Episode 15: Karl DeAngelo, iepinball

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·10m 23s·analyzed·Jan 14, 2017

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

Carl D'Angelo on tournament software, streaming, and competitive pinball innovation

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Carl D'Angelo (IE Pinball), a Southern California tournament director and software developer who created the Drain's Tournament Manager software used widely in competitive pinball. Carl discusses his competitive journey from casual player (2009) to top-25 world ranking, the inspiration and development of his tournament management software, pioneering streaming initiatives with Jim Belsito, and innovative tournament formats like Button Bash and Limit Flip.

Key Claims

Carl started playing competitive pinball in 2009 after attending Jim Belsito's annual party in Southern California
high confidence · Carl directly states: 'It was Jim Belsito that went to one of his annual parties out here in Southern California. I got the bug at that point.'
Carl's second-place finish at Pinnberg is his biggest competitive accomplishment points-wise, along with back-to-back top-six finishes
high confidence · Jeff and Carl discuss his accomplishments; Carl confirms: 'Yeah, I would say that is, without question.'
The Drain's Tournament Manager software was inspired by Adam Lefkoff's tournament manager software
high confidence · Carl states: 'this was all inspired by Adam Lefkoff's tournament manager that he has, which is an excellent piece of software.'
Carl and Jim Belsito purchased streaming equipment in 2014 after Papa's Kickstarter drive ended; Carl's Indisc win that year covered his equipment costs
high confidence · Carl: 'That was 2014 and it was a good thing In 2014 I won Indisc which basically the prize pool for that covered all the equipment purchases that I made for the streaming.'
The queue system was the core problem Carl aimed to solve with his tournament software at California Extreme around 2012
high confidence · Carl: 'So the whole reason it came about was to implement the queue system that I developed.'
Carl owns Lord of the Rings and Wizard of Oz as his two favorite keeper games for 10-12 years and indefinitely respectively
high confidence · Carl: 'I'd say I have two keepers here, Lord of the Rings and Wizard of Oz. Those are kind of my top two, and they're not going anywhere for a very long time.'

Notable Quotes

“It was Jim Belsito that went to one of his annual parties out here in Southern California. I got the bug at that point.”
Carl D'Angelo @ early in interview — Origin story of Carl's entry into competitive pinball; Jim Belsito's influence on the community
“You'd buy a ticket to enter the tournament and you'd get a sheet of paper where you'd write down all seven of your scores... You hand that to a scorekeeper to get in line for the game and they be shuffling through these papers trying to find out how far down you are”
Carl D'Angelo @ software development discussion — Detailed explanation of the problem that inspired the Drain's Tournament Manager software
“In 2014 I won Indisc which basically the prize pool for that covered all the equipment purchases that I made for the streaming. And it was a legitimate win. It wasn't a software bug that somehow you put in there. It was a legitimate win.”
Carl D'Angelo @ streaming section — Carl addressing skepticism about fairness of his win; demonstrates self-awareness of community perception
“I really like match play. It's just so hard to run because you need so many machines to have a decent player base. Basically, one machine for every four players. I do love match play. I would love to see it everywhere.”
Carl D'Angelo @ tournament format discussion — Reveals preference for match play format and insight into logistical constraints
“I just cannot stand the game with the foster in the middle of the play field trying to hit the ball in there. I just could never skillfully get it in there to collect the bonus.”
Carl D'Angelo @ games discussion — Reveals personal gameplay frustration and preference against High Hand

Entities

Carl D'Angeloperson Jeff Teolisperson Jim BelsitopersonAdam LefkoffpersonNick LanepersonJeff SharppersonIE PinballorganizationIt Never Drainsevent

Signals

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community_signal: Southern California (particularly Riverside/Los Angeles area) is positioned as significant competitive pinball hub with active tournaments, streaming infrastructure, and innovation in tournament formats
high · Multiple tournaments (It Never Drains, Play at the Lake, Indisc) operating in region; streaming infrastructure established; Carl as top-25 player based there
?
community_signal: Carl and Jim Belsito's investment in streaming equipment and technology demonstrates ongoing commitment to building infrastructure for pinball community engagement and viewership
high · Carl and Jim 'kicked in some money' and 'purchased a lot of equipment to run the streams on our major tournaments' in 2014 after Papa TV's cross-country drive
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competitive_signal: Match play format gaining traction among serious tournaments despite logistical challenges; Carl advocates for wider adoption but cites infrastructure constraints
medium · Carl states match play is his favorite format and would love to see it everywhere; notes Pinnberg's adoption as reason it's his favorite tournament; acknowledges need for one machine per four players
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event_signal: Multiple innovative tournament formats (Button Bash, Thunder Tilt, Limit Flip, Play at the Lake) being developed and deployed at major events indicate experimentation with new competitive structures
high · Carl discusses creation of custom formats and their deployment at Indisc, It Never Drains, and other Southern California tournaments
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community_signal: Carl's trajectory from casual player to top-25 competitor to tournament infrastructure builder demonstrates pathway for community members to evolve from players to organizers/developers

