claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.036
Ed Robertson guests on Final Round to discuss pinball, Barenaked Ladies' new album, and Marty Robbins' work on Haggis Pinball's Fathom Revisited.
Marty Robbins has developed new 2.0 code/rules for Haggis Pinball's Fathom Revisited remake
high confidence · Marty states: 'Yeah, so I've actually developed the new code to the new rules. So there's 2.0 code. I'm excited about that 2.0 code.'
Marty has worked nearly a year on Fathom Revisited with 16-17 hour days for about 4 months
high confidence · Marty: 'we've been on this now, and we're talking, you know, 16, 17-hour days, four months, nearly a year working on this.'
Fathom Revisited will have a Mermaid Edition limited to 250 units
high confidence · Jeff mentions 'limited edition 250 Mermaid' and Marty confirms this as a 'safe bet' production number
Barenaked Ladies released a new album called 'Detour de Force' with lead single 'Flip'
high confidence · Ed Robertson and hosts discuss the new album and single throughout the episode
The 'Flip' music video was directed by an Italian director found on Instagram and unintentionally included pinball references
high confidence · Ed: 'it was directed by a gentleman over in italy that we found on instagram and he just i guess took the flip reference and uh we didn't ask to have any pinball in it it was just perfect'
Ed Robertson owns a Supreme pinball machine acquired through Supreme's direct channels
high confidence · Ed describes getting on a 'very small list' to buy Supreme directly from Supreme brand, after Stern said the entire run goes to Supreme
Haggis Pinball team includes Damien, Greg (reach-arounds), Scott (creative director), and Lachlan (mechanical engineer)
high confidence · Jeff and Marty discuss the Haggis team composition early in the episode
Rick and Morty pinball sold out 750 units, possibly leaving money on the table
medium confidence · Jeff mentions Charlie Emery discussion about Rick and Morty: 'we talked about Rick and Morty and how quickly they sold out 750. Well, how do you feel when you see them on the used market?'
“I can empathize with people who conceive of pinball machines and design mechanical elements and code these incredible machines and work on licensing deals and get them out to the public. And then people just talk about how shitty they are.”
Ed Robertson @ ~mid-episode — Core theme of the episode: defending designers against online negativity and the emotional toll of harsh criticism
“It gets under my skin when the criticism is levied at me but it gets under my skin when people are negative about anything that someone has made. I just think you don't know what it takes to make something.”
Ed Robertson @ ~mid-episode — Ed's empathy for game designers and broader defense of creative work
“If you don't like it, go find the thing you like. But you don't need to chime in and go that thing that has been your whole life for 18 months to two years wasn't worth it.”
Ed Robertson @ ~mid-episode — Calls for constructive discourse rather than unconstructive negativity in online spaces
“The entire run goes to Supreme, and they are selling the machine... I went through every back alley channel I could possibly find”
Ed Robertson @ ~mid-episode — Illustrates the scarcity and difficulty of obtaining limited edition/boutique pinball machines, and how far collectors go to acquire them
“I worked as hard on Johnny Mnemonic as I did on Lord of the Rings. Like, I put everything into it. I wanted it to be the best possible game it could be.”
Ed Robertson (paraphrasing George Gomez) @ ~mid-episode — George Gomez quote referenced by Ed—emphasizes that designers put equal effort regardless of game reception or perceived success
“It's too fucking easy. It's the easiest game I've ever played in one of the newer games.”
Marty Robbins (on Elvira) @ ~end-episode — Competitive player's critique of Elvira's difficulty—highlights designer/player tension over game challenge levels
“The simple answer is it's not for everyone, that game... it's like a palate cleanser between the brutal games. You can play a game that's just fun.”
