John Trudeau is a legendary pinball designer with a 40+ year career spanning Game Plan, Gottlieb, Premier, and Williams. He is credited with designing iconic games including Rocky, Crawl, Bugs Bunny, Pinbot, Bride of Pinbot, Congo, Caribbean Cruise, and Night Moves, and is recognized as a Hall of Fame designer. He also worked as a translit artist and collaborated with other prominent designers including Jon Norris and Chris Granner.
No aliases
The design change was due to legal issues with John Trudeau
John Trudeau was convicted of sexual harassment of a minor and possibly child pornography
John Trudeau designed and produced three complete sports-themed pinball machines (Touchdown, Ice Fever, Chicago Cubs Triple Play) in six months
Bugs Bunny Birthday Ball is a John Trudeau design
Legendary pinball designer with 40+ year career; arrested on two counts of child pornography; was designing Iron Maiden for Stern Pinball at time of arrest; released on bail Sunday
Legendary pinball designer (Gottlieb, Bally/Williams, Stern) who designed Mustang, WWE WrestleMania, Ghostbusters; faced serious criminal allegations in 2017
Potential designer of Night Moves; host identifies the game's design approach as consistent with Trudeau's work (though attribution noted with uncertainty)
Pinball designer known for unconventional playfield layouts; reference point for Zach's custom game design philosophy
Stern Pinball designer of Ghostbusters; theater background; worked with artist Jeremy Packer on next unannounced title
Designer of Ghostbusters pinball; imprisoned for child pornography; formerly employed by Stern
No linked glossary terms
John Trudeau, the original Deadpool designer, went to jail for child pornography and his work was completely cut from the final game
Trudeau is expected to be released in mid-March 2020 at age 72 if he earns full 50% sentence discount
John Trudeau pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of child pornography
Trudeau pleaded guilty to Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a family member; four more serious charges were dropped
Trudeau was sentenced to three years imprisonment with 246 days credit for time served on pornography charges
John Trudeau pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography as part of a plea bargain
Separate criminal sexual abuse charges against a female family member remain ongoing
John Trudeau pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography
Trudeau received a three-year custodial sentence with 246 days credit for time served
Trudeau will be registered as a convicted sex offender
John Trudeau faces new allegations of abuse of a minor, separate from prior criminal charges
John Trudeau was arrested for sexual abuse of a minor family member aged under 13, occurring 1993–2000
John Trudeau was arrested on May 17, 2018 on three counts of sexual abuse charges
John Trudeau pleaded guilty to one of the two most minor charges on January 18, 2019, with remaining four charges dropped
The alleged abuse occurred from September 3, 1993 to September 2, 2000 involving a female family member under age 13
Additional charges were added by July 20, 2018, bringing total to five charges in this case plus two earlier child pornography possession charges
Bail was set at $200,000 after May 2018 arrest
John Trudeau faced serious criminal allegations in 2017
John Trudeau was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography in August 2017
Silver Slugger produced 2,100 units and was a healthy production number from Premier's perspective
John Trudeau designed Ghostbusters, WWE, Mustang, Congo, The Flintstones, Judge Dredd, and 20+ other machines
FBI seized John Trudeau's computers due to child pornography possession
Stern Pinball will likely sever ties with John Trudeau regardless of trial outcome
A 2013 Facebook comment predicted John Trudeau would face legal troubles: 'His demons will come back to haunt his life'
John Trudeau was arrested on Thursday afternoon on two counts of child pornography
The Iron Maiden playfield was substantially completed before Trudeau's arrest
John Trudeau was in the midst of designing Iron Maiden for Stern Pinball at the time of his arrest
John Trudeau was released on bail by Sunday following his Thursday arrest
John Trudeau designed more than thirty production titles for Game Plan, Gottlieb, Premier, Williams, and Stern Pinball
John Trudeau was arrested at his home in Glendale Heights following execution of a search warrant
Computer equipment seized contained 'numerous computerized files depicting child pornography'
John Trudeau pleaded not guilty to both charges of child pornography on October 23, 2017
Additional charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual assault, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse were filed against John Trudeau in June 2018
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1992) was designed by John Trudeau
Ghostbusters pinball represents validation that modern pinball can achieve revenue levels comparable to 1990s heyday
WrestleMania was developed under extreme time pressure as an emergency fallback after primary licensed theme fell through at 5-month mark
Returning to game design in 2014 after 19-year absence was cognitively challenging; Trudeau felt his game design thinking had atrophied
Caddyshack pinball project at ICE had Bill Murray's involvement and possibly Rodney Dangerfield's before being cancelled
Learning SolidWorks during non-pinball employment 'saved my sanity' and kept Trudeau creatively engaged during industry drought
Trudeau was passed over for multiple positions during the 1995-2014 pinball industry hiatus due to perceived overqualification and industry skepticism
