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Dwight Sullivan discusses Mandalorian code, remote work changes, and Stern's distributed team on Flip N Out stream.
The Mandalorian was the first Stern game developed entirely while Dwight Sullivan worked from home; Turtles began in the office and was finished remotely.
high confidence · Dwight Sullivan stated directly: 'Turtles began at work and then we finished it in my basement. And then Mando was completely [done at home]' and 'Mandalorian here, is this the first one that you did entirely at home? Correct.'
Stern adopted Slack, Zoom, and OBS as permanent collaboration tools even post-COVID, changing how distributed teams work.
high confidence · Dwight explained: 'Slack, OBS, and Zoom, I think we will continue to use even after we all move back into the building' and detailed how files now transfer via Slack instead of in-person interruptions.
The update from The Mandalorian code version 9.5 to 9.6 took approximately one day and fixed three bugs Dwight found after handing 9.5 to Jack Danger for streaming.
high confidence · Dwight stated: 'I handed it off to Jack Danger to go stream, and then I found like three bugs I had to fix. So then I fixed those three bugs and called it 9-6' and 'from 9-5 to 9-6 was just, you know, minutes. But I called it the next day.'
Dwight's code team consists of Corey Stup (Louisville, Kentucky), Dean Grover (Colorado), and Mike Kyzivat (Chicago), who have worked together for 5-6+ years across multiple games since Game of Thrones.
high confidence · Dwight named: 'Corey has been my wingman and been with me on almost every single game since Game of Thrones. Sure? So that's six years long before COVID. Dean has been there almost the same amount of time.'
Dwight's son James recently graduated from college and started a new job today after interning at Stern for 4-5 years, during which he wrote code for the Stern sign topper, R2-D2 topper, and Capital Challenge.
high confidence · Dwight announced: 'My one son, James, he was interning for a while, for like four or five years, and then graduated from college just recently and just started a new job today' and confirmed 'James, he interned for like four years. He wrote...the big giant stern sign...He wrote the code for that. Really? Okay. Yeah, and he wrote the topper, R2-D2 topper code.'
Dwight's other son David is beginning to learn programming and has written code for The Mandalorian after contributing to Turtles (Detrino Pizza Party mode).
“I'm not sitting in my basement coding games right now. So it's nice to be in a garage. This is like a vacation.”
Dwight Sullivan@ 0:56 — Humorous characterization of his intensive work-from-home situation during COVID; sets tone for discussion of remote work challenges.
“The current latest and greatest isn't really flippable right now.”
Dwight Sullivan@ 2:09 — Indicates very recent code updates may have introduced bugs or instability; The Mandalorian code continues active development.
“Slack, OBS, and Zoom, I think we will continue to use even after we all move back into the building.”
Dwight Sullivan@ 7:32 — Key signal that COVID-era remote collaboration tools have become permanent at Stern, reshaping internal communication workflows.
“I just copy the file over into Slack he looks at it when he can when he has a free moment, right, and if he wants to watch it five times he can it's so much better than it used to be”
Dwight Sullivan@ 8:22 — Concrete example of how asynchronous communication via Slack improves productivity vs. synchronous in-office interruptions.
“Mark Wiener...even before the governor of Illinois said, hey, everyone's got to go home. He was like, everyone start going home. Everyone start taking your offices to your house and start building offices at home.”
Dwight Sullivan@ 11:18 — Credits Stern's producer Mark Wiener for proactive remote work planning before official lockdown orders; shows industry foresight.
“James, he interned for like four years. He wrote, you know, like the big giant sign, the big giant stern sign...and he wrote the topper, R2-D2 topper code.”
code_update: The Mandalorian code progressed from version 9.5 to 9.6 in approximately one day after Dwight Sullivan identified and fixed three bugs post-handoff to Jack Danger for streaming.
high · Dwight: 'I handed it off to Jack Danger to go stream, and then I found like three bugs I had to fix. So then I fixed those three bugs and called it 9-6' and noted version 9.5 'never went in any games. It just went to Jack Danger.'
personnel_signal: Stern Pinball's code development is highly distributed geographically (Louisville, Colorado, Chicago, Seattle) with permanent remote collaborations via Slack/Zoom rather than traditional in-office structure.
high · Dwight identified team members: Corey Stoop (Louisville), Dean Grover (Colorado), Mike Kizivat (Chicago), Jerry (Seattle); stated 'they're not chained in my basement' and these arrangements predate COVID ('Corey has been my wingman...since Game of Thrones. Sure? So that's six years long before COVID').
technology_signal: Stern Pinball has permanently adopted Slack, Zoom, and OBS as core communication and demonstration tools even after COVID-era remote work ends; cited as productivity improvement over in-office interruptions.
high · Dwight: 'Slack, OBS, and Zoom, I think we will continue to use even after we all move back into the building' and detailed elimination of 45-minute in-building walks for art department feedback via async Slack file sharing.
product_launch: The Mandalorian is shipping in high volume; host noted 'a lot of unboxings going on' and Dwight acknowledged 'it's actually pretty scary how many Mandos we're building and we're making.'
high · Multiple references to high shipment volume and numerous unboxing videos in community; Dwight confirmed strong production without disclosing specific numbers ('I can't really talk about numbers or future, but' [acknowledged strong volume].
