Stern Star Wars: Fall of the Empire Pinball Designers Borg & Rayday Reveal Game Rules & Features!

Wild Dog Arcade·video·12m 34s·analyzed·Sep 28, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Borg & Day detail Fall of the Empire mechanics, tier differences, and Spike 3 audio/display benefits.

Summary

John Borg and Ray Day from Stern Pinball present Fall of the Empire gameplay mechanics and design philosophy in depth. The game features over 1,000 video clips, nine character-based Force missions with three scenes each, and distinctive toys including a motorized Death Star lock, Sarlacc pit with feature selection, AT-AT walker, and magnetic Jedi save. Pro/Premium tier differentiation is clearly outlined, with Pro lacking motorized toys, magnet save, and expression lighting but retaining core gameplay.

Key Claims

Fall of the Empire contains over 1,000 video clips from Star Wars movies integrated into gameplay
high confidence · Ray Day directly states 'about a thousand or so clips...in the game and planned for the game'
The game features nine character-based missions (Yoda, Luke, droids, Lando, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, Obi-Wan) with three scenes each
high confidence · Ray Day describes the Force missions structure: 'each character...has um three scenes for each character'
Pro model lacks motorized AT-AT, moving center ramp, magnetic save, Stormtrooper/Vader/Tie Fighter/Jabba toys, and expression lighting
high confidence · John Borg explicitly lists Pro tier deletions in direct comparison to Premium
Magnetic save requires spelling JEDI on spinners to activate button save in outlane
high confidence · Borg describes the mechanic in detail: 'spell J and E of Jedi, it lights the action button...you hit the button at the right time, it propels the ball back up'
Death Star toy uses motorized target that opens after shooting three balls through it to start multiball
high confidence · Borg describes: 'You shoot three balls inside, lock three balls, Death Star opens, and it shoots all three balls back to the right foot'

Notable Quotes

“We've got a beautiful game. Plays beautifully. looks beautiful. Um, it's uh it's got a lot of nice new toys in it.”
John Borg @ opening — Designer's opening assessment of overall game quality and toy-centric design philosophy
“You shoot three balls inside, lock three balls, Death Star opens, and it shoots all three balls back to the right foot.”
John Borg @ early_demo — Core mechanical explanation of Death Star lock mechanic as central gameplay feature
“There's there's a lot. There's we got um about a thousand or so clips um and um that in the game and planned for the game.”
Ray Day @ video_clips_discussion — Quantifies video/movie clip integration scope, demonstrating licensed content scale
“So you just have to get the J and the E to light the button so you can propel the ball back up into the shooter landing or if you completely spelled JEDI, then you can just hit the button.”
Ray Day @ magnet_save_explanation — Explains two-tier progression of magnetic save mechanic tied to spinner letters
“It's kind of like Twilight Zone, you know, Magna flips kind of. It's like your third flipper down there a little bit.”
John Borg @ magnet_mechanic_analogy — Designer compares magnetic save gameplay feel to classic pinball precedent (Twilight Zone)
“The uh the sound is unbelievable. Um the system's faster, the display is bigger, and it's a better resolution, and it's beautiful.”
John Borg @ spike_3_benefits — Designer attributes gameplay immersion improvements to Spike 3 hardware platform capabilities

Entities

John Borgperson Ray Dayperson Fall of the EmpiregameStern PinballcompanyDeath Starproduct Spike 3product Walking Deadgame

Signals

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community_signal: Designers presenting Fall of the Empire to arcade/location audience through Wild Dog Arcade channel; direct Q&A format demonstrates manufacturer investment in content education and community relationship building
high · Entire video structure is designer-led presentation with audience Q&A about gameplay mechanics, tier differences, and Spike 3 capabilities
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design_philosophy: Sarlacc pit feature uses dynamic drop target with Salacious Crumb character that pops back up to block entry; once penetrated, ball spins in cup and rotates through four indexed features to select from (Falcon, Stormtrooper, Vader, undisclosed fourth option)
high · Borg describes: 'You shoot a drop target that has salacious crumb on the front. knock that down. He teases you. He pops back up, tries to block you from getting in there. You finally get inside. Ball spins around in a cup. And then there's four features uh that are lit inserts'
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design_philosophy: Nine character-based missions with three scenes each mirrors Walking Dead structural approach; Ray Day emphasizes scenic vs progress route options and movie dialogue integration as narrative delivery mechanism
high · Ray Day explains: 'kind of like if you played Walking Dead, you choose which shot will start a scene. Um but this this game has um three scenes for each character...you'll start one of those and there'll be blue shots and white shots and you can either take the scenic route where you build lots of points and you're you'll see more movie clips'
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gameplay_signal: Pop bumpers function as risk/reward ion cannon charge building tool that can generate shot multipliers rather than purely defensive playfield features; integrated into combo progression system tied to character appearance mechanics
high · Ray Day explains: 'we're put these devious pop bumpers on both sides and um if you shoot them, you're actually building up an ion cannon charge so you can place a shot multiplier...sometimes you have the Stormtrooper hurry up lit and you'll hit a sling, it'll hit a pop and it bounces back and forth and you collect that without even actually making the shot'