Game design cycles at Gottlieb were approximately 9 months to 1 year, similar to current Stern timelines
Games at Gottlieb in Trudeau's era were less complex than current Stern games, primarily single-level with early experimentation in ramps
Ghostbusters is still a prototype undergoing active development with real-time tweaks during stream broadcast
John Trudeau designed the innovative upper playfield ring feature with player-controlled slingshot-style kickers
John Trudeau's first day at Stern was Monday, May 6, 2013
John Trudeau has designed over 60 pinball games
John Trudeau was designing a game for Heighway Pinball before joining Stern
John Trudeau's career spans more than 30 years starting with Game Plan in 1981
Mustang pinball is designed by John Trudeau
John Trudeau is collaborating with UK pinball enthusiasts on a secret playfield design and toy development project
Trudeau left full-time pinball design and took engineering employment that is less fun but pays the bills
Steve Ritchie and John Trudeau were friendly competitors during Gottlieb/Premier era, then work friends at Williams
Pinball industry recovery depends on allowing design freedom without outside interference
Steve Ritchie will have plenty to say and is an excellent choice for next UK Pinball Show guest speaker
Creature from the Black Lagoon is John Trudeau's favorite pinball machine
John Trudeau spent almost 20 years in pinball design treating it as play rather than work
Demons prototype from 1986 was destroyed and never produced
System 80 platform had flasher lamps that would get stuck on and melt plastic inserts
Silver Slugger sold 2,100 units, making it Premier's most successful street-level game
Sylvester Stallone was rumored to visit for Rocky III promotion but his schedule didn't permit it
Trudeau started at Game Plan in 1979 and worked there until about 1982
Rocky featured split flippers creating two narrow playfields from one wide playfield
Kill of the Hunt was Trudeau's first actual game design and was shelved at Gottlieb before being released many years later
John Trudeau designed over 30 games at Gottlieb and Williams from 1982 through 1996
Gottlieb designer; created Premier-era single-level games like Rock (Alan's owned machine, previously belonged to his uncle)
Individual whose arrest was recently covered in pinball podcast community, details deferred to Nate Shivers' Coast to Coast Pinball Podcast
Designer of Ghostbusters and other games with signature wider flipper gaps; known for 7.125 inch post spacing standard
Original designer of Deadpool machine before being replaced by George Gomez due to unspecified legal issues; hosts describe him negatively as 'a horrible person'
Designer of Alien Star pinball machine
Guest speaker at Pintastic New England
Signature appears on Earthshaker (1992) backglass owned by Drew; mentioned as increasing machine's perceived value.
Legendary pinball designer; inaugural inductee to UK Pinball Hall of Fame; speaker at UK Pinball Show; currently working on secret UK playfield project
Game designer praised by Steve Ritchie; designer of Hollywood Heat and CFTBL
Designer of Bugs Bunny Birthday Ball (1991); mentioned with host uncertainty about attribution
Original Deadpool designer removed from project due to criminal conviction; work cut from final game
Original designer assigned to Deadpool Pro before George Gomez took over
Rumored to be working with Christopher Franchi on potential future Stern games; mentioned in context of Jaws speculation
Referenced as previous designer of Ghostbusters with alleged CAD design error on flipper gap; hosts mention 'who we don't mention' and 'legal issues in the past'
Designer of Skull and Bones pinball machine
Designer of Ghostbusters (Stern); Kaneda references his criminal conviction in context of why Stern won't vault the game
Pinball designer with multiple ramps in top 10 list
Referenced as designer of original playfield features on Creature from the Black Lagoon (upper playfield)
Designer of Stern Ghostbusters pinball machine, present at factory for stream
Premier Technology designer who Borg worked with on TX Sector and other games; Borg mentored by him
Designer of 11 white-wood prototypes mentioned in museum wish-list (combination rotation and others); Michel speculates these cannot be acquired
Pinball designer; worked on Deadly Weapon with John Norris at Gottlieb
Gottlieb pinball designer; contributed to street-level games; interviewed regarding design history
Designer of Ghostbusters pinball; convicted of serious crimes (exact charges uncertain to Dennis) and incarcerated; name avoided by many pinball media
Pinball designer who worked with Game Plan, Gottlieb, Bally Williams, and Stern Pinball; arrested for child pornography possession and sexual abuse of minor family member 1993–2000
Pinball designer; lost to Steve Ritchie 29.4%-70.6% in Round 2
Pinball designer; upcoming round two matchup against Steve Ritchie; known for experimental theme-integration design approach
Pinball designer; created Ghostbusters, Creature from the Black Lagoon, TX Sector, Judge Dredd, Flintstones, WWE; known as risk-taker with strong theme integration; both hosts' #4 designer
Pinball designer credited with Ghostbusters, Bride of Pinbot, WWE, Creature from the Black Lagoon
Pinball designer/industry figure convicted of child pornography possession and child abuse; pleaded guilty to multiple charges; expected release March 2020
Pinball designer; Ghostbusters designer referenced with caveat about serious allegations (jail time related to sexual abuse) that could affect public reception of remaster.
