The Making of Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye

Stern Pinball·video·13m 4s·analyzed·Jul 8, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Stern documents D&D: Tyrant's Eye design: 30 modes, interactive dragon, 50+ monsters, Matt Mercer voiceover, cross-audience appeal.

Summary

Stern Pinball's official behind-the-scenes documentary on Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye showcases the design philosophy, creative process, and technical implementation across story, mechanics, art, and voice acting. The game features 30 unique modes, an elaborate dragon mechanism with multiball gameplay, hand-drawn artwork of 50+ monsters, celebrity voice talent including Matt Mercer, and story progression tied to character selection and Insider Connected save states. The team emphasizes accessibility alongside depth, positioning D&D as a gateway title to introduce non-pinball audiences to the medium.

Key Claims

The game features 30 unique modes, which is significantly higher than typical pinball games that have roughly half that amount
high confidence · Direct statement from designer discussing ruleset development; specific claim about mode count compared to industry standard
The dragon multiball allows up to eight balls on the playfield simultaneously, with the dragon shooting balls back at the player rather than traditional multiball jackpot hunting
high confidence · Detailed mechanical explanation with designer excitement about the unique gameplay experience
The gelatinous cube mechanism uses an electromagnet to freeze/trap the ball and trigger multiball, and can also grab balls from underneath to feed to the upper right flipper
high confidence · Technical explanation of mechanism functionality and dual-purpose use cases
Dungeons & Dragons artwork pipeline involved roughly 14 artists for LCD screens (doubled from typical 3-7), with separate pipelines for monsters and environments
high confidence · Explicit statement about team size expansion and pipeline organization
The dungeon crawl feature is half video mode, half pinball, randomizes weekly based on different item locations and path combinations, and created significant testing challenges
high confidence · Designer explanation of feature mechanics and testing implications
Matt Mercer serves as the dungeon master voice for the game, described as 'arguably the best dungeon master on the planet'
high confidence · Direct identification and role description in the documentary
Insider Connected save states preserve not just stats but character location, completed objectives, story pathway choices, and character-specific progression across multiple play sessions
high confidence · Detailed explanation of feature functionality demonstrating replay value for different character classes
The game has three different story endings based on player choices throughout the narrative progression

Notable Quotes

“Dungeons & Dragons is about you create your own lore and then we had to create a game out of that.”
Brian Eddy (Designer) — Core design philosophy explaining why they didn't just adapt existing D&D lore but instead created original story for the pinball game
“When you're playing the game, it's like you're playing Dungeons & Dragons, and Matt Mercer is your dungeon master. He's the quintessential dungeon master, arguably the best dungeon master on the planet, and we got him for our game.”
Unknown (likely Dwight Sullivan or Brian Eddy) — Highlights major voice talent acquisition and positioning game as authentic D&D experience
“I did my best to make sure that every encounter with a monster felt unique. You are being attacked by a blue dragon. Going on an adventure through pinball is one of the things I really wanted to achieve.”
Dwight Sullivan (Programmer) — Reveals design intent for individual mode identity and overall game experience as adventure narrative
“At the beginning of the project, Brian disappears into his shop and he's not heard from or seen for like days. And then eventually he comes out of the shop smelly and he shows me all these ideas he has for the next game.”
Unknown (likely Dwight or colleague) — Humanizes design process and reveals Brian Eddy's intensive creative work method
“This game was just insane packed full of amazing art...A lot of us are Dungeons & Dragons fans and they were just so hyped working on this game. So they poured all their information and passion into the art.”
Art Director/Team Member — Demonstrates team passion and how IP fandom directly influenced creative output quality
“The world of Dungeons & Dragons has a lot of passionate fans in it. And they may not be pinball fans, but once they hear that there's a Dungeons & Dragons pinball, we've seen them really start enjoying it. That's going to expose pinball to a whole new audience.”
Unknown (likely marketing/product team) — Strategic positioning of D&D as audience acquisition vehicle for pinball, demonstrating business logic behind IP selection
“Dungeons & Dragons is a great game because it has something for everybody. It has great mechs and toys that if you want to just walk up and fight against a dragon, that's great. Or if you want to work your way through this long story, that's also great.”

