Dirty Pool Podcast - Ep24 - Christopher Franchi (Spooky Pinball Art)

Dirtypool Pinball·video·1h 3m·analyzed·Feb 5, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Franchi (Spooky artist) discusses color theory, career path, and design philosophy behind Evil Dead/Beetlejuice.

Summary

Christopher Franchi, the acclaimed artist behind Spooky Pinball recent titles (Evil Dead, Beetlejuice), discusses his career path from early art recognition through decades of commercial work at Stern to his current role at Spooky. He shares his design philosophy around color palettes, personal background including a difficult family situation that derailed his formal art education, and provides insights into the artistic challenges of widebody machines, lower playfields, and balancing saturated colors with source material authenticity. The conversation also touches on his Batman 66 collaboration with legendary coder Lyman Sheets, celebrity encounters, and community Easter egg discussions.

Key Claims

Batman 66 was Franchi's first pinball game (code by Lyman Sheets)
high confidence · Host listing: 'Batman 66, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Munsters...'; Franchi confirms 'Yes, it was.'
Franchi is mostly self-taught in art, with some high school training and a brief scholarship to Center for Creative Studies in Detroit
high confidence · Franchi directly states: 'I'm going to say mostly self-taught. I had a little bit of training... I then got a scholarship through that to the Center for Creative Studies in downtown Detroit'
Franchi was kicked out of his house senior year of high school for letting a classmate (the class president) inside during rain
high confidence · Extended narrative provided by Franchi about homecoming float design, parental rule violation, and consequence
The Beetlejuice backglass design was created 4-5 years ago and originally pitched to Stern, who declined it
high confidence · Franchi: 'I did that backglass design four or five years ago. Me and Joe Cam and Co brought it to Stern and Stern decided they didn't want to do it'
Bug (Spooky co-owner) has a relationship with Warner Brothers and pitched Beetlejuice to them; initial pitch hit brakes because Part 2 was in development
high confidence · Franchi: 'when I got hooked up with um Spooky um Bug loves Tim Burton... he already had a relationship with Warner Brothers... the first time we hit them up, they were I I think part two was in the works'
Franchi is responsible for only two confirmed leaks: showing Munsters artwork to Kaneda before Stern approval, and accidentally naming a Jeremy Packer game at a Stern seminar
high confidence · Franchi detailed explanation: 'I'm only responsible for two leaks. One was the Munsters... and then we were doing a Stern um seminar... I named his next game that hadn't come out yet'
Evil Dead's lower playfield requires wreath-style design which makes connecting characters and composition difficult
high confidence · Franchi discussing layout: 'it's tough to create a nice art package... because like that's your main space down between the slings... when you have to do like this sort of a wreath design where like everything is around this hole in the middle, it it's hard to connect things'

Notable Quotes

“I don't know what it is. I just like my mind just goes to these colors um that I guess most people don't think of. And you know, and don't get me wrong, sometimes they don't work.”
Christopher Franchi @ ~09:20 — Addresses his design philosophy and the iterative nature of color selection without a formulaic 'secret sauce'
“It's not fluorescent. There are bright colors in there, but they're not as saturated as they could be, which is why it worked.”
Christopher Franchi @ ~07:15 — Corrects misconception about Evil Dead's color palette and explains the design restraint behind successful color choices
“I pretty much call my own shots. You know, I can I can turn down work. Um, I can pick and choose what I want to do. Um, I work out of my house. You know, what more could you want?”
Christopher Franchi @ ~16:45 — Reflects on career satisfaction and creative control at current position
“It affected me in two ways. Yes, I had to grow up very fast. And number two, it made my road to becoming a professional artist much longer.”
Christopher Franchi @ ~14:30 — Discusses long-term impact of being kicked out of house on his career trajectory and education path
“When I see it, when I get the layout, like here's, you know, here here's your your layout for the playfield art, and I see that square in the middle, I'm like, ah, damn. You know, oh, it's one of those games.”
Christopher Franchi @ ~21:40 — Illustrates frustration with lower playfield design constraints and their impact on artistic composition
“That's Tim Burton's color scheme. I just followed the rules.”
Christopher Franchi @ ~06:50 — Deflects credit for Beetlejuice's striking color palette to source material rather than personal invention
“I'm only responsible for two leaks. One was the Munsters... And then we were doing a Stern um seminar and I was I I was actually trying to build up Jeremy Packer.”
Christopher Franchi — Clarifies his involvement in game leaks and distances himself from broader industry gossip

Entities

Christopher FranchipersonSpooky PinballcompanyLyman SheetspersonBugperson Evil Deadgame Beetlejuicegame Batman 66game

Signals

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event_signal: Batman 66 release event featured Adam West appearance; represents major milestone in pinball licensing and celebrity involvement
high · Franchi: 'I met him when we were working on the game when they had the release... he came he came there for that to see the game'
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design_philosophy: Evil Dead criticized by community for being too dark in ambient lighting; Franchi flagged this early to Bug who subsequently released new lighting strip aftermarket
medium · Franchi: 'I've been on him since that game because when I get the layouts... I called him up and I said, "Hey, you know, you got nothing in this back left corner"' and 'when I get the layouts for the playfield art, I can see where all the GI is'
?
design_philosophy: Franchi uses source material color palettes as constraints, deliberately saturating existing muted tones rather than inventing new colors; this differentiates his approach from criticism of King Kong's excessive colorization
high · Evil Dead: 'suede brown and denim... I couldn't change all the colors of that, but what can I introduce to that... more saturated versions of colors that already exist in that palette they're just more dull and darker'
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market_signal: Community interest in hidden Easter eggs in pinball machines; Franchi indicates upcoming unannounced Spooky game 2+ years away contains 'a ton of Easter eggs'
medium · Franchi: 'the game that I worked on now that doesn't come out for another two years has got a ton of Easter eggs in it'
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industry_signal: Tension between Franchi and Jeremy Packer regarding King Kong color palette criticism and subsequent communication breakdown

