Episode 151: Ryan Kuiper, turbografx_7 on Twitch

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·20m 57s·analyzed·Sep 3, 2018

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Pinball Profile interviews Ryan Kuyper on community growth, league play, and his dream Transformers G1 pinball game.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Ryan Kuyper (turbografx_7), a Twitch streamer and pinball enthusiast from Caledonia, Wisconsin, who entered the hobby four years ago via Pinball Arcade and has rapidly acquired seven machines. They discuss his journey from casual player to league participant, his appreciation for pinball across all eras, the welcoming nature of local pinball communities, and his passion for seeing a Transformers Generation 1 pinball remake.

Key Claims

IFPA membership grew from ~23,000 four years ago to over 61,000 currently, potentially more after Pinberg
high confidence · Jeff Teolis cites membership data from his own IFPA signup period (~4 years ago) to present
Ryan's local Wisconsin league is newer but includes experienced players from other leagues with a welcoming, non-competitive social culture
high confidence · Ryan describes his 8 months of league experience with emphasis on helpful, inclusive player attitudes
Pinball has experienced exponential growth in recent years across machines available, manufacturers, and community participation
high confidence · Both speakers explicitly discuss the rapid proliferation of manufacturers (Stern, Jersey Jack, American Pinball, Spooky, Deep Roots, P3, etc.) and growing community visibility
Ryan does not own a Spooky game but would like to acquire a TNA and is curious about Scott's next release
high confidence · Direct statement from Ryan expressing interest in Spooky despite being in their geographic territory
Ryan is not a fan of the current Stern Transformers pinball game and would prefer a remake using original Generation 1 cartoon art style and voice actors
high confidence · Ryan explicitly states disinterest in current Transformers game and outlines his vision for an improved version

Notable Quotes

“There's something to say about playing physical pinball that's different than the pinball arcade. And I don't know if it's part of the nostalgia thing too...there's just something different about it. It just sucks you in.”
Ryan Kuyper @ ~11:00 — Expresses the core appeal of physical machines versus digital versions, touching on nostalgia and tactile experience
“I said, you know, I want to play the games I grew up playing. They're flashy, you know, the DMV stuff. And obviously you see the new stuff...But after you start getting that appreciation...well, what else is out there, too, like with the older stuff?”
Ryan Kuyper @ ~32:00 — Illustrates the evolution of player taste from flashy modern games to classic machines as knowledge deepens
“Everyone is so nice and helpful and explaining. Like if you have a question they're explaining how to play the game while you're playing against them. That's exactly what leagues are all about—that social aspect.”
Ryan Kuyper @ ~44:00 — Emphasizes the inclusive, mentoring culture of competitive pinball leagues as a retention mechanism
“P3 is something I like—I would have thought of that as a kid. It's such a perfect amalgamation of the two things. It's just, it really does make sense. It's awesome.”
Ryan Kuyper @ ~71:00 — Validates P3's video-game integration as intuitive for younger players and hybrid appeal
“I would love to see a Transformers Generation 1 pinball machine...I would love to redo it in the original art style and original voice actors and everything. That would make me very happy.”
Ryan Kuyper @ ~90:00 — Clear statement of demand for legacy IP remakes and dissatisfaction with current Stern Transformers game
“The selling point for me, for my wife was, look, I'm going to get one. And if I don't like it, I'll be able to sell it immediately for what I paid for it. So it's basically a free machine.”
Ryan Kuyper @ ~18:00 — Demonstrates market positioning of pinball as appreciating asset/investment, though this argument backfired once wife learned actual machine costs

Entities

Ryan KuyperpersonJeff Teolisperson Pinball Profileorganization IFPAorganizationStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyAmerican Pinballcompany