Entities

Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eyegame Brian Eddyperson Dwight SullivanpersonZach ProspersonVince ProspersonTom Malcolmperson Matt MercerpersonStern Pinball

Signals

?
design_philosophy: Doubled typical LCD art team from 3-7 to 14 artists; created separate pipelines for monsters, environments, and cutscenes; hand-drawn style led by Vince Pros's cabinet work; 50+ monsters and cutscenes 'as if a wizard was drawing in a spellbook'
high · Explicit statement: 'We enlisted an additional seven artists. So that doubled our team. The monsters had its own pipeline, the environments had its own pipeline.'
?
community_signal: Game being positioned as cross-IP audience bridge—D&D fans introduced to pinball through licensed title; MagicCon exhibition demonstrating outreach to adjacent fanbase
high · 'They may not be pinball fans, but once they hear that there's a Dungeons & Dragons pinball, we've seen them really start enjoying it. That's going to expose pinball to a whole new audience.'
?
design_philosophy: Brian Eddy obtained long-requested dedicated backglass artist (Vince Pros) for first time after years of requesting; D&D IP justified resource allocation expansion
high · Brian Eddy: 'I've been begging Stern for a backglass artist for many years and finally when Dungeons & Dragons came along, it seemed like a pretty good fit'
?
design_philosophy: Dragon sculpt progressed through multiple phases: initial small-head design, enlarged head iteration for realistic ball exit, progressive color/texture refinement; deliberate design evolution addressing playability and aesthetics
high · Tom Malcolm showing three dragon iterations: 'first kind of iteration...head's really small...next iteration...created the dragon head to be larger...dragon progressed...colors and more textures'
?

Topics

Game design philosophy and story integrationprimaryDragon mechanism design and development iterationprimaryRuleset depth: 30 unique modes and mode identityprimaryArtwork pipeline and monster design (50+ creatures)primaryVoice talent acquisition and character narrationprimaryAccessibility vs. depth design balanceprimaryInsider Connected integration and save state mechanicssecondaryCross-audience appeal and IP licensing strategysecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Documentary consistently celebrates design achievements, team passion, and creative ambition. No significant criticism present. Tone is enthusiastic about technical innovations (dragon, gelatinous cube, dungeon crawl), artwork quality, and narrative depth. Emphasis on how team poured passion into project and excitement of mechanics/features.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

