Stranger Things Post Stream Thoughts

Cary Hardy·video·11m 36s·analyzed·Dec 24, 2019

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

Hardy critiques Stranger Things as mechanically bare; projects unfinished, limiting design.

Summary

Cary Hardy provides a critical post-stream analysis of Stranger Things Pinball following Jack Danger's reveal stream, arguing the game feels mechanically bare despite impressive coding potential. He expresses concerns about design limitations imposed by the projector technology, criticizes the decision to showcase only the Pro version during the stream, and suggests the Premium/LE versions with projection features may still be unfinished. While respectful of designer effort, Hardy concludes the game doesn't appeal to him personally and speculates about missed opportunities for hardware depth.

Key Claims

The stream showed only the Pro version because the Premium/LE versions with projection features are not finished yet
medium confidence · Hardy infers this from Stern's decision to show Pro during stream while having Premium/LE units available for trailers; argues projection is still being debugged
The projector technology forces a fan/open playfield layout, restricting hardware possibilities
high confidence · Hardy directly states: 'the reason why they went with a fan layout is because of limitations of the projector...we can't have any obstructions'
The game code is approximately 0.64-0.65 complete at stream time
high confidence · Hardy references hearing this version number mentioned during the stream
Projection is a gimmick that cannot provide the kinetic satisfaction of mechanical toys
medium confidence · Hardy's opinion: 'I feel that it's a little bit of a gimmick...You're not going to get a kinetic satisfaction with a projection of images'
This is Brian Eddy's return after 20 years designing pinball
high confidence · Hardy states: 'This is Brian Eddy's return after 20 years'
Community excitement was notably lower for Stranger Things stream compared to Jurassic Park stream
medium confidence · Hardy contrasts his experience: during JP he was texting friends excitedly; during ST viewers skipped, left bored, or showed indifference

Notable Quotes

“the stream was overall very boring. I had no urge to play this game.”
Cary Hardy@ 0:59 — Core thesis statement of his critique; establishes emotional/entertainment response rather than technical assessment
“I'm not one of those that's going to sit here and just completely demolish what work someone has put all this effort into, guys. I'm not.”
Cary Hardy@ 2:22 — Preemptive defense against accusations of being dismissive; frames his criticism as respectful while maintaining critical stance
“they're cutting their self they're cutting their own feet off right here...we want to do this but we have to make certain restrictions in order for it to work”
Cary Hardy@ 6:23 — Central design criticism: projector imposes architectural constraints that compromise playfield density and mechanical innovation
“code can make a game better but when you have what I feel to be lacking in hardware, it's going to make it better, but I feel like there should be more on this play field.”
Cary Hardy@ 5:52 — Pushes back on common industry argument that code solves everything; asserts hardware foundation matters
“They chose to show us the pro. And the only reason behind that is because it wasn't ready.”
Cary Hardy@ 4:15 — Speculation about Stern's strategic decision to showcase base model; implies projection tech still buggy
“I prefer more mechanical and more what Keith Elwin says, kinetic satisfaction. You're not going to get a kinetic satisfaction with a projection of images on a screen.”

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Jack Dangerperson Brian Eddyperson Keith ElwinpersonStranger Things PinballgameStern PinballcompanyRevenge from MarsgameJurassic Park Pinballgame

Signals

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business_signal: Streaming unfinished products (0.64-0.65 code completion) to maintain hype schedule despite incomplete features
medium · Hardy: 'I had a whole other topic right there I could get into about releasing unfinished finished products' and notes code version ~0.64
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sentiment_shift: Broader community tolerance and expectation that content creators will respectfully disagree on game merit
medium · Hardy frames expectation: 'Don't take it personally or to heart or think that the person is ignorant...because they don't agree with your thinking'
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design_philosophy: Projector technology imposes architectural constraints limiting playfield mechanical density and hardware innovation
high · Hardy: 'the reason why they went with a fan layout is because of limitations of the projector...they're cutting their own feet off right here'
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design_philosophy: Hardware design decisions constrained by projector technology forcing open/fan layout, preventing traditional toys and multi-level obstacles
high · Hardy: 'in order for it to work it has to be a fan layout we can't have any obstructions for you'
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product_strategy: Premium/LE versions with projection features likely unfinished; Stern showing only Pro version during stream to hide incomplete tech
medium · Hardy infers: 'they chose to show us the pro...the only reason behind that is because it wasn't ready...while they're pumping out the pros...they have more time to start working on the coding and the projection'

