Episode 260: Raymond Davidson, Day One at Stern

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·25m 27s·analyzed·May 19, 2020

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

World #1 pinball player Raymond Davidson hired by Stern as software engineer

Summary

Raymond Davidson, the #1 ranked competitive pinball player in the world (IFPA), joins Pinball Profile to discuss his newly announced hiring as a software support engineer at Stern Pinball, effective May 18th. Davidson discusses his recruitment by Tim Sexton, the interview process, his move from Seattle to Chicago, his approach to game design and rule complexity, and his transition from professional competitor to industry insider while maintaining his streaming and podcast commitments.

Key Claims

Raymond Davidson is the #1 ranked pinball player in the world (IFPA ranking)
high confidence · Jeff Teolis opens: 'The number one player in the world is now an employee of Stern Pinball'; references Davidson's 'indefinite number one' IFPA status
Tim Sexton approached Davidson about joining Stern several years ago, then followed up again after Davidson declined initially due to recent home purchase
high confidence · Raymond describes initial recruitment: 'Tim Sexton...he was like, hey, we're hiring right now' and 'a year later on the dot, he's like, hey, so any more thinking about coming to Stern?'
Davidson's start date was originally planned for April 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19, and he finally drove cross-country to start on May 18th
high confidence · Raymond: 'This was back in early March...And then the covid happened...And so we kept pushing back the start date...And now I'm here on my first day, May 18th'
Davidson completed a whiteboard coding interview during his in-person visit to Stern
high confidence · Raymond: 'I had to do actually a coding interview on the whiteboard when I first got there, which I was not really expecting'
Davidson's position is 'software support engineer' focused on helping with features, light shows, and smaller design roles initially
high confidence · Raymond: 'I got hired on as a software support engineer, and so I'll be helping people out, filling in features, doing light shows'
Stern now has multiple former/current top pinball players on staff: Keith Elwin, Zach Sharp, Lyman Sheets, Tim Sexton, and now Raymond Davidson
high confidence · Jeff: 'this is yet another current or former number one player now at Stern Pinball. You think of Keith Elwin. You think of Zach Sharp. Lyman Sheets as well'
Davidson rented out all his pinball machines to people in the Seattle area rather than bringing them to Chicago
high confidence · Raymond: 'all my pins are now being rented out to various people around the Seattle area'

Notable Quotes

“The number one player in the world is now an employee of Stern Pinball, and he joins us right now. Raymond Davidson.”
Jeff Teolis @ Opening — Establishes the major news of the episode and Davidson's status as world's top player
“I was listening to that in the car on the drive over here. And I heard that and I chuckled a little bit because I was like, I know what he's talking about.”
Raymond Davidson @ ~5:20 — Davidson's reaction to Gomez's hint about new hires in the previous episode
“I just drove across the country. We're going. And now I'm here on my first day, May 18th.”
Raymond Davidson @ ~10:30 — Confirms his actual start date after COVID delays
“I've always been a fan of the layered approach...you can kind of get to all the features. But then once you peel back that layer, there's another layer lying.”
Raymond Davidson @ ~28:00 — Articulates Davidson's design philosophy on game complexity, citing Simpsons and Lord of the Rings as examples
“I really learn best when I'm sort of discovering them on my own or as the situation arises...I like find out about a feature.”
Raymond Davidson @ ~35:00 — Explains why it takes him longer to learn game rules despite being world #1 player
“That would backfire. If anything, I'll get better and win even more.”
Raymond Davidson @ ~58:00 — Humorous response to the joke that Stern hired him to stop giving away machines
“I didn't even think I was going to do it until I was like standing in line for lunch at a pizza restaurant or something. And I was like, yeah, all right, I'll book a flight for tomorrow.”
Raymond Davidson @ ~62:00 — Shows Davidson's spontaneous decision-making, illustrating his personality

Entities

Raymond DavidsonpersonStern PinballcompanyJeff Teolisperson George Gomezperson Tim Sextonperson Keith ElwinpersonZach SharppersonLyman Sheetsperson

