Mark Seiden is a game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball who has been instrumental in the company's modern game portfolio. Originally a homebrew pinball designer from the Boston area and Twitch streamer, he was hired by Jersey Jack in October 2021 and designed Avatar, the company's flagship title released in 2024. He is currently working on subsequent Jersey Jack titles and is known within the community as a meticulous designer who actively maintains machines and incorporates community feedback into his work.
No aliases
Translucent flipper prototypes broke frequently and were replaced with standard blue flippers that naturally glow under black light.
Avatar's lower playfield uses a 3/4-inch ball bearing instead of the standard 1 1/16-inch size.
Mark Seiden broke all translucent flipper test units during lab play before switching to standard flippers.
Designer of Avatar: Battle for Pandora at Jersey Jack Pinball; returning to the Pintastic show where he began his pinball career; responsible for mechanical design and CAD development.
Designer of Avatar: The Battle for Pandora pinball machine for Jersey Jack Pinball; presented mechanical and gameplay development. Returning speaker to the show; guided Faske through pinball art process.
Lead designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; designing next game (unannounced theme); previously designed Pulp Fiction (per context); theme was assigned rather than chosen
Designer of Metroid homebrew game, recently hired as primary designer at Jersey Jack Pinball
Designer of Avatar pinball for Jersey Jack Pinball (referenced in KB as machine designer)
New designer working with JJP; created Metroid homebrew on Twitch; anticipated 2024 release pending
No linked glossary terms
Avatar uses 3/4-inch ball bearings instead of the standard 1 and 1/16-inch size.
The playfield was prototyped and developed in a damaged Willy Wonka CE cabinet that fell off a truck.
Mark Seiden used a homebrew machine as his portfolio/resume to get hired at Jersey Jack Pinball
Mark Seiden personally maintains his Jersey Jack Avatar game at an Anterium location to ensure quality
James Cameron personally approved the crab suit dance animation in Avatar
Mark Seiden deliberately designed Avatar's AMP suit differently from Stern's Avatar AMP suit to avoid replication
Avatar features Easter eggs with birthdays of team members that trigger special callouts
Jersey Jack recommended internally that designers not read Pinside forums
Mark Seiden was hired by Jersey Jack Pinball in October 2021 after Eric Meunier contacted him via Facebook
The Akula sea creature mech was cut from Avatar due to licenser objection and spatial constraints
Avatar's convoluted mode names were a design choice driven by licenser preference for world immersion over pinball accessibility
Lightstorm Entertainment had final approval authority on Avatar pinball game design decisions
Avatar's playfield design required extensive CAD work to manage spatial constraints between mechanics above and below the playfield
Mark Seiden's wife is a fan of sea otters and requested the artist hide sea otters in Avatar artwork
Mark Seiden designed the Avatar pinball game and helped secure the Avatar license
Mark Seiden spent approximately 5 years at ~10 hours per week developing homebrew Metroid before joining Jersey Jack Pinball
Mark Seiden worked on Avatar for approximately 2.5 years starting January 2022
Avatar's UV reactive inks are the same security inks used on currency and passports and are highly regulated and expensive per gallon
Avatar code is approximately 90% complete at launch with Pandora wizard mode targeting Expo release
Mark Seiden confirmed future updates will include more movie clips, sound clips, and mode/score balancing
Avatar is Mark Seiden's first professional pinball game.
Jersey Jack is planning to bring multiple Avatar machines to PinFest/Expo with canopies and atmospheric setup.
Avatar's audio/video synchronization issues with movie footage are being addressed in future code updates.
