Drinks with Jack: Part 2 w/ Pinball Game Designer Keith Elwin

Stern Pinball·video·9m 0s·analyzed·Dec 11, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Keith Elwin recounts path to Stern, Archer-to-Iron Maiden evolution, and design philosophy.

Summary

Keith Elwin discusses his journey from childhood pinball enthusiast to Stern's lead designer, detailing how his homebrew Archer game caught George Gomez's attention and led to his 2016 hiring. He covers the transition of Archer into Iron Maiden, his design philosophy emphasizing mechanical innovation (like Godzilla's collapsing building), and his collaborative relationship with the Stern engineering and code teams, particularly Rick Nagel.

Key Claims

Keith Elwin has been playing pinball since age 7-8 and started fixing arcade games in high school
high confidence · Direct personal statement from Elwin in interview
Elwin designed a homebrew South Park retheme of Popeye in 1998 for Pinball Expo
high confidence · Elwin describes the project and admits to parting it out after the show
Elwin and his brother created a homebrew Archer game that caught George Gomez's attention
high confidence · Elwin describes Lyman Sheets mentioning the game to Gomez, and Gomez eventually reaching out
Keith Elwin moved to join Stern in 2016 after George Gomez recruited him
high confidence · Elwin states 'I moved out here 2016, almost 10 years ago' during interview
The Archer playfield was compressed from a Congo cabinet (1 inch longer) to fit Stern specifications for Iron Maiden
high confidence · Elwin explains the technical adaptation with George's help
Rick Nagel worked with Elwin for 2-3 weeks before realizing Iron Maiden's codename was 'Egypt'
high confidence · Elwin tells anecdote about Nagel's confusion with codename
The Godzilla collapsing building mechanic was something Elwin had been conceptualizing for years
high confidence · Elwin describes noodling with the idea and finally implementing it on Godzilla
Jaws's 8-bit mode took Rick Nagel approximately 3 months to implement
high confidence · Elwin states Nagel said 'man I never want to do that again. It was so much work. Uh but we had a blast'

Notable Quotes

“I just ask myself that every day. I've been in pinball either playing or uh teching for since I was I mean I've been playing since I was about seven or eight.”
Keith Elwin @ opening — Establishes Elwin's lifetime commitment to pinball from childhood
“Oh, you know, it won't have to be Popeye rules with South Park artwork.”
Keith Elwin @ mid-interview — Self-aware critique of his early homebrew design approach
“I moved out here 2016, almost 10 years ago. Regretted it ever since.”
Keith Elwin @ mid-interview — Humorous but reveals personal sacrifice of relocation from California; softened by context of career success
“I thought, 'Oh, cool. I get to make a new game.' Cuz I was so sick of this layout. I've been working on it for four years. I was like, 'Oh.' And George is like, 'No, do this layout.'”
Keith Elwin @ design discussion — Shows Gomez's mentorship approach and Elwin's acceptance of guidance
“Oh god, no. I I uh I was using Illustrator for years and years.”
Keith Elwin @ technical discussion — Reveals transition from graphic design tools to CAD software at Stern
“Uh, yeah, when I had a chance when George is like, 'Yeah, I'm not going to have time to do Godzilla. Who wants to do it?' I'm like, 'Uh, yeah, I have a perfect mech for it.'”
Keith Elwin @ favorite work discussion — Demonstrates Elwin's proactive design thinking and readiness to execute
“Rick's amazing. He I can just write up a document. I want all this to happen and he he'll like, 'Oh, yeah, yeah, no problem.'”
Keith Elwin @ collaboration discussion — Highlights the working relationship between designer and code lead
“Stern, we have to put a whole freaking video game and then some into each one of these titles. And that's multiple titles every year.”
Jack Danger (host) — Articulates the scale and complexity of Stern's annual software development burden

Entities

Keith Elwinperson George GomezpersonRick NagelpersonLyman SheetspersonBrian Eddyperson Jack DangerpersonStern PinballcompanyIron Maidengame