Topics

Projector technology limitations and playfield design constraintsprimaryGame completeness and unfinished code at releaseprimaryHardware depth vs. software potential trade-offsprimaryCommunity reception and hype cycle managementprimaryMechanical vs. digital/projected gameplay experiencesecondaryRespectful disagreement and design criticism ethics in tight-knit communitysecondaryThree-tier pricing model (Pro/Premium/LE) and product differentiation strategysecondary

Sentiment

negative(0.25)— Hardy is respectfully but firmly critical of Stranger Things. He explicitly states the stream was boring and the game doesn't appeal to him. However, he repeatedly emphasizes respect for designer effort and disclaims hatred of the game, framing his critique as subjective preference rather than objective failure. This creates a mixed-valence negative sentiment: critical of the product but diplomatic in delivery.

Transcript

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what's up guys and welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball so that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below so the stranger things stream last night with Jack Danger was going on and I was going to do a video during it or if not immediately after but I chose not to and I was like you know what before I just start talking to the camera I'm gonna let this sit for a while so I'm gonna sleep on it that was that was my plan and so that's what I did and I woke up this morning and continued to think about it and my opinion is still the same. Sleeping on it did not change the fact that the stream was overall very boring. I had no urge to play this game. Let me bring up the video for the stream right here that gives you something else to look at while you're having to listen to me. So the overall field of this game to me. Let me, I gotta get some, I gotta get some prerequisites out first because I know there's a lot of you that are going to start pouting out comments in a section without watching the video in its entirety. So, let me first say that I don't hate the game. I don't dislike the game. I'm just not going to get it. It doesn't appeal to me. To me. I'm not telling you what you should or should not do with your money. You can do what you please. I completely understand that these games are not something that is easily made. This is something that takes up a designer's life for at least 18 months to where they are putting all the time and effort and ideas and everything into place for this game. And it's not just the designers, guys. it's artwork, all this, everything John Youssi is an accommodation of 18 months of a lot of people working together to make something. So I'm not one of those that's going to sit here and just completely demolish what work someone has put all this effort into, guys. I'm not. Because I know how that is to put work and effort into something and you want to be proud of it. you think it's going to be good, and then you have the anonymous out there that just shit all over it. I wish I would have wrote this stuff down because I know I going to forget to mention things and how I feel about this but I going off the cuff because I do have Christmas things that I need to accomplish including editing of my Christmas special that I may or may not have time to finish by Christmas With that being said, this game seems very bare to me. Now, the thing is, you got people out there, whether it be, you know, other content providers, will say that, that want to say that this is the greatest innovation in pinball in X amount of years, but only on the premium and limited edition versions. And they want to talk about how great this innovation is. And to show off the game, they show us the pro version that doesn't even incorporate what they're wanting to brag about. But they want you to keep on buying the premium at LEs that, yeah, go ahead, don't worry, it's going to be good, it's going to be great, just keep giving us the money, we'll send you the game, and we'll fix it down the road. And the reason why I say they'll fix it down the road, because I'm pretty damn sure that they have not got this projection thing down just yet. They're still working on a lot of either bugs or issues or getting things to project just right, and they didn't feel it was show worthy. You know they've got a premium or an LE sitting there ready to go because they had one for a trailer. So there's a game ready to go, but they chose to show us the pro. And the only reason behind that is because it wasn't ready. Or they're not proud enough, or they don't feel confident enough to show us that version yet. So while they're pumping out the pros for the first three or so weeks, they have more time to start working on the coding and the more the projection portion to get that down better. and so they can start shipping out the LEs and the customers will be a little bit more satisfied with the product. This is Brian Eddy's return after 20 years and this is what they give us. Now, when I say this is what they give us, not in a fashion of like this is total crap, but I feel that this game is very bare. I mean, look at the playfield, guys. Honestly, from this perspective, look at this playfield. What do you have? you've got two ramps and some lanes and a standstill bash toy in the center with a couple of pop bumpers i mean i consider and spout off everything and it sounds like there's a lot but if you look at it from this point of view it doesn't look like it's a you know it doesn't look like it's got a bunch in there and i feel like it should there's so much more that could be done with this and I feel like they didn't do that and