DPP #250 "Calm Down Everybody!"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·22m 37s·analyzed·Jul 31, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (batch) · $0.022

TL;DR

Don argues community outrage over Bon Jovi reveal stems from unmet expectations, not bad game design.

Summary

Don addresses community backlash following the reveal of Barrels of Fun's Bon Jovi pinball machine, arguing that gamer expectations ("Anticipation Demons") shaped by months of speculation collided with reality, causing overreaction. He contextualizes the vitriol as predictable disappointment (wanting SpongeBob/Big Trouble in Little China instead), defends leaking pre-release photos as harmless, expresses frustration with the backglass artwork and lack of backbox screen, yet ultimately predicts the game will sell well and urges the community to calm down and support all manufacturers.

Key Claims

Only 4 people on Pinside have registered owning Bon Jovi, contradicting claims of 650+ sales
medium confidence · Don citing Pinside registry data; speculates 600 people may be hiding ownership due to shame
Barrels of Fun did not include a backbox screen due to space constraints and gameplay concerns
medium confidence · Don reporting what he heard after release; argues this was wrong decision
Pre-release Bon Jovi photos leaked ~2 hours before official reveal
high confidence · Don admits to sharing them; received angry texts from David Van Ness (Barrels of Fun owner) afterward
Dungeon Crawler Carl P3 release drove significant new interest in Multimorphic platform
medium confidence · Don anecdote: coworker unfamiliar with pinball now interested in DCC; speculation P3 sales could spike
Don's A Pinball Podcast (patreon feed) just exceeded 100 paid members
high confidence · Don's direct statement about membership milestone
Barrels of Fun is located in Houston, Texas (not "the Sunshine State")
high confidence · Don's opening; he self-corrects, joking he misidentified location
Bon Jovi backglass artwork resembles a dusty vintage postcard from a gift shop
low confidence · Don's subjective aesthetic criticism; compares to family vacation Stuckey's postcard
Barrels of Fun spent 18-24 months developing Bon Jovi
medium confidence · Don's estimate; uncertain of exact timeframe

Notable Quotes

“Everybody needs to calm down. What in the hell is going on this week in pinball?”
Don @ Opening — Establishes episode thesis and tone; plea for community de-escalation
“I think I know what's going on. And I think it is the Anticipation Demons that are jumping up right now and like they're suffering a brutal death and that's resulting in this craziness.”
Don @ ~2:00 — Core framework for understanding community backlash; frames disappointment as psychological phenomenon rooted in unmet expectations
“This is now a reality. And we're like moment one in learning that. And we have to react. And we have to adjust.”
Don @ ~4:00 — Explains why reveal shock manifests as vitriol; community must process unexpected reality
“Looking at this layout, I'm warming up to it. In my mind, this Bon Jovi machine... I knew it was probably reality, and I'd come around to it.”
Don @ ~12:00 — Shows host's own emotional arc: initial disappointment → gradual acceptance after re-evaluation
“I wish it had a screen in the back panel, man... A cityscape sculpt would have been cool. Modders can bring that later.”
Don @ ~18:00 — Specific constructive criticism; acknowledges Barrels of Fun's design choices but proposes alternatives
“If you go into the Pinside forums, you can look up games right on Pinside... for only four people to have done that... I don't want to harp or make Barrels of Fun feel bad.”
Don @ ~25:00 — Data-driven rebuttal to hype claims; shows tempering of vitriol with compassion
“I want to see a maniacal owner and designer out there viciously defending their game... David Fix may have been misdirected in his love for Barry O's Barbecue Challenge, but dang it if he wasn't committed.”
Don @ ~36:00 — Contrasts desired passion/conviction in marketing vs. perceived tepidness of Barrels of Fun's reveal strategy

Entities

Donperson[name withheld pending review]personBarrels of FuncompanyBon JovigameDungeon Crawler CarlgameEnder's Gamegame

