Episode 947: "John Wick Designer Revealed!"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·10m 42s·analyzed·May 5, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Kaneda exclusively reveals Elliot Eisman as John Wick designer with strong early player feedback.

Summary

Kaneda reveals Elliot Eisman as the lead designer of Stern's John Wick pinball machine in an exclusive announcement. Based on player feedback from distributors and testers, Kaneda reports the game is receiving strong early reception, praised as more fun than recent Stern releases like Jaws and Foo Fighters, featuring three ramps, fast action, and movie assets including Keanu Reeves. Eisman, a mechanical engineer at Stern for 10 years who previously worked on WWE, Ghostbusters, Star Wars, TMNT, Rush, and James Bond, is being promoted from his current role to head designer.

Key Claims

Elliot Eisman is the lead designer of John Wick pinball
high confidence · Kaneda directly reveals this as exclusive news based on information collected from people who have played the game, distributors, and third-party sources
John Wick has three ramps and likely more than two flippers
medium confidence · Kaneda states 'this game is going to have three ramps in it, which also leads me to believe that there will be more than two flippers in this game'
John Wick is more fun to play than Jaws Pinball and Foo Fighters
medium confidence · Kaneda reports feedback from people who have played the game: 'They are saying that John Wick is more fun to play and more unique and more entertaining... more fun than Jaws Pinball and then Foo Fighters'
Tim Sexton is coding John Wick and is a major John Wick fanboy
medium confidence · Kaneda states 'Tim Sexton is coding the game' and 'Tim Sexton is a humongous John Wick fanboy'
John Wick was designed from the ground up as John Wick, not as a different theme that lost its license
high confidence · Kaneda explicitly confirms 'this game was designed from the ground up to be John Wick. This was not a game they were designing to be something else, and then they lost the license'
John Borg designed an Indiana Jones game that was shelved when the license was lost
medium confidence · Kaneda states 'the theme that they were designing by John Borg, where they lost the license, was Indiana Jones. So if you were waiting for that Indiana Jones game, it was made. There is an Indiana Jones game designed by John Borg sitting somewhere in a room at Stern Pinball'
Elliot Eisman has been at Stern Pinball for 10 years
high confidence · Kaneda states 'He's been at Stern Pinball for 10 years'
John Wick will feature Keanu Reeves prominently with movie clips and voice call-outs
high confidence · Kaneda states 'Fully expect to see Keanu Reeves all over this game. Fully expect to see Keanu do call outs. Fully expect him to be a part of this game throughout' and 'It's absolutely going to have asset heavy from the movie'

Notable Quotes

“I'm going to give you the biggest news on John Wick that nobody has given you to date. That's right, I haven't heard anybody say this name.”
Kaneda @ Early in episode — Sets up the exclusive reveal of Elliot Eisman as the designer, positioning this as breaking news
“I'm hearing that Venom was boring, that this game is going to shoot so much better and be so much more interesting to stand over and flip.”
Kaneda @ Mid-episode — Directly addresses skepticism about John Wick and compares it favorably to Venom, a recent Stern release that was reportedly underwhelming
“the designer of John Wick Pinball Stern Pinball mechanical engineer Elliot Eisman”
Kaneda @ Major reveal point — The central revelation of the episode identifying Elliot Eisman as the designer
“He's worked on WWE. Well, don't hold him accountable for that because he gets much better after that.”
Kaneda @ During designer background discussion — Shows Kaneda's acknowledgment that Eisman's early work was not well-received, but he improved significantly after
“What excites me about Elliot working on this game as lead designer is this guy an engineer. He thinks in mechanisms and toys.”
Kaneda @ Analysis section — Explains why Kaneda is optimistic about Eisman's promotion to lead designer role based on his mechanical engineering background
“this game is going to have a very unique feel. Now, I don't know any of the mechanisms. I don't know who's doing the artwork.”
Kaneda @ Mid-episode — Illustrates the limits of Kaneda's knowledge while contrasting with what he does know and has heard
“I'm still not going to order one right away because of the pricing, but Elliot Eisman is the designer.”
Kaneda @ Closing section — Shows Kaneda's measured approach despite positive news, maintaining skepticism on value proposition
“You are not going to have a hard time at all getting a new in-box LE of any Stern pinball machine ever. So you don't have to run and buy one right away.”