Signals

?
business_signal: Stern Pinball continuing to hire top competitive talent; now has five world-class players on staff (Elwin, Sharp, Sheets, Sexton, Davidson)
high · Jeff lists: 'Keith Elwin...Zach Sharp. Lyman Sheets as well. Boy, you talked about Tim Sexton. When he's now fifth on the depth chart for best players at Stern'
?
community_signal: Stern offering paid trips and hotel accommodations to recruit top talent; conducting technical interviews; providing comprehensive onboarding
high · Davidson: 'they put me up in a nice hotel downtown...I had to do actually a coding interview on the whiteboard when I first got there...they were like, oh, so we got you booked on a flight out here'
?
competitive_signal: Top competitive players like Davidson rely on discovering rules through play rather than reading documentation; learn through discovery and asking questions
medium · Davidson: 'I really learn best when I'm sort of discovering them on my own...I like find out about a feature...I'll definitely look at the readmes...But there's only so much in that readme'
?
design_philosophy: Davidson advocates for 'layered approach' to game design with accessible entry points and progressive complexity, citing Simpsons Pinball Party and Lord of the Rings as exemplars
high · Davidson: 'I've always been a fan of the layered approach...everything's opened up at the beginning...then once you peel back that layer, there's another layer lying'
$
market_signal: During COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, home pinball machine rental demand increased significantly, enabling Davidson to monetize his collection rather than relocate machines

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.076

0:00

it's time now for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teal so you can find everything on pinballprofile.com your new rss feed all past programs too are going to be on there very very soon don't forget to check us out on instagram and twitter at pinball profile you can email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. Big news in pinball. This is actually big anytime. Forget COVID-19. The number one player in the world is now an employee of Stern Pinball, and he joins us right now. Raymond Davidson. Hello, Raymond. How are you? Hey, Jeff. Doing good. Congratulations. That is very, very exciting. And you know, last week when I had George Gomez on, he may have dropped a hint that he did some new hires when you hear this clip. As a matter of fact, I've just hired a couple of guys. During the pandemic, I've hired a couple of guys. stuff. What'd you think when you heard Gomez say that? Did you kind of laugh a little bit? Yeah, I was listening to that in the car on the drive over here. And I heard that and I chuckled a little bit because I was like, I know what he's talking about.

