Barry Oursler is a legendary pinball designer who worked primarily for Williams during a career spanning from the 1970s to the 1990s, designing over 30 games that sold 135,000+ units and are credited with reviving the pinball industry. He is best known for creating groundbreaking titles including Gorgar (the first talking pinball machine) and Space Shuttle (1984), and was inducted into the Pinball Hall of Fame. Oursler passed away sometime before 2025, with his final design being Barry O's Barbecue Challenge.
Barry Oursler designed Williams' Comet (1985) and Fire! (1987)
Barry Oursler died from a bad reaction to resuming chemotherapy after approximately one month at American Pinball
Barry Oursler died from complications of resuming chemotherapy treatment after regaining health insurance
Barry Oursler had cancer and lacked health insurance while at Deep Root Pinball, forcing treatment interruption
Co-designer of Space Shuttle (1984) with Larry DeMar and Joe Kaminkow
Designer of Williams Comet (1985) and Fire! (1987)
Designer credited as the brainchild behind WHO dunnit
Pinball designer hired by Deep Root
Pinball designer; designed Williams Phoenix (1978) as his first game
Prolific Williams pinball playfield designer; created designs for Space Shuttle, Comet, Python; described as 'such a nice guy' and 'prolific playfield production machine'
Deep Root Pinball staff member introduced at seminar; received applause from audience
No linked glossary terms
Barry Oursler designed the initial game concept in approximately one month from a blank slate
Barry Oursler designed Time Fantasy
Barry Oursler died three days after submitting his whitewood design to American Pinball
Barry Oursler was known in the industry as 'the fastest gun' for rapid game design
Barry Oursler had 40 years of game design experience
Barry Oursler designed the entire game and handed it to American Pinball for development
Barry Oursler's Barbecue Challenge is his final design before he passed away
Royalties from the game will be directed to Barry Oursler's estate
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge is Barry Oursler's final all-new design
Barry Oursler had a 46-year career in game design
Bally's Doctor Who pinball machine was designed in 1992 by Barry Oursler
Barry Oursler completed a game in six months that was transferred from Deeproot to American Pinball
Oursler could design and develop a complete pinball game in six months or less
Barry Oursler designed Phoenix in 1978 as his first game design
Oursler's father worked in quality control at Williams and taught him soldering from age six
Dirty Harry was Oursler's personal favorite game among his designs
Gorgar was the first speech-sound pinball game and Oursler's best-selling title
Barry Oursler lost income and health insurance in 2021 while battling cancer
Barry Oursler passed away on February 21, 2022 after adverse reaction to chemotherapy
Deeproot Pinball's lost Food Truck prototype by Barry Oursler has been found and photographed
Barry Oursler was working on Food Truck machine when Deeproot Pinball closed
Space Shuttle arguably saved pinball at the time it was released
Oursler had everything ready to go for his six Deep Root games but couldn't get engineers to start production on them
Oursler had a great sense of humor and was an excellent cook
Barry Oursler entered the pinball industry at Williams in the 1970s working on the assembly line before transitioning to engineering and design
Gorgar was the first pinball game to feature speech synthesis
Oursler could design and build games ready to go in a matter of weeks
Queen Pinball design included Freddie Mercury rising from playfield with microphone as toy feature
Barry Oursler had a 26-year gap since his last commercial pinball design (Junkyard in 1996)
Deep Root Pinball collapsed with SEC involvement and laid off all staff
Oursler was working on six pinball games at Deep Root including Who, Food Truck, Goonies, and Black Hole remake
Pinball Brothers' backers bought out Andrew Highway and took over Highway Pinball assets including Queen license
Oursler designed the first talking pinball machine, Gorgar
Deep Root's pin bar feature was overly ambitious and potentially problematic for game reliability
Barry Oursler, legendary pinball designer, has passed away
Space Shuttle (1984) saved and revitalized the pinball industry
Barry Oursler was known as a prankster and practical joker in the office
Barry Oursler was hired by American Pinball earlier in the month
