The Goonies Pinball…What Might Have Been

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Mar 23, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Deeproot Pinball bankruptcy auction reveals unreleased Goonies and Who pinball prototypes.

Summary

Discovery of whitewood prototypes for unreleased Deeproot Pinball games at a bankruptcy auction reveals that Robert Mueller's troubled company was working on The Goonies and The Who pinball machines, though licensing was likely never secured. High-quality auction walkthrough photos show detailed playfield designs, including one with Food Truck artwork on the head, along with design notes and blueprints.

Key Claims

Deeproot Pinball had whitewood designs for The Goonies and The Who pinball machines in development
high confidence · Photos from bankruptcy auction walkthrough posted on Pinside showing clear whitewood designs for both games
Deeproot probably never secured licenses for The Goonies or The Who
medium confidence · Author speculation based on Robert Mueller's company management reputation: 'Knowing what a mess Robert Mueller's company was, Deeproot probably never secured the license for either them'
One of the games (likely Goonies) was to have Food Truck artwork on the head
high confidence · Visible in auction photos described as 'The Goonies playfield with Food Truck art laid out on the head'
Design notes and blueprints were present with the prototype machines
high confidence · Photos show 'notes and a blueprint' alongside the Food Truck game prototype
Auctioneers are destroying Deeproot's hard drives and computer data
high confidence · Direct observation: 'the auctioneers seem to be destroying the hard drives for all of Deeproot's computers and throwing them out'

Notable Quotes

“Knowing what a mess Robert Mueller's company was, Deeproot probably never secured the license for either them”
Author (Knapp Arcade) — Directly references Robert Mueller's poor management reputation and suggests unlicensed development was characteristic of Deeproot
“Alas, even if someone wanted to salvage these games, the auctioneers seem to be destroying the hard drives for all of Deeproot's computers and throwing them out”
Author (Knapp Arcade) — Laments loss of design data and technical documentation from the failed company

Entities

Deeproot PinballcompanyRobert MuellerpersonThe GooniesgameThe WhogameFood TruckgameGladiatorgame Pinsideorganization

Signals

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business_signal: Deeproot Pinball bankruptcy proceeding with assets liquidated; whitewoods and design documentation for unreleased games recovered at auction
high · Bankruptcy auction walkthrough with photos showing incomplete prototypes and design notes; auctioneers destroying computer hard drives
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design_philosophy: Unreleased Goonies prototype shows Food Truck artwork theme rather than expected Goonies movie aesthetic; design direction unclear
medium · Photos show 'The Goonies playfield with Food Truck art laid out on the head'—unclear if Food Truck is separate game or Goonies thematic element
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leak_detection: Unreleased Deeproot game designs (Goonies, The Who prototypes) publicly revealed through bankruptcy auction photos on Pinside forum
high · High-quality photos from auction walkthrough showing detailed whitewoods and design blueprints now public via community sharing
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licensing_signal: Deeproot Pinball likely never secured licenses for The Goonies and The Who IP before bankruptcy, suggesting unlicensed development phase
medium · Author's educated speculation: 'Knowing what a mess Robert Mueller's company was, Deeproot probably never secured the license for either them'

Topics

Deeproot Pinball bankruptcy and asset liquidationprimaryUnreleased pinball game designs and prototypesprimaryIP licensing challenges in pinball developmentsecondaryLoss of design documentation and technical datasecondaryPinball industry manufacturing mismanagementsecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.65)— Tone is melancholic and frustrated—discovery of unreleased designs is interesting but bittersweet given they'll never be completed, licenses were likely never secured, and valuable technical data is being destroyed

Transcript

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There was a location walkthrough for the Deeproot Pinball bankruptcy auction this afternoon that a number of people shared pictures from on Pinside. These pics are much better quality than the ones that were used for the auction lots. In them one can clearly make out what are the whitewood designed for two games that Deeproot was rumored to be working on, The Goonies and The Who. Knowing what a mess Robert Mueller’s company was, Deeproot probably never secured the license for either them, but it’s still interesting to see what the pinball machines for them might have been like. Here’s The Goonies playfield with Food Truck art laid out on the head… Here’s The Who… Here’s a better look at what likely would have been Food Truck, with notes and a blueprint… Here’s a look at the Gladiator pin with a white board containing notes… Alas, even if someone wanted to salvage these games, the auctioneers seem to be destroying the hard drives for all of Deeproot’s computers and throwing them out…