# Hilton Jones Talks Pinball Design and Building an Indie Arcade Game
by [Matt Owen](/author/matt-owen) · June 12, 2026 · [Interviews](/news/category/interviews)

> Hilton Jones has worn just about every hat in pinball: collector, competitor, and the longest-running operator in Madison, WI. He helped write the rules for Spooky's Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, then built his own arcade game, Aliens of Destruction, which won Best New Arcade Game at Midwest Gaming Classic 2026. Matt Owen talks shop with him about operating, ruleset design, and indie arcade games.

The world of pinball and arcade games is a nuanced one with many roles, and Hilton Jones is a man who has filled many of them. After becoming a certified pinhead in the 1980s, Hilton started his pinball career collecting and fixing machines, then took a jaunt into the competitive scene before becoming one of his area’s most prominent operators. Now, after helping design rules for some of Spooky Pinball's most popular pinball machines, Hilton has struck out on his own to create [Aliens of Destruction](https://aodarcade.com/), a competitive multiplayer arcade game. Following a successful showing at [Midwest Gaming Classic](https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/), I got the chance to pick Hilton's brain about all aspects of the industry and the lessons he's learned along the way. In this interview, we talk shop about the indie arcade scene, working with Spooky Pinball, Hilton's four tenets of game design, and much more.

![Aliens of Destruction at MGC 2026](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/77615912-58c9-4405-b9b6-fae5ddc8b9ee.jpg?width=4284&height=3665)

*Aliens of Destruction at MGC 2026*

Note: This interview has been edited for length, clarity, and content.

**Matt Owen: There are many aspects of your career that I'd like to discuss, so let's start with pinball. How did you first become interested in the world of pinball and arcade games?**

**Hilton Jones**: When I was really young in the mid-80s, my true love of pinball came from being broke. While my friends may have had $5 to blow on the coin-eating arcade games, I would only have .50 or $1. That made me gravitate to pinball, where skill meant I could win free games. It also meant I spent lots of hours watching others play at the arcade, observing and rooting on (and trash-talking) friends as much as playing. We would often spend a full Saturday at the arcades around Rockford, Illinois, and I always loved the overwhelming experience and friendship. I was always a pretty solid player since I spent so much time watching, and each quarter needed to be stretched out to maximize game time. Most days, I spent more time studying how to play and how others approach a game than playing.

**Matt: For those unfamiliar with your work, do you mind giving my readers a brief rundown of your history with the pinball/arcade business?**

**Hilton**: At this stage, I think I have tried on most hats in the arcade and pinball business, but I always enjoy new facets of the hobby. The short version is that I grew up playing all games, but really “got” pinball in 1992 when [The Addams Family](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/the-addams-family) came out, and I was a freshman in high school. I played regularly and finally purchased my first game (The Addams Family, of course) post-grad school at the urging of my partner, Heidi.

As it goes, the machine broke the first week that I had it, so I started learning to work on them as I got into the collector hobby. 1 game became 12, and over the next 12 months, I really got deeper into restoring, playing, and all aspects of the broader pinball hobby. As I ran out of space for a home collection, my two buddies and I started [Madison Pinball](https://madisonpinball.com/) and began to bring back quality pinball in the Madison, Wisconsin area.

That started my tangent into competitive pinball (at one stage, I was close to being ranked top 250 in the IFPA) and also operating pinball. Now, we are known as the longest-running pinball operator in Madison, WI, providing over 40 diverse and high-quality games around town, most notably [I/O Arcade Bar](https://www.kineticist.com/locations/io-arcade-bar), which is home base for many local pinheads.

![Some of the games at I/O Arcade Bar](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/295258fb-01c6-4c61-a885-297c52da215f.webp?width=912&height=684)

*Some of the games at I/O Arcade Bar*

**Matt: Tell me a bit about your time on the operator side of things. As a seasoned operator, what are some of your favorite aspects of routing games/operating, and what are some challenges you've had to overcome?**

**Hilton**: Operating is a blast! When we started Madison Pinball, the whole desire was really about building a community and providing quality games for others to experience. We have been very successful in doing so, and Madison as a whole has really flourished as a legit pinball scene. Many others in the area and region have emulated and iterated on what we have started. The community is strong and growing in Wisconsin! That is the best part: the people! I have made many lifelong friends, and we have all together built a community, a place to belong, to grow, support, and challenge each other.

Operating as a whole is always challenging. It takes lots of time every single week, and it does not really pay much for that time. You have to be in it for the passion and the personal gratification. For me, challenges in operating are the technical aspects. Pinball breaks, and sometimes it breaks in odd ways that are headscratchers. Truthfully, I love those challenges and working to figure them out and fix them with Sean and Garrett, my other Madison Pinball business partners. The camaraderie that comes from us all working together is awesome! I genuinely look forward to the early mornings and late nights doing tech stuff with the guys.