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:03

Great order. I'm [music] Dr. Cornelius Picoststein. Well, that's a great start. Wrong screen. It's amateur hour here on the Dirty Pool podcast. Hello everybody. Uh, welcome. I know you've gotten a ton of me today. Uh, well, guess what? There's more. It's a busy day and uh, I have a very esteemed guest, somebody that I've walked past at Pinball Expo a number of times and never actually spoken to. Uh, it is my great pleasure to uh welcome Christopher Franchie, the artist from Spooky Pinball onto the onto my own podcast. It's me, my podcast. Uh, hello Chris. Christopher, what do you prefer? Um, you know what? Why don't you call me Um, you know what? Why don't you call me whatever else calls me, Franchie, because that's what everybody calls me. So, then I'll call you choice of the So, then I'll call you choice of the three. I'll give you a choice of the three. But, uh, yes, you can be as personal as calling me Franchie because everyone does. I'm in the club now. Thank you so much, I'm in the club now. Thank you so much, Franchie. You're so welcome. You're so welcome. We're we're streaming at a much later We're we're streaming at a much later time for interviews, which is funny because you and I both didn't realize that we were on totally opposite time zones, otherwise this would have been earlier, but um so we have a lot to talk about. You are uh obviously a very well-known pinball artist. I am a huge fan of your work. Uh your most recent games, uh Evil Dead and of course Beetlejuice, which is on uh coming out soon. Um, but that's not the only games you've done. Obviously, your artwork goes back to I believe your first game was Batman 66. Is that correct? Yes, it was. Yes, it was. So, uh, So, uh, I'll run I'll run down the list in I'll run I'll run down the list in order. Hit it. Uh, Batman 66, Guardians of the Hit it. Uh, Batman 66, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Monsters, The Beatles, Godfather, Elton John, Galactic Tank Force, Evil Dead, Beetlejuice. Boom. I mean, that's already such an Boom. I mean, that's already such an amazing lineup. I talk about Batman 66 a lot. Designed by, I think, or not designed, but the code by Lyman Lyman Chats, one of the best uh Lman Fhats. Lime F. I'm I'm pronouncing I'm mispronouncing it already. Nervous Frenchie. I'm so excited that you're on. Anyways, it's probably one of the deepest code rule sets in pinball and I think an absolute just brilliant game. Uh rest in peace for people that don't know LFS. Go ahead. Go ahead. How lucky am I to like my my How lucky am I to like my my introduction to pinball and I get to work with Lyman uh on that [clears throat] job like you uh on that [clears throat] job like you know I didn't know it was going to be my last but um it was a blast. I had a good time and uh yeah, the dude the dude's a master. What can I say? Legend legendary coder. Yeah, those who Legend legendary coder. Yeah, those who don't know uh he unfortunately passed and uh there's I mean Papa and Pinberg both set up uh their their broadcasts were to donate to his fund and whatnot. You can look up and support that. I'm sure that it may still be taking donations. This was a very long time ago, but uh yeah, an unfortunate loss to the entire uh pinball like ecosystem for sure. Um Um yeah, definitely. It's like it's like yeah, definitely. It's like it's like the NHL losing Wayne Gretzky. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, he was the goat. You know, he was the goat. Truly. Um well, but on to on to the Truly. Um well, but on to on to the future games. Uh I have a bunch of amazing artwork that you sent me from your new titles. Um, let's, normally I go from history and we go backwards, but today let's start with the new and we'll go back to the old. Uh, Beetlejuice, a title that a lot of people are very excited about, and it has the iconic Christopher Branchy Madness color scheme. And I mentioned when I talked to you on uh, that's not my color scheme. That's Tim that's not my color scheme. That's Tim Burton's color scheme. I just followed the rules. It's very true. But I'm using that as a It's very true. But I'm using that as a way to bridge to Evil Dead because when I talked to you, I was just like, I don't know how you get away with this [ __ ] cuz you pick the craziest colors and you get away with it and it works. I mean, like they love it. Like Stern, you know, for King Kong, they went wild with their color scheme and people tore it apart. You do Evil Dead and and it's it's, you know, fluorescent everything. It works and it's praised. But see, it's not fluorescent. There But see, it's not fluorescent. There there are bright colors in there, but they're not as saturated as they could be, which is why it worked. um pulling it up right now. pulling it up right now. Yeah. And some of the some of the colors Yeah. And some of the some of the colors are really extensions of because the color palette in that movie is so blah. Very true. Very true. You know, suede brown and denim and, you You know, suede brown and denim and, you know, fall colors, you know, reds and browns and golds and, you know, it just doesn't really translate to a to an exciting art package. So, obviously I couldn't change all the colors of that, but what can I introduce to that that will help liven it up a bit, but still keep it creepy and whatnot. So, some of those colors are just really more saturated versions of colors that already exist in that palette. They're just more dull and darker. Um, I still can't explain my recipe for getting colors that you don't think would go together to go together and work. I I can't I can't tell you like, you know, what's your secret, you know, I just Yeah. What's the What's the Frenchie Yeah. What's the What's the Frenchie secret sauce? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know what it Yeah. I don't know. I don't know what it is. I ju like my mind just goes to these colors um that I guess most people don't think of. And and you know, and don't get me wrong, sometimes they don't work. Sometimes you like, oo, you know, but that's the beauty of trial and error. I can look at it, you know, and then when you're when you're building all of this stuff in Photoshop and you're bringing all your art in and everything, you can look at something and go that that orange is not working. Let's make that more of a fuchsia or something. And you know, you change the the uh the color of it and then it starts to dial in. So for evil dad's a wide body, when you So for evil dad's a wide body, when you have this extra real estate, does that make for an easier design philosophy or are you just more worried about filling up the additional space? Well, honestly, when I'm working on it, it doesn't feel like I have more real estate because it's still just on my screen, you know. Um, so it doesn't seem like, you know, Um, so it doesn't seem like, you know, oh, this is like, you know, 3 in wider on each side. It just looks like everything's more compacted in to the same size as as, you know, a normal game. Um, the real estate comes in how well distributed the the inserts are and if there's a lower play field or not. Um, you know, because that greatly, you know, Evil Dead had that lower playfield right in the center for sure. for sure. And for as much as I like that lower And for as much as I like that lower play field, because sometimes they just don't work and they're pointless and stupid. Um, that one works. When I see it, when I get the layout, like here's, you know, here here's your your layout for the playfield art, and I see that square in the middle, I'm like, ah, damn. You know, [laughter] oh, it's one of those games. Yeah, oh, it's one of those games. Yeah, because you know it's it's tough. It's tough to create, you know, a nice art package, you know, because like that's your main space down between the slings. That's where you put like all your main characters and all that. Sure. And your attention, your eyes are Sure. And your attention, your eyes are mostly in that area as a player as well. Yeah. And when you have to do like this Yeah. And when you have to do like this sort of a wreath design where like everything is around this hole in the middle, it it's hard to connect things or make like a nice attractive looking collage of people or characters or whatever when they're, you know, being divided apart by this big hole in the middle. But um you know, you find a way to make it work. find a way to keep it interesting because no nothing would be more boring than to always use the same recipe where you just kind of put things all the same size all the way around it. So, you know, with Evil Dead, I did a really big ash in the lower left corner and then I sort of left the rest of the things some things were bigger, smaller. Some of them were like pages from the book that trickled down from up above and they were kind of floating down and some pages were on fire. Um, so I always try to keep it interesting if I have to deal with something like that and come up with a new way to present it. Sure. Uh, one thing we are, we are Sure. Uh, one thing we are, we are totally live here. We have people asking questions and, uh, YouTube, I hear you. I see you. Uh, Pinhead Q4I wants to know, are you, did you study art? Are you self-taught? I want to know why G-wing is calling me I want to know why G-wing is calling me Franco. [laughter] Unless he's talking to somebody else, maybe. Um, oh. Um, I'm going to say mostly self-taught. I had a little bit of training. Um, I did go to some art classes when I was young. Um, but it was very basic stuff. I I did I uh in my senior year of high school, I entered the Scholastic competition, which is what all high school students do. You put together a portfolio and submit it and there's this big national awards thing. And um I was the at the time anyway, I don't know if if it's been broken, but at the time I was the first person to win the the five top awards are called Hallmark awards sponsored by Hallmark. And they could be anything. One could be a a sculpture, one could be a painting, one could be a pencil drawing. Um out of the entire state, I won two of those five, which had never been done before at that point. So, I then got a scholarship through that to the Center for Creative Studies in downtown Detroit, which is a very reputable art college. Um, but then, whoops, I got kicked out of my house when I was in my senior year of high school. And is there a story behind that or And is there a story behind that or should we skip over that one? The story makes my parents look bad The story makes my parents look bad because it was a very flimsy bucket. I'll tell it. Can I swear? Of course you can swear. Can I Of course you can swear. Can I You clearly haven't seen my streams. You clearly haven't seen my streams. This is a [ __ ] family show. Okay. All right. [laughter] Okay. All right. [laughter] I'll throw my parents under the bus. All right, everybody. Welcome to the All right, everybody. Welcome to the Dirty Pool Pinball uh podcast where we're going to throw parents under the bus. Take it away. That's right. Let me paint a scenario That's right. Let me paint a scenario for you. It's, you know, it's around homecoming time my senior year. Um it's a rainy day. I'm at home. It's a Saturday. And the class president, who is this sort of button-down sweater vest type, you know, hair parted on the side, regular kind of dude, you know, um calls me up. He wants to discuss designs for the homecoming float because they wanted me to draw it and then they were going to build it based off of my artwork. Um and he comes over and it's porn rain. Now, the rule of the house is nobody's allowed in when nobody's home, but it was porn rain. It's a good rule for houses in general. Yes, Yes, it's porn rain. This guy doesn't look is it's porn rain. This guy doesn't look is the most farthest from looking like a criminal that you could possibly I mean total beaver cleaver dude. So I told him to come in and we were standing in the entrance way of the house like right in some people call it the vestibule entrance way whatever. [snorts] I mean we're literally standing 3 ft away from the front door. Okay. You let a total stranger into the Okay. You let a total stranger into the house. No, no, no. Not a stranger to me. No, no, no. Not a stranger to me. Oh, okay. Okay. Oh, okay. Okay. It's a class president. He's a friend of It's a class president. He's a friend of mine. