Triple Drain Pinball Podcast Ep 45: Keith Is Here & We Fell Apart

TL;DR

Keith Elwin discusses tournament strategy and Stern's design philosophy on Triple Drain Podcast amid severe technical difficulties.

Summary

Key Claims

• Joel defeated Neil McRae 5-4 in a best-of-nine head-to-head tournament match at Domino Arcade in London, winning final game on Jurassic Park with 202 million points

  high confidence · Joel provides detailed account of the match with specific game selections (Monster Bash, TMNT, Deadpool, Jurassic Park) and final score confirmation

• Stern does not design games with tournament play as primary consideration; games are designed for mass appeal with secondary tournament accommodations

  high confidence · Keith Elwin states directly: 'when we're designing games, we don't think about tournaments at all' and emphasizes modern pinball as 'storytelling era'

• Younger generation tournament players (Escher, Z-Max, Jared August) dominate modern Stern games, making it strategically important to avoid Stern games in head-to-head matchups

  high confidence · Multiple speakers reference younger players crushing modern Sterns, Travis mentions this as tournament observation

• Single-tilt-warning tournament setup narrows skill gap more effectively than physical adjustments like removing rubbers or modifying pitch

  high confidence · Keith describes Logan's monthly tournament format using one tilt warning as 'actually brilliant' and effective at gap-narrowing

• Overly aggressive tournament setups (excessive shot multiplication, removal of all rubber posts) actually make games easier for novice players and hurt skill discrimination

  high confidence · Keith and Tom both reference how excessive adjustments slow game flow and prevent proper progression mechanics

• Stern's new programmer Elizabeth Gieske comes from District 82 tournament scene and explicitly focuses team on designing for casual players, not tournament experts

  high confidence · Keith describes onboarding conversation: 'we're not designing this game for us...every day we bounce rule ideas off each other'

• Venom's XP/leveling system is performing well on location operators and will influence Stern's future persistent-data design philosophy

  medium confidence · Joel mentions hearing Venom is doing well on location; Keith indicates Stern is planning similar systems for future games

Notable Quotes

• “I've been waiting for this my whole life”

  Keith Elwin @ early intro — Sets enthusiastic tone for his guest appearance; acknowledged as major get for the podcast

• “Travis is in his new house in his basement, so the chances of his audio and video working this entire episode are very, very small. It's zero.”

  Joel (host) @ intro segment — Prophetic joke that accurately predicts recurring technical failures throughout episode

• “I ran out of strengths. Yeah.”

  Joel @ tournament strategy discussion — Key insight about tournament game-picking strategy: must shift from strength-based to opponent-avoidance approach when facing skilled players

• “When we're designing games, we don't think about tournaments at all...modern pinball has become this storytelling era with long ball times. And of course with that comes, well, you can't put too many dangerous shots in there.”

  Keith Elwin @ design philosophy discussion — Core statement about Stern's design approach; directly contradicts community narrative that Stern caters to tournament elite

• “You're actually hurting the more novice player...if you really want to screw up someone like Escher, put him on a flat pitch game where it's really floaty.”

  Keith Elwin @ difficulty setup discussion — Reveals counterintuitive tournament setup principle: overly brutal setups help experts more than hurt them

• “If I can't explain what to do in like 10 words or less, I don't even know where to start because I know they're going to turn off.”

  Joel @ accessibility discussion — Articulates core design principle about game communication and casual player onboarding

• “We're not designing this game for us. We have to design a game everyone's going to like.”

  Keith Elwin (describing Elizabeth Gieske onboarding) @ design team discussion — Direct statement about Stern's design priority hierarchy; casual audience first, tournament considerations secondary

Entities

Signals

• ~

  sentiment_shift: Community narrative claims Stern designs exclusively for tournament elite; Keith and team directly contradict this, stating casual players are primary design focus

  high · Joel mentions social media claims 'Stern's only hiring tournament players' and 'making games for themselves and their friends'; Keith directly refutes: we design for everyone

• ?

  community_signal: Stern actively monitors tournament streams and player behavior to identify design issues and balance problems in real-time

  high · Joel: 'when you release a game you're watching streams like a hawk...you're trying to see how all these different people play'

• ?

  competitive_signal: Younger elite players (Escher, Z-Max, Jared August) dominate modern Stern games; this creates strategic avoidance pattern in head-to-head tournaments

  high · Travis notes younger generation crushes modern Sterns; Joel states avoiding modern Stern machines strategically important when facing elite players

• ?

  competitive_signal: Keith Elwin at Stern with increased in-office presence (2-3 days/week); suggests expanded design responsibilities or portfolio management for multiple title development

  medium · Keith: 'we just moved into the building, getting my office set up...I've been going in two, three times a week. So that's getting busy'

• ?

  design_philosophy: Overly aggressive tournament setups (excessive shot multiplication, rubber removal, pitch changes) paradoxically make games easier for novice players and reduce skill discrimination