Mark Seiden's Metroid homebrew is completely original, built from plywood using graph paper for CAD
Mark Seiden is Avatar's designer; this is his first time leading a full playfield design project
Mark Seiden is making his first JJP game with Avatar after creating the Metroid homebrew
Mark Seiden achieved 1 billion points on ball one of Avatar LE during the media event
The game includes adjustable difficulty settings that modify multiple mechanical parameters simultaneously
Mark Seiden designed James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition) – The Battle for Pandora
Avatar: The Battle for Pandora is Mark Seiden's first professionally released pinball game
Mark Seiden joined Jersey Jack Pinball three years ago and Avatar is his first solo design
Mark Seiden has been designing Avatar for Jersey Jack for three years
Avatar is Mark Seiden's first game design
Mark Seiden is working on Muppets game for Jersey Jack
Mark Seiden is designing Jersey Jack's next game
Mark Seiden hasn't had a pinball game released in 3.5 years
The James Bond playfields Seiden designed for Stern were never used
Mark Seiden is a new designer at Jersey Jack Pinball with ~3 years tenure and this is his first game
Mark Seiden's upcoming Jersey Jack Pinball title will ideally be Metroid based on his Twitch homebrew project
Mark Seiden has been at Jersey Jack Pinball since October 2021
Mark Seiden could successfully design Harry Potter as a 'no-fail license'
Mark Seiden is a new designer at Jersey Jack Pinball
Mark Seiden recently joined Jersey Jack Pinball as game designer after working at Stern
Mark Seiden borrowed aspects from his Metroid homebrew for his JJP game but changed much due to dramatically different theme
Mark Seiden is now employed at Jersey Jack Pinball and working on a new unreleased game
Mark Seiden (homebrew designer of Metroid machine) was hired by Jersey Jack Pinball as a designer
Baltic birch cabinet-grade plywood costs ~$100 per 4x8 sheet versus ~$60 from Lowe's birch plywood
Mark Seiden's biggest failure was plugging 5-volt light boards into a 12-volt line, requiring overnighted replacements before Pintastic
Mark Seiden worked on Metroid homebrew pinball for years to positive community reception and is now a designer at Jersey Jack Pinball.
Mark Seiden is looking to purchase a house that can hold 40+ pinball machines
Mark Seiden, designer of Metroid homebrew, was just hired as primary designer at Jersey Jack Pinball
Mark Seiden created a Metroid homebrew machine with notable backglass artwork
Mark Seiden was just officially hired as a designer by Jersey Jack Pinball
Mark Seiden accepted JJP designer offer before Steve Ritchie's hiring was publicly announced
Seiden owns 14 pinball machines including Wizard of Oz purchased ~$6,600 NIB approximately 1 year post-release
Seiden designed Metroid using Fusion 360 CAD software and learned CNC machining at local makerspace between v1 and v2
Seiden's Metroid homebrew is on third iteration with potential fourth version under consideration
Seiden used Data East Jurassic Park depopulated playfield as base for Metroid whitewood, harvesting wire harness and some mechanical parts
Seiden relocated from Boston area to Chicago in August 2021; selected house specifically to accommodate 14 pinball machines
Mark Seiden has joined Jersey Jack Pinball and will do design work for them
Mark Seiden performed voice work for seven different characters in TMNT including Splinter, Shredder, and Casey Jones
Steve Ritchie said Mark Seiden's Metroid game was too dark
Mark Seiden lost his job which gave him a year of free time to focus on CAD design and game development
Mark Seiden spent about three years building the Metroid custom game from initial inspiration to playable state
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; mentioned as potential designer for hypothetical Weezer machine
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; has game in development, possibly after Minier's game in release order
Pinball designer/industry figure; featured speaker at Pintastic 2022; mentioned as featured speaker in 2019 episode
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; inaugural game theme TBD; positioned as 2024 marquee release
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; credited as designer of JJP's next announced title
Designer of Jersey Jack's Avatar game; appearing as seminar speaker at Pintastic 10; formerly discovered through Pintastic homebrew program with his Metroid game; now hired by major manufacturer
Pinball designer at Jersey Jack reportedly working on Muppets game; has been in development longest at JJP with no released game yet
Pinball designer at Jersey Jack; rumored to be next designer in line after Eric Minier's Godfather; speculated as potential Matrix designer
Likely owner/operator of Jersey Jack Pinball; directly addressed by Kaneda regarding Avatar design failures
Avatar designer; criticized for lack of public engagement/streams post-launch; potential for more designer visibility to drive community excitement
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; Minney speculates may not be assigned to Harry Potter
Designer; designing JJP's rumored September/October 2024 game (possibly Avatar)
Designer of Avatar pinball machine; attended Interium private party; received praise from Jack Danger and other community figures
Jersey Jack Pinball designer who created Avatar machine and previously designed Metroid homebrew
Newest designer to JJP; making first game release (Avatar); creator of Metroid homebrew pinball machine
Homebrew designer who transitioned to commercial industry. Josh Kugler mentioned excitement about his game 'finally being released,' representing second generation of homebrew-to-commercial pipeline. Also known as Avatar designer per KB context.