Signals

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community_signal: Wisconsin pinball league demonstrates strong welcoming culture and player mentorship, with no reported gatekeeping or competitive hostility despite competitive league structure
high · Ryan's 8-month experience describes helpful, non-demeaning instruction from better players, genuine appreciation for newcomers, and ribbing only in good fun
?
community_signal: Twitch streaming community (Straight Down The Middle, Pinball Undesirables, Buffalo group) providing peer mentorship and technical support for new content creators; helping democratize pinball visibility
high · Ryan publicly credits multiple Twitch personalities for personal one-on-one help with streaming setup, encouraging audience to support these creators
?
competitive_signal: Nudging technique identified as critical skill gap for newer competitive players; experienced players actively coaching proper nudging mechanics in league play
medium · Ryan identifies nudging as his 'biggest hangup' and describes experienced players coaching him on proper technique (directional nudging vs. shaking)
?
design_philosophy: Current Stern Transformers pinball game fails to satisfy players seeking faithful Generation 1 cartoon aesthetic and voice casting; modern movie-tie-in approach perceived as misaligned with fan expectations
high · Ryan explicitly rejects current Transformers game and proposes remake using 'original art style and original voice actors'; frames as more just to the franchise
$
market_signal: Pinball community emphasizing accessibility to video-game-native demographics via P3's hybrid model as strategic counter to perception that traditional pinball alienates younger players

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.063

0:00

It's time for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teoles. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter, pinballprofile, email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. Please subscribe on either iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play, and check out our under-construction website, pinballprofile.com. We head over to Wisconsin, so we're going to go north of Chicago, not all the way up to Milwaukee, somewhere in between Caledonia, Wisconsin is where we're going to go, and we're going to talk to a guy you might have seen on Twitch. Ryan Kuyper joins us right now. Hey, Ryan, how are you? I'm doing very well, Jeff. How are you? Very good. On Twitch as TurboGrafx underscore number seven, you can see on Twitch. He's got seven games at home, and the genesis of where this all started for you, you've only been in pinball a very, very short time. Now you've got a bunch of games. Now you're on Twitch. That's quite the growth there, Ryan. well you know like uh most people when you get the bug you get the bug hard you know like everybody else played pinball as a kid at the arcades arcades go away you kind of forget about it and you see it here and there maybe and then years later pinball arcade comes around and i get sucked in and then i had to have machines and that's kind of how things started ryan that's exactly what got me back into pinball there was honestly about a 15 year gap where i didn't play any pinball. And four years ago, I see this app. I'm like, I remember that game. I remember that game. And to spend, you know, $30 for the pack is certainly a lot easier than spending the thousands of dollars. But I wanted more. And then you get a few of these games and it seems like you and I had the same path. Yeah, it's, uh, there is something to say about playing physical pinball that's different than the pinball arcade. And I don't know if it's part of the nostalgia thing too, because I like retro video games. And I don't know, it's just, I don't want to say magical because it sounds kind of cheesy, but there's just something different about it. It just sucks you in. It does, too. And for me, it's to bring me back to my youth. You're about 10, 15 years younger than me anyway, but I remember those games in arcades. I remember them in the bowling alleys. And to see them come out, and the new ones, too, it's just great to see people restoring, putting so much effort into games. And now it's not just seeing them on location, seeing them in homes. It's the competitions. It's the videos. It's people like yourself on Twitch. It's gone crazy. And I was looking the other day when I signed up on IFPA. This is about four years ago. I think it was like 23,000 people. We're well over 61,000 and maybe even more once Pinberg comes in. It's ridiculous how exponential this growth of pinball has been. And you're a perfect example. A game here, there, and now seven games, Twitch. Is there something wrong with us? Well, if you ask our wives, yeah. Yeah. You know, it's, I don't, it's, it is weird. It's very strange. This, this resurgence is one of those things where when you're in it, you're, you're witnessing it and you're picking up on it though. You know what I mean? Like sometimes when you're in something, you don't see it really for what it is, but I think everyone can agree like pinball is growing very rapidly right now. It's, it's awesome. I love it. I think the selling point for me, for my wife was, look, I'm going to get one. and if I don't like it, I'll be able to sell it immediately for what I paid for it. So it's basically a free machine. And as you know, you usually get a few more bucks because the market has gone up. So pinball is actually a good investment from that standpoint. Did you try that one on your wife? I didn't. And on top of that, my wife knows what they cost. So I can't even get away with that stuff anymore. Big mistake, Ryan. Right out of the gate, I fell on my face. Yeah. By the way, the next time they want something, you can't really say no, can you? No. You are hook, line, and sinker giving them a free pass on what they want. I was on the Michigan Mile with my wife, and she saw some nice Jimmy Choo shoes. I went, wow, look at the price. Oh, I'll just shut up. Yeah, that is exactly right.

