We Are Pinball #31 "Kong and Dune! Big reveal week!"

TL;DR

WAP hosts break down Kong's design brilliance and hint at major unreleased game news for Patreon.

Summary

Key Claims

• King Kong layout has been completed for approximately one year and has been extensively fine-tuned before release

  high confidence · Direct statement from Keith Elwin during hands-on event at Stern media day about his design process and timeline

• King Kong uses the 1923 public domain source material to avoid licensing restrictions, which limits how scenes like Kong climbing buildings with a woman can be depicted

  high confidence · Speakers' analysis of game design and licensing constraints discussed during gameplay breakdown

• Keith Elwin has multiple game layouts in production pipeline simultaneously, with current layout finished while coding team finishes previous game

  high confidence · Direct conversation with Keith Elwin at Stern event about his workflow and design methodology

• Some players are canceling King Kong pre-orders based on thematic/licensing choices rather than game quality

  medium confidence · YouTube comment references by host discussing fan reactions to Kong's design direction

• WAP Patreon support reached $555 while Don's A A Pinball Podcast reached $587 in competitive fundraising

  high confidence · Hosts directly comparing their real-time Patreon metrics during episode

Notable Quotes

• “I mean, for a whole year... if this was one of the King Kong movies so if you compare theme by theme Jaws or Kong one of the King Kong movies which theme is the best for you?”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~1:23:00 — Highlights the context that Kong's code is brand new while Jaws has had a year of refinement, making direct comparison complex

• “If I was running Stern and I love George Gomez like crazy, he's just legendary for me, but if I was George Gomez, I would definitely find a team programming team number two for Keith Elwin. So he could jump between two games and release two Keith Elwin games every year.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~1:35:00 — Suggests structural changes to Stern's production to maximize Keith Elwin's design output, indicating he's viewed as a critical asset

• “He finishes the layout and then gets it over to the coding team, and he goes to his next layout to start working on. While the artists are still on that project Keith Elwin is still part of the project They're working on essentially two different games at that point.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~1:30:00 — Reveals how modern Stern design pipelines work with multiple games in simultaneous stages of development

• “I couldn't find no jank in this tank, buddy. Oh, my God. So this game doesn't feel like it's rushed out in any way.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~1:18:00 — Confirms Kong feels polished and production-ready with no mechanical defects or design oversights

• “They were just kind of like, okay. I didn't really see anything that super excited me... I'm a bit just underwhelmed. Only because I've seen great games from Elwynn before. It's like everything that I expected. There's nothing really missing that I would add.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~1:05:00 — Expresses measured expectations met but not exceeded, primarily due to licensing constraints limiting thematic depth

Entities

Signals

• ?

  product_launch: Stern held major media events in Houston (Barrels of Fun) and Elk Grove, Illinois for King Kong release; multiple media personalities and content creators attended hands-on sessions

  high · Hosts attended both events, received invitations from Zach Sharpe at Stern, had 15-20 minute VIP play sessions with separate Kong machines

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Kong exhibits exceptional shot variety, ball flow, and mechanical precision with no reported defects or 'jank' despite complex layout

  high · Multiple detailed gameplay observations including spiral shots, drop target mechanics, skill shots, diverter interplay, no rattle/rejects reported on ramps

• ?

  design_philosophy: Stern chose 1923 public domain King Kong source material to avoid licensing restrictions and enable custom IP exploitation (toppers, merchandise, art), limiting thematic scope vs. film versions

  high · Host analysis of why certain Kong imagery (climbing building with woman, plane fights) absent; designer acknowledged tradeoff between creative freedom and thematic authenticity

• ?

  manufacturing_signal: Keith Elwin's layout completed ~12 months before release; simultaneous parallel production pipelines with layout finished while coding/art teams still work on previous title

  high · Direct statement from Keith Elwin about timeline; hosts noted he's now on next layout while teams finish Kong; pattern of sequential releases (Bond 60th, Kong) shows efficient throughput

• ?

  product_concern: Some pre-order customers canceling Kong due to licensing limitations preventing cinematic themes (e.g., no female character in Kong's grasp, limited movie imagery), despite game quality