Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Is Not Next from Barrels of Fun; Beetlejuice Pinball Production Update; Pinball Videos
By knapparcade
I've got a couple of updates from podcasts and a couple of cool videos for everyone today. First up, the Nudge Magazine podcast recorded a great interview with Barrels of Fun Pinball's David Van Es. It contained a ton of cool information on David's journey through pinball and how Barrels of Fun started. Towards the end of the podcast we did get a tiny bit of information about the Company's next pinball machine. You know that I'd be all over that lol. There has been a ton of chatter lately about the possibility of the book series Dungeon Crawler Carl being an upcoming pinball machine from Barrels of Fun (I'm almost done with Book 1 now BTW). Well, we didn't get any insight as to whether that rumor is actually true, but we did pretty much get confirmation that IF it is true, it is NOT Barrels of Fun's next game. Specifically, David said: "The Next Barrels of Fun IP everyone has a connection to it. Everyone knows what the next IP is." That definitely does not describe Dungeon Crawler Carl. Does it describe another theme that has been linked to Barrels through rumors, The NeverEnding Story? Maybe? NudgeCAST Episode 16 - David Van Es (Barrels Of Fun Pinball) https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/LSS2765795068?selected=LSS9829128476
In another podcast earlier this week, Don from the eponymous Don't Pinball Podcast talked a little about Beetlejuice production at Spooky Pinball, where he now works. As of yesterday's podcast episode, Spooky had built and shipped Beetlejuice games 1 through 52 or so, plus the 30 or so show games that went to Pinball at the Beach and the Texas Pinball Festival. I believe it. Every time I turn around another one is popping up on location, such as the one that was just unboxed at The Pinball Palace arcade in Brunswick, Georgia. That game was streamed on YouTube yesterday. I have embedded the video below. "DPP #231 Let's go to Jack in the Box!" https://open.spotify.com/episode/7e0z4YUvawscYyExOFT8Ye?si=2G9ncI2jSXyGLFVLpwt-Yw
Speaking of videos, the YouTube Channel "CoinReturn" shared a great video tour of Stern Pinball earlier this week. The mini-documentary includes interviews with Stern's George Gomez, Zach Sharpe and Gary Stern himself. "Pinball is more than a game — it’s a world under glass. In this behind-the-scenes tour, Robert Severson takes you inside a working pinball factory to discover what it takes to bring these electromechanical marvels to life. From raw playfields to fully assembled machines, this spotlight offers a rare look at how modern pinball is imagined, engineered, and built—largely by hand. Featuring interviews with Gary Stern, George Gomez, and Zach Sharpe (son of pinball legend Roger Sharpe), this video explores what makes pinball timeless. From artwork that sparks the imagination to the interactive choreography of ramps, targets, bumpers and flippers that physically respond to every movement of the ball, Stern Pinball blends craftsmanship, technology and decades of experience to create immersive experiences that transport players into fully realized worlds of sound, light and motion. Every switch. Every coil. Every mechanism. Built to entertain you—and to make you come back for more. This is a rare look inside the headquarters of the world’s largest pinball manufacturer and how Stern continues the legacy of the silver ball while pushing the medium forward—integrating modern technology like Insider Connected while preserving the tactile magic that makes pinball unlike anything else. Special thanks to Logan Arcade (Chicago), Arcade 1UP (Denver), and Wizard’s World (Fort Wayne, Indiana) for allowing us to film these beautiful machines in equally beautiful arcade spaces."
Last up I have two cool videos about locations... The Seattle Pinball Museum: Charlie and Cindy Martin founded the Seattle Pinball Museum in 2010 out of a shared love for the artistic and kinetic beauty of pinball machines. The result is a storefront in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District that is smartly curated with pinball machines dating back to1960. Better yet, every machine is meant to be played! Created by Howard Shack More information: https://seattlepinballmuseum.com/