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. So, so we're standing in there and we're So, so we're standing in there and we're talking about it. My mom comes home from work and then he leaves and she flames out. You know the rule. Nobody like, "Mom, it's raining. It's a class president. We're talking about a school project. I thought it'd be okay to just stand in the entrance way of the house. You know, front door was open. Totally harmless." when she pulled up, Totally harmless." when she pulled up, she could see us standing there through the, you know, the glass door cuz the big door, the solid door was open. Um, but she wasn't having it. Of course, you know, this was piggybacking off a series of other stupid things that I did when I was a kid. Um, and that was that's a good time to do stupid things that's a good time to do stupid things when you're a kid. So, so I got chucked out and then like So, so I got chucked out and then like two days later she calls me up and tells me to come back home. And then about I had to wait until my friend's mom could drive me back home. While I was waiting, my dad called and he said, "Did your mother call you and tell you to come back home?" And I said, "Yes." And he said, "Well, don't." [snorts] [laughter] So, I didn't have I was 17. I was almost 18 years old. I didn't have a license. I didn't have a job. I didn't have [ __ ] Wow. so angry to just because you let a Wow. so angry to just because you let a school person into the home when it was raining. That's wild, man. That's wild, man. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I guess it made sense to Well, I mean, I guess it made sense to them at the time. [laughter] I've since forgiven them, but um yeah, I've since forgiven them, but um yeah, so I had to get a job. I had to get a license. I couldn't take the scholarship. Um boy, this is a long road to go. It's just a simple question. Did you have training? No. It's fascinating. Do you think that No. It's fascinating. Do you think that this event kind of forced you to kind of I mean, like you said, you had to get a license. you had to get all this stuff. Did you have to grow up faster because of this moment in life? It it affected me in two ways. Yes, I It it affected me in two ways. Yes, I had to grow up very fast. And number two, it made my road to becoming a professional artist much longer. Interesting. Interesting. You know, because I didn't have the You know, because I didn't have the schooling. So, there's a lot of things I needed to So, there's a lot of things I needed to learn and I had to try and find jobs where I could learn on the job. And those jobs always pay [ __ ] right? you know, oh, you're a talented artist, but if you don't know about this and that, we'll train you, but we can only pay you $9 an hour, you know, right? right? Um, so that was a very long road to get Um, so that was a very long road to get to, you know, to where I am now. Uh, it took a lot longer because of those circumstances, but, um, wow, that is absolutely fascinating. wow, that is absolutely fascinating. I guess as long as you're happy with I guess as long as you're happy with where you end up, you don't regret the road you took to get there. So, I would Are you happy with where you I would Are you happy with where you ended up? Yeah, Yeah, I would hope so. I mean, you're working I would hope so. I mean, you're working for I pretty much call my own shots. You I pretty much call my own shots. You know, I can I can turn down work. Um, I can pick and choose what I want to do. Um, I work out of my house. You know, what more could you want? Make good money. So, speaking of your house, we have to So, speaking of your house, we have to we have to talk about this massive collection. I've seen a a little bit of a of a preview here, but you have a lot of you have a lot of but you have a lot of you have a lot of collectibles behind you. Can Can you Can you flip the Can you flip the cam for me? Can you do a little little spin arino here? Oh, you want to see the whole Oh, you want to see the whole Can you Can you show a little bit of the Can you Can you show a little bit of the rest of the room here for for people watching? So, there's some stuff up there. Now, if So, there's some stuff up there. Now, if you look behind the Freddy Krueger, which is right there, there's a MC Hammer action figure. Who doesn't need one of those? Uh, there's some junk on my shelves there. We pivot around. He's saving the big reveal for right now, I think. Well, there's a bunch of stuff there and Well, there's a bunch of stuff there and up there. Follow the follow the room around. There's my ring light. Yep. Yep. Get out there. Get out there. That's bright. That's bright. And then we have this. And then we have this. Boom. Boom. It's my Toys R Us wall over here It's my Toys R Us wall over here with all my It really does feel like I've walked It really does feel like I've walked into a Toys R Us. The giraffe is I can't What was the name of the giraffe? Why can't Jerry Jeffrey What the hell was the Jeffrey? How do you not know that, Jack? I Because I'm I mean I'm old, but I'm so Because I'm I mean I'm old, but I'm so I've gotten to the point where I'm old and may have done enough recreational drugs that my memory is now failing me. [laughter] It's spelled with a G, though. It's spelled with a G, though. This Yeah, it's G E O F E R Y. This Yeah, it's G E O F E R Y. Yeah, anybody that spells their name Yeah, anybody that spells their name like that is the wrong Jeff. Like, I'm sorry. He's a fancy Jeff. He's a fancy Jeff. Yeah. Yeah. Um but this is nothing. the the room Um but this is nothing. the the room next to me is all um it's all this TV show Batman the old Adam West TV show. Um the entire room is nothing but that. Not Batman. Batman TV show, right? right? And the entire And the entire Adam West. Adam West. Yeah, I've got stuff just kind of Yeah, I've got stuff just kind of stacked in there because I'm running out of places to put stuff. I mean, clearly you're a big Adam West I mean, clearly you're a big Adam West fan. Have you met Adam West? I have. I have. What's the story? What's the story? Well, I I met him when we were working on the game when they had the release. Um remember when they had it roped off and you couldn't play it and everybody was pissed? Uh he came he came there for that to see the game and I got to meet him. Um I can't I met him either be right before or right after that uh as well at a comic book convention in Detroit here. Um, but uh I met I got to meet him and Bert Ward and then I met Ivonne Craig before she passed away and I met Julie Numar. So quite a big collection of they they say what never meet your they they say what never meet your heroes, right? Was was the moment good or bad. Every um Yeah. I mean, you know, Adam Every um Yeah. I mean, you know, Adam West had a bit of an ego, you know, so he was kind of always on. Yeah. Hey. Uh, you know, I met him. I mean, you're Batman, right? I met him. I mean, you're Batman, right? Like, come on. He wasn't [laughter] rude, you know, he He wasn't [laughter] rude, you know, he wasn't rude or anything like that, but it was just kind of it's like, well, that's not the conversation I hope to have. But, uh, Bert Ward was great. Um, the, uh, Ivon Craig who played Batgirl, I freaked her out a bit because like I thought it would be cute when I met her to say like, "You were my first girlfriend because I was just [laughter] this little kid." Oh, no. you know, and I was probably too Oh, no. you know, and I was probably too old or too young to to really know what, you know, having relationships was, but I had a crush on that girl, you but I had a crush on that girl, you know, so I told her that and she's just like like [laughter] like [laughter] you could just tell her skin was crawling and she's like, "Oh god, I got one. I got one security." security." So, um, but she was nice though. But So, um, but she was nice though. But it's probably good to creep on the it's probably good to creep on the talent at your first official like big pinball event, right? Why not? Well, that wasn't at pinball. Why not? Well, that wasn't at pinball. That was at a comic book show. But, um, you know, yeah, there's nothing But, um, you know, yeah, there's nothing like waiting your entire life to meet someone and then just creeping them out. I did I I got an even worse story than that. I met the actress Marina uh Certis who plays Oh, of course that's Star Trek. She's Oh, of course that's Star Trek. She's Troy. Yeah. Yeah. I had a big crush on her, too. Of Yeah. I had a big crush on her, too. Of course, this is when I was old enough to know what I wanted to do with her. Really? Over Beverly Crusher? Are you Really? Over Beverly Crusher? Are you kidding me? Yeah. I'm a brunette kind of guy. Um, Yeah. I'm a brunette kind of guy. Um, and when I met her, I I said something like, you know, hey, if you ever leave your husband, give me a call. [laughter] And she was just so appalled, you know, like I was wishing to divorce on her or something. I'm like, I just trying to say something funny, but I my sense of humor is not always conducive with other people's. Uh, I think it's pretty great. Can we Uh, I think it's pretty great. Can we talk about the moment that we bonded about like right before we started streaming? Sure. Can you show everyone your fart Sure. Can you show everyone your fart library on your phone of your real recorded farts? [laughter] Yeah, this is not a joke. Yeah, this is not a joke. Something about the way you say it makes Something about the way you say it makes it sound so cute. It is cute. I think it's adorable. It is cute. I think it's adorable. You've got a little like an encyclopedia of farts. It's like the most personal moment you could have. Also, your phone's probably gross. Just, you know, Oh, here. Oh, here. You know, when you fart, like stuff kind You know, when you fart, like stuff kind of comes out. I'm guessing it's like extremely all over your phone. Yeah. Well, here's this is a Yeah. Well, here's this is a Wait, well, I got to zoom out. Yeah, Wait, well, I got to zoom out. Yeah, these are Oh, do I get in? these are Oh, do I get in? I got Yeah, those are real farts. I got Yeah, those are real farts. Those are all my farts. Those are all my farts. Can we get a Can we get an audio demo of Can we get a Can we get an audio demo of some farts? Little example. Little example. Yeah. Yeah. [snorts] Oh, no. That's not it.

