We’re Still Standing with John… Not Elton, the other one. BonusX!!

TL;DR

Bash Pinball discusses John Wick gameplay, venue maintenance issues, and proposes ambassador program.

Summary

Key Claims

• John Wick has flippers tilted downward at Boxcar location, making middle shots notably harder

  high confidence · Hosts describe specific observation: 'both the flippers were tilted downward... and just kind of plays, makes it kind of play bad. Makes the middle shots especially wonky.'

• Left-to-right leveling was off at Boxcar John Wick, causing pop bumper shots to drain center instead of feeding left flipper

  high confidence · Direct gameplay observation: 'the pop bumper shot where it should feed the ball like probably to the left flipper every time it came out of that thing it would just go straight down the middle because it was tilted to the right so far'

• John Wick is one of the most exciting Stern games in a while and marks a positive direction for the company

  high confidence · Host states: 'this is the most exciting game for me from Stern in a while... I'm hopeful for the future of what's coming because this is exactly the way that I want it to go.'

• John Wick has three multiballs, including one helicopter-related multiball

  medium confidence · Host mentions: 'we got three multi balls i think total one of them was a helicopter something or other'

• John Wick's middle ramp is significantly harder to hit than comparable shots on other games

  medium confidence · Hosts discuss: 'it's a hard middle shot for me... the three ramps on that game are all, actually all the shots on that game are on the narrow side'

• John Wick playfield design shows George Gomez's influence through ramp triangle aesthetic similar to Johnny Mnemonic

  low confidence · Host speculation: 'George Gomez, I'm on to you. I see what you did there with the Johnny Mnemonic triangles... I get a lot of Johnny Mnemonic vibes from that game'

• Monster Bash at Raleigh Boxcar location has a scoop tilted so far it shoots down the middle every time

  medium confidence · Host observation: 'the monster bash at the raleigh box bar right has that scoop in the middle and it's tilted so far the scoop shoots it down the middle every single time'

Notable Quotes

• “They heard nothing. They heard nothing. And they played one game and they were done because it's a terrible experience.”

  Don (Bash host) @ Early in episode — Illustrates the problem with poorly maintained/muted John Wick machines killing casual player interest and new conversion

• “We're saps. We're saps... all we require is a polo with the logo. Stern logo... and a hat with the logo... and we will personally bend the rules. We will level those games.”

  Bash hosts @ Mid-episode — Introduction of 'Stern Ambassador Program' (SAPs) concept—humorous but addressing real venue maintenance problem

• “I don't wake up at 3 a.m. and I'm like, I gotta go play. And that's kind of how I feel about John Wick. I'm thinking about it right now. I kind of want to go play right now.”

  Bash host @ Late episode — Expresses genuine excitement/attachment to John Wick—contrast with recent Stern games (Iron Maiden, Rush, Stranger Things)

• “This is the most exciting game for me from Stern in a while. Yeah. Right? And I'm hopeful for the future of what's coming because this is exactly the way that I want it to go.”

  Bash host @ Late episode — Strong endorsement of John Wick's design direction as a model for future Stern releases

• “It's funny because just looking at a picture of a play field, it's really, really almost useless. The pictures make it look kind of cheap. The colors don't even look right, you know?”

  Bash host @ Mid-episode — Meta-commentary on pinball media/marketing—in-person play experience vastly superior to photos

• “I got a lot of Johnny Mnemonic vibes from that game... I mean, obviously, apart from Keanu, just the aesthetics are not that different.”

  Bash host @ Mid-late episode — Observation of design homage/aesthetic influence in John Wick playfield design

• “There's nothing that makes you just like, oh, that shot. They're all fun shots... Every shot in a game and there's like a bunch. This has like 10 main shots or something. They all feel satisfying.”

Entities

Signals

• ?

  community_signal: Hosts propose 'Stern Ambassador Program' (SAPs) as community-driven solution to venue machine maintenance issues

  medium · Extended discussion of proposed ambassador uniform, leveling training, and certified program to fix improperly leveled machines at venues

• ?

  community_signal: Hosts attempting casual player education at Boxcar venue, explaining multiplayer functionality to newcomers

  high · Extended anecdote about group of casual players not understanding two-player mode; hosts pulling aside a player to explain capability while in middle of own game

• ~

  sentiment_shift: Recent Stern games (Iron Maiden, Rush, Stranger Things) are well-regarded but lack strong replay motivation; John Wick breaks this pattern

  high · Host: 'I don't feel the need to play them... I don't wake up at 3 a.m. and I'm like, I gotta go play. And that's kind of how I feel about John Wick. I'm thinking about it right now. I kind of want to go play right now.'

• ?

  design_philosophy: Some concern about average/casual player accessibility due to John Wick's higher difficulty and faster gameplay speed

  medium · Host question: 'I wonder if the average person who walks up to john wick you know let's say it's set up perfectly and playing perfectly i wonder if it's too hard for the average person'

• ?

  design_philosophy: John Wick shows intentional design homage/aesthetic influence from Johnny Mnemonic through ramp triangle design

  medium · Host identifies triangle pattern on ramps: 'George Gomez, I'm on to you. I see what you did there with the Johnny Mnemonic triangles'