Topics

Tournament software and managementprimaryCompetitive pinball career developmentprimaryPinball streaming and content creationprimaryCustom tournament formats and innovationprimaryMatch play tournament formatsecondaryPersonal game preferences and dislikessecondarySouthern California pinball communitysecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Carl is enthusiastic about pinball, tournament innovation, and software development. Jeff is appreciative and complimentary. The tone is friendly, engaging, and celebratory of Carl's contributions. Minor negative sentiment when Carl discusses games he dislikes (High Hand) but framed humorously.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.031

It's another Pinball Profile. I'm Jeff Teels. You can subscribe on iTunes. You can catch us on our Facebook group and follow us on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Today, we go out to California. Carl D'Python Anghelo joins us. Hey, Carl, how are you? I'm doing great. How are you doing, Jeff? Very, very good. One of the co-tournament directors of It Never Drains in Southern California. But a guy who's only been playing competitive pinball since 2009. You've really moved up the ladder quickly, being the top 25 in the world. Yeah, I guess I have. I never intended to do it. It just kind of happened, I guess. Was it first casual for you, or did you always have that kind of competitive fire in you? It was casual at first. I've owned games since, I think, 2001. It was actually Jim Belsito that went to one of his annual parties out here in Southern California. I got the bug at that point. Played in his casuals tournament, took second place in his B division, or his casual division, whatever it was at the time. And joined the league after that, and then people said, you know, you should go to California Extreme. There's tournaments there. So I started going to California Extreme every year and just snowballed after that. Then ended up flying to Pittsburgh, and the rest is history, I guess you could say. No kidding. You've had several wins, but this past year's second-place finish at Pinburgh, your biggest accomplishment, at least points-wise it is. and also back-to-back years being in the top six. Is that your biggest accomplishment in your mind? Yeah, I would say that is, without question. The other thing I would say is the first time I went to the Pops facility, the first pinball I attended, I ended up in third place, which was a bit of a shock to me without any division restrictions at the time. I think that was 2013. Well, you've made a big impact on pinball, certainly with your own play, but really for everyone else. It's the Drain's Tournament Manager software. It's seen everywhere, tournaments, selfie leagues, anywhere you find Herb's scoring events. How did this software come to be? Well, attending Calibri Extreme, I was getting a little frustrated with how the tournament was being run. And it wasn't the fault of the organizers. It was just, you know, you put in a score, you'd wait 30 minutes. And this was all inspired by Adam Lefkoff's tournament manager that he has, which is an excellent piece of software. So I went, what was it, probably 2012, Calibri Extreme. you'd buy a ticket to enter the tournament and you'd get a sheet of paper where you'd write down all seven of your scores or eight or whatever it was You hand that to a scorekeeper to get in line for the game and they be shuffling through these papers trying to find out how far down the line you are And you don get your score submitted until all that entire ticket has been filled out despite it being a best game format where every game is individual. And then the other show scene during that was you couldn't see how long you were going to take before you could play a game. So people kept going up to the scorekeeper and asking, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, how many down am I? And then people were buying multiple tickets. So they would give one ticket to a classic scorekeeper and another ticket to a modern scorekeeper. They'd be playing their modern game and be called over at the classic scheme while they're on their modern game. And I thought that was an issue and I wanted to fix it. So the whole reason it came about was to implement the queue system that I developed. And then everything else was just gravy. Starting the instant scoring or instant update the scores to real time so you could track instantly what's going on and so on. Well, I never played in the days of Excel spreadsheets or just writing it down on paper. Seeing iPads and the queuing system you talk about is pure heaven. Yeah, I've gotten a lot of good feedback about it. I'm happy that most players seem to like it so they can go do other things while they're waiting in the lines or add themselves to the lines or whatever they want to do. By the way, Nick Lane of Buffalo and Bro, Do You Even Know Pinball also says hello. He uses the software in his league in Buffalo. Right, right. I've had a couple of selfie leagues. Not as many as, there were more that, when the initial rush of selfie leagues came on after Level 257 was so successful, there were a whole bunch of people that wanted the software. And Nick's one of the ones still using it over time, along with a couple, Level 287, I don't know if you've followed that league at all in Chicago with Jeff Sharp. Carl, you know, before I got into pinball, personally, I played a lot of poker, and watching poker on TV just didn't do it for me. In fact, it actually turned me off the game. I thought it was very boring at times. And watching pinball, it's really fun. You learn the games, the strategies, and much like this pinball profile, you really get to learn about the players. I think a big part of the enjoyment is because of the Twitch, i.e. pinball streaming. Well, that