21:14

[laughter] there's three. there's three. Someone identified the first one as the Someone identified the first one as the lonely gremlin. Uh [laughter] Joe Joe from Pinball Degenerates called it the grooner. Uh [laughter] I'm not looking at you. I'm not looking at you. Oh, this is great. Gwing called it Oh, this is great. Gwing called it sneeed. Uh Joe also referred to fart number two Uh Joe also referred to fart number two as putt putts. I think that's pretty cute. Uh [laughter] Uh [laughter] all right, fart three, please. Here we go. I'd already played it. I'd already played it. What was the That was Was that three? What was the That was Was that three? Wait, I missed the second one then. The the second one was the one with the a at the end. Oh, okay. Okay. We're counting the first Oh, okay. Okay. We're counting the first one, which is the demo fart. I meant three more after that, but that's okay. That's okay. So, these are these are I I think that, [laughter] bro, I love your sense of humor. It's killing me. I I uh I just I'm a big farter in the I I uh I just I'm a big farter in the house. I get yelled at a lot for it. And uh I just someone who keeps an anthology of their farts on their phone just like really speaks to me, man. I appreciate you. I mean, [laughter] you have to understand that reason why I record them and save them so I can send them to my sister. [laughter] Does she appreciate that? Does she appreciate that? She Well, because she gets blindsided. She Well, because she gets blindsided. It doesn't say fart. It just says like, you know, whatever. A voice note or whatever. A voice note or whatever. Yeah. What do these things say? PTOAC Yeah. What do these things say? PTOAC Court, which is the street I live on, and then like a number after it. Uh, can I can I read you some of the Uh, can I can I read you some of the fart names that we have? I think you'll appreciate some of these. Uh, uh, we got Rippers Downtown Blowout. Uh, uh, we got Rippers Downtown Blowout. We got squeezer. [laughter] Squeezer, not a pleaser. Machine gun smelly. Machine gun smelly. Machine gun smelly. That's pretty good. Machine gun smelly. That's pretty good. Nice machine gun Kelly reference there. Nice machine gun Kelly reference there. Someone is lactose intolerant. It's not really a name of a fart. More of just like a a possible personal issue. Um well, cuz that first one was haunting. I well, cuz that first one was haunting. I I named the first one funky beef. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah. [laughter] What? So, hold on. This is if if Bug is not doing this, this is a missed opportunity. But are there are there secret fart Easter eggs in any of the pinball machines? God, please say yes. No. No. Damn it. Damn it. No, I wouldn't. I I was thinking like No, I wouldn't. I I was thinking like that one that was kind of like the grooner, the the whatever I was telling you, you know, if you I was telling you, you know, if you slowed that down, you could probably make a door creek for Winchester, you know. Absolutely. You can pitch you pitch Absolutely. You can pitch you pitch stuff down, you can make all sorts of interesting sounds. Look, I'm telling you, you got to talk to Spooky's Spooky's audio team is really missing out by not using some of your audio assets that you've so, you know, physically generated. [laughter] Assets Assets assets. assets. Gastro Blaster 3000. Okay. Okay. Okay. Moving on, Chad. So, back to Pinball. Uh, let's let's talk let's talk Beetlejuice. let's let's talk let's talk Beetlejuice. Um, so obviously the color palette is so obviously the color palette is already more of the Tim Burton landscape, neon greens and purples. Like, it's it's not you know, you don't have to to make up the the Christopher secret sauce in order to hit it, but uh what what was your reaction when you found out that this was the next title you were working on? [sighs] Well, I mean, it was something we had Well, I mean, it was something we had been talking about since day one because I did that back glass design [snorts] oh, four or five years ago. Me and Joe Cam and Co brought it to Stern and Stern decided they didn't want to do it and um so it sat for a while and then when I got hooked up with um Spooky um Bug loves Tim Burton so I mean I didn't have to convince him of anything and he already had a relationship with and he already had a relationship with Warner Brothers going so he just um hit him up. Um, and the first time we hit them up, they were I I think part two was in the works, but not yet announced. So, they kind of hit the brakes on it and said like, well, you know, we're we're not ready right now. And did your backlash kind of perpetuate did your backlash kind of perpetuate this as the next potential spooky game? Oh, so you are to a certain degree Oh, so you are to a certain degree responsible for the Beetlejuice being the next spooky title? Yeah. I mean, well, yeah, cuz I I I said Yeah. I mean, well, yeah, cuz I I I said let's do this. So pretty agreed, you know. I mean, I'm not 100% you know. I mean, I'm not 100% responsible. They had to say yes and they had to pay for the license. But of course, the ball rolling situation of course, the ball rolling situation for sure. Yeah. Yeah. And it's the only one Yeah. Yeah. And it's the only one because I keep nagging them about Beas and Butad, but they won't budge. I Judge would make All of his stuff would Judge would make All of his stuff would make an excellent pinball franchise for sure. Idiocracy would be a very relevant pinball machine. [laughter] I'm kidding. I can't talk him into I'm kidding. I can't talk him into monster cereals either. I thought that would be fun. I do like that there's shrimp there I do like that there's shrimp there shrimp on here. We have a fan of the channel named Pizza Jake who likes to find all of the different pizzas in pinball machines. Um why not I'm going to ask you one question which is are there did have you put any pizzas in any of your pinball machines. Slices of pizza. Slices of pizza. I didn't know that was a thing. I didn't know that was a thing. It's his thing. I wouldn't say it's a It's his thing. I wouldn't say it's a thing. It's it's just it's just his thing. Who is this? Who is this? Pizza Jake. You don't know pizza Jake? Pizza Jake. You don't know pizza Jake? It's just it's a guy named Pizza Jake. So, it's something he looks for. He So, it's something he looks for. He doesn't design art and sneak pizza into it. He's just a fan of finding pizza on He's just a fan of finding pizza on pinball machines. Well, [ __ ] If I known that, I would Well, [ __ ] If I known that, I would have started hiding crap. And the the the game that I worked on now that doesn't come out for another two years has got a [ __ ] ton of Easter eggs in it. Well, can I ask you a question then? for Well, can I ask you a question then? for pizza. Jake, could you hide a slice of pizza in an upcoming spooky pinball title? I might be able to do it in in this one I might be able to do it in in this one I'm talking about. Don't Don't give spoilers. Bug will chew Don't Don't give spoilers. Bug will chew me out if you leak any info on on new titles, so don't do it. No, I' I've learned my lesson the hard No, I' I've learned my lesson the hard way on that. Yeah, you have a reputation of loose Yeah, you have a reputation of loose lips, let me tell you. Well, yeah, but see, there's only been Well, yeah, but see, there's only been two things. And then they just started getting blamed for, you know, somebody else would tell somebody something and then they would say like, "Yeah, Franchie said that." And and they would just to to get, you know, to to uh get people off their trail. They would blame me for it. I'm only responsible for two leagues. One was the monsters. Okay. Okay. I showed the artwork. I showed the I showed the artwork. I showed the artwork to Canada before. Stern didn't tell me who Canada was or what he did. [laughter] So, you know, Canada was just like, "You, well, let me see it. I'll give you my impression. I won't show anybody." and he didn't have it for 30 seconds and it was throughout the entire world. So, my bad there. Um, and then we were doing a Stern um seminar and I was I I I was actually trying to build up Jeremy Packer. I was like talking up about his work and how much I liked it. And I was going down the list. Oh, from this to that to that. And then I named his next game that hadn't come out yet because I had seen The Artworker already because at the time we were friends and you know he would show me stuff like and you know he would show me stuff like that and I didn't even realize I said it. Like someone told me later like, "Oh, you you leaked whatever." And I'm like, "I didn't leak anything." And like and and then Greg Ferris came up to me and he's like, "Uh next game." I'm like, "Oh [ __ ] [laughter] Can we Can we It's not a big deal." It's not a big deal." Can we talk about Can we talk about Can we talk about Can we talk about Packer for a quick second? And I'm going to throw Packer under the bus. I'm I'm calling I'm calling Jeremy Packer a big [ __ ] He agreed to be on the podcast and then he re he pulled it back cuz he's too worried about saying something that he shouldn't. Yeah. Here we have Christopher Franchie loose lips himself on the podcast. Jeremy, if you watch this, [laughter] if I'm on it, he's not watching it. He if I'm on it, he's not watching it. He hates me. A there's there can't be that level of A there's there can't be that level of hate in pinball's too small for for hate to last too long. We got to bury the hatchet. I get it. I don't know what the deal is. I get it. I don't know what the deal is. Like, I mean, I could go to my text messages and show you the teen messages I sent him that just go unanswered. And then when I see him, he's like, "Oh, dude, man, I've just been busy." And and you know, or I don't like to talk on the phone or whatever. Well, that's why I'm texting you. Um the last time I ran into him was at this past expo and he's like, "Oh, we got to talk. I got to do the seminar and then we got to definitely talk. Let's go get some drinks." And I hadn't seen him in a while. like, "All right, cool." And then he just went nud the seminar and went home. So then I'm like, "Where are you? Where are you? We going for drinks and text him. I still haven't heard from him." Jeremy, what's going on with you? Jeremy, what's going on with you? I don't