# The Making of Black Knight: Sword of Rage Pinball - Behind The Scenes!

**Source:** Stern Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2019-07-24  
**Duration:** 7m 45s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f-GEA84Qjg

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball releases behind-the-scenes documentary on Black Knight: Sword of Rage, featuring interviews with designer Steve Ritchie, composer Tim Kitzrow, and art/animation teams. The game represents the third iteration of the Black Knight franchise, incorporating modern pinball design, heavy metal music (Scott Ian/Anthrax, Brendon Small/Dethklok), and an elaborate antagonist mechanic with a bidirectional flail and upper playfield elements on Premium/LE versions. Development philosophy emphasizes spectacle, intensity, and narrative progression toward a final one-on-one battle with the Black Knight.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Black Knight: Sword of Rage is the third iteration of the Black Knight franchise, described as 'the best one' by designer — _Designer states: 'this is my third iteration and I think it's the best one no question'_
- [HIGH] Game features collaboration with Scott Ian of Anthrax and Brendon Small of Dethklok for music — _Explicitly stated: 'we're working with Scott Ian of Anthrax and Brendon Small of Dethklok'_
- [HIGH] Premium and Limited Edition versions feature upper playfield with Black Knight shield mechanic — _Tim states: 'on the premium and limited edition versions of the game you'll see that the Black Knight's trying to block you he's got a shield he can raise up and down and bash the ball out of the way too'_
- [HIGH] Bidirectional flail is a central playfield mechanic unique to this Black Knight game — _Described as 'this incredibly intimidating black knight right in the middle of the game and he's got this bidirectional flail that he's spinning to try to block your way'_
- [HIGH] Steve Ritchie designed this game and emphasized both smooth flow and challenging/brutal shots — _Referenced multiple times as designer; 'you've got the smooth Steve Ritchie flow but you've also got the battle aspects and some of the brutal tough shots'_

### Notable Quotes

> "this is my third iteration and I think it's the best one no question"
> — **Designer (Steve Ritchie implied)**, 0:35
> _Designer explicitly ranks Sword of Rage as superior to original Black Knight and Black Knight 2000_

> "the Black Knight is evil I don't know what else to say well lots of countries have black knight stories but my black knight story starts with a very bad man who you try to beat in pinball machines"
> — **Steve Ritchie**, 0:20
> _Sets thematic tone and contextualizes Black Knight as universal archetype_

> "I was really flattered to be working with Steve Ritchie because he's this iconic legendary game designer and working on this title was like yeah this is one of the games that really made him the you know pinball superstar that he is today"
> — **Tim Kitzrow (composer/rule designer)**, 2:15
> _Validates Steve Ritchie's legendary status and impact; acknowledges collaboration with industry icon_

> "I only want big bigger and biggest that's all I want in the game which means things have to be spectacular that to be entertaining"
> — **Tim Kitzrow**, 4:45
> _Articulates design philosophy emphasizing scale and spectacle over subtlety_

> "you have to let people create this is a this is a place full of creative people every single artist had to kind of dip into being a concept artist in some way"
> — **Danai (animator/concept artist)**, 5:30
> _Describes collaborative creative process and freedom given to art team_