Entities

Elliot Eismanperson John WickgameStern PinballcompanyKanedaperson Tim Sextonperson John Borgperson Keith Elwin

Signals

?
announcement: Exclusive reveal of Elliot Eisman as lead designer of John Wick pinball, promoted to head designer role at Stern
high · Kaneda directly identifies Eisman by name and position, cites multiple internal sources including distributors and game testers
?
gameplay_signal: Early player feedback reports John Wick is more fun than recent Stern releases including Jaws and Foo Fighters, with fast action and unique design feel
medium · Kaneda reports feedback from multiple testers: 'They are saying that John Wick is more fun to play and more unique and more entertaining... more fun than Jaws Pinball and then Foo Fighters'
?
design_innovation: John Wick features three ramps and likely more than two flippers, suggesting innovative playfield design
medium · Kaneda states 'this game is going to have three ramps in it, which also leads me to believe that there will be more than two flippers in this game'
?
design_philosophy: Elliot Eisman brings mechanical engineering background to lead designer role, thinking in mechanisms and toys rather than just layout and playtesting
high · Kaneda notes 'this guy an engineer. He thinks in mechanisms and toys' and contrasts this with designers lacking engineering background
?
personnel_signal: Elliot Eisman promoted from current engineering role to head designer position at Stern after working on six+ previous titles
high · Kaneda confirms Eisman 'is being promoted from within Stern Pinball from his current role to role of head designer' with 10-year tenure

Topics

John Wick Designer AnnouncementprimaryJohn Wick Game Mechanics and FeaturesprimaryEarly Player Reception and HypeprimaryElliot Eisman Career and PromotionprimaryStern Pinball Pricing StrategysecondaryShelved Indiana Jones GamesecondaryComparison to Recent Stern Releases (Jaws, Foo Fighters, Venom)secondaryPinball Design Philosophy and Mechanical Engineeringsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Kaneda is excited about John Wick's design potential and early reception, though tempered by pricing skepticism. He praises Eisman's mechanical engineering background as a strength. Mixed sentiment on modern Stern pricing (negative) versus game design quality and potential (positive).