Signals

~
sentiment_shift: Bon Jovi reveal generated unprecedented vitriol in pinball community: AI-generated artwork, meme mockery, YouTube comment section closure, angry social media posts, and interpersonal tension. Don characterizes it as worst he's witnessed.
high · YouTube disabled comments; Facebook posts described as 'brutal'; AI themes and alternate backglasses created by community; Don received angry texts from Barrels of Fun founder
?
rumor_hype: Community claiming 650 Bon Jovi units sold; Don refutes using Pinside data (only 4 registered owners) and expresses skepticism of inflated numbers
medium · Don: 'I'm hearing... that 650 of these Bon Jovis have sold. I don't know that that's the case.' Pinside registry shows only 4 owners; Don notes people typically advertise purchases
?
product_concern: Backglass artwork receives harsh criticism for dated aesthetic (resembles dusty gift shop postcard), perceived as incongruous with 1980s rock theme; appears older Bon Jovi beside younger version; inexplicable musical notes and roses
high · Don: 'looks like two of the Golden Girls are on the back glass'; 'Evening at the Pops Bon Jovi' vs. desired 'dirty Bon Jovi' with denim/cigarettes aesthetic; Don speculates this was from licensor style guide constraints
?
product_concern: Bon Jovi lacks backbox screen, departure from Barrels of Fun's hallmark screen implementation in previous games (Labyrinth, Dune, Winchester Mystery House); Don argues screen would enhance crowd-surfing ramp mechanic and ballad sequences
high · Don: 'I just wish it had a screen in the back panel, man... I'm crying foul on that, sir'; Barrels of Fun cited space/obscuring concerns; Don proposes POV crowd surfing and spotlight animations as missed opportunities

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.015

0:00

Everybody needs to calm down. What in the hell is going on this week in pinball? We got a couple of pinball releases, we got some surprise dumps and things, and everybody is losing their collective's frickin' minds. We're gonna talk about it. Brother, oh my goodness gracious, gravy me. I'm sitting here trying to come off the high of the launch of Barrels of Fun's game on the launch of Dungeon Crawler Carl on the reveal of Ender's game. And then, you know, we got Drunkenate is going crazy. Retro Ralph's gloves are subject to ridicule. People are just like tearing up Barrels of Fun with memes online like savagely. Like what's going on? I was supposed to have the bad boy pinball moment where I would rib Jerry for putting a screen in a pinball machine. That was as bad as it's getting. But now people are going for blood. They're making AI themes and memes and alternate backglasses that are crazy. And yes, I participated in that too because it was fun. It was fun for a little bit. And I think I know why. I think I know what's going on. And I think it is the Antisappointment Demons that are jumping up right now and like they're suffering a brutal death and that's resulting in this craziness that's happening. And here's what I mean by that, okay? We're anticipating games, right? If you're not fortunate enough to be in on a game early with early access and NDA and all this stuff and yes, there's this confirmation of what the theme is. You can't talk about it for a while until the release is done. You're under NDA and all that. Like, you know what's coming. You know what's coming. But for everybody else, especially this week, let's take Bon Jovi, for instance. We knew nothing about this Bon Jovi pinball machine other than it was a rumor and we were doing that thing where it's a theme we don't want. So we're thinking, well, it's just got to be a code name, right? Surely no one's unintelligent enough to release that theme now. Like, don't they want sales? And then it happens and then everything collapses. And it's like, this is now a reality. And we're like moment one in learning that. And we have to react. We have to adjust. And now the people over there at Barrels of Fun, the fine individuals that are over there running that company in Houston, the Sunshine State, I think is what you call it. You know, like like they've known about this for years, right? So like this is their baby. They saw it from inception. They know what was planned to go in there, what was planned to not, what worked, what didn't. And they decided through probably no fault of their own, trying to make good decisions, that this is where they came from. And like, they're happy. They're like, we're finally going to reveal this to the people. They're going to love it as much as we do because they know it on an intimate level, right? I don't know anything at all at the time of the reveal, right? I know that I want SpongeBob. I want Big Trouble in Little China. I want Home Alone. I want Minions. I want the zaniness that I've seen from Barrels of Fun. I'm like protracting in my head trying to manifest the reality that I want to live in. And the moment that Bon Jovi is revealed with that backlash, you know, all of my anticipation collapses, right? So this rage demon that is not seeing what was in his head is like popping off. No, listen, I'm in a dungeon crawler car, right? I'm actually reading the book. I chose that because I know the audio book is great and I want to do it at some point. But like I wanted the challenge and I just wanted to go through the motions of actually reading a book and using my imagination, right? So I have all of my own voices for all these characters that I just created reading from the written page. When I heard the callouts in Dungeon Crawler Carl, like it was discordant from what's in my brain. And it was a little bit like, really? Really? The announcer sounds like Olaf? Like what's going on? So it took me a while to adjust to that. Similarly, you know, I'm picturing, you know, a SpongeBob SquarePants game with the barrels of front screen, the playfield screen back there showing Bikini Bottom in the distance and little jellyfish floating by and stuff. And like, that's what my anticipation rage demon was expecting. And so when Bon Jovi got released, even if the game is great and fun to play and quirky and limited to only 700, it's going to be super awesome. Like it wasn't what was in my head. So then there's that discordance, right? And we react like rage beasts because when it comes down to it, this isn't like the biggest deal in the world. We all have professional lives, personal lives with real and personal trauma and life and death situations and things like those are real things to get upset about, to get emotional about and everything. This is hobby and sometimes it's fun as a release to just let go.

