# Star Wars: Fall of the Empire Pinball Live Stream Premiere

**Source:** Stern Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-09-12  
**Duration:** 19m 40s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW2kiqWHINQ

---

## Analysis

Jack Danger hosts a live four-player gameplay premiere of Star Wars: Fall of the Empire with the design team (Ray Day, Andrew Wilkening, MXV, and John Borg). The stream showcases core gameplay mechanics including Force missions, multiball modes (Lightspeed, Battle of Hoth, Death Star), character scenes, pop bumper charging, and ball save features, with the designers explaining rules and strategy throughout.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Fall of the Empire features scenes from all three Star Wars movies — _MXV states 'Featuring all these eight rebels' and mentions 'A lot of scenes from all three movies. All three, heck yeah.'_
- [HIGH] The game includes character scene modes with varying difficulty and point values — _Jack explains 'Your character scenes, so any of them you hit. There's different levels of them, so some are kind of easier but worth less points. Some are harder and worth more points.'_
- [HIGH] Pop bumpers charge the ion cannon to light shot multipliers — _Design team explains 'The pop bumpers do have a very good purpose though. They are what you charge up the ion cannon with to light your shot multipliers.'_
- [HIGH] Battle of Hoth multiball requires spelling AT-AT by hitting jackpots and double jackpots to unlock super jackpot — _Ray explains 'after you hit a couple of the AT-AT lights for your double jackpot, you get a letter in AT-AT, so once you spell all of AT-AT, then you can shoot the loop shot for the super jackpot'_
- [HIGH] Death Star Battle multiball requires 15 total jackpots to light the super jackpot, with character acquisition providing 2-3 jackpots — _Ray states 'every red arrow will give you a jackpot. You need 15 total jackpots to light the super, but any characters you have will give you two or three jackpots'_

### Notable Quotes

> "So as I'm hitting these blue shots, I'll progress the scene, or I can hit the out lane. That's an option, apparently."
> — **Ray Day**, early gameplay
> _Humorously acknowledges the game's difficulty and the prevalence of ball drains during skill demonstration_

> "So it's kind of up to you if you want to take your time through the scene or if you want to just try to complete it."
> — **Design team (Andrew/MXV)**, during Force mission explanation
> _Highlights player choice in scenic route (white shots) vs. speedrun route (blue shots) in character modes_

> "My knowledge of the Force is strong, boys."
> — **Ray Day**, after magnetic save usage
> _Playful banter moment demonstrating the magnetic ball save (Jedi/Force feature) in action_

> "I was painstakingly go through the movies and choose what we were going to use for our mode"
> — **MXV**, mid-stream discussion
> _Indicates significant effort invested in scene selection and licensing/authenticity work_

> "Yeah, so basically everything in this game helps you. So if you play missions, that helps your jackpots. If you get the character combos, that helps your progress."
> — **Design team**, explanation phase
> _Describes the interconnected progression system where different gameplay elements compound to increase scoring_

> "I think Borg will be happy with that."
> — **Andrew Wilkening**, after clutch mode completion
> _References John Borg's playstyle and expectations, suggesting specific design intentions around difficulty/skill_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jack Danger | person | Host of the live stream; plays one-handed during demonstration |
| Ray Day | person | Code designer at Stern; co-designer on Fall of the Empire; explains multiball rules and strategies |
| Andrew Wilkening | person | Code designer; first game working with Stern; co-designed Fall of the Empire with Ray and John Borg |
| MXV | person | Designer on Fall of the Empire; worked on scene selection and game design decisions |
| John Borg | person | Lead designer of Fall of the Empire; referenced multiple times by design team for design intentions |
| Star Wars: Fall of the Empire | game | 2025 Stern pinball machine being demonstrated; flagship Spike 3 platform title |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer; hosting the live stream premiere |
| Force missions | product | Gameplay mechanic in Fall of the Empire; triggered by spelling FORCE and hitting droid target; progress through blue shots or scenic route via white shots |
| Battle of Hoth multiball | product | Major multiball mode in Fall of the Empire; triggered by AT-AT targets; features AT-AT collapse mechanic |
| Death Star | product | Playfield toy and multiball lock mechanism in Fall of the Empire; requires 15 jackpots to light super jackpot |
| Lightspeed multiball | product | Multiball mode in Fall of the Empire; accessed via Falcon feature/ramp; can be built in phases or started immediately |
| Jedi save / Force magnet save | product | Magnetic ball save feature in Fall of the Empire; lit by hitting spinners with orbs; can be used strategically below flippers |
| Sarlacc pit | product | Playfield feature in Fall of the Empire; accessed as skill shot; triggers Jabba event mode |
| Spike 3 | product | New Stern platform; Fall of the Empire is flagship title |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Gameplay mechanics and rule explanation, Multiball modes (Lightspeed, Battle of Hoth, Death Star), Character scenes and Force missions, Ball saves (magnetic/Jedi save, spinners/orbs)
- **Secondary:** Playfield layout and toy mechanics, Design philosophy and scene selection process