product_launch: Marty Robbins reveals he has developed new 2.0 code/rules for Haggis Pinball's Fathom Revisited remake, with nearly a year of intensive work (16-17 hour days for 4 months) on the project
high · Marty: 'I've actually developed the new code to the new rules. So there's 2.0 code' and 'we've been on this now...16, 17-hour days, four months, nearly a year working on this'
product_strategy: Fathom Revisited will feature a Mermaid Edition limited to 250 units; Jeff frames this as a 'safe bet' production number balancing demand with risk
high · Jeff: 'in the case of Haggis with the limited edition 250 Mermaid, I think that's a good safe bet'
sentiment_shift: Extended discussion of destructive online criticism of pinball machines and how it affects designers; Ed Robertson and Marty both express frustration with negative teardowns on platforms like Pinside
high · Ed and hosts discuss how negative emotion is more powerful than positivity online, and that criticism lacks understanding of design effort and constraints
community_signal: Community members criticize games without understanding design constraints, manufacturing costs, licensing, factory overhead, and creative effort involved
high · Ed: 'people don't know what it takes to actually build these things' and critique of cost-based arguments that ignore manufacturing complexity
market_signal: Limited edition machines like Supreme and Rick and Morty appear on secondary market, suggesting original production numbers may be conservative relative to demand
groq_whisper · $0.272
Ed Robertson has owned multiple pinball machines and actively buys/sells based on play frequency
high confidence · Ed: 'I'm a real player collector. And if I'm not playing something, then I move it. So I've sold a bunch. I've brought a bunch of machines.'
Elvira House of Horrors is described as an easy, accessible game compared to Guns N' Roses
high confidence · Ed and Marty discuss Elvira's accessibility and simplicity versus the complexity of Guns N' Roses
Ed Robertson @ ~end-episode — Defends game design philosophy: different games serve different purposes and audiences
“not everything is for everyone... You just have to find what that magic number is.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~mid-episode — Core philosophy about market segmentation and realistic expectations for game design
“It's been really nice to be at home all this time... it reminded me like, oh yeah, there's so much about this that isn't big audiences and touring... There's something about just being in a band that's fucking awesome.”
Ed Robertson @ ~early-episode — Pandemic reflection on the creative process vs. commercial touring—parallel to pinball design discussion
“They wanted two games to start their collection. They went with Beatles and Jungle Queen. Simple to learn, I would say, in both cases, which is what you want.”
Ed Robertson @ ~end-episode — Real-world example of newcomers choosing accessible games over complexity—validates market for easier machines
medium · Jeff questions Rick and Morty visibility on used market and suggests they 'could have sold a few more'; Supreme example shows extreme scarcity driving demand
design_philosophy: Debate over game difficulty design: Ed advocates for accessible, simple games as 'palate cleansers,' while Marty prefers challenging competitive titles; both acknowledge not all games are for everyone
high · Discussion of Elvira vs Guns N' Roses difficulty; Ed's point that 'it's not for everyone' and Jeff's radio industry analogy about 70% non-listeners
collector_signal: Ed Robertson identifies as a 'real player collector' who actively moves machines based on play frequency; actively maintains rotation of games at multiple locations
high · Ed: 'I'm a real player collector. And if I'm not playing something, then I move it. So I've sold a bunch. I've brought a bunch of machines'
licensing_signal: Supreme brand controlled entire production run of Supreme pinball machine; Stern could not sell directly; only way to acquire was through Supreme's own channels
high · Ed: 'The entire run goes to Supreme, and they are selling the machine... I went through every back alley channel I could possibly find'
content_signal: Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) released new single 'Flip' with unintentional pinball references in music video; actively collecting and playing pinball machines; represents cultural cross-pollination between music and pinball
high · Ed discusses 'Flip' video directed by Italian filmmaker who included pinball elements; Ed's extensive pinball collection and play; Jeff promoted 'Flip' as potential pinball anthem
design_innovation: Recommendation pattern emerging for new collectors: Beatles and Jungle Queen selected by newcomers specifically for simplicity and ease of learning, suggesting market demand for introductory-level modern games
medium · Ed: 'They wanted two games to start their collection. They went with Beatles and Jungle Queen. Simple to learn, I would say, in both cases'
product_concern: Rick and Morty experienced flipper knockdown issues post-launch; Eric (likely designer) worked with players on troubleshooting; issues appear to have been resolved through updates
medium · Ed: 'I've been having this discussion with somebody... I've been back and forth and, you know, trying to help troubleshoot some of that with Eric. And I think they got a lot of it figured out now'
industry_signal: Pattern of collector resistance to remakes: Medieval Madness remake and P3 platform criticized for not 'feeling like the original'; Ed argues this criticism misses the point that every machine plays differently
high · Discussion of remake criticism; Ed's point that 'every time you step up to a machine, you have to adjust to the slightly different feel of that machine'