1:08

Yeah, I didn't really want to pry because it's none of my business. But boy, that was exciting news to wake up Monday morning and see that you'd been hired too. So we've got a lot of questions to ask. First of all, how did this all start? Who approached who? Well, Tim Sexton, you know, after he had released his Black Knight, or maybe it was right as it was starting up, I'm not sure, but it was a couple years ago, he was like, hey, we're hiring right now. It would be a great time for you to join if you have any interest at all. I know you do computers and you love pinball, so you should definitely come work with Stern. You know, this opportunity doesn't happen all the time, but right now we're looking to expand, so you should get in. And at the time, I had just bought my house in Everett, Washington, and I was like, there's just no way. I just got this house. I'm just getting everything settled here. I'm not going to just move and leave to Chicago. So I said, ask back in about a year. And sure enough, a year later on the dot, he's like, hey, so any more thinking about coming to Stern? And I was like, well, all right. I'll see where this goes. You know, I'll see. I'll see where this leads. And next thing I know, I was talking to George and talking to some of the other Stern guys. And then all of a sudden they were like, oh, so we got you booked on a flight out here to Chicago in two weeks to come meet the team. And I was like, whoa, OK, well, I'm not going to say no to that. So I got an all expenses trip paid to Chicago and they put me up in a nice hotel downtown. It was great. And yeah, everyone liked me. And it was a little nervous. I had to do actually a coding interview on the whiteboard when I first got there, which I was not really expecting. But I guess I should have. But I was able to fight my way through that. And, yeah, I got to meet everybody and and hang out with everyone and see what it's all about. And then after that, I got offered the job and I accepted. This was back in early March. And so I was all planned to move here beginning of April. But then the covid happened. And so we kept pushing back the start date. And then finally, I was like, all right, screw it. I'm just driving across the country. We're going. And now I'm here on my first day, May 18th. Isn't that funny? Wow, that's unreal. And I was telling you this before we started talking here on the show, that I had just completed editing your first ever appearance on Pinball Profile, which was episode 60 now on pinballprofile.com. And I was thinking, I've got to give Raymond a call and just catch up with him about being the indefinite number one in IFPA. Just talk general pinball. But wow, I used to have the pinball profile karma. I guess this is pinball profile intuition maybe, perhaps. Yeah. So you had to do some testing there on the whiteboard you'd mentioned with coding. How similar is what you're going to be doing with Stern to what you have done in the past? And you've been a software development engineer at your previous jobs. I mean, it's all just going to be programming. In my past jobs, I hadn't done much of the exact language that I'm going to be coding in in Stern, but a lot of the knowledge is transferable between programming languages. But it will definitely be a lot different. My other job, I was working on mobile, like Android, iPhone, and lots of server-side things, Ruby on Rails, if you know what that is. But here, it's pretty much all that's going to be code for the pinball machine, which is in the one language, and that's it. So it'll be a lot more focused, and I'll be able to get really good at my craft, and I'm looking forward to it. Before we get deep into what your job's going to be about, you said you had to drive cross-country, and you just bought a house, too. So, okay, what's going on with the house? What's going on with your pins? So many questions, Jeff, yes. Yeah, we basically, all my pins are now being rented out to various people around the Seattle area. Apparently, when people can't go to arcades, they really want games in their house. So that was kind of a win-win. My pins are now being put to good use, and my house has a couple of roommates that were living with me before I moved, so they're going to still be there. So I'll have to fly back every once in a while, check on things, make sure everything's going okay. But, yeah, it should just hopefully run itself over there smoothly. I don't know what I'm going to do with the pins in the long term, kind of kicking that can down the road, but we'll see. I'll have plenty of pinball here in Chicago. That's for sure. That is the good news, bad news thing. You didn't bring your pins with you to Chicago, but you kind of have a factory there at your disposal. Yeah. What I find interesting about you being at Stern is this is yet another current or former number one player now at Stern Pinball. You think of Keith Elwin. You think of Zach Sharp. Lyman Sheets as well. Boy, you talked about Tim Sexton. When he's now fifth on the depth chart for best players at Stern, that's a pretty stacked lineup there. yeah it's a lot of a lot of pinball talent here that's for sure josh sharp joked about how uh the stern rewards ultimate reward is if you finish the year at number one you get a job but what did your other fellow pinball competitors now at stern say when when you got there i was like uh this just got a lot tougher at the lunchroom or what Yeah I mean it going to be fun doing battles with Keith and Zach And some of the Chicago people are probably like, great, now Illinois Championships is going to be impossible. Even more impossible, you know, that sort of thing. But I think everyone's excited. I'm excited. Boy, you already came from a tough state. I mean, Washington's no slouch. Yeah. It was the biggest cash prize for the state finals. I mean, it was already tough. Jermaine was number one, chickened out, went up to Alberta. Sorry, Jermaine, I have to bring that up again.