4:28

So seven games now. I know some of your collection dialed in. You've got Lord of the Rings, Addams Family, the Simpsons Pinball Party. Is there a favorite era that you like? I guess I would have to say 90s Bally Williams because that's kind of my wheelhouse of being in the arcades as a kid. But after getting more involved into owning machines and really appreciating machines, I mean, I do honestly appreciate all the eras. There's something about the early solid states and the EMs and the new stuff. And when you really appreciate pinball legitimately, you can see each game and find out how to make it fun. And you know I think it like most people when they don understand pinball like I have people come over that don play pinball And when I start explaining modes to them they literally light up like I had no idea this is what pinball was like And I think it kind of like what it was for me growing up It was like, well, this is pinball. It's the dot matrix stuff. But then getting older and seeing like, you know, 8-Ball Deluxe and Fathom, like I have a real appreciation for those games. I would have loved to own them at some time. I guess I just want to see them having fun. And, you know, a game we both have is Simpsons Pinball Party. That's a tough one to explain to people. Here's how you start a mode. Well, it's a few shots. You hit the garage. You got to go up the garage. And then you got to flip it with the left upper flipper. And then you start a mode. Oh, and then it's all these different things. So I'm afraid to tell people what to do. I just want them to kind of have fun. And some games, and you've got Lord of the Rings. You've got Simpsons Pinball Party. They're tougher to explain. Whereas some of these older games, certainly a lot easier. You know, you've got Addams Family. That's easy. You know, hit it into the chair and hit that ramp. Two things. That's all you got to do. They can figure everything else out based on just those two kind of simple instructions maybe. Yeah, I guess I also have what you can't see probably is the demolition man and I have a world poker tour. What I like to do typically is have people over and I don't tell them what game to play. I just turn them all on and say, you pick whichever one you want to start with. And I don't really even tell them how to play the game at first. I let them play one game and just kind of see how they're reacting to it, just kind of to get a gauge of, you know, what are they experiencing right now? Are they having a lot of fun? Are they getting frustrated? And then I try to use whatever I'm seeing to help teach them what the game is. And it's funny, the demographic of people that come over, because every generation, whether they're small children, people like me in their middle 30s, or people older, there's no rhyme or reason what games they gravitate to. You'd think, you know, I've dialed in right here, the kids are going to run over there. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It's funny. Like, Simpsons Pinball Party and Lord of the Rings, even though they have really deep rule sets, the themes do draw people to them. And when I explain, especially like Simpsons Pinball Party, okay, hit the garage. They see the garage door open, and they think that's amazing. And then when I show them, okay, now you want to hit it behind the television to start a mode. Is that easy to do for someone who's never played the game? It is a little hard, I'll admit. But once they get it, now they're determined to do it. and all of a sudden now they're invested in playing the game the way it's meant to be played and not just whacking the ball around. You talked about a little bit, too, with Fathom and some of the older games that you'd like to own. As we have these really flashy newer games with the LCD screens, whether it's Dot Matrix and all the different animations, the great artwork that we see on new machines, it's interesting, the more you play, the more of an appreciation for the older games you get, whereas that might not be something you jump to the first time you go play. