Episode 55: The Return of Eric Priepke!

TL;DR

Eric Priepke discusses coding Rick and Morty for Spooky Pinball and its design philosophy.

Summary

Key Claims

• Rick and Morty sold out in approximately 4 hours (700 games)

  high confidence · Eric states this during discussion of the game's release and sellout speed

• The March 2020 public release contains six different adventures in the main multiball

  high confidence · Eric explicitly states: 'In the March release, there were six different adventures in the main multiball'

• The next update will include at least eight adventures total and another multiball, with a ninth adventure potentially included pending approvals

  high confidence · Eric: 'By the next update, there should be at least eight adventures total in another multiball. We have a ninth adventure done. It's just a matter of getting all of the things through all the necessary channels'

• Kyle DeAngelo is the highest-scoring player to have completed all modes shown publicly

  high confidence · Eric: 'Kyle has done that. Kyle DeAngelo. He's put up the highest score I've seen so far and he streamed it'

• Rick and Morty is programmed using Mission Pinball Framework, which Eric also used for a custom Iron Man Harley-Davidson game

  high confidence · Eric explains the code framework: 'I'm working in Mission Pinball Framework and had for Iron Man' and mentions using P-Ramp Mode Name framework

• Eric previously coded Cactus Canyon and worked on Ben Heck board development for The Jetsons before shifting to Rick and Morty

  high confidence · Eric: 'I had done the Cactus Canyon thing' and 'I was working at trying to get used to working with the Ben Heck board' for The Jetsons

• Version numbering for Rick and Morty uses build dates rather than traditional version numbers (e.g., '2020-3-17' instead of 1.0, 1.1, etc.)

  high confidence · Eric: 'The way I'm doing, version numbers on Rick and Morty is it's just the date it was built... the last public release was March 17th, so it's 3-17, or 2020-3-17'

• The design team (Matt Scott, Charlie, Bowen, Dave, and others) conducted a retreat where they watched the entire Rick and Morty series and brainstormed the game concept before production began

Notable Quotes

• “It's either going to come out great and I'm not involved and I'll never forgive myself. Or I get to put everything I can into it to try and make it as good as it can be.”

  Eric Priepke @ ~mid-episode — Explains his motivation for taking on the Rick and Morty coding project despite initial hesitation from Charlie

• “If you have the accuracy, there's so much flow to it... You can go from the right ramp down to the right flipper up to the left ramp, which feeds to the upper flipper, to the inner loop, to the garage, back down to the left flipper.”

  Eric Priepke @ ~mid-episode — Describes the playfield layout philosophy and shot combinations available in Rick and Morty

• “We don't really have a hard line ending on where we expect the content to go. We just keep brainstorming ideas and building new things.”

  Eric Priepke @ ~early-mid episode — Explains the ongoing content development philosophy and why they don't assign arbitrary completion percentages

• “I've watched most of the times it's been streamed... I'm mostly just watching for is everything working the way it's supposed to. Is there something else i can do here?”

  Eric Priepke @ ~later episode — Reveals his critical approach to watching public streams, focused on functionality rather than enjoyment

• “That game's going to kill you because things happen so fast”

  Eric Priepke (discussing Rick and Morty difficulty) @ ~later episode — Characterizes the game's fast pace and difficulty when players aren't attentive

Entities

Signals

• ?

  design_philosophy: Eric explains intentional design choices around playfield flow, shot difficulty, and accessibility. Rick and Morty deliberately uses non-standard shot angles to reward skill while maintaining content accessibility for casual players through rule variation and alternative shot paths.

  high · Eric: 'we've tried of course with the software to make it so that those shots are rewarding but not necessarily vital to make progress in most things so that if you can't make them there's still other things you can do' and detailed explanation of how modes were adjusted (e.g., Whirly Durly adding third shot for accessibility while keeping ramp as high-value kill shot)

• ?

  code_update: Rick and Morty has received updates beyond the March 2020 public release. Eric mentions upcoming releases with 8 adventures total, potential ninth adventure pending approvals, and balance adjustments made based on player feedback from streams.

  high · Eric: 'By the next update, there should be at least eight adventures total' and 'there are certain things that have been made easier and point values have been shifted around based on how people are playing'

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Rick and Morty presents significant difficulty spikes, particularly with upper flipper shots, requiring shot precision and accuracy. However, the game remains accessible through rule variation and alternative progress paths. Players like Jack Danger found the game challenging even when drinking/distracted.

  high · Eric discusses upper flipper difficulty, explains how garage shot is 'hardest one' but achievable with practice, and notes 'if you're not paying attention that game's going to kill you because things happen so fast'

• ?

  design_innovation: Rick and Morty uses a novel 'Adventures' mode concept instead of traditional modes, organized around show plot points. This was a deliberate design decision made during the pre-production brainstorming retreat.