6:58

So now, which is going to be tougher, Washington or Illinois? What do you think? Probably very similar, honestly. It depends on the bracket as well, you know, who you get paired against when and when people get knocked out. But it's only going to be harder. But I don't think it's – once you get to a certain level, there's not much more after that. I had to face all the Seattle guys. I had to face Kaylee. And you have to do it that day. You have one day, and if you blow it, you blow it. So it doesn't really matter where you're playing. It's going to be tough. It is always tough, but you seem to find a way, Raymond. Let's talk about the new job. Yeah, so I got hired on as a software support engineer, and so I'll be helping people out, filling in features, doing light shows. I'll get to make some design decisions myself just much smaller role than being in charge of a whole game you know like Tim was lead on Black Knight so he got to you know kind of dictate everything about that game and so going forward you know I might be working under Tim on his next game where he has a vision and then he's like okay Ray go do this multi-ball for me I kind of thought maybe something like this and then maybe I would go do that or what not but yeah it should start out kind of simple and then ramp up as I learn more and more. And I'm super excited. Yeah. Without being game specific, because it's obviously difficult to say that as you're now employed by Stern, have you looked at games in the past, whether it be any company, and thought, you know, this rule might be a little bit better, or if this was changed, it could open things up a little more? Have you tinkered in that department before? Yeah, I mean, there's definitely been times where the most often that happens is where something that feels intuitive to me, where I'm like, oh, I bet at the end of this, there's this thing and then I get there and there's not or or it does something kind of different or a certain part of the play field that I thought could be used for something ends up not really being used at all and I'm you know I kind of get sad about that and I'm like oh it would be cool to you know maybe do something there or add some functionality here or um you know complete this sequence more or just other little ideas pop into my head from time to time as I'm playing games but But, you know, nothing, you know, I'm never down on a game because it doesn't do all the things I want. It's more of just a thing that can, you know, pop in now and then of like, huh, that'd be cool, you know. Now, people listening to this program are thinking, okay, Raymond, when you play a pinball machine versus when I play a pinball machine, you're doing things I may never get to. So I think of what Keith Elwin has done with his two games so far. Obviously, he has the same skill set you have in being able to really do whatever you want in pinball. But when it came time for him to design the rules, he put in simple things. And the deeper you get in the game, the more complex it can be. But there's kind of that element of make sure everyone's enjoying this at their own skill level. So people listening to this right now are like, okay, the number one guy just got hired at Stern Pinball. Is it going to be more complex or more of what George Gomez was saying on the last episode of Pinball Profile when he said it's more important to be fun than to be deep? Where do you lie in this? Yeah, I've always been a fan of the layered approach. Games like Simpsons Pinball Party or Lord of the Rings where everything's opened up at the beginning and so you can kind of get to all the features. But then once you peel back that layer, there's another layer lying. So it's like, oh, you can, first of all, you can play, like, Simpsons Pinball Party, for example. You shoot the TV, you start a mode. For some people, that's it. They're ecstatic. That is what has brought them joy. They shot the TV. That is so cool. But then once you peel back that layer, it's like, okay, start all the modes, and you'll get Alien Invasion. And then once you do that, okay, now try to beat Alien Invasion. Okay, well, cool, I did that. Okay, now do these other five things that all have their own layers in them to get to the ultra wizard mode. So I think additive is really the approach you want to go for when making a game. That's good to know. I like the layered aspect, too. And those two games you mentioned are really perfect examples of just how games can be fun and both deep. So I've seen a lot of that from Stern lately. So I'm sure with you being there, it's only going to continue. I have a question here. I'm asking for a friend. What's your thought on the action button and its use in pinball games and rules? I think it's cool when it's additive, right? That's the key word here is when you don't need it, but it adds some extra little functionality. Like Jurassic Park, I think, does a great job of using it where you can use it to select your smart missile award. But other than that, you don't have to press it. It's not critical. It can stop dinos in their tracks, which is awesome. It's kind of like that emergency escape hatch in like Asteroids, the original where you could like hyperspace or whatever. Yeah. I kind of like that use of it where it's kind of like not very often, but you can use it and it will sort of help you out. And that you really do need a third button for it because the flippers, you know, those buttons control the flippers. So, you know, you got to be able to have something easy and accessible to hit. So I don't mind them if they're used judiciously. I don't know what you're saying. You know, I do joke about the action button a lot. And what people don't understand is I also like it. I like how it's used. It has to be used the correct way. You gave a perfect example with Jurassic Park. I think Deadpool the Boom, love it. I think one of my favorite action buttons is on the premium or LE of The Walking Dead. I know you like it too. Yeah so that a perfect example the emergency button You know it like oh I don really want to use this It kind of like a feature that you have in your back pocket So without the action button features you get you forced to use basically It's like, oh, I shot this thing, and so now my multiball has this extra ball added to it