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Design team and host are enthusiastic about the game throughout the stream; gameplay moments are celebrated with genuine excitement; playful banter suggests comfort and confidence in the product. No significant criticisms or technical issues are highlighted during the premiere.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Stern leveraging official live stream with design team to directly demonstrate gameplay, explain mechanics, and build community enthusiasm at launch (confidence: high) — Jack Danger hosting; design team (Ray, Andrew, MXV) present and actively explaining rules; end call-to-action: 'go out find a game jam on it let us know what you think'
- **[event_signal]** Stern Pinball hosting official live stream premiere with design team and host Jack Danger playing four-player game and explaining mechanics directly to community (confidence: high) — Entire stream format: Stern production, design team participation (Ray Day, Andrew Wilkening, MXV, John Borg), real-time gameplay explanation and community engagement
- **[design_philosophy]** Fall of the Empire incorporates player choice in approach to character scene modes (scenic route via white shots vs. speedrun via blue shots), suggesting accessibility-focused design (confidence: high) — Design team explains 'So it's kind of up to you if you want to take your time through the scene or if you want to just try to complete it'
- **[licensing_signal]** Game includes extensive scene integration from all three Star Wars films; designers invested significant effort in scene curation and authenticity (confidence: high) — MXV: 'I had to painstakingly go through the movies and choose what we were going to use for our mode'; includes character scene modes and Sarlacc pit mechanic
- **[personnel_signal]** Andrew Wilkening confirmed as first-time Stern pinball designer working alongside Ray Day and John Borg; emphasis on collaboration and code quality (confidence: high) — Andrew introduces himself: 'This is my first game that I got to work with. So excited to work with you and John on such a cool title'
- **[product_strategy]** Magnetic/Jedi ball save feature prominently featured as core mechanic; multiple references to strategic use below flippers suggest premium/LE exclusive or key differentiator (confidence: medium) — Multiple exchanges about when/how to use magnetic save; Ray: 'If I had my magnet saved, that would have been the perfect layup'; Jack: 'You can do a lot with a magnet below the flippers'
- **[technology_signal]** Spike 3 platform officially launching with Fall of the Empire as flagship title; no technical issues or concerns mentioned during gameplay (confidence: high) — Fall of the Empire is first Spike 3 cornerstone game; stream demonstrates stable gameplay without platform-related problems