Barry Oursler designed more than 40 pinball games over a 40+ year career
Barry fundraised $33,718 for medical bills starting from a $20,000 target in 2014
Barry was diagnosed with bone cancer in February 2013 and his wife Donna was suffering from kidney failure
Barry Oursler died on February 21, 2022, at age 70 from cancer complications
Barry designed over 40 pinball games during his career
Barry's Williams career spanned from 1978 (Phoenix) to 1996 (Junkyard)
Barry collaborated with Python Anghelo on Jokerz!, Bad Cats, and Popeye Saves The Earth
Barry Oursler designed Gorgar in 1979
Barry Oursler has joined American Pinball's design team
Barry Oursler's games sold nearly 150,000 total machines
Barry Oursler designed over 40 games during his career with Williams/Bally
Oursler created multiple game designs at Deeproot Pinball intended for future releases
Oursler produced at least 20 games in his first decade in the industry
Barry Oursler completely redesigned Space Shuttle's playfield from the original Joe Kamenkow/Larry DeMar layout
Whatever game Williams released at that moment would have been credited with saving pinball if it sold well
Barry Oursler is designing at Deeproot Pinball
American Pinball sold approximately 700 units of Houdini
American Pinball's market success target is 1,000-1,500 annual unit sales representing 10-15% market share
Time Warp featured banana flippers salvaged from Disco Fever
Barry Oursler designed over 30 pinball games across his career
Phoenix (1978) was Barry's first pinball design
Over 6,000 Phoenix machines were manufactured
Gorgar (1979) was the first talking pinball machine
Dracula was originally 75% complete as an Alien-themed game
Defender was more expensive to produce than any other Williams game due to coil count
Barry could produce two games per year at Williams with in-house support
Police Force was originally Batman-themed
Columbia Pictures delayed the Alien movie, forcing a retheme to Dracula
Barry Oursler has been appointed to Heighway Pinball as designer and advisor on current and future games
Barry Oursler's game is scheduled as Heighway Pinball's fourth title with a licensed theme
Barry Oursler designed Comet, Cyclone, Hurricane trilogy, Pinbot, Jackbot, Dirty Harry, Doctor Who, and Junkyard
Barry Oursler designed Space Shuttle, which is frequently considered the saviour of pinball in its battle against video games
Barry Oursler was diagnosed with bone cancer in February 2013
Barry Oursler has eighteen years of experience making pinballs for Williams
Barry Oursler worked for Williams for 26 years.
Machines Barry Oursler was involved with sold over 100,000 units.
Gorgar was the first talking pinball machine.
Space Shuttle sparked the revival of pinball against video game popularity.
PIN-BOT was one of the first games designed after artwork was completed.
Doctor Who's 3-level moving playfield worked flawlessly for 15 years.
Popeye and Bad Cats were Barry Oursler's two least favorite games he designed.
Joe Joos was the best mechanical engineer Barry Oursler ever worked with.
Gorgon (1979) was the first talking pinball machine, with a seven-word vocabulary.
Space Shuttle featured the first plastic ramps in a Williams pinball machine.
Barry Oursler designed 35 games for Williams between 1978 and 1996, collectively selling over 135,000 units.
Comet was originally titled 'Riverview' after the Chicago amusement park, but was renamed due to lack of international recognition.
Barry deliberately designed inclusive, cross-gender appeal games (e.g., Comet) in contrast to competitors like Steve Richie who designed macho-themed titles.
Python (Vladimir Arlovsky) was a brilliant but eccentric artist who worked best under deadline pressure, often delaying work until the final days before delivery.
Pinball industry sales collapsed between 1981 and 1985, with most games selling fewer than 2,000 units.
Barry started at Williams in 1970 immediately after high school graduation, working initially as a back box tester.
Williams management threatened to shut down the pinball division if the selected game (Space Shuttle) did not achieve commercial success.
Space Shuttle sold approximately 7,000 units and is credited with saving the Williams pinball division.
Designer Python mentions in context of pinball history; Python criticizes him as a non-designer who only handles mechanical/hardware aspects without understanding game design theory
Designer of Williams Phoenix (1978).
