The Making of Venom Pinball

Stern Pinball·video·9m 50s·analyzed·Feb 22, 2024

Analysis

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TL;DR

Stern reveals Venom design philosophy: host-switching, rotating scoop, 20 characters, Insider Connected leveling.

Summary

Official Stern Pinball retrospective on Venom's design and production, featuring designer commentary on the host-selection mechanic, rotating scoop innovation, character variety (20 symbiotes), Insider Connected integration with leveling/progression, and the game's premiere at San Diego Comic-Con. Emphasizes smooth playflow, fast locks, and dynamic mechanics that change based on selected host character.

Key Claims

Venom was the first game produced at the new Stern Factory
high confidence · Direct statement in video: 'Venom is the first game to be produced at the new Stern Factory'
The rotating scoop mechanism is a 3-position design with motor, switches, and cam underneath
high confidence · Designer explains: 'underneath there's a motor with a few switches and a cam that determine when it's going to stop' and describes three positions: 180 scoop, dead stop hold, and U-turn loop
Venom features 20 different symbiote characters in the game
high confidence · Designer states: 'we have 20 different characters in the game because we need lots of villains'
Each host character has unique music, sound effects, and different shot layouts/ball paths
high confidence · Detailed explanation: 'every character has a different sound set for targets and switches... when you change the flash you get sort of military orchestral... if you change again to Gwen you get 70s Funk with a little bit of Prince mixed in'
Insider Connected leveling system allows progression to be saved across any location worldwide
high confidence · Designer explains: 'when you log in with Insider connected it will actually save all the progress you do while playing the game this will work on any game no matter where you play it in the world'

Notable Quotes

“I like to make games that have lots of breath so breath requires lots of different stuff that you can do and each new mode or feature needs a different character to go along with it”
Designer (likely John Borg or lead designer) @ Early in video — Core design philosophy behind 20-character roster and host-selection mechanic
“choose your host change the game I hope marketing picks up on that”
Designer @ End of video — Proposed marketing tagline encapsulating core mechanic differentiation
“this is the best pinball music Vibe I've I I could ever hope for”
Mark Tremonti (musician) @ Mid-video — Artist confidence in music integration with game mechanics
“I wanted to make a game where everyone can eventually beat the final boss and it became clear that we needed some system and we were like well insider connected is the magic”
Designer @ Mid-late video — Design rationale for Insider Connected integration and progression system
“the captive ball Mech with Carnage I think is really unique because it actually saves your position on how hard you hit it”
Designer @ Mid-video — Mechanical innovation detail for Carnage battle mechanic

Entities

Venom PinballgameStern PinballcompanyJohn Borgperson Dwight Sullivanperson Brian Eddyperson Mark Tremontiperson Zombie YetipersonJeremy Peckerperson

Signals

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design_philosophy: Design emphasis on playflow, breath (variety of mechanics), and fast-paced action through fast locks and rotating scoop mechanics
high · Designer: 'I like to make games that have lots of breath' and 'I wanted a couple of things it should be a very smooth fast flowing game' and 'the fast locks are a pretty unique feature on this game'
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licensing_signal: Marvel granted creative freedom to use 20+ symbiote characters with minimal constraints on Venom design
high · Designer: 'Marvel was great at that Marvel said here have all these guys do anything you want with them and and we did'
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community_signal: Art direction involved homage to comic book artists Todd McFarland and Mark Bagley; artwork used across both playfield and digital display for visual cohesion
high · Designer: 'I really tried to kind of uh homage I guess a little bit Todd McFarland going into uh Mark baggley' and 'we took his art and we used it to do the display too so the look and feel of his characters on all the artwork is exactly the same'
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announcement: Venom Pinball officially unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con as first game from new Stern Factory
high · Direct statement: 'it was so cool that we were going to have the launch for Venom at San Diego ComicCon' and 'Venom is the first game to be produced at the new Stern Factory'
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product_strategy: Venom differentiates through host-selection mechanic that changes shot layouts, music, sound effects, and game rules per host character
high · Designer: 'when you change your host you also change the ball paths that you shoot you change where a lock is going to be for this host or that one... every character has a different sound set'

Topics

Host-selection mechanic and dynamic shot layout switchingprimaryRotating scoop innovation (3-position mechanism with motor/cam)primaryInsider Connected integration with leveling/progression systemprimaryCharacter roster (20 symbiotes) and Marvel licensingprimaryMusic composition by Mark Tremonti and per-host audio customizationsecondaryMechanical toys (Carnage captive ball, Doppelgänger surprise attack)secondaryFast locks and playflow design philosophysecondaryComic book art homage and visual cohesion across playfield/displaymentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Official retrospective with enthusiastic designer/artist commentary. Emphasis on innovation, successful mechanical implementation, Marvel collaboration, and player accessibility. No criticism or negative feedback presented. Tremonti and other contributors express satisfaction with integration and outcome.

