claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028
Austin Pinball Collective showcases homebrew Alice in Wonderland machine at TPF 2026.
The project started two years ago, inspired by seeing a whitewood at TPF, and brought on Omar approximately one year ago.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, lead designer, during intro segment
Alice in Wonderland entered public domain, which motivated theme choice and coincided with other manufacturers developing similar titles.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, explaining theme origin
VPX modeling took approximately six months before the game could flip in simulation.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, discussing design timeline
The team brought an unfinished whitewood to TPF last year (2025), got it flipping for the first time just two minutes before the show floor opened.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, describing first public appearance
Playfield was cut by Bob Nice from Ramps Manufacturing and brought to TPF 2026.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, discussing recent milestones
The original cabinet was a Street Fighter 2 arcade that cost significant time and money to adapt; team is planning to source a new cabinet.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, on cabinet strategy
Target completion is Chicago Expo in October with code, music, and sound as remaining primary work.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, discussing next steps
Ernie Silverberg provided a kit instrumental to the project's development.
high confidence · Cayman Kai, crediting Ernie Silverberg
“I wanted to design a Taylor Swift pinball machine. But the boys weren't into it.”
Cayman Kai@ 2:19 — Reveals early theme brainstorming and collaborative decision-making process; humor element in design origin
“It felt like being naked, you know, next to a bunch of people dressed in suits.”
Cayman Kai@ 8:37 — Describes the emotional experience of debuting an unfinished whitewood among polished homebrew machines at TPF 2025
“I remember in the talk somebody was talking about how they just got a piece of plywood and started putting stuff on it. That terrifies me.”
Cayman Kai@ 5:23 — Validates VPX-first design approach vs. rapid physical prototyping; design philosophy contrast
“You need to be multifaceted. You need to know electronics, you need to know mechanical aspects of the game, you need to know design, you need to understand the storyline.”
Omar@ 12:19 — Newcomer perspective on the skill diversity required for homebrew machine development
“Measure twice, cut once. He measured like five times.”
Cayman Kai / Marco (host)@ 9:11 — Illustrates Omar's precision and diligence in translating digital designs to physical playfield
“It's really cool to see people believe in you, you know, when like some honestly there's many times I didn't believe in myself. But you know when other people believe in you like even when you don't believe in yourself it's amazing what you can do.”
Omar@ 14:34 — Reflects on community support and collaborative ethos as critical to project success
design_innovation: Alice in Wonderland theme translated into pinball mechanics via collaborative whiteboard mapping (Cheshire Cat, Queen of Hearts, rabbit hole funnel ramp, etc.); unique artistic approach from non-pinball artist Ray Hensel bringing fresh visual perspective unconstrained by conventional pinball design conventions.
high · Cayman described whiteboard process mapping theme elements to pinball mechanics; Omar designed 'rabbit hole' funnel ramp as thematic element; Ray Hensel's non-pinball background cited as reason for uniqueness
community_signal: Large collaborative ecosystem including kit provider (Ernie Silverberg), hardware partners (FAST/Aaron), fabricators (Ramps Manufacturing/Bob Nice), fellow community members (Nick Nitel, Jesse Bowden), and external skill contributors (artist, musician). Model demonstrates homebrew viability through distributed expertise rather than single-person projects.
high · Extensive credits to 15+ named contributors; Cayman emphasized 'surround yourself with smart people' ethos; Omar's entry as non-pinball outsider who learned on-the-job validates accessibility
design_philosophy: Team's strategy of debuting unfinished whitewood at TPF 2025 to gather real-world player feedback led to significant playfield refinements (pop bumper repositioning, piece relocation). Playfield photos show evidence of modifications based on that feedback.
high · Cayman: 'I mean you can see the holes in our playfield from where we moved the pop bumpers after TPF last year... that really helped us finalize our playfield and feel confident'
product_launch: Pinball in Wonderland progress: (1) Initial design phase with theme/mechanics brainstorming (2) Six-month VPX modeling phase (3) Kit acquisition from Ernie Silverberg (4) TPF 2025 whitewood debut and feedback loop (5) New playfield cut and delivery to TPF 2026 (current state). Remaining: cabinet replacement, code iteration, music/sound design. Target: Chicago Expo October 2026.
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high · Timeline explicitly stated by Cayman: two-year project, six months VPX, TPF 2025 debut, playfield cut recently, Chicago Expo October target
technology_signal: Homebrew team using FAST boards (electronics), MPF (game logic firmware), GDAU (audio/visual), and VPX (design simulation). This stack represents accessible, modular toolchain for non-manufacturer homebrew builds; Ernie Silverberg's Discord community serves as knowledge base for similar projects.
high · Cayman listed FAST, MPF, GDAU as the hardware/software platform; credit to Ernie's Discord and Aaron from FAST for support
licensing_signal: Alice in Wonderland public domain status directly influenced theme choice. Cayman noted coincidental timing: 'it had just come into the public domain, which is, I think, why two other manufacturers did the same thing.' Suggests multiple manufacturers capitalizing on same IP availability window.
high · Cayman: 'Alice in Wonderland because it had just come into the public domain, which is, I think, why two other manufacturers did the same thing'
personnel_signal: Team actively recruited non-pinball experts (Ray Hensel the artist, music/sound contributor, Omar with 3D printing background) into homebrew roles. Strategy reflects intentional effort to diversify skill sets and avoid insularity in design process.
high · Cayman: 'she was able to just kind of come up with ideas on her own without being constrained by so much experience in pinball'; Omar entered as 'casual player' and non-expert; musician friend recruited for sound
operational_signal: Original Street Fighter 2 cabinet proved costly to adapt and repurpose; team learned that cost-cutting in one area (cabinet source) generated unexpected expenses elsewhere (customization/integration labor). Team pivoting to sourcing purpose-built pinball cabinet for next phase.
high · Cayman: 'this was a Street Fighter 2 cabinet, which you know, in the end has cost us a lot of time and money trying to figure out how to work with this cabinet... we're going to probably get a new cabinet'
community_signal: Texas Pinball Festival and Pin DevCon serve as critical infrastructure for homebrew showcase and feedback loops. Marco Pinball organization provides event structure (homebrew showcase areas), community loot crates with components, and platform for emerging builders to present work.
high · Video frames TPF 2026 Pin DevCon homebrew showcase; Marco Pinball mentioned as organizer; loot crate referenced as component source
rumor_hype: Cayman briefly mentions that 'two other manufacturers' are also developing Alice in Wonderland machines, likely capitalizing on recent public domain status. No names given, but signal suggests competitive convergence on same IP theme.
medium · Cayman: 'it had just come into the public domain, which is, I think, why two other manufacturers did the same thing'