Designer hired by Jersey Jack Pinball in 2021; previously designed Metroid pinball
Pinball designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; designing the next JJP game after Elton John with mystery theme
Designer of Jersey Jack's Avatar machine; credited with strong first pinball design emphasizing theme integration and visual effects
Jersey Jack representative described as 'really nice guy'; involved in media outreach
Designer of Avatar at Jersey Jack Pinball; first major commercial game; described as personable and passionate; Jersey Jack homebrew builder
Designer/builder of Avatar pinball for Jersey Jack, creator of Metroid homebrew pinball machine, active tournament player, streams as 'the arcade on Twitch'
Pinball designer/builder; conditionally referenced as potential designer of Avatar game for Jersey Jack
Designer of Avatar for Jersey Jack; questioned whether he and software lead Keith Johnson designed the game together with shared passion
New pinball designer at Jersey Jack Pinball after ~3 years tenure; first game is highly anticipated; potentially designing Harry Potter or The Matrix
Homebrewer designer of Metroid pinball game; newly hired by Jersey Jack Pinball for design work; participant in 2019 Pintastic; supporter of New England Pinball League
Custom pinball game builder; created Metroid custom game from Jurassic Park playfield base using FAST Pinball board; programmer by trade
Tournament competitor at Interium
New designer at Jersey Jack Pinball for upcoming title (possibly The Matrix)
Jersey Jack designer; upcoming game expected to be first JJP release without Pat Lawler's influence; Kaneda anticipates packed production
Pinball designer; rumored designer of Jersey Jack's next game (likely Muppets)
Pinball designer; rumored to be working on next JJP game; reportedly told Steve Ritchie has more talent than Elwin
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; designed Avatar; Kaneda questions if Harry Potter would be his first commercial game
Designer/developer working on Avatar code and voice syncing; has made public statements about upcoming improvements
Designer of Avatar; Tim acknowledges his passion but questions the theme's mechanical execution
Jersey Jack Pinball designer making his debut; working on unannounced game for three years; previously created Metroid homebrew
Designer handling Avatar's mechanical toys and playfield design; Kaneda curious about philosophy of toy integration and replayability.
Jersey Jack Pinball figure; Kaneda contrasts his professional marketing approach (with $100k production company video) to Melvin's DIY streaming
Jersey Jack Pinball designer, created Avatar, video game enthusiast who made Metroid homebrew, expected to design Sonic for JJP
Designer of Avatar pinball game; Kaneda notes positive community reception and personal character
Designer of unrevealed Jersey Jack Pinball game that was bumped in priority behind Harry Potter; host doesn't know what game he's designing
Pinball designer; rumored to be working on Jersey Jack's next game (The Matrix or Margaritaville according to sources)
Avatar pinball designer at Jersey Jack Pinball
Designer of Avatar pinball for Jersey Jack Pinball; first game according to Kaneda
Designer of Avatar pinball (first pin); praised by Orbital Albert for design quality; appears to have worked with Steve Ritchie
Designer of Jersey Jack Avatar; described as less-proven compared to Jack Danger
Game designer; speculated by Kaneda as possible Sonic the Hedgehog designer for Jersey Jack; known for Metroid pinball game
Jersey Jack Pinball president; designer/lead on Avatar; criticized for lack of promotional streams for final code
Designer of Avatar; Kaneda suggests he deserves another project with better IP
Designer and creator of Avatar pinball game; helped secure Avatar license; met with Don at JJP factory
Homebrew designer recruited by Jersey Jack; created Metroid pinball; Kaneda cites as example of successful new talent recruitment
Upcoming designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; slate includes Matrix and Harry Potter
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; designed Metroid homebrew; fourth in JJP designer pipeline
Designer/leader at Jersey Jack Pinball, mentioned as unhappy with Avatar CE playfield printing quality at Pinball Expo, conspicuously absent from promotional efforts
Designer of Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar Limited Edition (inaugural game with this designer). Positioned as competitor to Jack Danger in upcoming reveal week.