4:34

We're pining up for this thing. We have it built up in our heads and then boom, this is what it is. Now, in the case of Bon Jovi, that was a rough transition because what I had in my mind wasn't as good as what I saw in the release or at least the pre-release when the photos were all going around, which I'm sorry. You know, if I'm seeing photos two hours before release, everybody's seeing them. And so we can allow Kaneda to spoil it every time. Or when they come across my desk and I have a fiduciary responsibility to Patreon members, I'm going to show them, man, because people are paying for the privilege of seeing things when I see them. And I'm always looking, right? So they're paying me to be always looking so they don't have to, is how I look at it. And you know at the moment of release those pictures become irrelevant Who took them is irrelevant Who leaked them is irrelevant This wasn something that you know ruined a licensor relationship by releasing two months earlier or anything This is like two hours Okay And I just happened to be right place right time I was at home hanging drywall I look at my phone I like look at all these photos I getting from like all over the place Let me just go ahead I share them out there It not going to matter in 120 minutes or whatever Boy was I wrong there Jeez like Canada does this with reckless abandon and nobody really gives a crap at all And then, you know, I try to indulge it a bit and just, you know, helping helping out my homies that pay me for the response. Like I have a responsibility to these people. You know, they give me their five bucks. I got to give them something. I feel like it. Happy to do it. Happy to do it. I'm already doing this anyway. And then I start getting angry text messages. We're good. Me and David Van Es, man, we're tight. We're homies. Emotions rage. There's a lot of stress on the line when it comes to releasing a new game. I know it can come out in weird ways. It can manifest in strange ways. But I talked to him throughout the day. I think we got to a good spot. We're going to hang out this weekend at Southern Fried Gaming Expo. Everything's going to be fine, man. Everything's going to be fine. Now, you know, Elton John released and it wasn't a theme anybody wanted. And then I played the game and I'm like, damn it, JJP, Jersey Jack Pinball, you made me want an Elton John machine because this game is awesome. Right. And it was and it was. I didn't end up going through with it, but only because I can't buy every single game if I was in a different tax bracket would be no problem. Right, right. But I lusted after it. I wanted it. It was cool. I would pursue it online, pursue it in the environments at Ethereum, go play it. Like it was fun to do that. I love that. I love that. There's no reason to believe that Bon Jovi won't be exactly the same. Looking at this layout, I'm warming up to it. In my mind, this Bon Jovi machine. And can I just say for a moment that the theme of Bon Jovi was not a killer for me? I knew it was probably reality, and I'd come around to it. Like I said, I was hanging drywall in my hot garage for three days. I was framing, concrete nails are going in, I'm putting up sheetrock, and I'm listening to just whatever, songs, music, I listen to Ozzy Osbourne's playlist on YouTube music, fantastic, can't wait for that game. And I started playing some Bon Jovi. And you know what? It's My Life is grating on me and I don't like it. But the 80s stuff has a certain appeal and charm, right? This is denim jackets and, you know, like your grandma when she was 26, right? Come on over here, Shug. I got my Bon Jovi shirt on. Like, like, like this potential, right? If that's what we're seeing. So I'm seeing like a grimy 1980s pin that's been, you know, drug through from antiquity into the present, modernized a bit with quality of life improvements and screens and things, but still gives me that like 1980s gutter skid row aesthetic. Like that's what I wanted, right? You know, the dude with the wolf hair and the biker chick with like the cutoff crop top with Bon Jovi and it's all faded and like got cigarette burns in it. Like, that's what I wanted in my head. That's what I wanted. And then what I saw was, of course, the back glass, the back glass that looks like a postcard from a gift shop on your on your family's visit to the Grand Canyon when you stopped at Stucky's. And