came about because it was with Jim and I. We, Papa, had their Kickstarter for Papa TV. And the big thing at the end of it was they were driving cross-country, coming to In Their Regreens in Southern California. So they came out, ran their stream on our tournaments, and then Jim and I realized the next year we weren't going to have any streaming because they weren't going to come all the way back out here again. So he kicked in some money I kicked in a lot of money and we purchased a lot of equipment to run the streams on our major tournaments That was 2014 and it was a good thing In 2014 I won Indisc which basically the prize pool for that covered all the equipment purchases that I made for the streaming. And it was a legitimate win. It wasn't a software bug that somehow you put in there. It was a legitimate win. You can go watch it on YouTube. It's still on the Twitch channel. No, not on the Twitch channel, just on the YouTube channel. But you can go and watch and see the wind. It's completely legitimate. Everyone said I bought my own cameras to record my own wind. It's like the moon landing. Yeah. You're always reinventing things, whether it's the software, the Twitch IE pinball, but also different tournament formats too. And you've got a few. I know some are going to be actually used at Never Drains in California. Do you want to tell us about those? So every year Jim and I run a match play tournament in Riverside called Play at the Lake. And every year we run a unique side tournament. So this year's was a button bash, which is there's this console added on top of the lockdown bar of a pinball machine. You've got three yellow buttons, three red buttons. And at any time, one button on each side will be lit. The left button is controlled, the left flipper, right button is controlled, the right flipper. So if the button's lit, you can press it, the flipper goes up. If you press the wrong button, you get locked out for half a second. And the buttons randomly change after you press it. It's going to move to another button or the same button. So you have to keep standing toes, whichever button is lit. Hit it and go from there. And we'll just run a, at Indisc, we'll have it there, and run a side tournament on an undetermined machine at this point. It's kind of like whack-a-mole meets pinball. Yeah, yeah, it's kind of like whack-a-mole, very much. It's very frantic, extremely difficult. It sounds easier than this, but it's a lot of fun. What about some of the other ones, like Thunder Tilt and Limit Flip? So Thunder Tilt was ACDC's, and this is a hilarious stream. we streamed online, was the Thunderstruck targets were wired to the tilt. So one hit to a Thunderstruck target would tilt your ball. And so people come up, plunge, try and shoot a ramp, hit the target, instant tilt, they're done with their ball. Hilarious. And then the Lilla Flip is an entity's hardware I developed which allows you only a certain number of flips and it's programmable. So the year we used it, we had a creature from the Blackboard game. You got 30 flips. after 30 flips if you hit it again your game would tilt and you'd end your ball and the unique thing with that is we had it also set so if you went in the the bowl the multiplier bowl during multi you could actually gain flips so there a little bit of a stealing strategy involved in there Do you want to play your multi at the beginning of a ball where you only got your 30 flips already or do you want to start it later in the game when you've got just a couple and try and hit the bowl and add some flips? And both of those, both of that and limit flips can be adapted to any game. Very cool. You don't want to waste cradling, I guess, with tournaments like that. It's tough. A lot of the flipper tricks, the drop catcher, you're using generally two or three flips on that move to trap the ball. So a lot of on-the-fly play helps. Is there a favorite format you'd like to see more of at tournaments? I really like match play. It's just so hard to run because you need so many machines to have a decent player base. Basically, one machine for every four players. I do love match play. I would love to see it everywhere. Pemburg's my favorite tournament because of that format. What about games themselves? Is there a favorite or a least favorite? Favorites go back and forth. I'd say I have two keepers here, Lord of the Rings and Wizard of Oz. Those are kind of my top two, and they're not going anywhere for a very long time. I think Lord of the Rings I've had in my collection for 10 or 12 years, somewhere around there. And then Wizard of Oz really grew on me. I know some people aren't too fond of it, but there's something about the game that involves the different goals in it. It's an adventure, I guess you could say. and there's always something to do at any point in your game. Any games drive you nuts? There are plenty. Going back to Timber because this year the tiebreaker on highhand, I despise highhand. I felt so lucky to win the tiebreakers to move on from the semifinals to the finals. That's a game I had here for a while. I was running tournaments called Winifed where we gave away a pinball machine, and highhand was one of the giveaways, and I couldn't wait to get rid of that thing. I just cannot stand the game with the foster in the middle of the play field trying to hit the ball in there. I just could never skillfully get it in there to collect the bonus. Was second place you win two high hands? Oh, gosh. I wouldn't play in that tournament. Get it away. Well, you've got a great tournament. It never drains in Southern California, and I'm sure we'll see you at an event soon. Carl, thanks very much for joining us. Thank you, Jeff. Appreciate it. This has been your Pinball Profile. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter at Pinball Profile. I'm Jeff Teola.