know. And then he was like I don't know. And then he was like dogging on me about Beetlejuice because everyone gave him [ __ ] about King Kong having funky colors. And then Beetlejuice comes out and he goes, "Oh, well, I guess it's okay for this." And I'm like, "Well, it is okay for this. It's Beetlejuice. It is definitely okay with Beetlejuice." It is definitely okay with Beetlejuice." But what? Yeah. you the Evil Dead. I mean, I we talked about this right in the beginning. I just you have this magical nature of picking kind of like really extreme color palettes, but uh people love it. Works because it it's working in Works because it it's working in conjunction with the standard color palette. It's not all funky colors, right? right? It's funky colors introduced to what the It's funky colors introduced to what the property already is. And you have to find a good balance of that, you know? I I don't I don't think this picture really does it justice, too, because a lot of the a lot of the ambient lighting really does add to the like kind of color pop of the the brighter kind of color schemes you have going on. This game I I think a lot of people would agree with this that Evil Dead is too dark. Like you can't really see a lot of stuff, which is why, you know, I think Bug released that uh new lighting strip that they can put in the back. Yeah. Uh, I I I I've been on him since that game I I I I've been on him since that game because when I when I get the layouts for the playfield, I can see where all the GI is. Sure. Sure. And I called him up and I said, "Hey, And I called him up and I said, "Hey, you know, you got nothing in this back left corner." Oh, yeah. We're going to do this and we're going to do that. I'm like, it look like if you if you roam with it the way it is, it's going to be really dark. Yeah. And it's tough on wide bodies, Yeah. And it's tough on wide bodies, too, because there's no plastics in the middle to provide any like GI to the areas that are there. So, I mean, I guess we do have There were areas with plastics that you There were areas with plastics that you could have put lights under, but they just weren't there. Sure. Sure. And I don't know why. He said he had a And I don't know why. He said he had a plan he was going to put something up on top. This was not his plan to do that dead bar or whatever he called it, right? Which looks great. It really does right? Which looks great. It really does add the right amount of illumination in there. So, I think if I had an Evil Dead, which I do wish I did, uh I would absolutely put that illumination bar in there for sure. Thanks. Thanks for the raid, Grownup. Thanks. Thanks for the raid, Grownup. you need. I mean, it's kind of cool because that's like a forest shot, so it's kind of cool that the ball goes into darkness, right? right? But at the same time, you're playing But at the same time, you're playing pinball. You kind of see where the ball is and what you're doing, you know? Um, but uh I always thought thematically it is kind of cool that it gets shot up in there and then it just kind of disappears. What's going on? disappears. What's going on? Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, the forest Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, the forest outside in Evil Dead is uh is pretty dark, right? I mean, I random though. Every game since then, random though. Every game since then, I've been looking at the layouts and I'm like, "You need to add some lights here. You got to put some GI back in here and all that." So, so I'm there for you guys. I'm trying to help you out and get a nice brightly lit play field. Of course, you know, when I spend all this time on artwork, I want people to be able to see it. [laughter] Sure. Absolutely. Sure. Absolutely. So, it's for selfish reasons as well. So, it's for selfish reasons as well. So run me run me down if you had to give the Christopher Franchie like design philosophy for how you approach populating a playfield with artwork. You know it is your job to give a visual kind of like guidance to how the game needs to be played through the artwork. Would you would you agree? Yeah, I call it marketing basically. Yeah, I call it marketing basically. [laughter] Well, because it is you have you know you every shot is always themed something. It's the forest shot. It's those the seller shot, it's the Cheryl shot, it's the this, it's the that. Um, so it's my job graphically to convey that because I don't believe in just putting some scary skulls and framework around the inserts and then just letting the call out do the job because some people wear headphones. They're not listening to the call outs. They're not listening to the music. It's all visual. So, you know, I want people to be able to to feel like they're going into that theme. So, each shot I try to market as in like what is this? I'm going to you know, if it's a forest shot, okay, I'm going to have some sticks coming down and some leaves around and and uh you know, use a wooden background and and you know, if there's a name for it, I'll put that in there. Okay. So, walk walk me through left or Okay. So, walk walk me through left or right here on Beetlejuice and tell me what All I see is you and I. I don't see what All I see is you and I. I don't see what you were showing on the screen. I just changed it back. Uh, so since we started, I have not seen any graphics on the screen. You got to pull up the You got to pull up the You got You got to pull up the YouTube. You got You got to pull up the YouTube. I got to watch it on YouTube. Okay, let I got to watch it on YouTube. Okay, let me Or do you could do it from your if you Or do you could do it from your if you could do it from your memory. Can you can you tell me? I just didn't know what we were looking I just didn't know what we were looking at. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. I've been Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. I've been showing all sorts of cool stuff while you've been gabbing on talking about your farts. Um, by the way, everybody who just raided and and you missed a amazing moment where we went through Christopher Franchie's fart library on his phone. Uh, which is, I swear to God, near and dear to my heart. [laughter] My farts. My farts. Not my farts. Your farts. Not my farts. Your farts. No, I mean, not like, you know, farts I No, I mean, not like, you know, farts I took off the internet or whatever. No. Yeah, these are personal. Yeah, these are personal. Recorded fresh beef. Recorded fresh beef. Yeah. As a as an audio guy, I thoroughly Yeah. As a as an audio guy, I thoroughly respect that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So now some of these things I'm Okay. So now some of these things I'm I'm I'm looking at what you got here. Some of these things like um the uh somebody was everybody [ __ ] I guess somebody's bitching like why would they put that carousel hat version of Beetlejuice on the playfield right there instead of the regular one. Shouldn't it have been the regular one? That's the main version. Well, maybe it should have, except when I got the layout, those little batwing shaped inserts were already there and Bug said, "We need you to put the carousel Beetlejuice in there and fill in the gaps because we want the wings to light up. There's a carousel shot, yada yada yada." So, I was asked to draw that particular version of the character in that spot. Um, pinball people like to have a lot of pinball people like to have a lot of quick opinions without asking why decisions have been made. It's just kind of part of the passionate pinball hobby uh perspective, I guess. Yeah. [laughter] Why did Stern decide Yeah. [laughter] Why did Stern decide not to put guns in John Wick? That was a dumb choice. Well, it wasn't their choice, but um yeah, you know, hey, you know what? Hit me up on your You guys ever wonder why I did something I did? Just ask. I'll tell you. I completely agree. There's Yeah, I completely agree. There's Yeah, there you go. Let me make this full there you go. Let me make this full screen because I'm having a hard time really seeing it with me too. it with me too. Um, Um, okay. So, [sighs] okay. So, [sighs] uh, one pro, one obstacle I had, this was a tough one. The, um, the inserts down by the house, like way down at the bottom of the image there, they were just all, when I got the layout, they were just all scattered like that. And I'm like, what am I? No, go down. Yeah. I'm like, what am I working with here? And they're like, "Well, those those are going to be all the um all the modes." And I'm like, "Why are they laid out like this?" Well, because that's where we could fit them. That's how we want them. They were insistent that that's how they go. And I'm like, "Well, what what could I possibly put around that to make that cohesive, right? [laughter] cohesive, right? [laughter] I mean, your solution having them be the I mean, your solution having them be the windows in the house is is pretty brilliant. They're not they're not lined up. They're not they're not lined up. They're not the same size. is, you know, that they go up on weird ang, you know, one two of them have squares above them, the one to grave dig, one doesn't. And yeah, like there's just no rhyme or reason to like there's just no rhyme or reason to that layout. So, the only thing I could think of that made sense was, well, the house like one once they remodel the house, it's all weird with all these shapes and all that. If I put that behind it as like sort of a canvas for these things, it's probably it's probably not ideal, but it's probably the only thing that could possibly work. I mean, the house just looked like a house before. I think it's brilliant that you're using the like post wacky art mom, you know, renovation version of it, right? Yeah. right? Yeah. Um, Um, chat's talking about how many people are chat's talking about how many people are pissed that they didn't get the game. Well, you should have bought it when it was available, you [laughter] know. Yeah. Here, here's this is what I'll Yeah. Here, here's this is what I'll tell people who didn't get this game or they didn't get Evil Dead or whatever. It cost you absolutely nothing to get on a list. Zero Goose Egg. Not a dime. Also, someone's gonna sell their game at some point. Like the the collections are not infinitely large. Like people get rid of games all the time and eventually there will be one available. You