> "this game is over the top in your face brutal devastating awesome"
> — **Tim Kitzrow**, 10:20
> _Summary of game's intended experience and tonal target_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Black Knight: Sword of Rage | game | Third iteration of Black Knight franchise by Stern Pinball, featuring Steve Ritchie design, heavy metal music collaboration, upper playfield mechanics on Premium/LE, and bidirectional flail antagonist mechanic |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer credited as designer of Black Knight: Sword of Rage; emphasized as industry icon and innovator; known for 'smooth flow' design philosophy combined with challenging shots |
| Tim Kitzrow | person | Composer and rules designer for Black Knight: Sword of Rage; collaborated closely with Ritchie on design philosophy; advocates for 'big bigger and biggest' spectacle approach |
| Danai | person | Animator/concept artist on Black Knight: Sword of Rage; responsible for monster/creature design and concept development; created sandworm and other antagonists |
| Scott Ian | person | Anthrax musician collaborating on Black Knight: Sword of Rage music composition |
| Brendon Small | person | Dethklok musician collaborating on Black Knight: Sword of Rage music composition |
| Anthrax | organization | Heavy metal band providing music collaboration for Black Knight: Sword of Rage via Scott Ian |
| Dethklok | organization | Metal band providing music collaboration for Black Knight: Sword of Rage via Brendon Small |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Black Knight: Sword of Rage; produced behind-the-scenes documentary |
| Original Black Knight (1980) | game | First iteration of Black Knight franchise; featured iconic taunting character; designed by Steve Ritchie |
| Black Knight 2000 | game | Second iteration of Black Knight franchise; featured driving music and high-energy gameplay |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Game Design Philosophy, Music Collaboration & Heavy Metal, Mechanical Innovation (Flail, Upper Playfield)
- **Secondary:** Artist/Creative Process & Storyboarding, Black Knight Franchise History, Player Experience & Narrative Arc
- **Mentioned:** Premium/LE Feature Differentiation

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.88) — Uniformly celebratory tone across all speakers; strong praise for designer, collaborative process, and design innovations; no criticism or controversy present; enthusiasm for 'over the top' spectacle approach; only mild meta-comment about draining.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Stern Pinball produced formal behind-the-scenes documentary featuring extended interviews with designer, composer, and art team; demonstrates investment in conveying creative process to enthusiast audience (confidence: high) — Entire video is structured behind-the-scenes documentary with multiple long-form interviews
- **[design_innovation]** Bidirectional flail mechanic described as unique to this Black Knight iteration; creates dynamic ball-blocking element intended to frustrate player and reinforce antagonist's aggressive nature (confidence: high) — Described as 'never been a play on the pinball machine' and 'this incredibly intimidating black knight right in the middle of the game and he's got this bidirectional flail that he's spinning'
- **[design_philosophy]** Black Knight: Sword of Rage combines Steve Ritchie's signature 'smooth flow' with intentional brutal/challenging shot design to reflect antagonist's malevolence; design philosophy explicitly ties gameplay mechanics to narrative (Black Knight trying to prevent player progression) (confidence: high) — Tim states: 'you've got the smooth Steve Ritchie flow but you've also got the battle aspects and some of the brutal tough shots Steve likes to put in the front of his game to really compel the player'
- **[community_signal]** Tim Kitzrow (composer/rules designer) brought high-intensity creative philosophy to game design; Ritchie and Kitzrow had significant age difference but strong creative chemistry; Ritchie uses hearing aids/Meniere's disease, requiring loud communication on set (confidence: high) — Tim states: 'I only want big bigger and biggest that's all I want'; 'my hearing is going away I'm Meniere's disease and everything is distorted'
- **[product_strategy]** Premium and Limited Edition versions of Black Knight: Sword of Rage feature upper playfield with shield mechanic; Pro version lacks this feature, creating explicit tier-based mechanical differentiation (confidence: high) — Tim explicitly states: 'on the premium and limited edition versions of the game you'll see that the Black Knight's trying to block you he's got a shield'
- **[technology_signal]** Black Knight: Sword of Rage incorporates LCD display technology for animations and effects; described as central to player experience alongside mechanical playfield elements (confidence: high) — Emphasis on LCD effects and animations throughout; concern expressed about players focusing too heavily on screen effects: 'I hope people don't drain all the involves like watching the cool LCD effects'