you're like, look at this. It's 90 cents. Should we get like it's dusty. You found it on the on the floor underneath the the rack of boiled peanuts or something, you know, like, oh, man, this thing must have fell under there 20 years ago. And it was like, I couldn't get excited about that, you know? Looking at it at first, if you squint your eyes, it looks like two of the Golden Girls are on the back glass. Like, why is it an old Bon Jovi next to a younger Bon Jovi? It's just strange. Why the music notes? Why the roses? Weird, man. And so I don't know if that's coming from the style guide and that's what they were limited to. I'm waiting to hear about that. But definitely not a good first impression, especially not with what I was planning on getting. But I'm not going out there for vitriol, right? I don't want barrels of fun to go out of business. I enjoy quirky titles that are made in limited numbers with rad cows and such. And so I have a responsibility or a duty, a want, a desire, an alignment of goals in the direction of Barrels of Fun. I think Barrels of Fun's goals and my goals are both aligned. When we work together, we're both winning. They make machines that are quirky and fun that I like. I get to buy machines that are quirky and fun and I get to like. And the better they do, the more likely they're around to do more of that. And I think Bon Jovi actually is going to be very fun to shoot. I just wish it had a screen in the back panel, man. Honestly, a cityscape sculpt would have been cool. Modders can bring that later. But I'm hearing, and this was addressed now that I've been able to sort through the content, that it wasn't put in there because it kind of interfered with the area back there. It was obscuring some stuff or there was no room for a screen. Or wouldn't really add to the gameplay. And I'm crying foul on that, sir. There is a crowd surfing ramp underneath that left flipper in the left out lane, right? You mean to tell me that hitting that crowd surfing ramp and triggering that gate and then having like a POV show up on that screen in the back of the play field? You're going to kick the ball in with speed. And so then you can look back and like see somebody soaring out into a crowd of fans right there. You're telling me that wouldn't be a cool moment? But you're telling me like as you're playing modes and scoring hits and is like the drums are crescendoing and the guitars are just jamming, you know, seeing like spotlights and things populate across the screen. You're telling me that's not going to be fun or during a ballad, you know, when the lights are all getting moody, you could have a bunch of lighters there in the back just for ambience. You're telling me like that's not going to add to the gameplay. And, you know, it's been a hallmark of barrels of fun games this whole time. So in my head my anticipation demon had that in mind Now when this game came out and it wasn exactly what it was in my mind eye you know we had to kill the demon and it came out in different ways And maybe that due to some underlying anxiety that I have right Because these things are expensive. You want to, you know, if you're going to purchase a game, you want to make sure it's one that you're really, really going to like. And if you want to purchase one, you got to do it early. So you're early in the build cycle because the boutique companies can take a year to make a game. And you don't want to like finally, you know, sleep on it, take a look at it, go play it, then buy it. And guess what? Now you're waiting a year to get it. You know, kind of like where I'm at in my Winchester build, not asking for any special build, jump the line or whatever. Make my game when you make my game. Totally fine. I understand what I'm getting into. But you know what I mean? You know what I mean? It does cause some panic and anxiety. And some people deal with it better than others. And so it's probably been coming out like that. And I don't think that I am alone in that because it's brutal out there on the Facebook posts, on the videos. They had to shut off the comments on the YouTube videos, which is something like I don't think I would ever do just from an integrity standpoint. Like if there is criticism coming, I deserve to hear it. I can learn something from it. I might not like it, but I can learn something. Why are these people so upset and angry?