just might have to wait longer. Yeah. And you'll have to pay more. Like, Yeah. And you'll have to pay more. Like, you know, I just saw Loser Kids thing saying that the the average price of Evil Dead is 15 grand. Wow. Wow. On on the resale market. And it was like On on the resale market. And it was like the really the only one that that they were was going up a significant amount. But uh so but don't but pinball machines are not but don't but pinball machines are not stock. So, please don't do that. [laughter] Buy it cuz you love playing pinball. That's just my two cents. But I would definitely say, yeah, just But I would definitely say, yeah, just get on, you know, it doesn't hurt to just get on a list and then when it comes out, if you're like, you know, oh man, you know, I hate that you know, oh man, you know, I hate that oatmeal guy or whatever, you know, whatever the theme is. If then pull yourself off the list. I think you got somebody who knows you I think you got somebody who knows you in chat or at least pretending. They're asking if you bought your Benton Witter home yet. Uh, who is it? What's the name? All All Uh, who is it? What's the name? All All Twisted Up 2713. That That sounds familiar. I talked to That That sounds familiar. I talked to that guy before. He called you an art nerd, which aren't He called you an art nerd, which aren't we all nerds? We work in pinball. [snorts] I'm a I'm an art nerd. I'm a fart nerd. I'm a I'm an art nerd. I'm a fart nerd. I'm a toy nerd. I'm a music nerd. I'm all kinds of nerds. Respect. Respect. Um but um House and Benton, he's talking Um but um House and Benton, he's talking about Benton is where Spooky is. And Spooky wants me to move down there. Um, not because it' make my job any easier, because they love me. Sure. Sure. Uh, and Uh, and they want to be near me. they want to be near me. We we talked a little bit about your We we talked a little bit about your exclusivity when you started working with uh Spooky. You had heard a rumor about a particular game, right? And you were I mean, you kind of manifested this position to a certain degree, right? Yeah. Yeah, we can talk about that. Um, Yeah. Yeah, we can talk about that. Um, uh, the way I started working for Spooky was basically, uh, I heard a rumor that they were working on Evil Dead or they had gotten the license or whatever, and I went over to Bug at Expo, I think, and we had spoken before, so I didn't have to really introduce myself. He knew me. Um, and uh I said, "Hey, I heard you were uh I heard you guys got the Evil Dead license. Um, you need to call me. I need to do that art package for you." [snorts] And he's just like, [laughter] and he's still kind of playing that like, you know, we don't have that the Koi rumor isn't true, the Koi rumor isn't true, right? Giggle. right? Giggle. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about. Evil dead. [laughter] Evil dead. [laughter] Evil what? Evil what? And uh so that was that. And then boy, I don't think I was home 2 or 3 days, I think, if I remember correctly. It was really soon after we got back from expo, he called me up and he's like, "Yeah, we got Evil Dead. Do you want to do it?" Like, "Of course I want to do it." Clearly clearly he thought it was a good Clearly clearly he thought it was a good idea that you should do it. Yeah. And I I wasn't working. Um I Yeah. And I I wasn't working. Um I wasn't exclusive to them at the time. I um Excuse me. I had to take a drink. [snorts] Um, fantastic. fantastic. I started working on Evil Dead just as a I started working on Evil Dead just as a pro, you know, project, a a contractor. And I got about halfway through that and they were, I guess him and and Spooky Luke had talked and they're like, "Well, wouldn't it be great if like Franchie just worked on our stuff?" [snorts] Because they're they're working so far ahead. they got so much stuff coming down that they're ready to go with that they they were just kind of foreseeing me like starting on the next one. [snorts] Um, so they made me an offer. I went out to see them and see their their shop and all of that. Um, I already like them as people, you you know, I mean, as far as, you know, people in the industry, there's few people that like I would say like David Vaness and and Chris Turner, um Brad Albbright and the guys from Spooky I put all into the super nice pile, you know, at least I mean, I don't know if everybody likes those people. I don't know. But to me, you know, they were they were very polite um solid, happy people. So, I would agree with that for sure. I would agree with that for sure. Albright as far sweethearts. sweethearts. Yeah. So, as far as you know, working Yeah. So, as far as you know, working with those guys, I'm like, "Sure." And then they told me what they'd got coming down the pipe. Then, um, you know, and then we talked cash [snorts] and all that. Oh, you got paid to do this? Oh, you got paid to do this? I get paid. I get paid. What? What? I get paid $5 an hour and I get paid $5 an hour and I want a machine. They give me $10 off. I want a machine. They give me $10 off. [snorts] [laughter] So, [ __ ] on that. So they're they're giving you dro rates, huh? So um So um yeah, and you know, I had just turned down a job from another place and and I'll never work for Stern again. Um so I'm like, why not? You know, it see I really I just really like the way where they were going. I saw a lot of this stuff that, you know, everybody's wowed about now that like, wow, you know, they really turned a page and, you know, um I I had seen all this stuff when I was making my decision and I'm just like, I really like where this company's going. Yeah. Yeah. Um Um and uh and I kind of, [snorts] you know, and uh and I kind of, [snorts] you know, not like I'm a future teller or whatever, but wait, wait, wait, wait. You you've got wait, wait, wait, wait. You you've got like you've you've got seance future vision ability. No, I said not like I'm one of those. I wish you did. I saw I kind of saw maybe I do because I I saw I kind of saw maybe I do because I kind of saw them coming to where they are now. You know, I because right now people kind of consider them, if not second, third in the henpecking list of of pinball companies. And from what I saw that they were working on and what they were doing, I could see that coming and I'm just like, well, yeah, yeah, I'm getting in on the ground floor on I'm getting in on the ground floor on this. I I I hate I hate lists and numbers, but I will say I totally agree with you. It's it's a wonderful time to be in pinball. There's more independent like innovation and like just teams of people making amazing games and uh yeah, I mean Spooky's last titles have yeah, I mean Spooky's last titles have been amazing. So, it's a good time to be in pinball. Yeah. So, I'm I'm very happy where I am. Yeah. So, I'm I'm very happy where I am. Um, I do have one game uh that I'm working on uh for another company that I was already signed on to do before I did the deal with Spooky. So, there there is another game coming from another company down the road uh that I can't talk about. But, um other than that, yeah, very But, um other than that, yeah, very happy where I am with the the guys spooky. It's great that you just manifested it It's great that you just manifested it by going up to them and being like, "Hey, I'm the one for this project." So, you know, call me when you're ready. Well, [laughter] yeah. I never would Well, [laughter] yeah. I never would have foreseen them coming to me and saying, "Hey, do you want to, you know, work exclusively for us, right?" right?" I think they saw your talent and knew I think they saw your talent and knew that if they didn't kind of lock you in that they would lose. I mean, your your art style has now become the identity of Spooky to a certain degree, you know? I mean, I think that it's no denying that your synergistic color palette, how you, you know, stylize characters and placement and stuff, insert colors and all that. Like, it's just you are the visual identity of Spooky Pinball at this point. Yeah. But, I mean, you don't know how Yeah. But, I mean, you don't know how that's how it's going to work out like that. has obviously worked against Jeremy where you know when when Stern comes out with another game of his everyone's like oh you know um to the point where they made him art director to pull him back a little bit and bring some people in there you know that could happen to me I mean this is the evolution of when you I mean this is the evolution of when you do a lot of games and and such I really like Jeremy's art style personally I have a Ghostbusters and I mean even though his style is very specific specific. You know, I think it is it is synergistic with Stern's style and you know, I don't think there's anything you know, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Yeah. I don't think, you know, maybe Yeah. I don't think, you know, maybe King Kong was a long shot, but I don't think they they put him on any job that his style didn't fit. Yeah. Yeah. You know, all the Marvel stuff and all You know, all the Marvel stuff and all of that, you know, Kong had three different artists. You Kong had three different artists. You know, they brought in people that were, you know, the original Data East, you know, prototype Kong that never got made. Conor prayers to playfield. Conor prayers to playfield. So, you know, I like that. I'm saying it right now. I like that. I'm saying it right now. Kong's a great game and I do love the artwork. I don't care about like, you know, it's not based on a movie title or anything. So, they took a risk. Here's my frustration with that, right? People keep yelling at Stern for not taking risks. And then when Stern takes risk, they get [ __ ] on. So, it's like, which which way do you want it? Right? I just I just talked about this with I just I just talked about this with somebody. I'm like, they were asking me about uh original themes. I'm like, everybody wants an original theme until you give it to them and then Right. Right. Uh oh. Did we Did we Oh god, you're a robot. Oh, you came back. Thank god. Yeah. I mean, that was a little Oh, that Yeah. I mean, that was a little Oh, that was a great freeze frame. Is that Yeah, that's pretty exciting. You gave Yeah, that's pretty exciting. You gave me a bit of a Oh, see, I can't fake it because the Oh, see, I can't fake it because the Damn it, Shadow. Um, I'll take it.

