# Spooky Pinball Brings in Additional Programming Help

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-10-27  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/spooky-pinball-brings-in-additional-programming-help

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## Analysis

Spooky Pinball has hired programmer Matt Kemp from New Zealand to assist with code development on their upcoming Halloween and Ultraman pinball machines. David and Danielle Peck, also from New Zealand, will provide testing support. The company acknowledged that the Halloween release will miss its target deadline but commits to completing the code as soon as possible.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Matt Kemp has been hired by Spooky Pinball to work on Halloween and Ultraman pinball code — _Official Spooky Pinball announcement cited by Knapp Arcade_
- [HIGH] Halloween pinball will not release as originally planned; the update won't make Halloween — _Direct quote from Spooky Pinball statement about timeline expectations_
- [HIGH] David and Danielle Peck will assist with testing the new code — _Knapp Arcade reporting on Spooky's announcement_
- [MEDIUM] Danielle Peck is the former #1 women's pinball player in the world — _Knapp Arcade descriptor; historical ranking claim requires verification_

### Notable Quotes

> "isn't going to quite make Halloween as we wished, but we are working diligently on getting it done as soon as possible"
> — **Spooky Pinball**
> _Official acknowledgment of release delay and commitment to completion timeline_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Matt Kemp | person | Programmer hired by Spooky Pinball to work on Halloween and Ultraman pinball code; based in New Zealand |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer announcing hiring of additional programming support |
| David Peck | person | New Zealand-based pinball enthusiast assisting with code testing for Spooky's upcoming games |
| Danielle Peck | person | New Zealand-based pinball player (former #1 women's player) assisting with code testing |
| Halloween | game | Upcoming Spooky Pinball machine with code development underway; release target missed |
| Ultraman | game | Upcoming Spooky Pinball machine with code development underway |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Personnel moves / hiring, Code development and release timelines, Spooky Pinball product roadmap
- **Secondary:** Quality assurance and testing

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.5) — Announcement is matter-of-fact about hiring and delay; Spooky acknowledges missed timeline but frames continued work positively as diligent effort

### Signals

- **[personnel_signal]** Matt Kemp hired as additional programmer for Spooky Pinball, suggesting resource constraints or accelerated development needs on Halloween and Ultraman projects (confidence: high) — Spooky announced bringing in additional programming help from New Zealand
- **[product_strategy]** Halloween pinball explicitly will not meet its original release target; Spooky acknowledges miss but commits to completion timeline (confidence: high) — Spooky statement: 'isn't going to quite make Halloween as we wished, but we are working diligently on getting it done as soon as possible'

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## Transcript

A little while ago, Spooky Pinball announced that they have brought in programmer Matt Kemp to help finish the code on the company's Halloween / Ultraman pins. Matt hails from New Zealand, so that's some serious telecommuting. 

Spooky stated that he will be working on the Halloween code over the next year and that the update "isn't going to quite make Halloween as we wished, but we are working diligently on getting it done as soon as possible."

Fellow New Zealanders David and Dan Lee Peck, the former #1 women's pinball player in the world, will assist Matt with testing the games' new code. 

Congratulations to Matt and Spooky!

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: e20b9e72-d8bf-44f6-b6cc-50e66691d065*