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.032

Nothing ever lasts forever, everybody wants to rule the world. Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Ah, happy Sunday morning everybody. It is your venerable podcasting host Kaneda, and I'm here to tell each and every one of you some news on John Wick. And I'm going to give you the biggest news on John Wick that nobody has given you to date. That's right, I haven't heard anybody say this name. I haven't heard anybody out there in the pinball content space reveal to you who the designer is, the mystery designer of this John Wick pinball machine. I'm going to give it to you here first, an exclusive. Kaneda loves scooping these pinball companies, and I know this is why you love being a member of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. I'm also going to upload it to my Patreon page, because for some of you out there, you might be sleeping, you might be around the world. And once the name gets out there, it's out there. But I love breaking these scoops. And I love the fact that now everybody out there who doesn't like Kaneda has to say that Kaneda is reporting. Okay, so here's the thing. I got a little bit of information on John Wick. And before I tell you who the designer is, I want to give you the overall feedback I'm getting on this game. And here's the thing. It is a little bit of the hype train is about to leave the station. It is a little bit about the next game from Stern is going to be the best game of all time. We always hear this every single time. So before I do this and tell you the hype I've heard, I want to tell you what I want you to do, which is just wait and see. I don't think any modern Stern ever is ever going to be worth $13,000 for an LE or $9,500 for a premium. I don't care what they put into these games. These games are all so overpriced. So keep that in mind. You are not going to have a hard time at all getting a new in-box LE of any Stern pinball machine ever. So you don't have to run and buy one right away. You're also not going to ever have a hard time getting a premium because they will make them for the next five years. And if you just wait, they're all gonna be selling for much less than $9,500. And pros are for hoes. Even though pros hold their value the most, they don't have all the features. And so look, you know how it is in pinball these days, people, just wait. Okay, so here's what I'm hearing. And this is not me saying this So take this with a grain of salt I am hearing from people that have played this game from people that have flipped this pinball machine from people some of which are distributors some of which are coming third party to me as well. So I've been collecting this information over the last day and a half or so. I didn't wanna spill this on the Saturday Morning Spectacular because I wanted you guys who are club members to hear it here first. So here's the thing, man. I've heard from people that have played this game, they've played the recent games from Stern Pinball, and they are saying that John Wick is more fun to play and more unique and more entertaining and gives you that one more ball, I gotta jump on the game again feel. They're saying this game is more fun than Jaws Pinball and then Foo Fighters. And that's stiff competition. You know, it's one thing if they said it's more fun to shoot than James Bond. But to say this game is more fun than Jaws to flip and more fun than Foo Fighters, two games that are really heralded in the pinball community as great shooting games, I'm also hearing a lot of comparisons between this and Jaws and just how when you see this game, you're going to see a lot more uniqueness. You're going to see a lot more fun stuff to shoot at. And I think that kind of holds true with how I felt about Jaws pinball since it's been out. I mean, it's a tough theme for pinball to begin with. It's not high energy like John Wick. It's a slow movie about a shark. It's also a game when you walk up to it, there's nothing really wow in it mechanically. And they definitely didn't nail that world under glass with Jaws. And that's what I'm hearing about John Wick is you're really going to see a design that doesn't feel like every other Stern machine. And now that we've had so many Elwynn games, they're starting to feel somewhat similar. You know, Jack Danger's Foo Fighters was original, but this John Wick game coming from a brand new designer is going to have a very unique feel. Now, I don't know any of the mechanisms. I don't know who's doing the artwork. I don't know if they're using movie clips. I would be shocked if this game is not going to be asset heavy from the movie. It is absolutely going to have movie clips and Keanu Reeves. It's not going to be like an animated John Wick adventure, people. So fully expect to see Keanu Reeves all over this game. Fully expect to see Keanu do call outs. Fully expect him to be a part of this game throughout. What I can tell you is this, is this game is going to have three ramps in it, which also leads me to believe that there will be more than two flippers in this game So you heard it here first a three game in John Wick I heard the action is really fast I hear it really fun I hear it really captures that sort of energy of John Wick. The other thing I know about this game is the entire game is being designed by a younger team that is super hungry to make a name for themselves. Yes, Tim Sexton is coding the game. I also heard that Tim Sexton is a humongous John Wick fanboy. So, you know, I was saying yesterday on my Saturday show, I'm just nervous that Tim Sexton doesn't seem to embody the bravado of John Wick. Well, apparently he's living vicariously through John Wick and him and the young design team working on this game are humongous John Wick fans. I'm also here to confirm for you that this game was designed from the ground up to be John Wick. This was not a game they were designing to be something else, and then they lost the license. Yes, I will confirm for you, the theme that they were designing by John Borg, where they lost the license, was Indiana Jones. So if you were waiting for that Indiana Jones game, it was made. There is an Indiana Jones game designed by John Borg sitting somewhere in a room at Stern Pinball that we will never get to play. All right, what else can I tell you about this game? I mean, not that much more, people. The other thing I'm just hearing is that for those of you skeptical about John Wick, those of you who think it's going to be just like a B-theme, I mean, I've been saying that. I'm like, it's going to be another Venom. It's not going to come out and have any like wow factor to it. I'm hearing the complete opposite now. I'm hearing that Venom was boring, that this game is going to shoot so much better and be so much more interesting to stand over and flip. And so, yeah, so the big news left, drum roll please, is who is designing this game? Well, before I tell you his name, I want to tell you that this designer has worked on. He's worked on the following games at Stern Pinball. You might have seen his name, but you might not have remembered it. It's not a name that gets talked about very often, and he's being promoted from within Stern Pinball from his current role to role of head designer. And he worked on WWE. Well, don't hold him accountable for that because he gets much better after that. He worked on Ghostbusters. He worked on Star Wars. He worked on Munsters. He worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He worked on Rush and he worked on James Bond And so ladies and gentlemen the designer of John Wick Pinball Stern Pinball mechanical engineer Elliot Elliot Eismin Now what excites me about Elliot working on this game as lead designer is this guy an engineer. He thinks in mechanisms and toys. And if he's a mechanical engineer and he's bringing the world of John Wick to life, I'm really excited that Elliot is now graduating into the designer role. Because you know, like sometimes we get designers and they don't have like the mindset for mechanical engineering. they might get layout, they might play pinball a lot, but they don't have a background in engineering. And so there it is, ladies and gentlemen, Canadian Pinball Podcast. I'm getting excited about John Wick. I'm still not going to order one right away because of the pricing, but Elliot Elliot Eismin is the designer. He's been at Stern Pinball for 10 years. He's worked on a lot of games. He is your lead John Wick designer. Take that news with you, spread it across the pinball content world. And just don't forget the name is Kaneda and he does it again. Love you guys. Thank you for the support. We're going to have a lot to talk about this week and I'm hoping I'm going to be a father any minute now. We're still waiting for this baby and that's why I'm still doing this pinball content. I think everyone in the household is very anxious and nervous. We're getting ready. And a final shout out. Yesterday we came back to our apartment and there was a box waiting for us. It was a beautiful basket, a hamper as Brenda would say in Ireland, of baby products for the newborn baby. Thank you, Mr. Steven Jablonski, not only for your $100 a month contribution, but also for the Jablonski family being so amazing. We had so much fun opening that up. And it just reminds everybody every once in a while that the pinball community is amazing. and that is why each and every one of you right now, I can feel it in you, that $5 a month, you just want to increase it to $10 now. You're getting what you pay for and then some. Now that Kenita's got two kids, you know it's going to get expensive. I'm never going to force you to pay more, but it would mean so much if people went from $5 to $10 a month and you guys are definitely going to get the best pinball content on the planet. Later, everybody. Happy Sunday. Fun day. Later. And I'll bet you nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to move on There's a room where the light won't bite you Putting hands while the walls come tumbling down When they do, I'll be right Some people call me Maurice