What really fired my imagination was the rich environment of Dn D. There's just so much you could do with it that it was hard to actually limit it to a smaller amount of things to put in a pinball. I first heard about the potential of Dungeons and Dragons about a year before we started on it. We're actually Dwight and I were in the middle of doing Venom and both of us jumped on it. We thought it would be an incredible license. We both have a history in Dn D back when we were younger and playing it with all the monsters and all the locations and all the things you can see and all the content. It's really an epic game. They took a stance of trying to make this like a great adventure inside of a pinball machine. I think that fits with the brand D and D really well. It's the most creative license that you could possibly think of. You know, everyone thought, well, we could just pull from the lore. Like, no, that's not what D and D is about. D and D is about you create your own lore and then we had to create a game out of that. So Zach Pros and I spent months writing the story of the Tyrants Eye. I approached it kind of like a dungeon master kind of like video game writing to like okay I know we have to come to this point in the end. So how do we weave a story there? We had Zach take his ideas and create a flowchart. He made this very, very cool, intricate story flowchart, but it's way too big and complex. I knew that they wanted some evil roots, some good roots. So, the flowchart kind of kind of got away with me a little bit. So, then Brian made this diagram. And then I took that and ran with it and and that's how we got to something more like what we have today. So, the story begins with Tiiamont. Tiiamont is the queen of evil dragons. She's a fiveheaded dragon. She is always trying to get out of Averest because she's been trapped there for unknown reasons. So, the party doesn't know it in the beginning, but they're on a mission to try and stop this ritual from happening. So, we feed the story in little bits as you're playing, and they feel like little adventures that you're going on, little tasks that you need to complete, but they all lead to a bigger story with three different endings. You arrive in Dragon Spear Castle. Landre convinces you that you need to stop the ritual. She tells you she has learned that Zanithar wants the scepter of the Tyrant's Eye. My main job was to take the story elements and translate that to actual pinball rules. I ended up writing 30 unique modes in the game, which is crazy to think. Most games have like half of that. So, I did my best to make sure that every encounter with a monster felt unique. You are being attacked by a blue dragon. Going on an adventure through Pinball is is one of the things I really wanted to achieve. If you're using Insider Connected, you can pick up where you left off. Not only is it just stats of your character, but it's also your location, what you've completed, your pathway on the story line, the choices that you made. Every single character is a different save. Like you can play your paladin and he can pick up where he left off and it's completely different from when you play your cleric. It really makes you excited to go at that objective that you've been trying to get across multiple games of pinball. John Youssi a large red dragon crawling down a pile of gold. At the beginning of the project, Brian disappears into his subb and he's not heard from or seen for like days. And then eventually he comes out of the subb smelly and he shows me all these ideas he has for the next game we're going to do. And in this case, Dungeons and Dragons. Obviously like the dragon. I really wanted a dragon. I wanted the big dragon, the best dragon ever on a game. and we brought on a new person on the team, Tom Malcolm, who came in and it was his first thing he had to do. On my first day, Dwight showed me a print out of the layout. Actually, let me show you what he gave me. And he just took a a ruler and a red pen and drew the lines and said, "I want it to look from here from here. I want the head to be here and I want to come down. I want to be able to bash it and I want it to spitballs." When I first started, I was like, "What have I what have I got into?" Tom really knocked it out of the park. We went through a number of different iterations. So this is the the first kind of iteration of the the dragon sculpt that we created. We took like a a basic red dragon model and tried to fit it around the sheet metal. You can see the head's really small and it was kind of challenging to make it look realistic that the ball was going to come out this dragon's mouth. So this is the next iteration of the dragon sculpt where we created the dragon head to be larger to allow for the ball to be more come out more realistically. But the horns kind of looked silly sweep back like this. As the dragon progressed, we started to get colors and more textures. As you can see, the horn became larger and the texture started to appear in the side of the dragon. So, when the dragon heads up, the three bank target is exposed. It's driven left and right by a stepper motor attached by belt drive. Then the up down is a four bar linkage that allows us to to move the dragon. And then when the dragon's heads down, you can bash the dragon. The dragon multiball is very unique. It has sort of two parts to it. The beginning is a dragon battle where it's not a multiball like you've ever seen before. So, he has the ability to shoot pinballs out at you. And your job as a player is try to not let those balls drain while hitting him in the jaw so many times to take them out. I don't think I've played a game where got this many balls on the playfield at once, but you're not just going after jackpots. You're in a dragon battle. I think when Dwight first created the mode, he was like really excited. So, he was like, "Come play this. Come play this. You're going to play dragon multiball." And it was like so much fun having like all eight balls in the play field at once and just trying to keep the game alive. Yeah. So a gelatinous cube in Dn D grabs you and catches you in this gel-like material and you can't get out. So we wanted to kind of simulate that. If you shoot the ramp and it diverts the ball into the gelatinous cube, the ball gets stuck and then you have to knock it out with another ball and start your multiball. But just to to push it up even one more level, we allowed that magnet to also grab balls from underneath. So the ball can stop and stage the upper right flipper so that