The production number 525 was chosen because it corresponds to the real house's street address (525 Winchester Boulevard)

Barrels of Fun originally planned 666 units but changed due to marketing advice that the number would negatively impact sales

Over 300 Dune units have already shipped at the time of this interview

Dune's theme leaked before official announcement, which negatively impacted market reception

Market research shows Dune's demographics (male 45-55) perfectly align with pinball buyer profile, but 60% of media attendees at media day had not seen the films

Barrels of Fun will not produce anniversary editions or additional runs beyond the committed production number to maintain collector value

David Van Ness spent 25 years in film and TV post-production (editing, VFX, directing, producing) before starting Barrels of Fun

Carl D'Angelo was discovered through his Labyrinth streaming activity and presence in the FAST Slack homebrew community

David Van Ness reached out to Carl after hearing he was building a homebrew machine, but Winchester is not based on that homebrew

David Van Ness is emotionally invested, hands-on, and leads by example at Barrels of Fun

David Van Ness personally drove a 26-foot truck back to Houston with Barrels of Fun inventory after Expo

The 525-unit production number references the Winchester Mystery House real-world address at 525

David Van Ness refused to produce additional Winchester units beyond the promised 525, citing commitment to limited edition buyers

Winchester will receive post-launch mode updates based on customer feedback and community input

Winchester machines will ship in October 2025

Labyrinth's unexpected demand surge forced Barrels of Fun to radically change Dune's production approach

Nothing was cut from Winchester's original design vision during development

Barrels of Fun will have four Winchester machines at Chicago Expo

Dune pinball has shipped approximately 180 units and is ready for continued production

Luke is a new mechanical engineer who designed the home Pokemon Pinball machine

Facility space expansion 1.5 months ago created 3-month production schedule delay

Fiber laser and CNC capability reduced prototype turnaround from 4-6 weeks to 1-2 hours

Playfields are sourced from multiple vendors including CPR with 12-month warranty coverage

Barrels of Fun now manufactures cabinets in-house using 7-8 layer birch plywood without MDF

Barrel Ball mode will be implemented in Dune after Legendary Pictures approved the submission

Direct orders for Dune will ship end of October/early November, while distributor orders have backlog

David Van Ness has been invited to the set of the third Dune movie

Australian and European markets represent approximately 15% of Barrels of Fun's sales

Barrels of Fun employs 30+ full-time employees and produces 10-20 units per week

Labyrinth production capped at 1,004 units (down from planned 1,100) due to QC failures, with ~50 units remaining in inventory

Dune Pinball launched April 15, 2025, with 1,000-unit production limit at $11,600 retail price and is currently shipping

Dune Pinball underwent CE certification testing beginning in December (2024) to prevent European distribution delays like those experienced with Labyrinth

Tariff rates spiked to 40% and 154% on separate occasions, impacting Barrels' inventory in customs

Dune Pinball development required 18+ months from concept to launch, with initial 3-month concept phase

Barrels of Fun avoids post-heavy playfield designs based on community feedback and criticism

Barrels of Fun is absorbing tariff costs rather than passing increases to consumers due to long-term company-building strategy

No pinball company maintains inventory of finished games ready for immediate launch; games are launched when market opportunity and production align

Early servo batch for Labyrinth experienced quality failures despite ~1 million test turns

David Van Ness worked in post-production for over two decades before founding Barrels of Fun

Van Ness worked at Spooky Pinball for 8-9 years, from Rob Zombie through Halloween

Barrels of Fun uses a single-tier pricing model rather than Stern's three-tier (Pro/Premium/LE) approach

Barrels of Fun deliberately pursues unexpected IP choices to recreate surprise in game reveals

Film production and pinball manufacturing follow nearly identical pre-production, production, and post-production phases with similar problem-solving dynamics

Flipper feel differences between Barrels games and traditional machines can be resolved through FAST code menu tweaks

David Van Ness worked in film/TV production before founding Barrels of Fun and only slipped into pinball industry gradually through display work consulting

Dune pinball's Ride mode allows players to experience worm-riding through a multi-tier sequence mirroring the film narrative

