Stern Pinball Announces Dungeons & Dragons

Cary Hardy·video·15m 25s·analyzed·Dec 31, 2024

Analysis

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TL;DR

Cary Hardy: D&D has potential but hinges on Eddy execution and Dwight Sullivan's code complexity balance.

Summary

Cary Hardy analyzes Stern's official announcement of Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye as their next cornerstone title. While acknowledging limited community hype, Hardy expresses mixed enthusiasm: he's skeptical of designer Brian Eddy's recent work (Stranger Things, Mandalorian, Venom) based on playfield feel and PinSide rankings, but excited about RPG mechanics, character progression systems, and thematic alignment with D&D lore. He speculates on code depth, character class selection via Insider Connected, and potential tournament-mode randomness handling.

Key Claims

Brian Eddy's last three released games (Stranger Things, Mandalorian, Venom) rank poorly on PinSide and don't feel good to play
high confidence · Hardy cites specific PinSide rankings: Stranger Things #22, Mandalorian #45, Venom #60; Shadow #56; Uncanny X-Men #52. He explicitly states he doesn't like how Eddy's recent games shoot.
Dwight Sullivan had at least three extra months to work on D&D code compared to typical releases
medium confidence · Hardy states 'Dwight you had an extra three months at least to work on this game when it comes to code' and compares to TMNT releasing with 1.0 code.
D&D playfield appears to feature three targets leading to a central dragon mechanism similar to Attack from Mars design
medium confidence · Hardy analyzes visible teaser imagery: 'it looks like you have three targets that you're going to hit and those are going to lower down probably similar to attack from mars...it's going to be mainly up the middle to hit these targets'
Wizards of the Coast logo appears first in the Stern trailer before Stern's own branding, which is uncommon
high confidence · Hardy specifically notes seeing Wizards of the Coast logo 'before anything else' on the official trailer and expresses surprise at this prominence.
RPG mechanics with character leveling will be better integrated thematically in D&D than they were in Venom
medium confidence · Hardy argues: 'leveling is going to make so much more sense in the world of dungeons and dragons from an rpg aspect' compared to Venom's implementation.

Notable Quotes

“The last three games that Brian Eddy has released, I don't care for. I just don't like how they shoot.”
Cary Hardy@ 2:14 — Core thesis of his hesitation about D&D; establishes his primary concern despite enthusiasm for the theme.
“I'm hoping, because we don't really know, but I'm hoping there is the RPG aspect and the leveling thing that you saw on Venom, which didn't really make much sense but i think this is really when this makes so much more sense in the world of dungeons and dragons from an rpg aspect”
Cary Hardy@ 4:31 — Articulates his optimism about D&D's thematic potential for RPG mechanics.
“I'm keeping my expectations low, and I'm sure that makes me sound like a complete ass, but my expectations are low, so the good thing about that is that it can only go up from there, right?”
Cary Hardy@ 14:07 — Summarizes his cautiously optimistic stance despite skepticism about Eddy's track record.
“When you had more time with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that game released with 1.0 code. Are we going to get 1.0 code on Dungeons & Dragons?”
Cary Hardy@ 11:44 — Sets expectation that Sullivan should deliver mature, complete code given extra development time.
“The beauty of this hobby...I'm glad whenever that particular theme reaches to a different demographic though.”
Cary Hardy@ 13:20 — Acknowledges D&D's potential to expand the pinball market to fantasy/tabletop gaming communities.

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Brian Eddyperson Dwight Sullivanperson Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's EyegameStern PinballcompanyWizards of the CoastcompanyBrian Eddy's Shadowgame