Pinball industry figure involved with Deep Root project; Jeff Teolis expressed positive regard and concern for his future
Pinball game designer; rumored to have game in American Pinball development pipeline
Designer of Williams Phoenix (1978)
Legendary pinball designer (Space Shuttle, Pinbot, Gorgar, Popeye Saves the Earth); passed away at age 70 from cancer; recently joined American Pinball; also designed for Williams, Deep Root, Highway Pinball
Space Shuttle game designer at American Pinball; working with Steven Bowden on pinball title
Classic pinball designer whose design philosophy and mechanical innovations are referenced throughout Barry O's Barbecue (Barracora, Space Shuttle references)
Designer of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
Legendary pinball designer (1978-recently deceased); designed Phoenix, Gorgar, Laserball, Time Warp, Dirty Harry, Pinbot, Junkyard; worked at Williams from high school through multi-decade career; known for humility, kindness, and design efficiency
Credit given as contributor to Whodunit game design
Subject of Barry's Barbecue Challenge; Kaneda criticizes game and suggests Oursler barely contributed to design
Industry veteran with 20-30 years of pinball experience; worked with Deep Root; should have caught critical issues
Pinball designer; namesake and subject of American Pinball's Barry O's Barbecue Challenge; proceeds from game sales support his family; relatively unknown outside hardcore pinball community
Pinball designer; completed first full design for American Pinball; worked with Steve Bowden on rules; previously worked on multiple designs at another manufacturer.
Industry legend; hung out with VIP tour group at Deep Root facility; described as actively engaging with media
Pinball designer/industry figure who recently passed away; designed barbecue-themed pinball machine
Legendary pinball designer with 26-year career at Williams; designed Gorgar (first talking pinball), PIN-BOT, Doctor Who, Space Shuttle, Popeye, Bad Cats; machines sold 100,000+ units; post-Williams career in parts distribution and food safety.
Designer of Jokers! (1988 Williams); praised for brilliant double scoring ramp mechanic
Deep Root Pinball designer known for Dr. Who and Bram Stoker's Dracula
Artist who created artwork for Flight 2000, Big Game, Stargazer, and Split Second
Designer whose final game American Pinball plans to make; Kaneda criticizes as legacy-based rather than market-based decision
Game designer; Kaneda mentions his Food Truck pinball as potential Deep Root design acquired by American Pinball
Game designer; American Pinball upcoming title reportedly a tribute/food truck game based on his work
Dutch Pinball designer; praised as one of best at translating theme into pinball; designing next Dutch Pinball game with Roger Sharpe advising
Designer of Popeye pinball; confirmed to Zach Sharp that Popeye represents exceptional depth among his portfolio
Late legendary pinball designer; Barry's Barbecue Challenge was his final game design
Legendary pinball designer after whom American Pinball's Barbecue game is themed/named; referenced as 'Barry O' in skit
Designer at Deep Root working on Food Truck and Goonies games; observed during facility tour
Legendary pinball designer who died February 21st. Career spanned Williams (1978-1996), Highway Pinball, Deep Root Pinball, and American Pinball. Designed 15+ iconic games including Phoenix, Gorgar, Space Shuttle, Bad Cats, Harley Davidson, Doctor Who, Junkyard.
Designer/principal figure at Deep Root Pinball who has been waiting to bring Raza to market; Hardy expresses sympathy for his situation
Legendary pinball designer hired by American Pinball from Deep Root Pinball; diagnosed with cancer; designed Barry's Barbecue Challenge in one month; died from complications of chemotherapy resumption; this game is his final design
Game designer at Deep Root; 26 years at Williams, part-time at Highway, now at Deep Root working on multiple projects; describes self as 'middle-of-the-road designer' focused on mass appeal
Legendary designer with 26 years at Williams, 2 years at Highway Pinball; now at Deep Root working on multiple games; specializes in mass-appeal themes (carnival, sci-fi, monster)
In-house designer for Deep Root Pinball
Renowned Williams-era designer (Space Shuttle, Pinbot series); contracted with Highway Pinball for games 2 and possibly 3.
Co-designer of Queen pinball playfield; prior games include Dirty Harry and other 1990s-era designs
Late legendary pinball designer (1970s-1990s) responsible for Junkyard, Pimbot, Space Shuttle, Bad Cats, Cyclone, Comet, Jungle Lord; American Pinball's next game rumored to be based on his design
Designer at Deep Root
Legendary pinball designer who passed away from bone cancer; worked on Food Truck at Deep Root and credited for Queen Bisons layout at Pinball Brothers; recently picked up by American Pinball before his passing
Pinball designer; completed Whitewood for American Pinball before passing; game planned for production release
Legendary pinball designer; worked with Zofia Ryan on Doctor Who, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Popeye Saves the Earth, and Dirty Harry; co-inventor on Time Expander and Mist Multiball patents
Game designer who announced move to South Wales to work full-time at Heighway Pinball; delayed by health scare in November 2015
Legendary pinball designer working at Deeproot; created theme park games referenced in RAZA design
Co-designer of the original Heighway Pinball Queen machine.