Barrels of Fun was founded through David Van Ness selling a prototype Doctor Who machine to Brian Savage for child healthcare expenses; they then began trading and restoring games together

David Van Ness's first pinball experience was playing Data East Star Wars as a child, and the Death Star opening mechanic was a formative emotional moment that hooked him on pinball

David Van Ness attended stunt academy in Queensland and trained as both stunty and armorer at Warner Brothers studios in Australia

Barrels of Fun employs a design philosophy where players are positioned as participants in the universe rather than character avatars

Labyrinth pinball was initially designed and prototyped in David Van Ness's dining room using whitewood

Barrels of Fun develops game concepts ('blue sky') before securing licenses, sometimes losing opportunities when other manufacturers sign exclusive deals with licensors

David Van Ness instructed distributors to prioritize Labyrinth orders to speed up Dune shipment timing

David Van Ness believes he knows what consumers want without conducting proper market research.

Barrels of Fun's Dune Pinball will fail due to poor theme selection and weak teaser marketing.

David Van Ness has over 20 years of media experience including film production, post-production, branding, and licensing

Nate Hillman, who designs posters for Disney Star Wars and Marvel films, created the David Bowie backglass for Labyrinth

Barrels of Fun is currently producing approximately 10 games per week but can reject machines that don't meet Van Ness's quality standards

The company is adding a second production line to increase manufacturing capacity

Barrels of Fun manufactures in Houston because it offers the best logistics, workforce, and cost advantages in the U.S.

Barrels of Fun deliberately uses a single-model strategy (no Pro/Premium/LE tiers) to create scarcity and restore collectibility to the pinball market

The Henson Company actively collaborates on game design and empowers licensees to tell stories in their worlds, making them an ideal partner

Barrels of Fun will produce approximately 900+ units of Labyrinth

David Van Ness arranged for Marc Silk to record a personalized voice message for Don as a gift

David Van Ness prioritizes theme execution over mechanical gameplay in design philosophy

David Van Ness is building a business plan with a 10-year horizon

Barrels of Fun used a single-tier premium model strategy rather than Pro/Premium/LE fragmentation

David Van Ness spent approximately 10 years working in film and TV production

David Fosmer relocated his family from elsewhere to Houston to join Barrels of Fun full-time

Barrels of Fun has licenses locked for games 2 and 3

Labyrinth has generated unusually high female buyer interest compared to typical pinball market demographics

Jim Henson's Labyrinth took 2.5 years from initial concept to Expo reveal

Barrels of Fun has 15 full-time employees

David Van Ness left Spooky Pinball because they refused to let him make Labyrinth

If designing Rob Zombie's Spookshow International again, the upper playfield would be redesigned as a lower playfield

Ben Heck advised against physical ball locks in Rob Zombie game due to programming concerns

Rob Zombie's Spookshow International was David Van Ness's first game design for Spooky Pinball

Spooky Pinball pursued Rob Zombie license because America's Most Haunted struggled to sell initially

Only one prototype of Pinball Zombies from Beyond the Grave exists, stored at Spooky Pinball

Rob Zombie's Spookshow International was originally designed as 'Pinball Zombies from Beyond the Grave'

John Popadiuk's core problem was inability to execute production, not malicious intent; he was protective of IP due to fear of talent poaching

Theme and narrative should be primary design drivers in pinball, with mechanical effects supporting story (e.g., ball disappearing) rather than pure shot sequences

David Van Ness started creating animations for John Popadiuk in 2011, not 2014 as initially stated

Most of Van Ness's animation work for Magic Girl and Raza did not appear in final game releases

Van Ness received zero payment for work on Magic Girl, Raza, and Experts of Dangerous; promised compensation was a completed game only

Modern licensing deals (especially film/TV) have become significantly more complex and expensive due to digital distribution rights and agent involvement

Pinball industry is extremely small with inevitable IP leakage; information cannot be contained despite trust relationships

Van Ness worked on Popadiuk and Skid B projects simultaneously while maintaining full-time day job, working 8:30 PM to 2 AM most nights

Experts of Dangerous was a custom project with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, not licensed through Discovery/MythBusters brand

Van Ness views his failed projects as learning experiences and portfolio material despite zero compensation