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'll admit, I'm drawn. When I first got into it, I said, you know, I want to play the games I grew up playing. They're flashy, you know, the DMV stuff. And obviously you see the new stuff, and you're like, oh, wow, like the Jersey Jacks stuff and American Pinball and all the stuff Stern's putting out, these new screens. It's flashy, and it's awesome, and they are fun. But after you start getting that appreciation, like we said, you're kind of like, well, what else is out there, too, like with the older stuff? I guess I enjoy documentaries. I like to know the history of things. So when it comes to pinball, I'm like, well, how did we get from where it started to now? What was the steps to get there? So I love hearing the stories from the designers and going on some of the older podcasts. What was it? Topcast. And listening to Steve Kordick and all these guys and listen to how we got to where we're at. It's so interesting to me, and I have a real appreciation. I work with a lot. I'm not an engineer by trade, but I work with a lot of them. And it's so funny talking about pinball machines with them because they, and I am as well, very interested in how the games are designed and all the effort and time and energy and all the people it takes to make a machine. You know, it just doesn't happen overnight, and there's so much effort to create these masterpieces and to make everything work and flow. It's amazing to me. I mean, it's really a feat. It's almost like art. Oh, it definitely is like art, for sure. I agree 100% there, Ryan. Now, you joined your first league this year. I don't know what the leagues are like in Wisconsin. I know there was some concern earlier in the year about the new IFPA dollar rule. So tell us a little bit about your league and what it's like. My league is a newer league, but a lot of the people in it are involved in other leagues as well, so it's a lot of bettering people. There's no problems at the IFPA with our league. For someone like myself, I mean, I've owned the machines for a few years now, and I was just playing in my basement. My friends would come over, just really casual. And, you know, you get better playing, but you know, especially from watching people on Twitch or YouTube, that you're not that great. You might beat your friends, but when it comes to people who know how to play pinball, you're not that great. And I'm like, I've got to get out there and start getting involved locally. And there are very good players in my league. and the thing that's awesome to me is everyone is so nice and helpful and explaining Like if you have a question they explaining how to play the game while you playing against them that exactly what leagues are all about that social aspect and really you know it probably not huge points if you a points chaser even it really just about getting more people involved and you know we were all there once and you described it perfectly i love hearing that in leagues i see it a lot i hear from the people who do bells and chimes that's what their league's all about too you know really just embracing new people and making it a fun atmosphere too. And it is fun. You know, if you could tell somebody, hey, do you know if you do this, this, this, if they ask, by the way, if you do this, this, and this, you're going to start a multiball. Well, who doesn't have fun multiball? The panic, all the stuff going on, the points go up. That's where it all starts. That's, again, my second life into pinball was about learning more from the better players and the rule sets. Pinball arcade gave you that kind of help. When I first started playing in the arcades, it was just, maybe I can get a free game. I didn't really know what I was doing. Just keep the ball alive. And a lot of times that usually worked well. Well, you know, it's all the usual things like, you know, don't double flip, but you, I mean, I knew that by the time I'd gotten into league, but hold on a second. I'm making a note here. Don't double flip. Yes. That's rule number one. Got it.