12:28

You know, and then I'm hearing things floating around that 650 of these Bon Jovis have sold. I don't know that that's the case. If you go into the Pinside forums, you can look up games right on Pinside. You can look up the owners and you'll have people that have posted a game that they have in their collection, a game that they have in their want list, and games that are available on location. And looking at that, I mean, there's only four people that are registered on Pinside that have put Bon Jovi in their game room. And, you know, when you purchase a game, you give that deposit, you're excited, like you're in, you're on the team, like you got it. Like what you want to do is then go around and tell the world, like, I got this game, it's super awesome. And so for only four people to have done that, so unless it is like 600 people, right, with a secret shame that don't want to share that, like, I'm just not seeing it. You know, I don't want to harp or make Barrels of Fun, like, feel bad about anything. And I do agree with some statements of Kaneda. Sober Kaneda said earlier today on his free show that this game has a good potential of selling out. And I agree with what he was saying, that this game is quirky and unusual, and I myself am quirky and unusual. But like it's fun to have a lineup that's not just every Stern that every other friend you have has, right? So like, you know, when Dr. Tone came over to my house and he had an ABBA, like, yeah, ABBA's not a great game. It's not in the top 10, top 100, or probably top 500 on Pinside. But you know what? It was a hell of a lot of fun to play. It's a rare game. It's hard to find one. And so it's good to get some time on it just because it's quirky and unusual. So there's room for that, all right? Now, I don't think, and I've said this already, that Bon Jovi itself is like a dead theme. I kind of was I warmed up to it, right? It wasn't my first choice. It was it was a bit of a head scratcher. It's been going around a lot. Head scratcher. But like I warmed up to it and listening to the music. I'm like, I think I can have fun with this game. You can have fun with an Elton John. And I'm not listening to Elton John playlist constantly. But the dude's got some bangers. And I think Bon Jovi actually musically for me is better than Elton John. Now, it's still not Twisted or Insane Clown Posse, but what are you going to do? What are you going to do? But game looks fun. Wish it had a screen. Wish them well. I think it'd be fun in a quirky collection. I don't think that they deserve quite as much vitriol, although I do think his constructive criticism is due. And I think this is good for them to hear it. I don't know how you proceed down a project that took 18 months to 24 months. And then the first thing you want out is that back glass when there's just jump in AI and make Bon Jovi pinball machines. And you get like hair metal Bon Jovi with the big logo from the 80s and like, you know, 80s girls in workout gear. And it's like, that's what I want, man. I want the 80s cheese. That's what I don't want. I don't want like evening at the pops Bon Jovi. Right. Like, hey, guys, we're going to be very, very stiff upper lip here. We're going to have, you know, caviar and things and watch some some vintage Bon Jovi and an acoustic set. Like, I don't want that. I want like I want like dirty Bon Jovi. Right. Slippery one wet. Like, let's go, right? Like, the guy that my aunt dated back in the day in L.A. Like, come on, that's what I want, man. I want cigarettes and bourbon scent, you know? Like, bring that. So, God, man. And then it hasn't stopped. It hasn't stopped with jokes. Dungeon Crawler Carl stole the week, man. I don't think anybody's really saying anything bad about that. I am seeing people say that they did get a Dungeon Crawler Carl, so I think there's going to be new P3 sales. They might have sold 650 Dungeon Crawler Carl's, for all I know. Probably they sold four Enders games, but I think 600 Dungeon Crawler Carl's can actually happen. So way to go, Jerry. Thanks for picking this theme. We've been screaming everybody to grab it since we found out about it. And I'm excited. I mentioned today, I made some kind of quipped about Dungeon Crawler Carl or something. Not a goddammit donut, but something else. And this lady at work turned around and she's like, do you read Dungeon Crawler Carl? Are you into that? Me and my other friend here are super into it. And I'm like, well, guess what? This week, a pinball machine was released for Dungeon Crawler Carl. She's like, I'm on book three. What the hell's a pinball machine? And then I showed her and I'm like, oh, there's Princess Donut. You know, there's Mongo the Raptor Steed or whatever. Like there's Dirty Shirley. There's the call outs and things because they're listening to the audio books. Like they're super enthusiastic about it. I'm like, hey, guess what? I think one of them's coming to town here to my own arcade. And they like we going to come over and play it We super excited man People like she went from not knowing what a pinball machine was not knowing it Multimorphic exists to like they making you