Signals

?
community_signal: Stern leveraging 'Drinks with Jack' interview format to highlight designer perspectives and team dynamics publicly
medium · This is part of a structured Stern content series featuring designers discussing process and collaboration
?
design_philosophy: Elwin emphasizes long-term mechanical innovation concepts (Godzilla building developed over years) and complex rule integration with code team
high · Elwin states he was 'noodling with' the Godzilla building for years and discusses detailed software requirements like 8-bit Jaws mode
?
community_signal: Keith Elwin's recruitment from homebrew community to Stern as lead designer represents significant talent acquisition from enthusiast base
high · Elwin describes George Gomez actively seeking him out and bringing him to Stern in 2016 after playing Archer homebrew
?
personnel_signal: Stern design team (Elwin, Nagel, engineer Harrison) has developed strong collaborative shorthand after years of working together, reducing iteration friction
high · Elwin describes giving CAD to Harrison who 'knows what I'm trying to do' without extensive explanation; similar efficiency with Rick Nagel on code

Topics

Homebrew to professional transitionprimaryDesign mentorship and team collaboration at SternprimaryMechanical innovation in playfield designprimarySoftware complexity and rules implementationsecondaryCAD workflow and design toolssecondaryCareer pathway in pinball industrysecondaryStern's design team composition and dynamicsmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Elwin speaks affectionately about his journey and design work despite joking about regretting the California move. He expresses genuine enthusiasm for his mechanical innovations and deep respect for his collaborators. The tone is celebratory of his achievements and the Stern team dynamic.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