---

## Transcript

We Love Pinball. We're saved hey there star wars fans jack danger here coming to you live from stern pinball i am joined by the design team for star wars fall of the empire and we're going to jump right into a four-player game and explain what we're doing and how we're doing it. All right, let's go. I'm going to play one-handed, so we'll figure it out. But I'm going to let Ray start us off. Hey, all right. Hello. All right, let's go for any of these skill shots. Hey, everybody, I'm Andrew. Been working with Ray on the code for this one. Let's do you, we do you. All right, so I just lit a force mission. by spelling Force, and then I started a Force mission by hitting the droid's target. You get to see these iconic Star Wars scenes. So as I'm hitting these blue shots, I'll progress the scene, or I can hit the out lane. That's an option, apparently. Well, and one of the cool things about this game, the bumpers, as you just noticed, are right there at the bottom of the play field. So you get a lot of cool action between the bumpers and the slings. Sure. Hi everybody, for those that don't know, I'm MXV. I was also one of the designers on this game, along with Ray and Andrew, and John Borg. So I'm going to try to start a force mission, and I'll try to show them the multiballs too. The other thing was, if you don't want to drain like I did, you might want to get the orbs to do the spinners to light your outling ball save, or the Jedi, the force magnet ball save. The bumpers do have a very good purpose though. They are what you charge up the ion cannon with to light your shot multipliers. But they are also very dangerous. I started a loot combo. Yep, he also started a loot scene. So the white shots will build value, and the blue shots will advance you towards completing the scene. So if you want to see the scenic route, you would hit all the white shots and you'll see more scenes in order. But if you just want the highlights, the blue shots will show you the coolest parts and get you to finish the mode faster. So it's kind of up to you if you want to take your time through the scene or if you want to just try to complete it. He's also lighting his locks. Oh, man, I suffered the same outlay. Yeah. Yeah. So hitting in the AT-AT will light a lock at the Hoth Lane, or at the Luke Lane. I'm going to take the easy way out, and I'm going to go straight for light speed multiball. All right, so you're going to take advantage of the Falcon feature. So right up the middle, there you go. He raised the ramp, so now he can advance towards his Falcon mode. One more. And so I can build this phase kind of like T-Rex multiball in Jurassic Park, or I can just go right away. All right, so he just cashed out and started his light speed. And we're off. So a couple jackpots, and I'll get to move to the super jackpot and see if I can find one more. And you helped program this game quite a bit, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah, so he's been working. You introduced yourself, Andrew. Yes, yes. This is my first game that I got to work with. So excited to work with you and John on such a cool title and hopefully give this one another take on one of the greatest themes in pinball. Oh, super jackpots are lit. Loop them. There's one. Oh, another one? Oh, okay. So I'm pretty happy with that. That can be worth a lot more points, though. Great disturbance in the force. So I got my Luke mode going. Let's see if we can't get a combo. We can't. Try again. There we go. So then to get those Falcon modes going again I can hit the right ramp or go up the middle on the premium. To start forking towards the next one. Wow! Give it a little save. Is it still on camera? Ha! Ha ha ha! Hey, hey, hey. It's all legal, right? They won't invite me to the next playthrough, I guess. Alright, let's see. Well, I won't bogart all the multi-balls. I'll let someone else play first. Oh, and there we go. All right, all right. Oh, wait, I put a four-player game. I'm going to make this happen. We're going to do it. Well, you can definitely beat my ball one with one hand. We don't know that. We're going to one-hand it. Watch this, Internet. I'm about to blow your minds. Okay, never mind. Hold that. Hold that thought. There you go. So you hit the force targets, so now all your force missions are available. Excellent. Your character scenes, so any of them you hit. There's different levels of them, so some are kind of easier but worth less points. Some are harder and worth more points. A lot of scenes from all three movies. All three. Ben. Yeah. Featuring all these eight rebels. I want to go here. Man, playing one-handed is not doing it. Oh, you got the stormtrooper on the right. Nice. Look at that. Wow. One-handed. Picking them off. To be fair, he wouldn't have nine million points if I didn't tell him about that. All right, Ray, what's your strategy here? Well, I got my locks lit, so I think I'm going to try to start Battle of Hoth multiball. Are you going to try to stack a mode into it? Well. Maybe not at this rate. Yeah, I think I'm just going to. Oh, God. Drain, drain, drain! Oh, come on! Oh! The answer is no, I'm not going to start a second mode. I'm going to start it on ball three. That was some dark side activity right there. Yeah, that was some... If I had my magnet saved, that would have been the perfect layup. That would have been, yeah. All right, we need to start hitting some spinners, guys. All right, I'll start it. Well, one lost. I got to fucking spin those first to hit them. I'll take whatever spins I can get, however minor. There we go. Now you just got to remind me to use it when it counts. There we go. Oh, wow! I've never seen it used like that before. That was some sorcery. Yeah. My knowledge of the Force is strong, boys. And now I get my Battle of Hoth multiball. I'm oozing with Force. Ray, tell the people the rules to this multiball, please. Yeah, so you hit any number of jackpots, and then after you hit a couple of the AT-AT lights for your double jackpot, you get a letter in AT-AT, so once you spell all of AT-AT, then you can shoot the loop shot for the super jackpot, which you can see the little AT-AT, he's getting a little shaky, so once you spell all of it and get the super, he'll fall down. Oh yeah, shoot up the middle for Hyperloop shots. Did you say loop Skywalker? You can cash out on the right ramp. Hit the button. Three, two, one. You got your added ball. The last second. Oh, really? Yeah. All right, get that AT-AT. Nice. All