Topics

Mechanical toy design and playfield featuresprimaryPro vs Premium vs LE tier differentiation strategyprimarySoftware architecture and Force mission systemprimaryVideo clip integration and licensed movie contentprimarySpike 3 platform hardware benefitssecondaryMagnetic save mechanic and flipper gameplaysecondaryGame progression and multiball modessecondaryCharacter-driven gameplay missionssecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Designers express confidence and enthusiasm about game quality, features, and Spike 3 platform capabilities. No criticism or concerns raised by either designer during presentation. Tone is professional and demonstrative rather than defensive.

Transcript

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[Music] Uh we're proud to present uh Star Wars Fall of the Empire. We've got a beautiful game. Plays beautifully. looks beautiful. Um, it's uh it's got a lot of nice new toys in it. And we've got a new interesting feature that's a magnetic feature in the Outland force. We've got a we have paw. We have the final battle premium. And this is the pro. Uh, this is pretty much ewok base. Um, and the uh let's see. Can I turn this so that everybody can get it? Sure. Here, I'll help you, John. [Music] So, here is a mechanical Death Star with a target that opens up after you shoot it. You shoot three balls inside, lock three balls, Death Star opens, and it shoots all three balls back to the right foot. Um, the center ramp is in the down position at game start and then after you hit it once, it goes up and then the ball goes up the ramp and it goes through the air and goes into this opening in the back panel, flies around and comes back to your flipper in like a matter of seconds. And it's very fun to pump over and over again. We put uh job of the hut in the game. Um, this is the Sarlac pit. You shoot a drop target that has salacious crumb on the front. knock that down. He teases you. He pops back up, tries to block you from getting in there. You finally get inside. Ball spins around in a cup. And then there's four features uh that are lit inserts uh underneath the ramp. When you get inside the ball, as the ball spins around, you'll see the four features pop up in the display. And as the ball spins around in the cup, the features will index. And then you'll start one of four features there. Um, Millennium Falcon with the lit back. Uh, we've got a Stormtrooper head on this side with a target associated with it. And we have Darth Vader's head on this side. That's where you get your Darth your uh your Darth Vader mystery awards. Motorized mechanical ADAT that moves up and down. And then we've got a spiral ramp that goes around the ADAT to simulate the toe cable going around the ADAT to trip it. Um, the force magnet is right in between the flippers. So when you are playing the game and you spell J and E of Jedi, it lights the action button. When the ball drains, the ball comes down the out lane and when it gets to the end here, it dinks off a little bracket that's added and it goes across the magnet and when you hit the button at the right time, it propels the ball back up the outline and puts it back in the shooter lane for you. So, you get to use the force. Um, when you complete Jedi, uh, when you complete Jedi, the outlands will light where you can stop the ball and it will actually throw the ball back up in between the flippers back in your play. So, a lot of fun stuff, a lot of crazy action down here. Uh, you're going to enjoy it a lot. It's really fun game. All right, John, can you tell them a little bit of the differences between the premium and the pro? The uh, the mechanical adat does not move in the pro. It's stationary. The lift ramp is stationary also in the Pro, uh, which is fine because it's always up so you can shoot through the hyperspace, uh, back panel. Um, the Death Star remains the same with the with the motorized target. Um, the, uh, some of the toys are are not present on the Pro. The, uh, Stormtrooper, um, Darth Vader, the, uh, Tie Fighter, and, uh, Jabba is missing. And the Pro doesn't have the magnet. Pro does not have that. No, no Jedi saves. Um you do have a ball save on the pro though, right? When the outlings, you lit it with that's um so on the premium you told there's two different levels of being a Jedi. When you get it halfway, you can do the little fling save. There's actually a gap in the uh left out lane to shooter lane. So you can kind of throw it back in there. Um and then when you spell Jedi all the way, you get the the grab and throw. So on the pro, it's just you spell Jedi, you get outline ball save. Um and then also no um expression lights on the pro. The premium has cutouts so you can add that come standard on the Ellie. Um and um yeah, you mentioned the the ramp. So on the Pro, you know, you have to hit like the right ramp to try to advance your hyperspace, whereas the premium you can hit the the center ramp, but it a little scarier sometimes when it's down. But um it gives you the option on the premium to either shoot the right ramp or shoot that. Um why don't you talk a little bit about the software structure and the way you have it kind of organized. Yeah. So the main bread and butter of the game are the force missions. So you hit the um the targets and at the beginning of the game they'll start out um easier and um that will light all the shots which each shot corresponds to a character. So you got Yoda, Luke, uh the droids, Lando, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, Obi-Wan, and so kind of like if you played Walking Dead, you choose which shot will start a scene. Um but this this game has um three scenes for each character. And so a lot of different scenes um and missions that you can play. Um and there's like different levels of them. and and basically you'll start one of those and there'll be blue shots and white shots and you can either take the scenic