47:55

Dead fart. Dead fart. Dead fart. Death gas. Death gas. Um, well, we're at a full hour. I generally like to keep it around that uh or at least just under a full hour, but uh this has been wonderful. I really appreciate the time. Is there is there anything else that you'd like to touch base on that I didn't? Usually I dive a lot more into the history and kind of where you've come from, but you told this amazing parent story and then, you know, we we dove right into pinball. What's that? There's there's one thing I'd like to say if I there's one thing I'd like to say if I could get on a soap box for for a bit. Sure. Um, Sure. Um, I really wish, you know, I I people are free to do what they want. They're free to say what they want, of course. Um, but I really wish people would think twice when they get when they feel like criticizing art packages and things like that. Um, I mean, personally, I don't get a lot of grief for myself. I've seen some some I remember one guy said like there was nothing good about my Evil Dead R package. nothing at all, which kind of hurt. Like I'm just like really nothing like I don't expect everyone to like my stuff or everyone to like everything I did. But to say nothing at all was good about it kind of sucked. But um there, you know, just there's people I don't have to name names, there's people in this industry that are just like taking the arrows right now. And I just I just wish when a game came out if people just said the art's not for me if they don't like it rather than say this art sucks. What crap? Skittles art package. You know, all these things that we've heard a million times. Again, I don't want to tell people what to say. I I would just ask that they use a little c a little class. You know, remember what your mom said if you can't say anything nice. I wouldn't say don't say anything at I wouldn't say don't say anything at all, but just say it in a nice way. Splud Spludgs has said that that person has no joy in life. And I think that that's kind of an important it's as as a creative as well. When someone throws stones that are those sharp, it's it's easy to remember that usually that means that that person is going through something and is just incredibly unhappy either with themselves or something and that they want to make other people feel just they want to make other people feel just as bad as they do. But well, it's either that or, you know, a well, it's either that or, you know, a lot of times people get into these pissing matches about who can come up with the more funny burn. You know, You know, the internet does love to troll and it's the internet does love to troll and it's easy to troll when you're hiding behind a monitor with no like responsibility or, you know, right now. If I'm all if you want to get right now. If I'm all if you want to get on and tell Taylor Swift she sucks, fine. She's got a bazillion fans out there, you know, steamrolling across the country, taking in bazillion dollars. Our hobby is very small. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and and those shots fired like You know, and and those shots fired like reverberate around the walls of our little room that we have carved out in the middle of pop culture. Um so you need to think about that. you know, if I mean, there's places you can go to troll that it won't, you know, people won't be offended because like they're getting, you know, 14 million positive comments to one shitty one, you know, and if you feel like, you know, you got to, you know, get some negativity out, do that. But like, part of the reason that this podcast part of the reason that this podcast existed is to give a face to people, you know, except for Jeremy Packer because he's a big [ __ ] and backed out. uh so that people know these faces so that they understand they're people. Like everyone who works in pinball is not trying to make a machine that upsets you. Like it's not like we will go on the internet and we're like, "Oh wait, this particular guy doesn't like that. So let's make the whole machine like that way just to piss him off." Like these decisions are done creatively because, you know, we love what we do and we're trying to make the best possible pinball machine. If you don't like it, sorry. Yeah. I mean, art's art's subjective, Yeah. I mean, art's art's subjective, you know. It's, you know, I I was I made the analogy once that I said, you know, even a guy who who flips burgers for a living doesn't want you to come back and say that his burger tasted like [ __ ] right? right? Everybody takes pride in what they do to Everybody takes pride in what they do to some extent, no [snorts] matter what it is. You know, if they're doing, you know, painting the cyine chapel or they're pulling weeds, you know, you don't want people dogging you that you you did a [ __ ] job on something. And you know, it's just, you know, lately it's it's gotten out of hand. It's hurt a lot of people. Um, and I hate seeing that sort of thing. Like I said, I can't complain. I I've been very fortunate um to not have, you know, too many people, you know, pooping all over my work because I'd be in the same boat, you know, honestly. You people say, "Oh, just ignore, you know, it's hard to ignore it when when when you look through a thread and it's just like crap, crap, crap, junk, [ __ ] [ __ ] crap. I don't like this Skittles, you know, and you just walk away from that going, man, I just don't want to do this anymore. And we and we read that [ __ ] because And we and we read that [ __ ] because when these games come out, like you want to know what people are saying because the feedback is important, but you know, you know, yeah, [laughter] they just just, you yeah, [laughter] they just just, you know, you can you can most definitely give your opinion as long as your opinion is is, you know, mature and adult and like I don't care for the artwork, you know, that's all you got to say. Then people know how you feel. You don't like it, but you don't have to like, well, let me put it in this funny way like like I wouldn't [ __ ] on a game that like that because you know I can't think of some funny burn joke, but I mean that was a pretty funny burn. I I mean that was a pretty funny burn. I would have that one works. [laughter] Uh, well, wise words. Uh, well, wise words. That's all I'd say. It's just and it's That's all I'd say. It's just and it's I'm not going to say just artwork. Just, you know, anything, you know, feel free to voice your opinion. just try to do it with some taste and class and and not try to hurt people because there's no there's so many good people in this industry and they're all working hard. Um you know and like you know there's a couple people out there podcasters I can't think of who it is now might be Canada I don't know that say um you know vote with your wallet. So, if you just, you know, if you don't like something and you don't buy it, that sends a message. You don't need to pile on top of that and say you should be fired. Your work is garbage, you know, or whatever. Uh, it's just not necessary. And, you know, like I I don't want to get preachy. I don't want to like act like I'm trying to tell people what to do. I I'm just asking for a little kindness, you know? I mean, this world is so [ __ ] up right now. like just within like I don't even say world like this country you know there's so much negative crap and people beating each other up and uh you know all this like ice agent crap with with the common public and like everybody's fighting everywhere you go somebody's beating the crap out of somebody and it's it's not like us versus them it's us versus us and it's just we don't if it's going to happen it's going to happen but let's try and keep it out of our hobby so that we can at least have a safe place to go to. I mean, pinball pinball is an escape. I mean, pinball pinball is an escape. It's you're going into a world under glass and like it would be nice to be able to to have every aspect of that removed from kind of the drama of life. Right. Right. Yeah. Or, you know, or you know, Right. Yeah. Or, you know, or you know, maybe, you know, I can talk to all my artist friends and we can like, you know, let's draw something real hideous like once a month and let everybody like, you know, say all their negative [ __ ] about it. like I'm going to post it and then you guys like go at it, you know, compete with each other on who's got the funniest burn. Here's some nasty shitty looking artwork with the wrong colors and etc., etc. Spled Splud brings up a good point. He's Spled Splud brings up a good point. He's talking about the new Labyrinth audio package that I did. And there's like four or five people on Pinside that are like upset that I would step on the sacrilege of David Bowie by like ducking the audio on there. And it's like they're totally entitled to have that opinion, but it's like express it positively. I tried to work with these people to make their game sound the way they want because at the end of the day you're spending $11,000 on a pinball machine. You you do want it to sound a certain way, right? But then like Splud said like you know I'm literally getting hit with hundreds of other comments from every other outlet that this like rebirth the game into a place where it should have been to begin with. So you just Yeah, that's what I heard too. So yeah, Yeah, that's what I heard too. So yeah, congratulations on that. People are very I mean you you went back to uh uh what was the first game? Labyrinth. Yeah, Labyrinth. Um, which I did I just Yeah, Labyrinth. Um, which I did I just heard about the other day. So, that's cool that your work is so good that they're like, your work is so good that they're like, "Well, let's just go back and like redo everything." Yeah. And Eric, uh, the programmer had a Yeah. And Eric, uh, the programmer had a large part of doing that and suggested it to David. But, you know, I mean, that's the other thing. It's like, bro, like this game came out two something two and a half years ago and it's getting attention to be brought up to even, you know, additional lighting changes. Cuz like if we just ignore the audio package, like be happy that a company cares to support a game that is so gone and so far from, you know, being in production. Like why would you not be happy about that? But everybody can [ __ ] about whatever they want. It's like, you know. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah. It's like I said, Well, yeah. Yeah. It's like I said, everyone's entitled to opinion. You're certainly entitled to voice it. I would say just try to do it in a kind way [laughter] and wise words. and wise words. Yeah, we don't need to be Yeah, we don't need to be Francancy. I have an important question Francancy. I have an important question to ask you that's even more serious than what you just brought up. You have I know you have a few pinball You have I know you have a few pinball machines. But I didn't hear a lot of classic But I didn't hear a lot of classic pinball machines in your collection. So, I just want to suggest I want to ask you out of these three classic pinball machines, which one of these would you add to your collection? Okay. Okay. Number one, Number one, Raven.