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high confidence · Dwight stated: 'My other son, David, is now just beginning to learn how to program and is also doing great. He made the Detrino Pizza Party in Turtles...And now he's been writing things for Mandalorian.'
Stern is considering a flexible hybrid work model post-COVID where programmers like Dwight can work from home during certain development phases and in-office during others (playtesting, physical machine interaction).
medium confidence · Dwight explained: 'We're going to try to only work, even after we go back to work, like whatever the hell that means, I'm only going to go back to work when that makes sense because right now there are phases of the development...that make lots of sense for me to be in my basement and then there's some that makes no sense at all.'
Flip N Out Pinball reports shipping a high volume of Mandalorian machines, describing it as 'pretty scary how many Mandos we're building and we're making.'
high confidence · Host stated: 'I've seen a lot of Flip N Flip n Out Pinball going out. Yeah. A lot of unboxings going on. Yeah, we've made a lot of Mandos. Yeah. Yeah, it's actually pretty scary how many Mandos we're building and we're making.'
Dwight Sullivan@ 21:39 — Reveals nepotism/family involvement in Stern game development; James has contributed significant code to major projects as an intern.
“I told Steve, I said, I want the ball to go into any hole and come out any hole. And he then made that happen.”
Dwight Sullivan@ 28:31 — Design philosophy anecdote showing how mechanical engineering challenges were solved on classic machines; references Steve Ritchie and Carl Biagi.
“It's actually pretty scary how many Mandos we're building and we're making. It's good. Good to hear. That's a good problem.”
Dwight Sullivan@ 10:43 — Indicates The Mandalorian is shipping in high volume; strong market demand signal for the title.
design_philosophy: Star Trek Next Generation's subway routing system was engineered to allow balls to exit from any hole they enter, representing significant mechanical complexity that Dwight Sullivan credits to designer Steve Ritchie and engineer Carl Biagi.
high · Dwight recalled: 'I told Steve, I said, I want the ball to go into any hole and come out any hole. And he then made that happen' and credited 'Carl Biagi was the mechanical engineer, and I think he pulled some magic.'
operational_signal: Stern Pinball is planning selective hybrid work post-COVID, with code development moving between home office and facility based on development phase (remote for solitary coding, in-office for playtesting and machine interaction).
medium · Dwight: 'We're going to try to only work, even after we go back to work, like whatever the hell that means, I'm only going to go back to work when that makes sense because right now there are phases of the development...that make lots of sense for me to be in my basement and then there's some that makes no sense at all.'
personnel_signal: Dwight Sullivan's two sons have contributed code to Stern pinball games; James interned for 4-5 years and wrote topper code for Star Wars and Stern signage; David contributed Detrino Pizza Party mode to Turtles and is writing Mandalorian code.
high · Dwight: 'My one son, James, he was interning for a while, for like four or five years...He wrote...the big giant stern sign...he wrote the topper, R2-D2 topper code' and 'My other son, David, is now just beginning to learn how to program...He made the Detrino Pizza Party in Turtles...And now he's been writing things for Mandalorian.'
market_signal: Community interest in potential future themes includes Harry Potter (frequent mention), Fast & Furious (referenced as upcoming film tie-in), and other pop culture properties.
medium · Host: 'What do you mine was? One of mine would be Harry Potter, right? I think that's everybody's right now' and discussion of Fast and Furious 9 release coinciding with host's anniversary prompted speculation about themed machines.
business_signal: Stern leadership (Mark Wiener, producer) proactively implemented remote work before official COVID-19 lockdowns, enabling seamless transition when mandates took effect.
high · Dwight: 'Mark Wiener...even before the governor of Illinois said, hey, everyone's got to go home. He was like, everyone start going home. Everyone start taking your offices to your house and start building offices at home.'
content_signal: Flip N Out Pinball hosts Monday Night Pinball streams with manufacturer representatives (Dwight Sullivan); serves as platform for game reveals, gameplay commentary, and community engagement.
high · Stream title and format; Dwight noted 'they just keep asking me back' and 'I came over like three months ago,' indicating recurring guest appearances as part of content strategy.
product_strategy: Stern uses iterative versioning with internal testing before release; code 9.5 was deemed test-ready for streamer Jack Danger but version 9.6 (with bug fixes) became shipped version.
high · Dwight clarified: '9-5 to 9-6 was just, you know, minutes. But I called it the next day and I turned the number one notch because 9-5 left the building' and 'but 9-5 never went in any games. It just went to Jack Danger.'