Ep 77: Earning Wings with Tim Sexton and Raymond Davidson

TL;DR

Sexton & Davidson discuss Rush development philosophy, competitive insights, and music-game design.

Summary

Key Claims

• Tim Sexton and Raymond Davidson have been working on Rush since around the time of Led Zeppelin 1.0 announcement or before, with approximately 13 months between Led Zeppelin and Rush production.

  high confidence · Tim Sexton directly states: 'Raymond and I have been working on this since probably around when, or even before 1.0 of Led Zeppelin. So we didn't have a break in between.'

• Tim Sexton has contributed to eight total Stern games, with Rush being his third as lead developer.

  high confidence · Tim states: 'this is my third game as lead developer, but it's actually the eighth game I've contributed to at Stern.'

• Raymond Davidson's official title on Rush is 'Wingman' (second-in-command software), and he joined the project early in the whitewood phase rather than near shipping.

  high confidence · Tim describes Raymond's role: 'His official title in the game is Wingman, so we call it the second-in-command software.'

• Rush has 16 songs with live footage videos assembled from multiple concert performances, not repeating footage within a single song playthrough.

  high confidence · Tim explains: 'we have you know the audio of the game is the studio album track and we created a video for each of the songs that covers that entire track and it's assembled from live footage' and details 2112 being cut from two Different Stages tour performances.

• Competitive pinball experience helps code designers because it provides familiarity with diverse rule sets, shot mechanics, and design patterns across different eras of machines.

  high confidence · Raymond explains: 'when you play competitive pinball, you have to be prepared for a lot of games...that means when you get to Stern and you're looking at the code of the game...it's easy to think, oh, I've seen this in a game, right?'

• Lonnie D. Ropp has worked at Stern since 1987, 'since literally the first line of code was written at Stern.'

  high confidence · Tim states: 'Lonnie's worked here since 1987. So since literally the first line of code was written at Stern, he's been here until now.'

• Stern Pinball Inc. Insider now has a tab showing employees, making it easier to follow designer accounts.

Notable Quotes

• “When we get the first game and it doesn't light up and nothing moves, Raymond joined at that point, and we both had whitewoods. Yeah, and Tim was like, all right, make all the devices do stuff. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what?”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~11:30 — Illustrates the overwhelming scope of early code development and the collaborative learning dynamic between Tim and Raymond.

• “So you're telling me Bugs Bunny's probably not going to make the cut?”

  Scott Larson @ ~18:20 — Humorous deflation of the idea that tournament experience limits game selection; a running joke about unpopular machines.

• “More complicated doesn't necessarily mean more fun.”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~28:45 — Core design philosophy: the team realized overly complex rules diminish enjoyment and readability for players.

• “I have an encyclopedia of like, oh, I could do the AC/DC similar rule or the Family Guy inspired rule and I always mix and match and add my own spin to it, but if I ever am low on inspiration, I have a whole back catalog to pull stuff that was fun.”

  Tim Sexton @ ~20:30 — Explains how tournament experience creates a mental library of proven mechanics and design patterns that inform new games.

• “With a music game in the LCD era, you want to create an audio and visual and pinball experience that makes sense with what you have because the music is like that main ingredient of the game where you are not, you're stuck with it.”

  Tim Sexton @ ~43:00 — Articulates the unique constraint of music-licensed games: the soundtrack drives design rather than being supplementary.

• “Going in person and watching people play the games is the best way to see if they're enjoying something. Are they aiming for something? Are they ignoring it? Do they understand what's happening?”

  Tim Sexton @ ~31:15 — Highlights the importance of qualitative observation over data collection alone for understanding player experience.

• “Canada has a rule where over 30 percent of the music you play has to be from Canadian artists...France has that for French artists. This is actually very common.”

Entities

Signals

• ?

  design_philosophy: Both Tim and Raymond discovered through playtesting that simpler, more intuitive rules often outperform complex mechanics; iterative removal of unnecessary layers improved engagement.

  high · Raymond: 'More complicated doesn't necessarily mean more fun.' Tim: 'I would think too hard and long and complicated and then realizing, oh, it doesn't need to be this complicated.'

• ?

  design_innovation: Rush uses live concert footage assembled from multiple performances to create unique video experiences for each song without repetition, a sophisticated approach to licensing and visual storytelling.

  high · Tim describes cutting 2112 from two Different Stages tour performances and notes: 'There's nothing that repeats as long as the audio is playing.'

• ?

  personnel_signal: Raymond Davidson elevated from competitive player to lead software engineer at Stern; now co-designing with Tim Sexton in 'Wingman' role on Rush, representing early career stage in co-lead capacity.

  high · Scott: 'the co-designer, the co-captain, the Robin to your Batman.' Tim: 'His official title in the game is Wingman, so we call it the second-in-command software.'

• ?

  content_signal: Episode 77 of Loser Kid Pinball Podcast features deep technical and design discussion with two key Stern principals; suggests show maintaining high-profile access to industry figures.

  high · Josh Roop hosts Tim Sexton and Raymond Davidson for extended interview on Rush development philosophy and mechanics.

• ?

  technology_signal: Stern Pinball Inc. Insider platform now includes employee directory and tracks player game statistics; represents shift toward data-driven game balancing, though Tim emphasizes in-person observation remains critical.