Former pinball game designer at Stern Pinball; convicted of child pornography possession and sexual abuse charges; sentenced to six years combined imprisonment (two concurrent three-year sentences)
Pinball designer; designed Silver Slugger and began design on Deadly Weapon before leaving Premier for WMS
Believed designer of Mustang pinball, joined Stern in May 2013
Designer of Ghostbusters pinball featured at Pintastic 2017
Stern Pinball game designer; designed Ghostbusters game; co-presented Friday seminar with Greg Freres
Designer of Q*bert's Quest pinball machine (sold <900 units)
Game designer; presented Ghostbusters creation Q&A at MGC 2016
Designer of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1992)
Legendary pinball designer, 30+ year career, 60+ games designed, joined Stern Pinball May 2013
Legendary pinball designer with 40+ year career; arrested August 2017 for possession of child pornography; pleaded guilty and sentenced to three years
Legendary pinball designer arrested and charged with sexual abuse crimes; formerly associated with Game Plan, Gottlieb, Williams, and other manufacturers
Legendary pinball game designer with 40+ year career; designed 30+ games for Game Plan, Gottlieb, Premier, Williams, and Stern Pinball; arrested and charged with child pornography possession; subsequently convicted
Pinball professional; inducted into Hall of Fame as special guest speaker
Pinball designer joining Heighway Pinball team, returning to mainstream pinball manufacturing after years away
Pinball designer with long career creating popular and innovative designs; 2008 hall of fame inductee
Pinball game designer credited with 30+ games at Gottlieb and Williams (1982-1996); began Vacation America design but relocated to Iowa before completion
Pinball designer arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography in August 2017; reached severance deal with Stern
Original Ghostbusters designer described as 'disgraced'; association cited as liability for potential vault
Designer of TX Sector; Chris notes Trudeau has done 'interesting tables for Williams'
Veteran pinball designer arrested on child pornography charges; designed 25+ machines for Gottlieb and Stern
Designer of Genesis pinball
Pinball designer; designed Silver Slugger and co-designed Deadly Weapon.
Designer of Congo; adapted Creature from the Black Lagoon window design for underneath playfield gorilla
Stern designer known for quirky, distinctive design aesthetic contrasted with other designer specialties
Stern Pinball team member with notable history
Industry figure; quoted as calling System 3 'a killer platform with a great MPU system'
Pinball designer; guest commentator at German Pinball Open 2016 with Kate Lindsay
Pinball designer of controversial games; compared to J.K. Rowling in ethics discussion; no longer benefits from used game sales; Creature from the Black Lagoon and other titles referenced
Legendary pinball designer with 40+ year career; designed games at Gottlieb, Stern, and other manufacturers; subject of this Pinball Profile interview.
Pinball community member arrested; scandal mentioned but not detailed in this episode
Gottlieb designer nicknamed 'Dr. Flash' who rapidly produced three sports-themed System 80B games (Touchdown, Ice Fever, Chicago Cubs Triple Play) in six months with minimal bill of materials
Gottlieb designer who created three games in 1985: Tag Team, Ice Fever, and Rock
Pinball designer of Judge Dredd; referred to jokingly as 'pinball Voldemort'; designed Bride of Pinbot and Creature from the Black Lagoon
Designer of Raven (1986); credited as designer on playfield
Designer of Bride of Pinbot
Pinball designer; worked on early collaborations with Granner
Legendary pinball designer with 40+ year career across Game Plan, Gottlieb, Premier, and Williams; designed Rocky, Crawl, Bugs Bunny, Pinbot, and many others
Gottlieb designer who collaborated with Norris on Robo War; had done everything by time Norris was designing
Designer of Congo (1995, 2,129 units, ranked #81)
Gottlieb designer; designed Caribbean Cruise and Night Moves
Former Stern pinball designer; facing new allegations of abuse of a minor; Stern investing in re-theming his past designs
Stern designer; worked with Eisman; mentioned as influence
Congo translit artist; signed memorabilia at 2016 Pinball Expo; mentioned with negative personal allegations
Pinball community figure who pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography; guilty plea appears part of plea bargain
Collaborated with Zombie Yeti on Iron Maiden; no longer at Stern (implied)
Hall of Fame Stern game designer credited with devising the innovative ring mechanism
Game designer at Stern Pinball; discusses design philosophy and narrative integration