**Matt: Do you have any advice for new owners who are thinking about routing their games or becoming an operator?**

**Hilton**: Do it! Just be ready for the hard work. I always say it won’t make much money, but it pays you dividends in experience and personal growth. You can slowly pay off a collection with your time, but you would be smarter flipping burgers if you were looking for side cash.

**Matt: In addition to operating, you've also worked on the development side of pinball, more specifically in rules creation for Spooky's Evil Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. How did you get into that side of the industry?**

**Hilton**: As for the creative side, I was always a vocal yet constructive critic of pinball manufacturers. I think [Charlie Emery](https://www.kineticist.com/people/charlie-emery) from Spooky Pinball dubbed me a “jerk but a smart jerk” who “has some pretty alright ideas sometimes.” I was constantly chirping in the ears of Charlie and [Ben Heck](https://www.kineticist.com/people/ben-heck) about what they can do better and what I liked. I provided some ideas that got brought into the ruleset of [America's Most Haunted](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/americas-most-haunted), which was probably what seeded my desire to provide creative input. A decade passed, but when Spooky asked Ben to work on [The Texas Chainsaw Massacre](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-se), Ben would have me over to hang out and dork out. He asked me to help him with ruleset design and feedback on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and he somehow convinced [Bug](https://www.kineticist.com/people/corwin-bug-emery) and [Luke](https://www.kineticist.com/people/luke-peters-spooky-luke) that, as Charlie said, I can have good ideas. From there, I helped with ruleset design and theory for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as [Evil Dead](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/evil-dead-ce), which was a blast to work on with the guy. I am working on another game that is currently in development with Ben and the Spooky crew that I am even more excited about!

**Matt: Tell me a bit about the process of creating the ruleset for a pinball machine. As a designer, do you focus on any one element before the others? Do you use the same workflow for each game, or is it more of a case-by-case basis?**

**Hilton**: I could talk about pinball ruleset design and game theory for hours, but to break it down as simply as possible, my ruleset design has a few central tenets:

1\. You must make rules that are for all four core “player types”: complete pinball noobs, novices that know they like pinball and are still learning, actual full-fledged pinheads, and competition pinball “mutants”. You need to think about the layers of players, since a game should cater to all of them in some aspect.

2\. Risk vs reward. The physical layout of any game is what drives your rules. Every single ruleset design choice needs to be icing on that layout and must complement it. If a game has flow, then rules need to lean into that (like the combo meter in TCM). If a game has an immersive mech, then use it correctly to tell the story, but also challenge the player while making it an experience. You need to consider risk and reward early, as each type of player will view it differently.

3\. Make it fun and make it funny! This is easy when working with Ben and Bug, as I think we make a great team. I'll give Ben a super deep analytical idea on rule theory and risk/reward, but then we go off on a tangent and just goof around. Bug has this amazing talent where he can bring it all together, and we end up with something where we are all laughing and having fun as we play. If the three of us are having fun, then the player is going to have fun.

4\. Go deep into your “nerd” side. Basically, I see a lot of pinball rules that hit on something really fun, but then they don’t embrace it or iterate on it. If you go deep and really commit, then the players will find it fun or funny most of the time. I learned a lot of this from studying what [Lyman Sheats Jr.](https://www.kineticist.com/people/lyman-f-sheats-jr) brought to games. He always had layers, but he also leaned heavily on his central tenets of a game ruleset. [The Walking Dead](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/the-walking-dead) is a perfect example of this. I think Lyman went heavy on the “side quest” aspect of The Walking Dead with killing walkers, and I like to think we took that further with Evil Dead, where we made multiple layers of side quests. Basically, leaning into side quests became a third arm to Evil Dead, with modes and multiballs being central to any pinball ruleset.

**Matt: I'm a particularly big fan of the Evil Dead franchise. The movies, the games, and of course, Spooky's excellent pinball machine. I particularly like that both Evil Dead 1 and Evil Dead 2 are represented as individual modes within the pin. Do you have a personal favorite between the two movies? Additionally, were there ever talks of including modes for Army of Darkness?**

**Hilton**: I wasn't a huge fan of the movies prior to working on the pinball machine, though I liked them well enough. After working on the machine, I got so deep into the movies that I now appreciate them in a new light. Now, I'm a legit fan of the whole Evil Dead world. Army of Darkness was always my personal favorite, and I am hopeful we will see it as a whole game in the future. It has more than enough content and unique modes to make a whole game. We have some of that already in the Evil Dead pinball machine, so there is a nice tie-in if we get the chance to make a full Army of Darkness pin in the future.

![Aliens of Destruction Cabinet](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/eb7b6931-9f2b-4041-a96d-248d769ac0af.png?width=2624&height=3936)

*Aliens of Destruction Cabinet*

**Matt: Speaking of development, tell me about your new arcade game, Aliens of Destruction. What's your favorite part of the game, and what parts are you most proud of?**

**Hilton**: Aliens of Destruction is a passion project that's been in the back of my head for over a decade. I had been jotting down ideas of this game and its rules/design in my notebook for ages. It was born out of the desire to make an arcade game that's specifically geared towards players who want to hang out and talk smack at arcade bars. I realized that, to sell a game to an arcade bar, you need an experience that builds friendships, but also gives you time to drink and laugh with each other. I grew up playing the Worms video game, back when time-limited/turn-based play was a big part of gaming. I always liked the structure and inherent style of that type of game. In my adult years, I also played both [Killer Queen](https://killerqueenarcade.com/) and [Deathball](https://deathball.cab/) competitively; both are indie arcades that have cult followings and have figured out how to bring fun to arcade bars. They have the social “it” factor that I think is important for any successful bar arcade game.

