Ep 48: RayDay!

TL;DR

Raymond Davidson discusses his path from casual player to #1 IFPA rank and Stern code designer.

Summary

Key Claims

• Raymond Davidson is currently #1 on the IFPA rankings

  high confidence · Josh Roop introduction: 'Our next guest is number one on the IFPA.'

• Raymond Davidson's first pinball machine was a 1976 Gottlieb Pioneer (two-player Spirit of '76) at his grandmother's house in Spokane, Eastern Washington

  high confidence · Raymond Davidson explaining his origin: 'It was a 1976 Gottlieb Pioneer, which is the two-player version of Spirit of '76.'

• Raymond's first IFPA tournament was the Northwest Pinball Championships in 2008

  high confidence · Raymond: 'I think it was in 2008... And uh, I ended up, you know, qualifying top 16.'

• Raymond finished second at both PAPA and Pinball Expo in the same year

  high confidence · Raymond: 'I got second at PAPA and second at Pinball Expo, which was crazy.'

• Raymond won the IFPA World Championship two years in a row

  high confidence · Raymond: 'then later on I got first in IFPA two years in a row.'

• Raymond purchased a Black Rose pinball machine from a private operator in Yakima, Washington for $1,500 after an online purchase fell through with shipping damage

  high confidence · Raymond describing Black Rose acquisition: 'we ended up just buying that one from him for like $1,500. It was like half the price.'

• Black Rose was not one of the original three Orsler games modified with Lightning Flippers

  high confidence · Raymond: 'I think you'll see it with Lightning Flippers in tournaments... Only Doctor Who, Dracula, and I think Popeye were the three original Orsler games.'

• Rick Nagel is the head code person at Stern Pinball

  high confidence · Raymond: 'Rick Nagel's the head code person... He kind of oversees the general picture.'

• Raymond continues to stream competitive pinball regularly while working at Stern

Notable Quotes

• “I would always play the pinball machine. It was a 1976 Gottlieb Pioneer... my dad kind of showed me the ropes, you know? Hit these targets to light this. You know, try to get extra ball. Don't tilt because you get all these bonus points. And I just loved it, you know?”

  Raymond Davidson @ early in conversation — Establishes Raymond's origin story and formative introduction to pinball mechanics through family guidance

• “I mean, I spent, I think I spent a thousand dollars in entries trying to qualify... it was also kind of like this horrible gambling addiction of like, I can just qualify if I just keep trying.”

  Raymond Davidson @ middle section — Reveals the intensity and financial commitment Raymond made to competitive pinball as a young player at PAPA

• “Black Rose was not one of them... I think you'll see it with Lightning Flippers in tournaments because it can play long. But only Doctor Who, Dracula, and I think Popeye were the three original Orsler games that the Europeans said were too easy or whatever.”

  Raymond Davidson @ mid-conversation — Technical authority on Orsler game modifications; provides correction on Black Rose configuration and explains original Lightning Flipper designations

• “You kind of need both... You kind of need to know, like, you don't need to know everything, but you need the stuff you do know you need to like have a plan for.”

  Raymond Davidson @ end section — Articulates core competitive philosophy: rules knowledge combined with strategic planning drives improvement

• “I just love pinball. And, you know, I don't know. It hasn't really hit me yet, I guess... marrying the mistress is what it sounds like.”

  Raymond Davidson @ mid-conversation — Reflects on the unique experience of combining competitive passion with professional employment at a major manufacturer

Entities

Signals

• ?

  personnel_signal: Raymond Davidson, elite IFPA #1 ranked player, works at Stern Pinball as lead code designer alongside Rick Nagel and support programmers like Brett

  high · Raymond confirms he works for Stern and describes role: 'He [Rick Nagel] kind of oversees the general picture... Then he can just hand out like, hey, you know, Keith just floods us with like mode requests... Rick and I basically just pull from the queue.'

• ?

  design_innovation: Raymond describes Stern's approach to game software: collaborative mode development with designer (Keith) requesting features, code team implementing, support programmers handling light shows and choreography

  high · Raymond: 'Keith just floods us with like mode requests, like have this mode do this, you know, do this, do this, do this. And, you know, Rick and I basically just pull from the queue... Brett, he uh, he's amazing, and he does uh, like the bonus, you know, light effects.'

• ?

  product_concern: Josh reports Captain Marvel ramp rejection issue on Avengers where ball shoots up ramp at high speed then bounces back down after going 2/3 distance. Raymond acknowledges hearing similar reports from multiple players but is uncertain of cause

  medium · Josh: 'when you nail the Captain Marvel shot, it goes about two-thirds of the way up before it does the loop around, and it just shoots right back down.' Raymond: 'I've heard it from a few people that they've had reject on the Captain Marvel ramp. So I'm wondering if I didn't know if Stern was aware of that.'

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Raymond demonstrates sophisticated understanding of game mechanics exploits, such as using ball drain to stop timer in time-based modes like Escape from Nublar to reset challenge attempts

  high · Josh references Raymond's video: 'you were wishing it would drain... later on asked you you said you know it stops the timer and if you can do it right.'