I know that the primary rebuttal that everyone gonna say when it comes to this game or any game for that matter is the code they still working on the code the code gonna make the make or break the game the code going to be the end all to what all Okay there yeah code can make a game better but when you have what I feel to be lacking in hardware, it's going to make it better, but I feel like there should be more on this play field. I mean, there should be more that they could have done with it. But the reason why they didn't do more with this, the reason why they went with a fan layout is because of limitations of the projector. like we want to put the projector in a game we think it's going to be really cool but in order for it to work it has to be a fan layout we can't have any obstructions for you it's they're cutting their self they're cutting their own feet off right here that's the way i look at it it's like we want to do this but we have to make certain restrictions in order for it to work this hobby is very subjective guys pinball is very subjective so all i can say is for those that do not have the same feelings as you do for a particular game such as this for Stranger Things. Don't take it personally or to heart or think that the person is ignorant and doesn't know what they're talking about because they don't agree with your thinking. The games that I purchase and the games that I keep are those that I find entertaining and I guarantee you I could go through my collection right here and people could say that game is crap, that game is crap, and that game is crap because everyone likes different things. So, with that being said, this is a game that doesn't strike my fancy. It doesn't. That's just me. If other people enjoy it and want to get it, then that's fine. Go ahead. But don't strike down those that want to disagree and have their reasonings behind that. Whenever I was watching the Jurassic Park stream, I was excited. I was texting my friends. We were talking back and forth about how awesome this game looks and how they cannot wait to play it. And this time around, we're watching Stranger Things, and either one, we're not even bothering to watch it, two, they're bored of it and just turn the stream off, or three, it's just like, eh, it's another game, it's nothing new or whatever. and the reason why there's nothing new is because they weren't showing off the projector. But if they would have shown off the projector, that would have been a little more interesting. But I don't feel like the projector is going to be the savior for this game. I really don't. I feel that it's a little bit of a gimmick. And I know that sounds bad. I get it. but projector is, I, I, me personally, I prefer more mechanical and more what Keith Elwin says, kinetic satisfaction. You're not going to get a kinetic satisfaction with a projection of images on a screen. You're not really interacting with that so much. I had a comment that said, let me guess, you don like pin 2000 games And I like no I revenge from Mars is on my wishlist I want that game that is very fun to play and i felt like the screen that goes down onto the play field is very interactive and they weren't limited to obstructions being in the middle of the play field or anything like that there was no limitations to that with a projector you are limiting yourself to what you can do because it's projected where it's at now and they can find a different method on projecting things onto areas of a play field, then I think they might have a better chance. I mean, I'm hoping that code does give this thing a little bit more depth, because right now you can tell that the code is pretty bare. I want to say it's only about, I'd say halfway, but I think I heard mentioned that it was like in the 0.6 some odd range, 0.65, 0.64, whatever. And that's a whole other topic right there I could get into about releasing unfinished finished products, but I will not get into that. I got to go. There's things I got to do. So in a nutshell, this game is not for me. I hope that things get better. One of the ideas I want to throw out there, so if it happens, I can at least say that I called it or I gave somebody an idea, but things that I think they should do with the upside down is make the upside down a scary thing. Now, when I say scary thing, I mean whenever you go into the upside down, you go into an oh shit mode. Essentially because if you don't accomplish certain tasks in a certain amount of time, then essentially your flippers will get weaker and you'll eventually lose your ball. So in order, I think when you go into the upside down, it should be a fear moment to where you have to accomplish these shots or you have to worry about losing your ball due to not making these shots. so over time like certain things don't give you as much points or it gets to the point to where things don't even react like slingshots or pop bumpers they just stop actually even working in the upside down unless you hit the correct shots and then you hit the correct shots you can escape from the upside down and get back to the real world that's just a thought of mine take it whatever that was a quick little thing i think they should probably see about implementing into the upside down in the game. So once again, I've got to say that I've got to go. So, by all means, let me know how you feel about Stranger Things Pinball Machine in the comment sections down below. Give me that thumbs up, and if you haven't already, do not forget to hit that subscribe button down below. That way, you can be notified whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. Until next time, guys, peace out. Thank you.