JJP pinball designer (Avatar); participated in Eureka Heights tournament; described as friendly
Emerging Stern Pinball designer, Kaneda expresses excitement for as 'new blood'
American Pinball employee; second-generation New England transplant; living in Illinois; part of housing infrastructure for new transplants; helped Ryan discover his job at American Pinball
New Englander who joined Jersey Jack Pinball as game designer after stint at Stern; scheduled to share stories of first few months at Pintastic New England
Designed Avatar for Jersey Jack Pinball and Metroid homebrew; mentioned in context of wireform ramp techniques
Newly hired designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; called it 'dream come true'; working on new unannounced game with Steve Ritchie and Eric Miner
Homebrew designer; created Metroid Pinball; uses graph paper + CAD hybrid design approach; works for Jersey Jack Pinball; mentored Ryan McQuaid two years prior; experienced in material sourcing
Designer of James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition) for Jersey Jack Pinball; attended media event and demonstrated game achieving 1 billion points on ball one
Voice actor; performed seven characters in TMNT including Splinter, Shredder, and Casey Jones
Jersey Jack Pinball designer since October 2021, created homebrew Metroid machine, speculation subject for next JJP title
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; expected to design next major JJP title (Matrix or Harry Potter) in August/September; rumored first design for company
Designer with an upcoming unreleased game at JJP mentioned in rumors
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; rumored first game may be The Matrix
Jersey Jack Pinball designer/team lead for James Cameron's Avatar LE; criticized for lack of public visibility and marketing engagement.
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; next game rumored to be Harry Potter or The Matrix; Kaneda flags this as make-or-break for JJP legacy
Jersey Jack designer; next game rumored to be Warner Bros property (Superman or Batman 89)
First-time lead designer for Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar Limited Edition
Designer of Avatar game per Carrie's reference to 'Mark and team'; coordinates Expo plans and code updates per her video.
Avatar game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; featured in the seminar; Hardy notes his first cornerstone game and that the announcement undercut his moment
Homebrew developer of 'Metroid' pinball machine; serves as major inspiration/mentor figure for panel participants; cited as catalyst for multiple developers' homebrew journey
Jersey Jack Pinball game designer; works closely with Steve Ritchie on game design and layout; describes learning 3D design techniques from Ritchie; participates in panel discussion
Pinball designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; newest team member; introduced as 'local boy makes good'; working on his first JJP game; previously designed Avatar and AC/DC Pro Vault Edition for Stern
Apprentice and game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; started as only design collaborator early in Elton John project; designer of Metroid homebrew game
Game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; transitioned from homebrew design community; designed Avatar as his first JJP game; actively recruited artist Lia Paskey for Avatar project
Pinball designer; designed Avatar for Jersey Jack; mentioned as third designer at JJP; homebrew/tournament player
JJP game designer; next inaugural title in pipeline after Elton John; has been developing game for approximately 2-3 years
Newest Jersey Jack Pinball designer who designed Metroid
Homebrew pinball designer; created Metroid pinball machine; hired by Jersey Jack Pinball; became designer on James Cameron's Avatar Limited Edition machine.
Designer of Avatar pinball for Jersey Jack
Designer of the original 2009 Stern Avatar pinball machine; hosts note this game was underwhelming visually with 'G.I. Joe quality toys' and general aesthetic disappointment.