Pinball game designer; collaborated with Python on Comet; sequels were Cyclone and Hurricane
Legendary game designer; honored guest and seminar presenter at Pintastic 2017
Legendary pinball game designer with 40+ games including Gorgar, Pinbot, Space Shuttle; joined American Pinball as Game Designer after time at Deeproot Pinball and Heighway Pinball
Game designer with 18 years of Williams experience; partnered with Vonnie D Pinball
Legendary pinball designer; inducted into Hall of Fame as special guest speaker
Legendary game designer hired by Heighway Pinball to advise on current/future games and design fourth title
Famous Williams pinball designer; designer of Pinbot and Comet/Cyclone/Hurricane series; 2014 hall of fame inductee; deceased
Legendary pinball designer; diagnosed with bone cancer February 2013; appealing for financial community support
Legendary pinball designer (46-year career), deceased February 2022, original designer of this game's playfield
Legendary pinball designer, deceased February 21, 2022, age 70, from cancer complications
Pinball designer who designed Popeye Saves the Earth; allowed others on his team to take leadership roles
Designer of Food Truck, a Deeproot project not being revived by Turner
Late pinball designer who designed Bally's Doctor Who pinball machine in 1992
Pinball game designer credited with designing Queen pinball machine
Legendary pinball designer; created final original design for American Pinball before passing
Game designer who completed a game in six months at Deeproot that American Pinball will produce; worked on six games at Deeproot in three years
Legendary pinball game designer; passed away 2/21/2022 from cancer; widow Kathy left with significant medical debt; memorial benefit organized by Project Pinball and San Antonio pinball community
Pinball game designer whose final game is being produced by American Pinball
Legendary pinball designer; American Pinball planning to manufacture his final pinball game
Designer associated with Deeproot Pinball; had a lost Food Truck pinball machine prototype
Pinball game designer who was working on Food Truck machine when Deeproot closed
Legendary pinball designer who passed away; subject of community tribute
Legendary pinball designer, deceased at age 70, 40+ year career with 40+ games designed, recently hired by American Pinball
Legendary pinball designer joining American Pinball
Pinball designer; inferred as designer of rumored American Pinball Food Truck game (described as 'no longer with us')
Pinball industry icon recently hospitalized for coronavirus; has been subject of recent community drama
Game designer/namesake for Barry's Barbecue Challenge; game includes his name and imagery on cabinet
Pinball designer; created Space Shuttle (1984) and Space Station (1987)
Pinball designer of Pin*Bot and WHO dunnit
Designer of Queen pinball; criticized for tired layout, weak flippers, poor speaker placement design
Designer of Time Fantasy (1983); created game in two-week rush timeframe for Williams
Legendary pinball designer whose 11 Barry-themed games are referenced and honored through hidden Easter eggs in Barry's Barbecue Challenge.
Referenced in comparison to Neyens' perspective on his own designs
Designer of Space Shuttle pinball game; working with American Pinball on new game development
Legendary pinball designer (deceased February 2022); known for Space Shuttle, Gorgar (first talking pinball), and prolific career at Williams/Baltimore. Hired by American Pinball August 2021, died ~4 days after submitting Barry O's Barbecue Challenge whitewood layout. Had started concept work on 'American Pinball Factory' second game.
Legendary pinball designer; American Pinball releasing tribute game (rumored as 'Food Truck') as his final design.
