreon.com slash pinball party. _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: dd974f99-c9b7-47f6-b988-5d2491b7fc26*