Um, so let's shift over to Mr. Keith Elwin here. Um, Mr. Elellwin, what uh what got you here to this point? How why are you sitting here on this stage next to me? I just asking why I left California. Yeah, there you go. Yeah. No, I know. I ask myself that every day. I've been in pinball either playing or uh teching for since I was I mean I've been playing since I was about seven or eight. Uh I got a job in high school actually fixing uh arcade games, but a lot of them were uh pinball machines. Uh, and that's where my love of Oh, I love how these things work. Uh, you know, I love the make one someday. So, hey, Brian Eddy's here. So, I designed a uh a homebrew game in 1998 to bring to Pinball Expo. It was a South Park. Um, it was basically Do you still have that playfield? No. I wish. I have pictures. Uh it was basically a Popeye that we gutted and rethemed as South Park and then we were so sick of it by the time you know the show was over. We We just parted it out and you know threw away the rest. Uh but yeah, I've always been interested in design but then you know kind of life went on. And I I was working as an op, you know, worked for an operator. Then I started operating games myself. And then I started getting bored with that. And uh I started, you know, I talked to my brother who just retired and I was like, "Hey, let's make a homebrew game." Because, you know, the Fast and Pock stuff all just came out and I was like, "Oh, you know, I had fun doing it for a while. You know, obviously got kind of uh sick of at the end because I was doing everything. So, hey, if I have a partner, you know, he's going to do the software, I can do this. This would be a lot more fun this time. And, you know, it won't have to be Popeye rules with South Park artwork. Uh, yeah. So, we we got, you know, kind of brainstormed ideas and we were both really into Archer at the time. I was like, let's do Archer, you know, it's just like a Bond ripoff and just, you know, all use all these assets and whatever. So, yeah, we made that and um I think it was Lyman Sheets who actually was like, "Oh, George really likes your archer layout." And I was like, "Oh, okay, cool. You know, you should come, you know, you should talk to him." That's right. So, I reached out to George and this is when Batman 66 Oh, was on the way. And I reached out to George. He got back to me right away. And then I didn't hear from him for like six months. I was like, "All right, whatever." Uh, then we took Archer to a couple of pinball shows. um you know, just letting everyone play it, having fun. And then, uh George finally gets back to me again. He's like, "Oh, sorry, man. I've been super busy. Uh yeah, let's talk." And uh so we talked and he he was like, "Oh my god, I love your game." Cuz he he finally got to play it. And uh you know, the rest is kind of history. He's like, "No, I know. I I want you here. I want to teach you." And uh this was 2016. I moved Yeah. I moved out here 2016, almost 10 years ago. regretted it ever since. Now I'm sitting here with you. Yeah, you made it. Um, can you walk us through a little bit of um, like taking your archer layout and what went into adjusting it or changing it to fit the game that became Iron Maiden. Yeah. So, funny thing is when I got hired, I thought, "Oh, cool. I get to make a new game." Cuz I was so sick of this layout. I've been working on it for four years. I was like, "Oh." And George is like, "No, do this layout." And I was like, "H, all right." So yeah, basically because we cheated. We had an old Congo cabinet that uh Archer was in which was actually the playfield was like in actually an inch longer than uh what that the sterns are. So uh George helped me, you know, compress it a bit and get it shooting just like Archer did. Uh but that was basically it. It was pretty much a one to one of Archer. Might as we got rid of the scoop and replaced it with a Captain Ball, but other than that, it's pretty much the same. Did you have a grasp on um like AutoCAD or Solid Works going into that at all? Oh god, no. I I uh I was using Illustrator for years and years. Same. I was using Adobe Illustrator for all my drawing and and I George had talked to me, oh no, you know, you got to you at least do AutoCAD, if not Solid Works. So I was like, okay. And so uh I picked up AutoCAD and I was like, oh my god, this is so much easier than uh Illustrator. So, it was like uh it was not intimidating at all to uh graduate. But yeah, he saw my uh my uh archer layout vector in Illustrator. He's like, "No, just trash this. Start over." So, what would you say is uh the favorite thing you've worked on on a game so far? Like what out of your babies that you've created? I know it's hard to pick, but like what's your favorite thing that you've put in or on a game so far? Oh, that's a tough one. Um, I mean the building on Godzilla was something I was noodling with for years. I was like, "Oh, I want this, you know, this building that collapses and drops balls everywhere." And but I never thought it would happen. I was like, "I don't know what game I would put that in." Oh, maybe maybe if we do a Die Hard game, but then only the roof blows up, so it doesn't make sense. It's like, and then uh yeah, when I had a chance when George is like, "Yeah, I'm not going to have time to do Godzilla. Who wants to do it?" I'm like, "Uh, yeah, I have a perfect mech for it. Good thing you chose that. Um, can you talk a little bit about uh the the team you're with because you are in a unique position at Stern? Like you and the folks that are with you sort of like came in around the same time. Uh, and you figured out how to gel well together. How's that been going? Yeah, cuz none of us knew what we were doing. So, it's uh, and my, you know, my favorite story is Rick Nagel got hired like a couple months after I did. And we used, you know, code names for the games obviously. And the code name for Iron Maiden was Egypt. So Rick had worked with me, you know, at Stern for, you know, at least two or 3 weeks before he realized we were working on Iron Maiden. He's like, "Oh, I thought it was a game called Egypt." So he's like, "There's actually my favorite band." So now, now I'm super stoked. Oh man, I didn't think about that. Yeah. So we already had a Solid Works layout uh done and Harrison came in. he just trashed it, started over. And uh and then, you know, he actually worked with me, you know, step by step. And now that we've worked together so much, the less work I have to do, I could just tell him, you know, I'll give him a CAD layout. And I was like, he'll look at it and know what I'm trying to do and, you know, make whatever corrections and then, you know, we'll we'll fire up the laser, cut it, ball guy, try it. Yep. Or no, this sucks. You know, so it it's nice having an engineer who, you know, knows what I'm trying to do. and so I don't have to explain it to him. So, yeah. No, we work really well together. When you're designing, you're also like very cognitive of like the rules and stuff that you want to put in. Um, can you talk a little bit about working with Rick on executing some of that stuff? Oh, yeah. Rick's amazing. He I can just write up a document. I want all this to happen and he he'll like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, no problem." And then, you know, he either shoots something out right away or it'll take a couple weeks and he's like, "Yeah, that was a pain in the ass, but you know, I didn't want to discourage you from it, but you know, I got it working." So, uh, you know, a good example is the 8bit mode on Jaws is like, I want to do this mode, you know, this challenge mode where you're playing a completely different game on the same playfield. And so, you know, I I kind of wrote up this document. He's like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, no, cool. No problem." Uh then we actually went to implement it where you know basically we have this whole screen where we're tracking swimmers and have sharks moving around in all these different stages and yeah like 3 months later he was like man I never want to do that again. It was so much work. Uh but we had a blast you know I I love playing that now and then just you know play little just playing game. Yeah, it it's wild because like when you look at video game studios, you know, they might put out one game a year, but Stern, we have to put a whole freaking video game and then some into each one of these titles. And that's multiple titles every year. And it's just I I am surprised every time we see the software guys uh or gals put all this work into these games because you're not only programming to like make these games fun, but they're also programming for chaos, right? So, like you might have an idea of like I want this choreography to happen, but you don't know where that ball's going to go. So, you also have to program for all those extra eventualities and stuff like that. Um, yeah, that's freaking awesome. Thank you.