right, so you got halfway to the super. so you had a big part in um designing this game you're a huge star wars fan i'm the star wars was my favorite movie and so you didn't mind watching probably you know 12 hours of star wars it was a lot more than that but yeah i had to painstakingly go through the movies and and choose what we were going to use for the for our mode you choose anything that looked cool and then we kind of all helped figure out you know which scenes are the best of the best And we also tried to lean heavily on stuff that we didn't do enough in the previous Star Wars game that's damn. Dead. Oh I should have used my magic. Oh yeah you had it. Alright I think I gonna go venture to the Sarlacc pit. So we'll see if we can't deal with Salacious Crumb, uh, make our way in there. Yeah, so that's the skill shot arcade. Now he's popped up, so I gotta hit him a little bit before I can get in there and start a Jabba event. So the, uh... yeah yeah he blocks entrance but it's open for this oh wow oh we need to add an award for that that was sick yeah yeah maybe the skill shot arcade or anytime you sneak it in there when he's supposed to be up it can just start the job. Alright, so now you can start the drop. Yeah, we'll see if I can... Alright, which one do you want? And then I can choose Luke's gift. Let's try that one. This is when the droids are unknowingly gifted. Plus we can get some sweet drop target action. Oh, that was my drain. Okay. Ooh, Luke's gift. Yeah. Give me the loot. Oh, my God. Look at this. Give me the loot. Ooh, the... The pop-up was lit. Hit the pop-up. Ugh. Nope, we did. A little hard to react. He's smart. You'll make your Death Star lock, though, before you... Oh, okay. All right. All right. Step number one, Battle of Hoth. Step number two, I think Death Star. Let's see if we can't find that one. Can you Backhand Pinball that? Oh, you probably could. Yeah, I actually recommend backhanding that loop shot. That forehand can be scary. Yeah, the Luke. There we go. There's posts and targets. There we go. All right. Let's see how far we can get. So you can see also the droid's target. You can see they're lit white. That's because Ray played a mission earlier, and so jackpots at that shot are actually enhanced. Which actually in this multiball doesn't help you too much. No, no. It does double the double. It doubles the double? Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. I snuck that in. Sorry. Wow, okay. I love a double-double. Wow, that's why my points are so good. All right. Oops. Yeah, so basically everything in this game helps you. So if you play missions, that helps your jackpots. If you get the character combos, that helps your progress. Ooh, can we get the add-a-ball last second? Oh, I need a 10-spin. Not a clean shot. Yeah. All right, well, that was kind of a disaster, but that's okay. We got 25 just on those couple of shots. Those double-doubles. All right, let's see if we can Backhand Pinball the best guy. Or just find the Borg zone. I might beat one-handed Jack, but we'll see. It's going to be close. It's going to be close. A lot of points. And it'll progress here towards completing that mission. Oh, no. Oh, he's already got one shot multiplier on the chewy shot. Oh, no. I'm backhanding that thing all the time not because Andrew told me that's the way yeah hit a bumper and then you can put a multiplier on the droid's target or the loot plane oh no oh oh you're out yeah it's I mean you can do a lot with a magnet below the flippers. Alright, we'll see if we can't take a crack at this Death Star. Not like that. I would advise you to hang on one of the late mission cards. We'll see. There's one. Alright he also started Lando mode. Yep. So that shot will probably be lit more often which is nice. We don't say no to more points. I do finally have my Jedi save which is nice. It's been tricky. I know Borg has done it. I've seen him. Yeah. No, it is good. I'm gonna try to get in there. Well, alright, let's go the other way. Oh boy. It's fine. We'll find it. Oh, buttery or smooth-feeling shots in gameplay! One more. Now, since I've only hit the white shots, my timer's running down. I have 12 seconds to hit this right ramp. Where else? My mode's gonna end! Oh! There we go! Clutch! Oh! The Force swimmeth and the Force taketh away. That was phenomenal. Holy moly. You timed that perfectly. I think Borg will be happy with that. Yeah, that was great. That was amazing. Alright, Jack's gonna show me up here. Okay, Death Star? Nailed it. Ball save. I did that on purpose, Internet, just so you could see that clip right there. I wanted you to see that one, too. That's two. That's two you owe me. You actually almost lit your... Actually, you did light your magnet just from ball save plunges. I should have done that strategy. Can you get that on the fly? Ooh. Uh-oh. Oh, yeah, because you locked it in. Oh, nice. Let's go. Huh? Oh, wait. Oh, wait. Hold on. Oh! Get out of my face. Dang. Don't blow it. That was phenomenal. That was awesome. I'm going to put that on every game. Alright, here we go. Watch out. Okay, check this out. Wow, you're getting fancy. Ooh, big points. Ooh, bigger points. Oh, go all the way. Oh. Oh, I survived. Well done. I'll say that when I'm Jack, it's a force to be reckoned with. Yeah. Please enter Your Initials. Enter Your Initials. So who's going for the Death Star? I'll go for the Death Star. I shall pass your name on to General O'Connor. All right, I need a revenge game after that. There you go. Great shot, kid. That was one of the millions. Alright, we started the Death Star Battle. Alright, what are the rules for this one, Ray? Alright, so every red arrow will give you a jackpot. You need 15 total jackpots to light the super, but any characters you have will give you two or three jackpots, depending on if you've gotten them. And, uh... Looks like I actually already do it. You cleared a whole bunch of them. You had quite a few combos out of it. Alright, so super jackpot is lit. I can either shoot it or I can hit more shots to build. Alright, it's ready. Times two. Nice! Let's go! well folks thanks for watching this has been star wars fall of the empire uh make sure you go out find a game jam on it let us know what you think uh congratulations again to the design team for putting out an amazing game uh star wars is always a banger and uh shout out to john borg We Love Pinball you bye everybody Yep, yep.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ea8678e5-ffa3-4798-8788-f7f2bbd20c35*