New Details on Venom Courtesy of the Stern Insider Podcast

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jul 19, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Venom design deep-dive: four-character system with dynamic rules, dual locks, leveling mechanics, v0.72 code.

Summary

Knapp Arcade summarizes details from a Stern Insider podcast episode featuring the Venom pinball design team (Brian Eddy, Zombie Yeti, Dwight Sullivan, Jerry Thompson, and host Nate Shivers). The game features four selectable starting characters that fundamentally alter playfield layout, rules, music, and sound; dual stacking locks, a rotating Doppelgänger mech, character leveling via experience points, and a fast-paced non-mode-based design. Code is at v0.72 with Pro/Premium/LE playfield art and speed variations.

Key Claims

Selecting different starting characters physically changes the playfield layout, shots, rules, music genre, and sound effects—creating effectively four different sound packages
high confidence · Brian Eddy and team explanation on Stern Insider podcast, direct design feature description
Venom is not a mode-based game
high confidence · Direct statement from design team on podcast
Players can change characters throughout the game (unlike Game of Thrones where choice is locked at start), mimicking Venom jumping between hosts
high confidence · Design philosophy explanation comparing to GoT mechanics
Brian Eddy states Venom is his best-playing game to date
high confidence · Direct quote from designer on podcast
Doppelgänger was originally on playfield moving up/down but was relocated to a rotating arm swing mechanic because it blocked playfield
high confidence · Design iteration explanation from team
The game contains over 20 playable characters
high confidence · Team statement on podcast
Venom code is currently at Version 0.72
high confidence · Current development status stated on podcast
Pro model plays faster than Premium model
high confidence · Speed tier differentiation mentioned by design team

Notable Quotes

“The game really changes depending on which one of the four starting characters the player chooses, the playfield physically changes, shots change, rules change, the music genre and sound effects change - it's as if the game has four different sound packages”
Brian Eddy / Design Team — Core design innovation explaining character-driven gameplay variation and replayability factor
“Brian Eddy said that it's his best playing game”
Brian Eddy — Designer validation of Venom's gameplay quality and mechanical execution
“Unlike in Game of Thrones where a player is locked into the house that they choose at the start of the game Venom players can change their character throughout the game, just like Venom jumping from host to host”
Design Team — Explains design philosophy: character flexibility mechanic thematically aligned with IP
“Venom is not a mode-based game”
Design Team — Key structural distinction from prior Stern designs; likely shot-based/progression-based architecture
“The flamethrower from Mandalorian is something that players can get in the game. It enables players to hit multiple shots at once when activated.”
Design Team — References mechanical callback to prior Stern game (The Mandalorian); multi-shot activation mechanic

Entities

Venomgame Brian Eddyperson Zombie Yetiperson Dwight Sullivanperson Jerry Thompsonperson Nate ShiverspersonStern Insider PodcastorganizationStern Pinballcompany

Signals

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design_innovation: Four-character system fundamentally alters multiple game systems (shots, rules, music, sound) rather than cosmetic theming, suggesting significant rule depth variation.
high · Statement: 'playfield physically changes, shots change, rules change, the music genre and sound effects change - it's as if the game has four different sound packages'
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design_philosophy: Venom's character-switching mechanic is deliberately thematic (matching IP host-jumping behavior) rather than purely mechanical; design team explains alignment between game structure and narrative.
high · Design team explanation: 'just like Venom jumping from host to host' justifying why character selection is fluid rather than locked like Game of Thrones
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design_philosophy: Venom code is at v0.72, indicating active development with multiple update iterations expected before release.
high · Statement: 'The game's code is currently at Version 0.72'
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design_innovation: Doppelgänger mechanic underwent design iteration to resolve playfield interaction issues; originally vertical movement replaced with arm swing to eliminate interference.
high · Design team explanation: 'In the original version...it was in the way so they switched it to an arm that swung out from the side'
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personnel_signal: Design team composition includes Zombie Yeti as artist; article context references him as 'head of Stern Pinball art department,' confirming leadership role in visual direction.
high · Zombie Yeti credited in Stern Insider podcast episode; previous KB confirms role as art department head

Topics

Character selection and dynamic rule variationprimaryMechanical design iteration (Doppelgänger arm rotation)primaryCharacter leveling and progression systemsprimaryPro vs Premium/LE playfield and speed differencessecondaryCode development status (v0.72)secondaryDesign philosophy and thematic alignmentsecondaryStern Insider podcast as official communication channelmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Article author expresses enthusiasm ('I can't wait to see the gameplay stream tonight!'), praises game as 'incredible' and 'awesome-looking,' and conveys excitement about design complexity. No critical tone or concerns raised about the game itself.

Transcript

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It's all Venom all the time here this week lol. Yesterday Stern Pinball launched a new episode of its Stern Insider podcast, featuring the show's host, the pinball podcasting G.O.A.T Nate Shivers, designer Brian Eddy, artist Zombie Yeti, programmer Dwight Sullivan, sound designer Jerry Thompson and the rest of the team that worked on the Company's latest pinball machine, Venom. Below are my notes from the show: The game really changes depending on which one of the four starting characters the player chooses, the playfield physically changes, shots change, rules change, the music genre and sound effects change - it's as if the game has four different sound packages, etc... Lots of different strategies and ways to play the game The harder the player hits the Carnage captive ball the further back it goes. It stays where you hit it until you get him to the top Doppelgänger rotates onto the playfield with three uplift targets There's two stacking locks. One on the left side and one on the right that lock up to three balls each The game plays fast just like Venom is. Brian Eddy said that it's his best playing game There's over 20 characters in the game The game's code is currently at Version 0.72 It sounds like an incredible amount of work went into this game's awesome-looking animations In the original version of the game, Doppelgänger was on the playfield and went up and down, but it was in the way so they switched it to an arm that swung out from the side Unlike in Game of Thrones where a player is locked into the house that they choose at the start of the game Venom players can change their character throughout the game, just like Venom jumping from host to host Venom is not a mode-based game The flamethrower from Mandalorian is something that players can get in the game. It enables players to hit multiple shots at once when activated. Characters Level Up in the game using experience points. At higher levels characters do more damage in boss battles. Through Insider Connected levels carry over. Venomized Hulk, Wolverine and Captain America are unlockable characters received after beating Knull The machine has a "Fast Lock" system that keeps gameplay really moving The playfield art is a little different on the Pro than on the Premium / LE The Pro plays even faster than the Premium There's a ton more info in this great, in-depth conversation about the new game. Below is a link to the new Stern Insider podcast that registered users can check out: https://insider.sternpinball.com/exclusives/375 I can't wait to see the gameplay stream of Venom tonight!