13:31

You're not a Highway fan anymore? No, it's not for me. I mean, that's not my deal. No Big Lebowski there either? No, nah. I mean, it's a cool game, but, you know, if you can't make it, well, pack up. That's true. It's just such a great time with all the games coming out. It's just you go from there being barely one to, I mean, how many do we have now? I mean, you've got Stern, you've got Jersey Jack, you've got American, you've got Spooky. Deep Roots on its way. You have whoever made the Mafia. Yep, the Mafia. And you throw P3 in there. Which is a fun game. Have you played it? I have played it at Expo, yeah. I love it. It is. It's awesome. I think that's such a great thing, especially for little kids. There's this thing with little kids I've noticed where they're growing up on video games. And it's funny because my daughter's too young, so she's not really involved in this stuff. But my nephews and nieces and my friends' kids, they're all on YouTube watching Minecraft videos and Fortnite stuff. And with the whole obsession, I mean, it's too strong of a word, with the deep love for video games these kids have, you take something like P3 where it's so well integrated. It's just what they did is it's incredible. It's awesome. I mean, that is really mind blowing to me that it all works so well. It's funny. I hear parents today say, oh, the kids, all they do is they play on their iPads, their phones and their video games. And I was thinking, wait a second, when I was a kid, I played until my quarters ran out. I'd go to the arcade and do the same thing. And that's what made me like pinball because I could play a little bit longer. You get a couple of free games here. Maybe if it's a match or something. But the point was you could play a little bit longer. If I had these kind of games back when I was a kid, I'd be doing the same thing too, you know? I mean, now it's just about accessibility. So are the kids good at self-governing themselves on time on it? Probably not, but I would have been the same. Let's be honest, when you're a kid, you do the fun things. And so when you talk about P3, yeah, there's that kind of video game element to it. It looks like a big iPad in a way, too. And it unique It fun And yet it still pinball Yeah exactly When I was growing up I had these crazy ideas about virtual reality and all these crazy things like that And P3 is something I like I would have thought of that as a kid It's such a perfect amalgamation of the two things. It's just, it really does make sense. It's awesome. Okay, Ryan, here's the big question I'm going to give you, all right? We're seeing games kind of come back in a way. There was a Pirates of the Caribbean game. Jersey Jack just did one. There was a Godzilla game from Sega. It looks like there's going to be another one. There's going to be maybe a third Elvira game. So we're seeing some themes that we saw before be made into new pinball machines. You get to pick any old game that maybe you love the theme, but you'd like to see a revised version of it, maybe something a little bit better. Maybe the game didn't have what you need, but now, look, we're going to do that theme, and someone else is going to put a new twist on it. What would that be for you, Ryan? Well, I'm an 80s kid. So I watched all the usual He-Man, Transformers, G.I. Joe stuff, so I would love to see a Transformers Generation 1 pinball machine. What's Generation 1? Now, listen, I'm older than you. I remember GoBots. Do you remember GoBots? I don't know which one was first. One was a knockoff. One was cool. I think Transformers obviously won, but what was Transformers Generation 1? Is that like Orson Welles as Optimus Prime? So Generation 1 was the original cartoon. back when it came out in 84, when it first aired. He might have been in the movie. Or was that Leonard Nimoy? The movie was 86. See, the TV stuff came out first, and then the movie came out in 86. And then I think there was still more show after the movie. So I think it was kind of a split-up deal. And then they relaunched the whole thing in the 90s and called it Generation 2. That's why there's a generation distinction between G1 and G2, they call it. So Generation 1 was the original airing of the show back in the early 80s. I'm learning a lot about Transformers. Thank you very much, Ryan. Well, as a nerd, I... So that's your dream game. Do you like the actual Transformers game that's out by Stern? I do not. I'm not a fan of it. That's why I would love to redo it in the original art style and original voice actors and everything. That'd be my... It would make me very happy to... I guess my reasoning for that would be to do the franchise more just or the theme more justice than what the movies are just. They're not good. So you're not rushing right now to go get advance tickets for Bumblebee that comes out in December. Is that what I understand? That's correct. I have no interest in that.

18:22

Oh, it only gets worse. well Ryan it has been great talking to you we will check you out on Twitch again TurboGrafx underscore seven by the way you guys on Twitch you do a great job and I know it's not an easy thing to do well first of all I want to say I am a very small fish in the Twitch universe and even smaller with the whole pinball thing there's other people doing way more than I am I'm just doing in my basement when I have free time most of my daughter's taking a nap so I just want to thank the people have actually personally been very helpful to me. All the Buffalo guys, Kevin, Nick, Mixer Tuna, Rudy Soup, all four of those guys have been literally helpful to me personally. The Pinball Undesirables guys, Steven and Skip Natty, two awesome, awesome guys have been very, very helpful. And I also want to thank the straight down the middle guys, Zach and Greg. I was on the phone with Greg for an hour when I first was setting everything up and he was helping me do all my initial setup and literally held my hand. So please check those guys out. Those guys do such a great job. And these are the guys that are really making a difference. They're packing up. They're going places. They're taking their gear with them. It's so much work to do all that. Please go watch those guys. They deserve it big time. Hey, anything that keeps Zach out of jail, I'm fine with it. I'm a big fan of those guys too. And I remember watching their first ever show and I'm like, okay, not bad, but it just got better and better and better. Great sense of humor, those guys. I agree with you, and all the people you mentioned too. I know Nick and Kevin personally and some of the other people you mentioned there. You guys on Twitch make it a lot easier for us to see pinball because I'm lucky. I get a lot of pinball around me, so I can play a lot. But there are a lot of places, remote places, that don't get to play pinball, get to see the different games, and thanks to people like yourself on Twitch, we get that, so we appreciate that a lot. Thank you, Jeff. We appreciate the support, too. It means a lot to all of us. Ryan, best of luck. Hope we meet up soon, okay, bud? All right. Appreciate it. Ryan Kuyper here on Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at pinballprofile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. And please subscribe on either iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. I'm Jeff Teolas. The Transformers, more than meets the eye. Autobots raise their paddle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons. The guns, the Transformers, robots in disguise. The Transformers, more than meets the eye. The Transformers.