Transcript

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when I start a Playfield I like to think about what new could we bring to pinball if people haven't seen I really wanted a flowing game cuz I just felt like Venom and I think we really achieved so Venom I think is a great fit for pinball he's such a rich world that he can play in there's been so many stories written about him we just had an immense amount to draw from so Brian and I got started getting together we started having meetings I knew a lot about Venom I collected all the comics back then he has different hosts and we thought we could do a lot with it almost everybody has been a host of Venom at some point but that's kind of the appeal of the character is that he can become whatever you want him to be so right from the beginning I think Dwight had the initial idea he wanted different hosts for Venom now I like to make games that have lots of breath so breath requires lots of different stuff that you can do and each new mode or feature needs a different character to go along with it so we decided that we wanted to let the player change host every ball so each host has different abilities so it's really up to the player to kind of choose their play style took them a step further and saying well let's change the game change the shots along with it when you change your host you also change the ball paths that you shoot you change where a lock is going to be for this host or that one where a combo will be for this host or the next one there's a 180 scoop that whips the ball back to you in 180° that actually rotates and changes into three different shots so one of them is a 180 scoop the next one up is a dead stop and hold of the ball and then the third one activates a U-turn and that loops the ball right back to the player really fast that particular mechanism so underneath there's a motor with a few switches and a cam that determine when it's going to stop a two position mech like that is pretty simple once you add in a third position that gets a little tricky because you don't have a guaranteed location to key off of but I spend a bit of time making sure that that works correctly right off the bat when Brian and I first learn that we're going to do Venom well of course we're going to use Zombietti we're going to use Jeremy Packer I'm very familiar with Venom I kind of loved that character I love that era he's drawn all the comics forever he's just knocked it out of the park I really tried to kind of uh homage I guess a little bit Todd McFarlane going into uh Mark Bagley I feel fairly successful in the Playfield in that I got every character there some of them more than once not only that but we took his art and we used it to do the display too so the look and feel of his characters on all the artwork is exactly the same as the look and feel in the display so it's a very cohesive package we got Mark Trombini to do music for us and he's awesome we met him a couple of times he's a great guy few years ago I reached out to my friends at Stern and I said I really would love to be a part of anything you got going on in the future here we are I got a machine with my music in it and it's uh it's a dream come true cuz I've been a pinball fanatic for 25 years now we had several tracks from him and they were great and Dwight said yeah I think he should be Eddie Brock when I first turned in the music for the game I hoped that that music would fit the pinball vibe and when I heard it in action I was like this is the best pinball music vibe I've I could ever hope for I think the Trombini music was was a great fit for Venom just because of the speed and the energy and the drive that's in the music Dwight wanted each character to have their own music when you change the flash you get sort of military orchestral you know kind of you know and then if you change again to Gwen you get 70s Funk with a little bit of Prince mixed in and I said well we should probably go um techno for Peter and then we said well let's probably get their own sounds too so every character has a different sound set for targets and switches like doing four games in one really in the layout of game I wanted a couple of things it should be a very smooth fast flowing game and that's kind of where the fast locks come from the fast locks are a pretty unique feature on this game they're decorated as a symbiote containment unit but it's really what keeps the game flowing and keeps you on your toes as a player each fast lock has the ability to release a ball as soon as you complete another shot on the game that feeds that lock you shoot a shot and the ball is on the flipper and then the ball is constantly in motion you're constantly battling the game just feels like Venom to me it also kind of flows into it's a battle game so we had to have some big characters for you to fight and we have Carnage the main villain of the game and he's going to be in the back corner and we want the player to be able to push him back into Ravencroft and lock him up so the captive ball mech with Carnage I think is really unique because it actually saves your position on how hard you hit it so it really depends if you just graze it he's only going to move a little if you hit it really hard he may go back 3/4 of the rough I think this is version 12 but ultimately we went with some wheels and a ratchet system you can actually see the holes in the plate and every time you push him up there's a little what called a paw falling into those holes and keeping him in the place I think the whole planet knows about Venom and Carnage but there's a lot of Symbiotes that are lesser known we have 20 different characters in the game because we need lots of villains so every time we want to have a different mode or a different thing that we're doing we need another character for it so Marvel was great at that Marvel said here have all these guys do anything you want with them and and we did so I wanted to make a special mech for another character that you battled so we came up with doppelganger who swings out into the Playfield has three targets hanging from him he's basically the surprise attack character so you're not sure when you're playing exactly when he's going to jump out the initial version of doppelganger was just a straight up and down and we realized very quickly that when it was in up position it kind of hid a lot of the Playfield you couldn't see some of the inserts and some of the shots on the right side actually came up with a really clever mechanism it's a simple uh molded cam underneath that still uses a single coil to cause the rotation and vertical movement at the same time he swings up out of the way when he's not involved in the gameplay and then when it's time for him to attack he swings forward surprise attack it's a really surprising moment if you haven't seen it so Brian and I are throwing around ideas we wanted to make a game where everyone can eventually beat the final boss and it became clear that we needed some system and we were like well Insider connected is the magic so we invented this experience point system where you level up and your level and other things are saved for you from game to game with Insider connected leveling up I think is a natural to bring into pinball and in our game it means that your character gets stronger the more you play so instead of a mode based game we have these things called paths each host gives you a different path toward the end of the game so when you log in with Insider connected it will actually save all the progress you do while playing the game this will work on any game no matter where you play it in the world it was so cool that we were going to have the launch for Venom at San Diego Comic-Con of all places you couldn't ask for a better place for Venom to be unveiled to the world hey everybody we're here at Comic-Con introducing the Venom pinball machine for the very first time Venom is the first game to be produced at the new Stern Factory I think what people are really going to enjoy about Venom is just a smooth flow of the Playfield and the shots leading to each other the toys from Carnage to doppelganger it's a game about trying to level up it's a game about saving your progress I can walk up to this game and play it a different way every time the tone of Venom a little darker it's a great action game especially with the fast locks it's a very fast ferocious quick and that's how I like pinball I think it's one of those games that uh there's something for everyone in it I think all those things are pretty unique to Venom and you put them all together and it's just a great experience I like to say choose your host change the game I hope marketing picks up on that