know the game of the season and it coming out it coming here And like that awesome Right So I think P3 has escaped a lot of the vitriol Thank God man Thank God But like I said before, I do think the fact that we do give them feedback, even if they don't seem receptive to it, does help because their games have incorporated some of these ideas as we've been going forward. And again, like we all have the same alignment of goals, right? If Multimorphic's doing well, it's because they're making innovative games that people want and they're selling them. If Barrels of Fun is doing well, it's because they're doing the same thing. They're making innovative things that not everybody else is doing. They're doing it in a quality manner and getting it out. And then I'm winning because I get to buy these things and have them at home and have a blasty blast and have friends come over and new people that have, that didn't even know what a pinball machine is. Now I want to come over for a potluck and have a party. Like this is fun, man. This is part of the fun. This is what we're doing. So this is what I do all day. I search out the rumors. I sniff them out. I come up with ideas. I try to seed them like I'm seeding clouds for weather, you know, because I want to see these things manifest in reality. It makes things more fun for me. And I know it makes things fun for others because I've heard the feedback. You know, it sounds like I may have been a little what's the word strident lately, but like I'm getting emails in my inbox like Don, like I think you're right on the money with this. I feel the same way. I just don't have a way to put it out there like you do. So, like, thank you for that. You know, donspinballpodcast.gmail.com. Get right at me. Get on the Discord. Get on the Patreon chat. Get on the Patreon posts. Comment on the live streams. I'm doing more of those on Patreon now. I've seen the Patreon membership grow. We just eclipsed 100 paid members on Patreon for Don's Pinball Podcast. Incredible, man. Incredible. My virtual tip jar that I put out there, like I'm feeding this baby now. Like when I have a thought in my head, I'm not just going to make a little post about it. I'll go live and we'll talk and we'll have a dialogue and you'll give me information and I'll give you information and we'll build this up, man. I've seen the future, particularly when it comes to Spooky Pinball, and the future is in good hands, man. The games that are in development, like you cannot compete in this market as crowded as it is, as expensive as it is. That was as expensive as it is without really bringing the heat. And man, the kitchen is on fire over there in Benton. And it's just getting better. And just to have a small little hand in some of that is quite rewarding. But I don't hold any animosity. I don't want a company to fail just so another one can succeed. There's room for all of us. We can all win. As Steve Martin said, it's not that crowded of a market. There's room for you. Come join us. Come up on stage. We'll make it work. And, you know, ultimately, the more companies that are out there competing and raising the game and raising the bar and influencing each other, the more the players win, too, because we have cool games to play. We have an industry that's thriving and not dying. I love that. Only the strongest things will get the strongest sales. Like, every game should be launched like that. And I really wish that Bon Jovi had a better reveal. And I don't think it was photos coming out two hours early that hampered the reveal. I think it was the game aesthetically that was put out there was what harmed the reveal. I want to see a maniacal owner and designer out there viciously defending their game and throwing it out there. You know, David Fix may have been misdirected in his love for Berrios Barbecue Challenge, but dang it if he wasn't committed. He was out there in a barbecue apron playing that game with people, bringing people over. He was slanging it on the show floor at IAPA, a show where pinball is like a speck of dust on the flea of a rabid dog. And he's out there like bringing people over, lifting the hood on Galactic Tank Force, lifting the hood on Berio's Barbecue Challenge, going over with Polycates and selling to people that own 500 Verbos, right? Like the dude's out there hustling, believes in his product. The product needed some work. A little bit of delusion may have been there, but like he's out there. That's the passion that I want to see. So can we all please, please just calm down. Please just calm down. Take a moment, though. And Kaneda is in rare form tonight on Facebook in like a 12 minute live stream that is probably going to get deleted as soon as he wakes up or as soon as Brenda can rest the controls away from his phone. But geez, man, like we've hit a pinnacle now this week. It's absolutely insane, guys. Be cool. We're going to Southern Fright Gaming Expo tomorrow. We're going to play Bon Jovi. We don't need animosity at shows with each other throwing daggers at each other. We should throw daggers at bad ideas so only the good ones survive. Can we do that? I don't know. Don out.