57:44

Number two, Raven. Raven. No. No. And number three, Raven. Yes. Yes. Okay. The third Raven. the third Raven. Okay. The third Raven. the third Raven. Raven part three. [sighs and gasps] Um, Um, all right. [laughter] all right. [laughter] I tell you, yeah, I don't I used to have I tell you, yeah, I don't I used to have a Captain Fantastic. Funny story. Um, I grew up playing Captain Fantastic in hockey rinks because me and my brother played hockey. So, it has a nostalgic factor to you for So, it has a nostalgic factor to you for sure. So, every ice rink had that game. They So, every ice rink had that game. They made so many. Um, so, and I love the artwork on it. Absolutely love. Still my favorite probably my favorite back glass ever. Um, it is it is very uh Elton Johnny. it is it is very uh Elton Johnny. [laughter] Yeah, Yeah, for [snorts] sure. for [snorts] sure. So, when I got into pinball, I'm like, So, when I got into pinball, I'm like, you know, I'm going to I'm going to get one of those for my collection. You I'm going to put throw that in with with mine. And I got it and god damn it, I hate that [ __ ] game so much. It's not super fun. [laughter] It's not super fun. [laughter] It's not fun. It's brutal. And I just I It's not fun. It's brutal. And I just I just wanted to get rid of it. And then one day I get a call from Steve Richie. He's like, "Hey, I heard you got a Captain Fantasy you want to get rid of." I'm like, "Yeah." And this was like a couple weeks before Expo. He's like, "Steve Richie wanted your Captain "Steve Richie wanted your Captain Fantastic. He owns it right now." Yeah. He owns it right now." Yeah. Were you Wait, when he asked for it, Were you Wait, when he asked for it, were you like, "That's fantastic." I'm like, "Thank [ __ ] God." Yes. I'm like, "Thank [ __ ] God." Yes. I gave him a hell of a deal, too, cuz I just wanted it out of my house. So amazing. That's so cool. Steve Richie amazing. That's so cool. Steve Richie owns one of your pinball machines. [laughter] Yeah. So now I'm back to just owning, Yeah. So now I'm back to just owning, you know, mine and I have to keep I can I can only fit five games in. So now I got to take the Beatles and probably Galactic Tank Force and throw them in the basement to make room for Evil Dead and Beetlejuice. I was going to say I know someone I was going to say I know someone looking for Galactic Tank Force if you want to sell yours. [laughter] [snorts] I want to sell it, but um but you know I want to sell it, but um but you know the the the two games the two old games that I would love to have are Embion, Embion, great game, great backlash, and Swords of Fury. and Swords of Fury. I mean, the most popular. It's system 11, right? Uh, probably one of the most legendary of that solid state time period games. That's mad you didn't say Gorgar. That's mad you didn't say Gorgar. No, but somebody brought that up. Yeah, No, but somebody brought that up. Yeah, I was I I can't say who I was talking to yesterday because it's coming out later on. It's part of a thing, but uh they they brought that up, too. What's What's going on with Gorggar lately? It's got a cool It's got a cool voice emulation chip. That's what also Gorgar's like Gorgar looks like he means business. Are you kidding me? Like I They asked me about the artwork Like I They asked me about the artwork like how he looks and all. So I called I pulled up the um the back glass and I'm like why are his ears bigger than his horns? Like he just these crappy little horns and then he had Take it back. Don't take it back. Take it back. Don't take it back. Take that back. What is crappy about Take that back. What is crappy about these horns? This is a man. This Gorgar is a man of dignity. How dare you? Look how they're like way off to the Look how they're like way off to the side and they're tiny. Look at his ears are bigger than his horns, dude. That's just where they You cannot, dude. That's just where they You cannot, man. Look, you can't body shame Gorgar. What the hell? I don't like the Skittles crap. It's I don't like the Skittles crap. It's junk. I'M [ __ ] [ __ ] GORGAR. [ __ ] GORGAR. His nipples [laughter] are crooked. His His nipples [laughter] are crooked. His [snorts] nipples are crooked. He's not wearing any pants. [laughter] All right, everybody. Uh, if you have All right, everybody. Uh, if you have any questions, this is your last opportunity until you talk to Christopher Franchie at Expo or I don't know. Are you going to be at Texas Pinball Festival or Pinball at the Beach? I want to be everywhere. It's It's I want to be everywhere. It's It's He's everywhere. Look at that. He's everywhere. Look at that. 10th anniversary Franchie Tour this 10th anniversary Franchie Tour this year. So, oh man, look at that. oh man, look at that. I'll be at Pinball at the Beach I'll be at Pinball at the Beach tomorrow. I leave tomorrow morning and then I'll be at TPF and I'll be at and then I'll be at TPF and I'll be at Expo. So, there you go. So, if you'd like to say there you go. So, if you'd like to say hi to Christopher Fry, you should do that. And, uh, I I always end with a a plug. If there's anything that you want to plug, I feel like your game's out. There's nothing to plug. So, if you got anything personal going on, what's that? what's that? I plugged what I wanted. Kind of just be I plugged what I wanted. Kind of just be nice to people. Be [snorts] nice to people. Be [snorts] nice to people. That's way better than buying a pinball That's way better than buying a pinball machine, honestly. Yeah. [laughter] Well, you know, [ __ ] my Yeah. [laughter] Well, you know, [ __ ] my website. [ __ ] any posters or [ __ ] that, you know, but I'm not selling. Just be nice to people. That's all. I got nothing else to plug. Amazing. Uh, all right. Thank you so Amazing. Uh, all right. Thank you so much. We're going to do a raid real quick, but before we do that, Franchie, can we do another Can we do Franchie, can we do another Can we do another BRB dead moment? BRB. BRB. We're going to go to the BRB screen and We're going to go to the BRB screen and then come back dead. We got to pick a different pose and then am I supposed to hold it until and then am I supposed to hold it until I fade out and I'm Yeah, I'll I'll I'll come back up from Yeah, I'll I'll I'll come back up from life and then and then fade us out, right? There we go.