it's a nice slow feed and you can easily make the upper right flipper shots. So the action button in the game when it's flashing orange, if you tap it, it'll raise your shield if your shield is lit. If you want to relight your shield, you can complete the bottom lanes. Not only are you safe, but you're able to shoot shots off of the shield and perfectly hit maybe the left orbit or the right ramp. So, a dungeon in Dn D is a huge part of it, right? Going down in a dungeon, having that experience. Brian put this up, down, trap door, holds wall, scoop thing in the middle of the game. But it has its own feature called dungeon crawl. It's half video mode, half pinball. And this allows you to make shots which will move you forward through a dungeon until you get to a junction point that you have to make a choice. Do I go right? Do I go left? Do I go straight? And each one of those could be something different. The way the dungeon crawl works is that it changes per week. So a good item might be on the left door or maybe you have to go straight and then right and then the following week it'll randomize itself again. Oh, that was that caused a lot of problems. I mean imagine it can change every week. How do you test for that? There was a lot of testing that we had to go through to make sure the game was going to work at all iterations of itself. When we first heard about the possibility of doing Dn D, my mind immediately went to Vince Pros. He's a guy worked with 20ome years ago in console games. Incredible artist, able to draw anything. He had done work for D&D before, too. So, he was a sanctioned D and D artist. He's like the perfect match. I've been begging Stern for a backlash for for many years and finally when Dungeons and Dragons came along, it seemed like a pretty good fit for me. So then when he needed inspiration for what to put on the back glass and so forth, we pulled straight from the story that Zach and I were writing. I would draw a little vignette of a idea that Zach or Dwight had that might just inspire them to create a whole new story line of something else and feed off of that. Things just evolved over time. The cabinet on the pro is the party meeting Zanithar for the first time. All of the back glasses, all of the cabinet work straight from our story. They're all climactic scenes. My favorite part of the whole process was working on the on the playfield. You're so freed. You don't have to worry about perspectives or any kinds of weird stuff because everything could just be in different perspectives. Having things that look like they're in different perspectives on the playfield kind of gives you this illusion that the ball is going in places that it's not supposed to be going and it drops where it is supposed to be going and it was pretty it was pretty cool. Yeah. So, there's this whole battle system that I created and over 40 monsters are in the game. So, artwork wise, we had a whole pipeline of artists making all 45 monsters or whatever it is. Oh my god, this game was just insane packed full of amazing art. A lot of us are DD fans and they were just so hyped working on this game. So they poured all their information and passion into the art. So the art style we went for is all handdrawn. There are some elements of 3D that we're really used to doing. The lead was all from Vince Pros's work on the cabinet art. There are battle modes and that's encompassing around 50 different iconic monsters. There's cutcenes that's all hand illustrated as if a wizard was drawing and illustrating in a spellbook. So, a typical Stern game uh for the LCD, we have roughly about three to seven artists. This one, because it was just so massive, we enlisted an additional seven artists. So, that doubled our team. So, the monsters had its own pipeline, the environments had its own pipeline. They're all separated and it's all according to the artist talent. They have so many different monsters and locations and I think we got a lot of D and D in the game. Your jackpot has grown large. So, we're making this story and we're pouring stuff into the game and at some point it becomes clear that sooner than later we're going to have to record speech for all these different characters in the game. Apparently, there's lots of people in Hollywood who play D and D together. And as soon as they started hearing that we were making a D and D game and we needed voiceover talent for it, hands went up. Come here, tasty traveler. You can always count on a dwarf. Time to finish this. I'm ready to go. That's oddly specific. Every single actor brought a different style to what they did. And they they were all willing to do whatever we wanted. The Darkhold Castle or whatever. Ruins, you know. I don't want to visit here. Let's visit Lighthouse. Light. Gotcha. Let's visit Lightoold next time. She instructed him to build a large apparatus and perform the ritual of the chosen. Wow, that's great. When you're playing the game, it's like you're playing Dungeons and Dragons, and Matt Mercer is your dungeon master. He's the quintessential dungeon master, arguably the best dungeon master on the planet, and we got him for our game, which is great. The town celebrates your triumphant return. Magicon, it's a Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons show. So, the people that are there were very, very excited just to see a D and D pinball machine. The world of D and D has a lot of passionate fans in it. And they may not be pinball fans, but once they hear that there's a D and D pinball, we've seen them really start enjoying it. That's going to expose pinball to a whole new audience. Dungeons of Dragons is a great game because it has something for everybody. It has great mechs and toys that if you want to just walk up and fight against a dragon, that's great. Or if you want to work your way through this long story, that's also great. Anyone can see the final wizard mode and anyone can get through the whole game and everything that it has to offer. They're going to be engaging with pinball in a whole new way. We have the amazing universe of pinball and amazing universe for D and D just collaborating. I think you're going to feel like you're playing D and D but in a pinball form, which is a pretty cool accomplishment, I think. Apparently Gary Gyax, who invented Dungeons and Dragons, he would carry a die around when People would ask him questions. He would go, "Wait, wait." And he'd pull out the die and he'd roll it. And then he would tell him whatever the hell he wanted to tell him. Oh, yeah. It's time for me to go home.