route where you build lots of points and you're you'll see more movie clips or if you go for the progress shots then it'll just show you the highlights. So there's you know each scene has five kind of highlights which is how you kind of complete the modes. Um but either way you're seeing the scenes play out in order as you're hitting the shots with the dialogue from the movie on the screen and and as you're playing. Did you did you guys talk about the number of video clips in the game? Ray, what's it like to put over a thousand video clips into the game? Yeah, there's there's a lot. There's we got um about a thousand or so clips um and um that in the game and planned for the game. So, there's there's no shortage of of the movie. C3PO narrates the game. Yeah, he's your um your guide. So there's custom call outs um by him in addition to like like I said all the dialogue from the movies. Um the other things you can do in the game there's like John said the um the Java events um the battle of Hoth multiball. So you hit the AT-AT target to light lock then you lock in there. That's kind of your standard light lock and then in the battle you're trying to take him down. So your super jackpot, you know, you get it in there swirls around and then he comes crashing down. um you can destroy uh both Death Stars. So you start by the Death Star one. Once you get that super jack blows up um then you you'd be able to get to Death Star 2 um which is its own other thing. And then hyperspace multiball. Yeah, there's light speeded escape. Um so the Falcon is up the middle and you can qualify different um Falcon adventures. So there's four or five different scenes involving the Falcon in some way. Of course the first one is lighteed escape. So, it's kind of like T-Rex Multiball, if you've ever played that on Jurassic Park where you can start it right away or you can juice it up by hitting other other shots. Um, and then there's also some other side modes like the hyperspace loops, you know, loop that. Um, the Vader mission, so you the uh inlanes are kind of the Empire symbol. So, when you complete those, you'll light Vader modes. And those are kind of these everything kind of goes red and you're in the scene and you hear Darth Vader and you're playing these kind of iconic scenes with Vader in them. Um, and then uh yeah, I think there's, you know, these combos. Oh, the pop bumpers. But we're put these devious pop bumpers on both sides and um if you shoot them, you're actually building up an ion cannon charge so you can place a shot multiplier um built up from those. And uh that can, you know, make your scoring really big. There's also these combos, these character combos, John Youssi these yellow lights. So as you're getting these character combos, you'll see the characters appear and they'll help you um progress when you're in Death Star and and AT-AT. Um, yeah. There's a stormtrooper hurry up over here. Um, I think that's pretty much got any questions for these guys before we let you play? Does that move on the Pro or is it It does not. It's stationary. Uh, if I hit a pop bumper, will I drain immediately? Risk reward. like the slingshots and the pop bumpers, you get a lot of really good action at the bottom and it doesn't put you in peril very often, but it it it does it does move the ball around a lot. And then, you know, sometimes you have the Stormtrooper hurry up lit and you'll hit a sling, it'll hit a pop and it bounces back and forth and you collect that without even actually making the shot. Um it's uh it's interesting. And oh, the spinners are how you build your Jedi letters for the um for the force. Yeah. So you just have to get the J and the E to light the button so you can propel the ball back up into the shooter landing or if you completely spelled Jedi, then you can just hit the button, it'll stop the ball and shoot it back up into play. Yeah. Now, when when you got just the J and and the E lit and you hit the button, let's say the ball doesn't make it all the way up, like you hit you just off a you know, fraction of a second and getting the ball to go up into the shooter lane. It comes back, it'll bounce off this rail right here and bounce up toward the magnet. hit the button again and sometimes it throws it right back. Yeah. So, you actually get a couple tries. Um and it's kind of like Twilight Zone, you know, Magna flips kind of. It's like like your third flipper down there a little bit. Um yeah. Is there anything through Insider Connected that carries over from game to game? Uh not in this game. No, it's it's more of a standard. Um not yet. Yeah. I mean, yeah, we can add stuff and um but it's not like a um continued progress sort of thing sort of thing, but there might be, you know, other insidery things that that are yet to come. Was there other questions or you guys want to play? One more question. Was there anything as far as I don't know how long ago you designed this, but was there anything regarding Spike 3 that allowed you to add to your ideas or designs along the process? Um the the sound is unbelievable. Um the system's faster, the display is bigger, and it's a better resolution, and it's beautiful. Um but as far as the game play itself, um you know, still still balls. The uh the we we have the video in a frame and the the inside frame is about the size of the old display and so you're able to put, you know, video and put all the imagery and everything else around it. So it's been nice. the display, the audio, just more immersive experience. And then there's going to be other quality of life benefits, but you know, we're still making physical pitfalls, so that's that's the big part of it. You want to hear this thing first? Before we do that, we should do it on this one, John. Okay. So, John Youssi here the speaker lights have changed. We got a tweeter. [Music] So you can I don't think you want to see [Music] 30 left. Uh-huh. All right. Have at it. [Music]