Designer/leader at American Pinball; conducted seminar at Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown discussing company hiring, market goals, and Houdini sales figures
Legendary pinball designer (deceased); designed Barry O's Barbecue Challenge; worked on Highway Pinball Queen, Food Truck, and Deep Root whitewoods; died shortly after joining American Pinball due to cancer complications; lacked health insurance during Deep Root collapse
Designer of upcoming American Pinball game; attended UK Pinfest couple years ago; new game expected to be revealed at Texas or UK show
Williams pinball designer, primary subject; only full-time designer at Williams during early 1980s crisis; redesigned Space Shuttle playfield
Pinball designer; collaborated with Python Angelo; willingness to 'abdicate ego and vanity' allowed Python to express artistic vision
Designer of original Pinbot; Bride of Pinbot designer is different person (John Trudeau)
Designer hired by Deep Root Pinball, cited as established pinball industry figure
Designer of Barry O's Barbecue Challenge; handed complete design to American Pinball for manufacturing
Primary designer of Barry's Barbecue Challenge; playfield designer; co-designer with Steve; referenced throughout stream
Game designer/namesake of Barry O's Barbecue Challenge; described as 'a kind and sweet man'
Legendary pinball designer with 40+ years in industry; co-designer of Barry O's Barbecue Challenge; deceased early 2022 from cancer complications
Legendary pinball designer whose career games are extensively referenced in Barry O's Barbecue Challenge; deceased; subject of posthumous tribute game
Game designer (deceased); Barry O's Barbecue Challenge named in his honor as legendary pinball designer
Legendary pinball designer hired by American Pinball, diagnosed with cancer during employment at Deep Root Games, completed first draft of Barry's Barbecue Challenge (CarHop) in one month, died from chemotherapy complications while at American Pinball. Recognized for rapid game design ability and philosophy of creating easy-to-learn, hard-to-master games.
Late legendary pinball designer (d. 2022) known for Space Shuttle, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jungle Lord, Pinbot, and Queen (final design with Pinball Brothers). His name/likeness featured on American Pinball's barbecue game.
Legendary pinball designer (1970s-90s); rumored next American Pinball game credited to his design work
Legendary pinball designer; passed away at age 70 from cancer; designed Space Shuttle (credited with saving Williams), Pinbot, Gorgar (first talking pinball), Popeye Saved the Earth (1994); recently signed with American Pinball; praised as sweetheart/collaborator by community
Veteran pinball designer with 40+ years experience and 40+ game designs; hired by American Pinball
Legendary pinball designer (deceased); final design completed by American Pinball resulted in Barry O's Barbecue Challenge announced March 2024.
Potentially involved in finishing RAZA design; previously finished other designers' work at Williams
Co-designer of Queen pinball (with Dave Sanders) while at Highway Pinball; design later redesigned by Pinball Brothers
Original designer of Queen pinball at Highway Pinball before redesign for Pinball Brothers
Legendary pinball designer who passed away February 2022 at age 70 from bone cancer complications; designed Korgar, Space Shuttle, and numerous other games; recently hired by American Pinball
Legendary pinball designer with 50+ year career; died February 21, 2024 from cancer; last commercial game was Junkyard (1996); recently hired by American Pinball before his death
Legendary pinball designer now working at Deep Root Pinball; brought experience from Williams; collaborating with Thiel on multiple projects.
Deep Root Pinball investor/patron affected by fraud; community figure sympathized with by hosts
Prolific Williams pinball designer (35 games, 1978-1996); only full-time designer remaining at Williams by 1982; remained with company through EM-to-solid-state transition and 1980s decline
Legendary pinball designer with 30+ game portfolio spanning 1978-present; Hall of Fame member; currently working with Highway Pinball
Former Williams colleague of Ritchie; victim of Ritchie's office pranks (bottle rockets); part of competitive Williams design culture
Deceased pinball designer; designed Space Shuttle (1984, credited with industry revival), Gorgar (first talking pinball), and Barry O's Barbecue Challenge (final design); moderate hit-to-miss ratio across career
Design brainchild/designer of WHO dunnit (1995)
Legendary Bally/Williams designer; 'linebacker' sales figure; designed Comet (1985) and other center ramp games that sold well but are unpopular today
Williams Pinball designer; worked 1970-1996; designed 35 games selling 135,000+ units
Designer mentioned in context of Riverside amusement park and pinball machine conversions
Game designer; owner of Dracula and Doctor Who machines featured in collection; Mike watched interview with him on YouTube
Co-designer of Barracora pinball machine.
Pinball designer; signature appears on backbox of reviewed Dirty Harry machine; deceased; last game designed was Barry O's Barbecue Challenge
Deeproot management/production; received applause at seminar introduction