Signals

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sentiment_shift: Despite low initial hype, D&D is positioned to attract fantasy/RPG/tabletop gaming demographics not typically served by recent Stern releases
medium · Hardy acknowledges 'this game is going to be hitting a different demographic than a lot of other games' and sees potential demographic expansion as positive.
?
design_philosophy: D&D's mechanical centerpiece appears to be three targets feeding into a central dragon mechanism up the playfield middle (similar to Attack from Mars layout)
medium · Hardy analyzes teaser imagery: 'it looks like you have three targets that you're going to hit and those are going to lower down probably similar to attack from mars...mainly up the middle.'
?
design_philosophy: Brian Eddy's recent work (Stranger Things, Mandalorian, Venom) exhibits poor playfield feel/shot geometry that Hardy finds unenjoyable despite these being commercially released titles
high · Hardy explicitly states dissatisfaction with how Eddy's last three games 'shoot' and cites PinSide rankings showing them mid-tier or low despite recent release status.
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market_signal: Community enthusiasm for D&D announcement is lower than typical for new cornerstone titles based on social media monitoring
medium · Hardy observes 'it seems like there's just not a lot of hype or excitement for this title' across Facebook, Pinside, and his Patreon community.
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personnel_signal: Dwight Sullivan allocated extra development time (at least 3 months) for D&D code compared to typical Stern release schedules

Transcript

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0:30

What the hell is this little tea party? We're playing Dungeons and Dragons. First of all, gay. So Stern Pinball has made it official that their next cornerstone title is in fact Dungeons and Dragons. And as I go through Facebook, Pinside, on my Patreon, that it seems like there's just not a lot of hype or excitement for this title. and in a way I'm right there with you but for different reasons. What's up guys welcome back to the channel where I talk and do everything pinball so if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below. My god it's growing not only am I getting old I'm just letting it go full neckbeard and I guess that kind of segues into being a neckbeard when it comes to Dungeons and Dragons not necessarily that only people that play Dungeons and Dragons or have the neckbeard thing going on anyways I want to talk about Dungeons and Dragons and I also want to sort of I don't know come out it's not the right phrase I want to use for this but I want to explain why I have excitement for this title and why I do not.

1:54

And let's just get the negative out of the way right now. The main reason that I'm hesitant on this game, and I have expressed this on every video regarding this, is mainly due, and this is going to make for probably a very awkward moment when I do visit Stern, but the last three games that Brian Eddy has released, I don't care for.

