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Jack Danger hosts Venom Vault Celebration, discussing design innovation and playing with development team.
Venom introduced save-as-you-go progress mechanics to pinball, allowing players to progress toward wizard mode over months
high confidence · Jack Danger and design team discussing design goals: 'this is the first game we started playing with save as you go, save your progress... we wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game. Even if it took them months, they could eventually see it.'
Venom features eight total characters that can be unlocked, with Ghost Rider being the most recent addition
high confidence · Jack Danger: 'there's like eight characters total you can eventually unlock now with Ghost Rider, right?' Design team member confirms.
Players can change characters mid-game (each ball), unlike typical character-selection games that lock you in at the start
high confidence · Design team: 'this is the first time that you can change characters mid game... you can change it each ball... the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time.'
Venom's fast locks mechanic was pushed further after initial implementation, making it one of the fastest games ever made
high confidence · Jack and design team: 'Fast locks when it first started out weren't as fast as they ended up... we pushed really far on this game... It's like one of the fastest games ever made.'
Venom is the second game in a series of thematically-linked titles; Dungeons & Dragons is the third, with game four currently in development
high confidence · Design team member: 'This is mine and Brian's game number three... No, two. Two. This is game two. D and D was game three, and we're currently working on game four.'
Each character in Venom has different music genres (funk, rock, etc.) reflecting the character's personality
high confidence · Design team: 'each of the there's four different genres of music. Um Flash, Eddie, Gwen, and Peter each have their own music... Gwen's music's like funk.'
The playfield physically changes depending on which character is selected, with different ramp layouts and features
high confidence · Jack Danger: 'the game changes physically depending on which character you pick... each character has a different layout of the playfield... each one has like a different feel.'
“this game came out 75 years ago”
Jack Danger @ Early in stream — Humorous exaggeration about Venom's age; part of running joke about the game's longevity and continued support
“we wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game. Even if it took them months, they could eventually see it.”
[name withheld pending review] @ Mid-stream design discussion — Core philosophy behind Venom's save-as-you-go mechanic; reflects shift in design priorities toward player accessibility
“It's like one of the fastest games ever made.”
[name withheld pending review] @ Discussing fast locks — Characterizes Venom's signature mechanical speed and constant ball motion as a distinguishing feature
“the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time... we want you to do it more than once a game.”
[name withheld pending review] @ Character-swap mechanic discussion — Explains thematic reasoning for mid-game character changes; ties mechanical innovation to IP fidelity
“I've been putting co-op in games since Turtles. Since 83.”
Design team member (likely Dwight) @ Co-op discussion — Indicates long-standing design philosophy; references Williams' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1991) and earlier co-op experience
“D and D wouldn't have happened the way it did without Venom either, right? Saving your progress and adding a story to it that's deeper.”
[name withheld pending review] @ Game progression discussion — Demonstrates Venom's foundational influence on subsequent Stern titles and narrative design
design_innovation: Venom introduced persistent save-as-you-go mechanics allowing players to reach wizard mode over extended play periods (months); first Stern implementation of this feature
high · Design team: 'this is the first game we started playing with save as you go, save your progress... we wanted somebody to be able to see the whole game'
design_innovation: Venom features character-specific playfield changes (ramps, scoops, posts) that shift during mid-game character swaps; novel mechanical design requiring heavy programming
high · Jack Danger: 'the game changes physically depending on which character you pick... each character has a different layout of the playfield'
design_innovation: Fast locks mechanic evolved during development to create constant ball motion; described as 'one of the fastest games ever made' with zero downtime between shots
high · Design team: 'Fast locks when it first started out weren't as fast as they ended up... there's a ball in travel at all times. Even when you lock something, someone's still moving on the plate.'
design_philosophy: Venom represents experimental integration of RPG mechanics (level progression 1-99, character selection, boss encounters, damage scaling) into pinball platform; foundational for subsequent games
high · Jack Danger: 'this is another step in in trying to get more RPG elements into pinball... in this game, you can go all the way to 99. And the higher level you are, the easier the game should get'
design_innovation: Venom allows character selection changes each ball (not locked in at game start); tied to thematic concept of shapeshifting character; enables grid-filling strategy
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Dungeons & Dragons & Dragons sequel would not have been possible without the save-as-you-go and story progression systems developed in Venom
high confidence · Design team: 'D and D wouldn't have happened the way it did without Venom either, right? Saving your progress and adding a story to it that's deeper.'
high · Design team: 'this is the first time that you can change characters mid game... you can change it each ball... the nature of Venom is he's changing all the time'
product_strategy: Eight unlockable characters with distinct music genres (rock, funk, etc.), playfield layouts, and mechanical characteristics; Ghost Rider added as post-release content expansion
high · Jack Danger: 'there's like eight characters total you can eventually unlock now with Ghost Rider, right?... Gwen's music's like funk'
design_philosophy: Venom incorporates co-op play mechanics as continuation of long-standing design tradition dating to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1991) and earlier
high · Design team: 'I've been putting co-op in games since Turtles. Since 83... Co-op is in this thing, too... It works well in this.'
design_innovation: Experimental 'line game' inspired grid system where completing mini-modes fills squares to earn bonuses; described as successful innovation by designers
high · Jack Danger: 'Mini modes is a new thing that we sort of tried with this game... I'm proud of the grid. It was an experiment and I think it worked out pretty well.'
product_launch: Venom continues receiving character additions years after initial release (Ghost Rider added); indicates sustained development and content support strategy
high · Jack Danger joke about game release: 'It's been like three years... Well, it was like seven years ago when we did this game, right? 75 years ago.'
design_innovation: Venom features character-specific original music in distinct genres (funk, rock, etc.); reflects character personality; Gwen originally planned for Prince-inspired style
high · Design team: 'Each each each of the there's four different genres of music... Gwen originally was going to be like Prince... we evolved from that and I think it went in a better direction'
design_innovation: Players can select number of balls in multiball (2-6 range) with risk/reward mechanics; lock location determines multiball type (Mayhem, Carnage, etc.)
high · Jack Danger: 'your choice to be able to choose the number of balls you want in your multi... risk reward is there... depending on where you lock your balls changes what the multiball is going'