claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033
Loser Kid Podcast interviews Game Room Pinball on custom Hangover homebrew and production process.
Brian Soares has created approximately four extensive Stern DMD rethemes and hasn't seen anyone else accomplish this level of code modification
high confidence · Brian states: 'I've done four of these Stern games now, and I haven't seen anybody else do any.'
Reby Hardy completed the entire playfield and translite artwork for Hangover in two weeks despite multiple other commitments
high confidence · Reby: 'I got the entire playfield done and translite in two weeks. Like, between travel, between kids, and I homeschool, and we were filming for TNA wrestling'
Game Room Pinball produces approximately 10 games per year, mostly traditional rethemes
high confidence · Josh references 'a recent interview I was reading with Kineticist, you guys are talking about this. You say that you make about 10 games a year through your Game Room Pinball'
Brian's extensive code modification work on Stern games involves creating Excel spreadsheets tracking 1,000+ lines of text/audio placement and potentially 2,000+ animation screens
high confidence · Brian: 'I'll painstakingly go through the entire thing and create an Excel spreadsheet with 1,000 lines of whatever... and then on top of that, you have to do all the animation. It might be 2,000 screens of animation.'
Reby Hardy's first Game Room Pinball project (Exhibition of Gold for Matt Hardy) took approximately 20 months to complete
high confidence · Brian: 'when she says she took over, she took over... what would it take us? It wasn't quite two years. A little into maybe 20 months or something.'
“I've done four of these Stern games now, and I haven't seen anybody else do any. And I think really the reason is it's just a pain in the ass.”
Brian Soares @ ~27:00 — Highlights the extreme technical difficulty and rarity of comprehensive Stern DMD code modifications, establishing Brian's expertise level
“I got the entire playfield done and translite in two weeks. Like, between travel, between kids, and I homeschool, and we were filming for TNA wrestling”
Reby Hardy @ ~42:00 — Demonstrates the accelerating efficiency in their collaborative process and Reby's ability to manage multiple high-profile projects simultaneously
“She's the mad genius and you're her Igor to make it happen, right?”
Josh Roop @ ~35:00 — Encapsulates the dynamic between Brian's engineering execution and Reby's creative innovation
“What's really cool is that she completely thinks outside the box... she may not think about how to actually do it. But she'll come up with the idea. And then I try to figure out how to incorporate it”
Brian Soares @ ~37:00 — Explains their complementary working relationship and creative problem-solving approach
“I felt like I could get away with being maybe a little cheekier, maybe a little bit more, for lack of a better word, objectifying to some of the sexy girls in the film. I feel like a guy would get a lot of flack for that.”
Reby Hardy @ ~14:00 — Addresses the Elvira precedent for gender-based creative freedom in risqué pinball themes
“They have to second-guess, like, wait, what is this? And that's always the coolest feeling when someone goes up to a game that we've done, and they can't even tell what the donor game is”
Reby Hardy @ ~46:00 — Describes the goal of complete thematic transformation in their custom games
“One of those things was a pinball machine. And it was really my only access to pinball, because, you know, I was like a little girl, and we didn't really have money like that.”
Reby Hardy — Origins of Reby's pinball interest stemming from childhood discovery in abandoned apartments
business_signal: Game Room Pinball expanding customer base beyond individual collectors to include corporate clients (Owens Corning, Pacific Oboe) and high-profile entertainment partnerships (Cobra Kai creators, international clients)
high · Brian: 'The majority of my customers are not pinball people. Like, I deal with people, honestly, all over the world. Like, last year, I did three for the president of Indonesia... I'm working with the creators of that show [Cobra Kai] to do a couple games.'
community_signal: Game Room Pinball maintaining high profile custom work while integrating with broader pinball community events (Pintastic attendance, commission work from established collectors)
medium · Brian discussing attendance at Pintastic show and positive community reception of Happy Gilmore retheme which directly inspired Hangover project
sentiment_shift: Game Room Pinball's custom games receiving positive community response with players unable to identify donor game platforms due to comprehensive transformation
high · Reby: 'There have been so many people who have come up to the machines even like serious pinheads. And they have to second-guess, like, wait, what is this? And that's always the coolest feeling when someone goes up to a game that we've done, and they can't even tell what the donor game is'
design_philosophy: Reby Hardy leverages gender perspective to execute more risqué design elements (stripper flipper, objectifying artwork) with claimed cultural permission not extended to male designers, referencing Elvira precedent
high · Reby: 'I feel like a guy would get a lot of flack for that. And I was able to kind of put some things in, like the stripper flipper... if a guy in 2025 was like, let's put a naked girl on a flipper and call it a stripper flipper, like he'd probably get a lot of backlash for that.'
groq_whisper · $0.181
“When I examine the software, there's got to be enough space left because when you add images to the animation screen, it removes memory. There's a whole laundry list of things that go into it.”
Brian Soares @ ~60:00 — Technical explanation of code modification constraints on Stern SAM platform games
design_philosophy: Brian Soares employs extensive code modification approach using Excel spreadsheets tracking 1,000+ lines of text/audio and potentially 2,000+ animation frames per game, representing technical depth rarely replicated in homebrew community
high · Brian: 'I'll painstakingly go through the entire thing and create an Excel spreadsheet with 1,000 lines of whatever... and then on top of that, you have to do all the animation. It might be 2,000 screens of animation. So I think this is why you don't really see anybody do it.'
community_signal: Reby Hardy's artistic iteration process accelerating significantly with experience—initial project required 20 months, latest project (Hangover) completed playfield and translite in 2 weeks despite major competing time commitments
high · Reby: 'Usually it is kind of spaced out in between a few things... But with this one, it's the fastest game or really like art project I feel like I've ever done in my life. I got the entire playfield done and translite in two weeks.'
product_strategy: Game Room Pinball distinguishing custom games through combination of comprehensive code rewrite, professional artwork, and authentic prop integration (real college class ring, genuine Canon camera model, Hollywood prop master work)
high · Brian: 'I find the exact camera that they used in the movie... I find a broken one on eBay... take the thing apart, and then figure out how to mount the LCD screen inside... I had a real college class ring made and put that on the finger.'
product_strategy: Animation and visual quality improvements over multiple Game Room Pinball projects with Brian handling all animations personally on recent titles (Happy Gilmore, Hangover) resulting in professional-grade visuals
high · Brian: 'In the last two—Happy Gilmore and now Family Guy—I've handled all the animations myself... I think the last two animations came out really good. They're looking pretty awesome.'
technology_signal: Outsourcing of cabinet restoration work to specialized automotive restoration shops using professional painting and automotive clear coat techniques elevating overall product quality
high · Brian: 'I have this local shop that, you know, the guys used to restore antique cars. So they do a beautiful job fixing the cabinet, um, you know, priming, painting with automotive paint, we decal it, and, um, heavy clear coat. So it's like a really high-end looking, uh, kind of like a piece of art at the end of the day.'