2:23

I just don't like how they shoot. And I don't know how else to say it. I mean, there's just blunt and to the point, his three titles that he has released since he has returned to pinball, I don't care for. I think out of the three, the one that I guess is better is Mandalorian, but he came in with Stranger Things, which is no shock, and whenever I first played it, hated it. And Mandalorian was kind of like, eh, okay, it's there, but it's not a game that I want. And then obviously when Venom got released, that has been a game that I just think is just empty. the pro no i mean that i have my own opinions on that but i think venom is probably the worst but if you like venom i'm glad you do but i mean as it stands when it comes to just pin side and where his games are at mandalorian sits at position 45 in the top 100 and uncanny x-men is at 52 that's for a different video but stranger things is currently sitting at number 22 and Venom is at spot 60. And Brian, your Shadow game is at 56. That is the thing, is that he has created some of my favorite games. I looking forward to getting a remake of Medieval Madness I would love to have an Attack from Mars I want The Shadow but after that not so much That where I I don know yet I need to play it and see it to see if we get the old Eddie back kind of thing. That's where I want to see this go. So that is my hesitation on this. It's merely, historically, I have not found his most recent titles to be fun. But let's go on to what does have me excited about this game. And that is merely the fact that I'm hoping, because we don't really know, but I'm hoping there is the RPG aspect and the leveling thing that you saw on Venom, which didn't really make much sense but i think this is really when i say doesn't make sense it's like you're leveling up your venom characters i i get it but leveling is going to make so much more sense in the world of dungeons and dragons from an rpg aspect and for those that don't know what rpg stands for role playing game so moving on and what's interesting let me go to my middle monitor right here is that if you go to the website that says Wizards of the Coast, this is the first thing you see on the Stern trailer is Wizards of the Coast. I didn't know anything about this, but you go to their website and these are the four games that I'm guessing that they are all about or that they do, that they create content for. I don't know if it's licensing or whatever, but they have Dungeons and Dragons right here. And they've got all kinds of stories or articles or information or games to buy or whatever. But that's available, and it's kind of interesting to see their logo at the very beginning of it before anything else. I thought that was a little interesting. I don't know if I've ever seen... I know Stern's obviously created games that involves other license holders and everything, but I don't know of many that you see their logo before it. I think Godzilla, you had Toho at the beginning maybe, but I don't think it's too common is what I'm saying. Anyways, so on to what I want to get on to this about. What I like about Dungeons & Dragons is obviously – I never played the board games. He's like, I think my brother did a little bit, and we played other games, and some of you may have played this, and this is when I say I'm coming out a little bit. When it comes to RPGs or some board games, I'm a little bit of a nerd on that. A little bit. Not extreme, but a little bit. and in the same thing i think for me i lean towards more for the video game aspect of rpgs i spent a good amount of my time playing world of warcraft back in the day mainly during the lich king expansion that was my favorite at that point in time in like 2007 2008 it was almost like my second job but other games that have to deal with developing a character creating a character and then leveling it up, getting gear, and progressing through the game, I'm very familiar with. And my wife is too. She plays her Diablo 4 currently. I've been playing a lot of Path of Exiles 2, as these are action RPGs, but the fact remains is that you have a character, and you progress through a story, and level up, you get better gear, and that's just the gist of it kind of thing. When it comes to Dungeons & Dragons, I think this is also going to be beneficial for pinball because they can pretty much create their own damn story You have the Game Master which is going to be I don know if it going to be a different tale every time It seems like the title of the game mentions a particular story. I don't have it on me right now. I'm sorry. Let me go to The Tyrant's Eye. That's, I guess, the story for this particular dungeon. But the thing is with Dungeons & Dragons is that you had the Game Master that would create the world. And it could be whatever that game master wanted it to be, kind of thing. And you would create a character. And then you would progress through... I mean, if you've ever seen the show Community, there is a Dungeons & Dragons episode, season 2, episode 14. If you can find it, I highly recommend it. It's funny, but it also gives you an idea of what Dungeons & Dragons is like. I'm an archer and such I'm oh Hector the well-endowed I'll bet I didn't know you just grabbed one at random I made that one with Troy in mind yeah I bet you did and that's the thing was we don't know this is gonna be based on some kind of cartoon or anything like that but it looks like it's gonna be its own little story and which I'm on board for good I'm glad it's not about the movies and uh from what I can see so far it looks like it has potential and when it comes to showing the one thing you see the mech that you're not going to get in the pro that's what they have a tendency to do on these teasers is they show you the wow moment that you're not going to get in the pro model for this game and that looks to be familiar to the t-rex that is in jurassic park now whether or not it's going to eat the ball i don't know we're just going to have to wait and see on that i feel like if it doesn't eat the ball then all hellfire is going to happen but i do have a curiosity to how this game is going to be played when it comes to the story and the code because this is dwight sullivan on code and i feel like he's going to go full nerd on this which could be a good thing but also a bad thing because you have to worry about is the code going to be too complex for a lot of people out there is it going to be just so deep that people can't follow it they're like i don't know and if that's the case then hopefully the game itself is just fun to shoot because i know a lot of people including myself that loves the avengers affinity quest they don't know much about the code it's too complex but damn it the game is fun to shoot so it could be one of these games where you may not understand what's going on but hopefully at least the layout is fun but i feel like dwight as someone that seems like a guy because he is already on board with the whole venom and leveling up your characters i feel like more than likely when you push the start button on this game i'm hoping these are these are hopes that you especially when you use insider connected you create a character like what do you want to be like you know cycle through the different types of classes and classes meaning do you want to be a wizard do Do you want to be a sorceress? Do you want to be a warrior? Maybe a paladin? I mean, it's up to them what kind of characters you're going to see in this game. And each character is going to have different perks or abilities that are going to contribute to your experience within this game. And I'm more than willing to bet that you're going to be leveling up. And as you level up, I'm wondering if you're going to be able to learn new abilities or skills that are going to make the game easier or maybe even harder. But I do believe that the whole leveling up is going to make much more sense and be well more integrated in this type of theme And that what I really curious about most about Dungeons Dragons Pinball is the code portion of it And since that Dwight you had an extra three months at least to work on this game when it comes to code so I'm expecting it to be pretty far along. When you had more time with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that game released with 1.0 code. Are we going to get 1.0 code on Dungeons & Dragons?