when I get to a multiball. But then once it's used, it's all done. Whereas the action button allows you to choose when you want to use that. So it's like, oh, I'm going to leave one hit left on the prison, and now I'm going to just shoot this mode shot, which might be kind of dangerous. And if I need to use it, I can use it. Otherwise, I'll save it for when I really need it. So it really just helps you optimize your play for bigger scores and more fun. A lot of people may or may not know this about you. They know you're the number one player, but it takes you longer to learn rules on games. It's funny to watch you in competitions, especially on newer games that come out. You just kind of learn, okay, what are two or three shots I need to make? You observe other people playing. Okay, there were points there. But it does take you a long time to learn rules, which is kind of funny. Just you're relying on your skills, which obviously has paid off. But why does it take you longer for rules, in your opinion? I don't know. it's just, I really learn best when I'm sort of discovering them on my own or as the situation arises, I like find out about a feature. I've always gone through life just asking questions, you know, whenever I don't know something. And I think that's a really good way to push your passion and really, it sticks a lot more like learning things as opposed to studying, right? We've all been in school where it's like, okay, you got to study this chapter in history. And then tomorrow we're going to ask you a bunch of questions about it. And that just doesn't appeal to me. Well, you just you gave a good example and smart advice, too. If you don't know something, ask. Yeah, that's all my best advice is just ask for help. When you look at pinball machines and you see a new game, do you rely on streams, tutorials, the readme file in the code updates? Where is it that you go to learn the rules the first time? Yeah, I mean, I'll definitely look at the readmes. just so that I'm aware that there's certain areas I need to watch out for or questions to ask people who have digested the readmes or have investigated it more. Like, you know, I'll see a readme and it'll say something about this one mode has changed and there's all this other stuff. Like on ACDC, one of the readmes just went on and on about these devil horn changes or something. And I'm like, okay, well, that's interesting. And you can't use the bell VIP hits as much anymore. But there's only so much in that readme. So you still have to ask, okay, what does that actually mean? Do you know how the VIP works? You know, you'd ask somebody when you're at a tournament or discover it yourself if you have access to one. The README kind of just gives you the groundwork, and then you still have to pursue the actual details. What are your thoughts on Easter eggs, if you will, or hidden rules, things that aren't on the README file, things you have to, wait a second, I just did this combo and this just happened. I didn't see that anywhere. I think those are great. as long as they're not too obscure or game-breaking in any way, where it's like, oh, if you entered a cheat code, basically, where it's like, oh, if you do these six shots in order, then all of a sudden you'll double your score. That wouldn't be good. Even the six-way combos on Jurassic Park and Maiden that give you fossils or tomb treasures, those were in the readme, I believe, and I think they should be because they're so important. So I wouldn't have game-breaking things as Easter eggs, but little cute little two-way combo or just little things like that, I think is great to discover as you're playing. One thing I've never really understood before is kind of the background scoring that happens. I mean, maybe you understand it. Maybe you'll be somebody that's going to be designing this. When I'm trying to figure out how did I accumulate scoring bonus? And on some games, it really matters. on others? Not so much. But if you think of Deadpool, you can have a huge, huge bonus in that game. And that can be a game breaker. I've always wondered how you kind of figure out as a player what's going to increase my bonus and does it matter? Yeah, I think the general rule with that is just ball time equals bonus, right? If something's wrong, if you play a long ball and you have the same or like a logarithmic more amount of bonus, you know, than if you had a short ball. So I think that's a nice rule of thumb is, you know, longer ball time should give you more bonus. And that's usually, you know, a switch-based bonus is kind of part of the equation, but maybe not necessarily. Maybe it's items you're collecting. Like Deadpool, the reason it's true is because you have all those ninjas and stars and things that you're collecting as the game goes on. So the longer you play, the more of those you have and the more bonus you get. So I think as long as you stick to that general rule, I think it's a good intuitive way to approach it. So Raymond, And I really appreciate you coming on the program here, especially your first day at work. I mean, it's not during work, everyone. I mean, well, no, it's airing today, so I guess we can't really lie. Anyway, thanks. He's on his lunch break, everyone at Stern. I'm just going to think he's slacking by any means. And I know he's got to get back to it, but I do have a few more questions. So, Chicago, you're there now. You've been there for a few days. You've been to Chicago before in the past. How many times have you been? I mean, I've been here for Chicago Expo and for the Stern Pro Circuit, but that was about it. And, you know, the Expo's not even really in the city, but the Pro Circuit was in downtown, which was cool. And, yeah, you know, I always thought it was a nice city, and the weather's, you know, couldn't get a little cold in the winter. But, you know, kind of at this point I'll take anything over the overcast rain that I've been getting in Seattle. So just something different will be kind of interesting. Enjoy the wind, but yeah, you're right. You lose some of that northwestern rain and fog and all the good stuff there. But I think you're going to enjoy it. You've got to figure out where your favorite pizza place is. I'm curious which one you like so far. Well, I know there's Lou Malnati's and Giordano's or something.