JJP designer; developed Metroid pinball homebrew; hired ~1.5 years ago; no commercial release yet; Tony argues he could handle Harry Potter
Homebrew designer hired by Jersey Jack in 2021; second major designer hire alongside Ritchie
Believed to be the designer of Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar game; reportedly his first game design
Designer of Avatar: The Battle for Pandora, first professional JJP release
Designer of Jersey Jack Avatar; first professional pinball game; mentee of Steve Ritchie
Newly hired game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; came from homebrew games community; participated in homebrew pinball panel at Pintastic
Designer of Avatar: The Battle for Pandora; led JJP team presentation
Jersey Jack Pinball personnel who met with factory tour guests during Expo 2022
Homebrew pinball designer (Metroid machine); newly hired by JJP as designer; specializes in implementing themes into playfield mechanics
Pinball designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; Avatar: The Battle for Pandora is his first solo design after three years with the company
Designer of Avatar: The Battle for Pandora; appeared on Flip N Out stream to answer community questions; confirmed future code updates in development
New designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; mentioned as alternative possibility for Avatar project assignment.
Newest designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; working on first JJP game; created Metroid homebrew as part of hiring portfolio
Homebrew designer who created Metroid pinball machine; just hired by Jersey Jack Pinball as designer
Game designer at JJP; joined ~October 2021; designer of Metroid pinball; passionate pinball collector
Game designer for Avatar; likely lead creative for pinball adaptation
Jersey Jack Pinball contact; communicated with Don on Facebook regarding Avatar; otherwise radio silent on official release
Don references as JJP team lead listening to community feedback on loaded game design
Jersey Jack Pinball lead (implied); discussed Avatar coil strengths, flipper mechanics, and playfield design with Don
Jersey Jack's newest designer; interviewed by Ken Cromwell on Jersey Jack Pinball podcast
Jersey Jack designer/executive; criticized by Kaneda for Avatar's lack of interactive toys vs D&D's mechanical creativity
Jersey Jack representative; criticized by Kaneda for misleading marketing language about Avatar toy features
Homebrew designer recently hired by Jersey Jack Pinball; potential 2023 game candidate; possibly still in validation period
Designer of Jersey Jack's Avatar pinball; worked on game for 3 years
Designer of Avatar at Jersey Jack Pinball; previously worked on Metroid homebrew game; spent 2.5 years developing Avatar starting March 2022; hired artists and composer for the game
Jersey Jack Pinball representative at TPF discussing Avatar game with players
Junior designer at Jersey Jack Pinball working under Ritchie's mentorship; transitioned from apprentice to independent design work
Avatar designer; first-time lead designer at JJP; creating innovative underplayfield mechanics with Eric Minier's mentorship
Created Metroid homebrew pinball; now designer at Jersey Jack Pinball
Newly hired game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball as of October 2021, formerly homebrew pinball designer from Boston area, Twitch streamer, New England Pinball League competitor, collector of 14 pinball machines
Jersey Jack team member who attended Pintastic with Jack, Steve, and Bill
Avatar designer; panel was overshadowed by Jack Bardy's Harry Potter announcement, undermining Avatar promotional efforts
Designer of Avatar; wife is fan of sea otters; requested hidden sea otter artwork in game
Game designer (implied Avatar connection); interacted with Ralph/Jamie at Barrels of Fun; expressed skepticism about Ralph's game engagement claims
JJP designer; personally maintains Avatar game at location to ensure quality representation of his work
JJP designer; mentioned as playing in tournaments; unclear if elite tournament player
Jersey Jack Pinball designer; rumored to have created homebrew machine that led to JJP hiring (unverified)
Stern designer. Mentioned as living in Miami, visiting once monthly to make Avatar. Implied to lack passion for assigned theme.
Jersey Jack executive; aware of Avatar sales collapse; working on next game
Designer associated with Jersey Jack, currently on support role rather than leading a game
Jersey Jack designer; next game coming after Sonic the Hedgehog
JJP designer with upcoming game rumored to be movie-related IP rather than music pin
Rumored potential designer of Jersey Jack Ghostbusters game
Game designer; working on next JJP title
Designer/representative at Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda describes him as 'an amazing man' and 'super nice guy'
Jersey Jack game designer; Kaneda suggests he should incorporate feedback from Harry Potter's reception into next game
Game designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; designed Avatar (JJP), contributed to Elton John, created Metroid homebrew