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Episode 266: Keith Johnson keeping us busy

PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago43 min listen
From the creator

Jersey Jack Pinball's Keith Johnson knows how to go deep with code, which is perfect for owners and for killing time during COVID-19. Lots of talk of updates, the past, present and future for...

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Highlights

  • Keith Johnson created the video mode concept for Elvis pinball and originally wanted to call it 'Flip Flip Revolution' before lawyers intervened
  • Pirates of the Caribbean will not receive another official release until the final wizard mode is completed
  • Co-op mode will be implemented on the JJP system at some point, but likely not immediately to avoid players seeing all content too quickly
  • Keith Johnson has been active on pinball forums since September 1992 on RackDotGames.Pinball, which led him to attend the Papa Tournament in NYC with Kevin Martin
  • Pirates of the Caribbean underwent multiple rounds of balancing, including doubling the value of all multiball jackpots and super jackpots at one point
  • The action button (gold collection mechanic) in Pirates was inspired by modern game design patterns where players collect dropped items
  • A fighting video mode concept for Family Guy (Chicken Fight) was originally designed but later converted to a standard playfield mode because players couldn't understand the mechanic
  • Keith Johnson initially had reservations about the action button but defended it against criticism noting Star Wars implemented a similar mechanic first

Notable quotes

“My initial reaction is to tell them why their idea is stupid, you know, or in rare cases, I will sit there and think about it... everyone's got ideas and you should listen to everyone while you're designing because no one knows everything about everything that's fun”
Keith Johnson
“There are usually very specific reasons, even if it's unobvious, of why I do things the way I do things. Maybe a plan I have in the future, like a mode is going to affect something, and that's why it's doing that now.”
Keith Johnson
“Making a trip from Blacksburg, Virginia, to New York City, like 12 hours... It's just nuts to think that we did that and it went on to shape, well, really both our careers... it's amazing just one little choice you make on an innocent college day and just changes the trajectory of your whole life”
Keith Johnson
“Pirates has a ton of rules and subtlety to it. And most people don't necessarily know or care about everything that's going on in it. But there's a lot to do and a lot to figure out if you take the time to peel the onion”
Keith Johnson
“If you want to play a video game, go play your PS4. Go play Big Buck Hunter... the important stuff is everything that's on the play field and the pinball part”
Keith Johnson
“I've talked with Scott Denisey about co-op mode... And it's definitely not a bad idea. And I think I've come to the conclusion that I committed to putting it in our system at some point.”
Keith Johnson
“The video mode in Elvis was entirely my idea... I originally wanted it to be literally called Flip Flip Revolution but the lawyers axed it”
Keith Johnson

Entities

  • Jersey Jack Pinball· company
  • Spooky Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Papa Tournament· event
  • Avatar· game
  • Battle for the Kraken· game
  • Counterforce· game
  • Elvis· game
  • Family Guy Pinball (Chicken Fight)· game
  • Indiana Jones· game
  • Innovation· game
  • Pirates of the Caribbean· game
  • Star Wars Pinball· game
  • Time Shock· game
  • Wizard of Oz· game
  • RackDotGames.Pinball· organization
  • Carl D'Angelo· person
  • Eric· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Joe Katz· person
  • Keith Johnson· person
  • Kevin Martin· person
  • Scott Denisey· person

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