Tanio Klyce Joins Stern Pinball

Pinball News Website·article·held·Apr 11, 2013

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

Tanio Klyce joins Stern Pinball as Senior Software Engineer to support expanded product development.

Summary

Tanio Klyce, an experienced software engineer with a background in video game development at Valve and custom pinball design, has joined Stern Pinball as Senior Software Engineer in April 2013. His hire addresses Stern's need for additional programming resources to support their expanded product lineup (Pro, Premium, Limited Edition, and The Pin models). Klyce brings expertise from designing games like Metallica and Beatniks and has been active in the pinball community through Pacific Pinball Expositions.

Key Claims

Tanio Klyce has joined Stern Pinball as Senior Software Engineer
high confidence · Official announcement from Pinball News, citing Gary Stern confirmation
Tanio started in the amusement business fifteen years ago as a video game programmer
high confidence · Pinball News article, biographical background section
Tanio worked at Valve in Bellevue on Linux game development
high confidence · Pinball News article, employment history
Tanio was not involved in the making of Stern's Metallica Pinball
high confidence · Direct quote from Tanio Klyce to Pinball News
Stern's expanded product lineup (multiple model versions) puts strain on the development team, particularly programmers
high confidence · Pinball News editorial commentary citing Gary Stern's recent comments

Notable Quotes

“I have not been involved in the making of Stern's Metallica Pinball, ... but I plan on buying one because it is freakin' awesome.”
Tanio Klyce @ April 2013 — Directly addresses timing speculation and clarifies his non-involvement in Stern's Metallica project despite joining the company around its announcement

Entities

Tanio KlycepersonStern PinballcompanyGary SternpersonValvecompanyWade KrausepersonDonny GilliespersonJeri EllsworthpersonPacific Pinball MuseumorganizationPacific Pinball Expositionsevent

Signals

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personnel_signal: Stern Pinball hires experienced Senior Software Engineer Tanio Klyce to address capacity constraints from expanded product lineup
high · Gary Stern confirmed to Pinball News that the company would be getting help with programming; Klyce joins as Senior Software Engineer effective May 1, 2013
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business_signal: Stern's expanded model tiering (Pro, Premium, Limited Edition, The Pin) creates significant development and programming resource pressure
high · Article states: 'While making four (or more) versions of each game provides plenty of choice for the buyer, it puts a big strain on the development team and in particular the programmers'
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product_strategy: Stern Pinball has introduced multiple model tiers including The Pin range to extend market reach and buyer options
high · Article lists: Pro models, enhanced Premiums, top-of-range Limited Editions, and The Pin range as part of Stern's expanding product portfolio
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rumor_hype: Community speculation that Tanio Klyce's hire timing coincides with Stern's Metallica announcement; Klyce denies involvement
medium · Article notes 'With Stern's own Metallica pinball just announced, the timing could not be better, but Tanio insists it is purely coincidental'
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community_signal: Tanio Klyce active in Pacific Pinball community, has spoken at seminars and collaborated with artists and engineers on pinball projects
high · Article documents involvement with Pacific Pinball Expositions seminars and collaboration with Wade Krause, Donny Gillies, and Jeri Ellsworth

Transcript

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Date: 11 April, 2013 Stern Pinball has an expanding range of products; from their regular Pro models, through the enhanced Premiums to the top-of-the-range Limited Editions, and - more recently - the introduction of their The Pin range which extends the number of models further. While making four (or more) versions of each game provides plenty of choice for the buyer, it puts a big strain on the development team and in particular the programmers. Gary Stern told Pinball News recently how the company would be getting some help in that area soon, and we can now reveal that Tanio Klyce has joined Stern Pinball as Senior Software Engineer. Tanio Klyce Tanio started in the amusement business fifteen years ago as a video game programmer, and had recently been working on Linux game development at Valve in Bellevue near Seattle in Washington. He first got into pinball when a Black Knight machine arrived at his local movie theatre in New Orleans, and was later reintroduced through the Lucky Ju Ju (the forerunner to the Pacific Pinball Museum) and the Pacific Pinball Expositions where he has spoken in several of their seminars. He used his software, electronics and audio skills to team up with artists Wade Krause and Donny Gillies (Dirty Donny) to create games such as Metallica and Beatniks Koolsville, and worked with Jeri Ellsworth both at Valve and on their private joint project to prototype a new pinball control system. Now Tanio is moving from Bellevue to take up his new position with Stern Pinball in Melrose Park, Chicago. He hopes to start working there from 1st May. With Stern's own Metallica pinball just announced, the timing could not be better, but Tanio insists it is purely coincidental. He told Pinball News, "I have not been involved in the making of Stern's Metallica Pinball, ... but I plan on buying one because it is freakin' awesome." Back to the News page Like this page? Share it with your Facebook friends: Back to the front page