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## Transcript

to meet your maker the Black Knight is evil I don't know what else to say well lots of countries have black night stories but my black night story starts with a very bad man who you try to beat in pinball machines this is my third iteration and I think it's the best one no question the first black night game had this really iconic character he was like the first character in pinball who actually taunted the player the second one musics really exciting really driving you know you're really pumped up when you play the game we had the opportunity here to bring it up you know 30 years into the future with you know the latest and greatest in pinball design lanes the greatest some rules latest greatest and mechanisms and display and then music you know we're working with Scott Ian of anthrax and Brendon small of Dethklok it's an expansion of what we've done in the past with black night games yeah this game is the only Black Knight where you actually fight the Black Knight party you've got this incredibly intimidating black knight right in the middle of the game and he's got this bi-directional flail that he's spinning to try to block your way there there's never been a play on the pinball machine I really like the violence of it flying back at you as you go through a flail and they'll bring you to the upper play field on the premium and limited edition versions of the game you'll see that the Black Knights trying to block you he's got a shield he can raise up and down and bash the ball out of the way - you've got the smooth Steve Ritchie flow but you've also got the battle aspects and some of the brutal nough stats Steve likes to put in the front of his game to really compel the player so you're like well it is the Black Knight he doesn't want me to win he puts you hilarious and it's my job to figure out how to advance past him to win the game I was really flattered to be working with Steve Ritchie because he's this iconic legendary game designer and working on this title was like yeah this is one of the games that really made him the you know pinball superstar that he is today Tim knows a lot about pinball rules and we got along instantly there's a huge age difference between us but I think I'm actually only 19 in my brain maybe 18 maybe 11 I don't know don't worry there's a little bit of Black Knight in me because it's a character and I like to do characters but that's not why we're black I'd wear black out of convenience and because it's easier one load of laundry I like doing voices I've spoken to my own games a bunch of times and other people's I'm Shao Kahn I'm Mortal Kombat to fight fatality it's funny he was just ringing it's such a super high level of intensity I only want big bigger and biggest that's all I want in the game which means things have to be spectacular that to be entertaining he wants everything to be more purchased yeah exactly more fire more lightning more big hits more monsters in your face everything's just kicked up a notch he's so passionate about the things in the game and you're already talking to him in a loud volume because of his hearing my hearing is going away I'm Meniere's disease and everything is distorted just sort of brings you up and you know like hey Steve what do you think of this that's great I love it Jim working with Steve I feel like we're in spaceship flying through this cloud of nebulous like awesome heavy metal magazine you have to let people create this is a this is a place full of creative people every single artist had to kind of dip into being a concept artist in some way to define who these characters were and what they looked like we sort of had the freedom to explore the black knights world so it was really cool to kind of experiment with some different settings for his lands and different types of monsters that we figured maybe he would in tango into his service so the process really kind of went down to Tim would have a rule or an idea for a rule or a mode in the game initially I started sketching those out and would create some storyboards I would take those storyboards and turn them into a animatics and then once there animatics we could kind of gauge the scope for what needed to be created in three tonight is really good at creating monsters once we came up with some sort of like rough ideas like okay a sandworm you know it comes out of sand it surprises you danai would then take that idea to the next level by concept you know several several ideas for each creature I feel like in the older games like you fight with him one on one and now he's kind of like the Lord of the land and he have all these minions and monster to kind of do his bidding the hell hand was before I thought my god that's hilarious when I saw it on the screen I was blown away it's like that is so cool it's this psychedelic I love how I feel when I'm playing Black Knight I just do it's it's really fun it's a challenge and I've made many adversary of pinball machines but this one is probably the most extravagant the journey where you're the player and you're just a hero trying to take down the Black Knight and he's just throwing everything at you and he's gonna trick you he's gonna you know push his army in front of you pushes monsters in front of you if you could get all the way through the game you're gonna battle the Black Knight one-on-one we're gone and really have like that big moment in the Black Knight story of where you can finally defeat him this game is over the top in your face brutal devastating awesome I guess the biggest thing is is I hope people don't drain all the involves like watching the cool LCD effects you have to walk away feeling like wow I just had a great experience I'm gonna play it again I have to this game is cool alright I don't wanna say that yeah I do okay if you beep it

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: e4e1b5a7-4270-47cc-b7a1-612f74a85471*