Episode 58: The Goonies Pinball Leak Everyone Is Talking About!

Goonies leak, Spooky's future, and pinball design philosophy dominate discussion.

Highlights

• A Goonies logo (Splash.png file) was found hidden in Beetlejuice's source code within a Pin Access folder
• Jack Winardi made a comment at TPF that designers who make games where players constantly brick are bad designers, and that JJP focuses on good shot geometry and wide ramps to minimize rejection
• Spooky currently manufactures approximately 1,000 games per year and cannot easily expand production capacity without significant capital investment
• Harry Potter had strong initial code quality when released, though JJP has tweaked things quickly
• Fall of the Empire has excellent code by Ray Day but suffers from difficult shot geometry and high rejection rates that limit enjoyment for average players
• Pin Access is Chris Turner technology, and if Spooky is integrating it into Goonies, it suggests partnership for online connectivity and achievement systems
• Jersey Jack is expected to announce Sonic as their next game following Harry Potter and Elton John, with momentum and evidence supporting this rumor
• Stern's Insider Connected is expensive to develop and maintain, including server infrastructure on Amazon AWS, making it costly for boutique manufacturers to develop independently
• Spooky has had two consecutive commercial successes (Evil Dead and Beetlejuice) that have sold out, establishing them as a 'super fan' brand
• The Goonies logo in Beetlejuice's code could have been an Easter egg, accidental, or evidence of Spooky/Pin Access partnership for Goonies development