![Aliens of Destruction Gameplay 1](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/515a06d6-b12d-44c7-bd3e-3e7696d53dfc.png?width=2235&height=1251)

*Aliens of Destruction Gameplay*

Aliens of Destruction went from 'napkin and pint' to a full-fledged arcade game in about six months. In late 2025, a work friend noted that his son, Alex, was graduating from college as a game developer, but the job market made it hard to find gainful employment. Alex and I met up and vibed right away. I offered him a side hustle to be the main coder and developer to bring my design ideas to light. He made a general proof of concept in about a month, and we realized that the game could become a reality if we put our minds to it. We set a goal to have a viable product to debut at Midwest Gaming Classic 2026. I think I am most proud of that timeline and delivery; it was aggressive in hindsight, but a good goal to set. This is the first time I really had to lead creative design, while helping sell a vision to Alex and encourage his creativity (that teamwork is what organically makes for fun games). This is also the first time I needed to navigate the full buildout and production aspects (big thanks to Tony from [DeathBall](https://deathball.cab/) and Dan from [DSM Arcade](https://dsmarcade.com/) for their tutelage and assistance to help us over the curve).

[Ben Heck](https://www.benheck.com/) is on callouts, and I think he did more ad-libs than record lines from the script. There is something funny to me about Ben being the primary voice of the alien sprite and doing his signature voices. I also want to give props to our soundtrack composer, [Jean Baudin](https://jeanbaudin.com/), our cabinet artist, Brandon Burn, and our lead developer and artist, [Alex Sievert](https://alexsievert.com/). Alex is currently on the hunt for a full-time job in game development and is a super-talented guy. If you're reading this now and are interested in contacting him, you can do so on his website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ\_\_OOQvWK8

**Matt: Indie arcade games are an exciting business, and I'm always impressed by titles like Aliens of Destruction. That said, I don't see many people rushing to create indie arcade titles, at least when compared to other platforms like PC and video game consoles. What are some of the biggest challenges of creating an arcade game? Why do you think these types of games are rare nowadays?**

**Hilton**: Honestly, I think the entire arcade space is a tough sell. Making a game with the intent to produce it for a profit is a steep hill to climb. We see this in pinball constantly, as the number of failures far outweighs success stories like with Spooky Pinball. The successful ones do it for the passion, and if they can make a living off it, that's a bonus. I think making arcade games is even tougher, as the margins are thinner and the market is smaller. There is not the same home market of collectors supporting indie arcades like there is with pinball.

![Aliens of Destruction Player Select](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/beaf81ff-3648-495b-bf1a-fd0473c0a025.png?width=2231&height=1252)  
  
My goal with AoD was to have fun and be a creative outlet. If this was intended to make money, then my time would be better spent elsewhere. In fact, I'm glad that it's not a money-making venture, as we've never felt pressured to compromise on our end product. That said, I am grateful for the support and early sales so far; if this ends up selling all 100 units, it would for sure influence us to make some other arcade games in the future, but we won't be quitting our day jobs.

![Hilton Jones Mgc 2026](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/947a91a8-e013-4b55-9fb3-de36eb8fbf7a.jpg?width=4284&height=5712)

*Hilton Jones with his award for "Best New Arcade Game" at MGC 2026*

**Matt: Aliens of Destruction had an excellent showing at Midwest Gaming Classic 2026 and won the “Best New Arcade Game” award. How was that experience?**

**Hilton**: It was absolutely humbling, astounding, and invigorating all in one! Winning Best New Arcade Game was really cool, but it was more rewarding to realize we had created something special. MGC was the first chance to put AoD out for public consumption and ask for feedback. Over the weekend, we started to notice that we were getting lots of return visitors. Players were starting to see our vision, having fun, and wanting to come back for more. It was the first validation that our game was fun and that the hard work was worth it. Seeing people laugh, smile, and trash-talk each other was the best part. We also took a lot of player feedback to heart and have incorporated changes into our most recent code based on those suggestions. My personal prototype of AoD will be going to I/O Arcade Bar in Madison, WI, and the first production unit will be going to [Lumberjack Johnny's](https://www.kineticist.com/locations/lumberjack-johnnys-appleton-axe-throwing-pinball-appleton-wi) in Appleton, WI. We plan on bringing the game to a few more conventions in the coming months as well.

**Matt: What are some of the key differences between developing rules for an arcade game versus a pinball machine?**

**Hilton**: Arcade games are completely different than pinball, in my opinion. With arcade games, you can’t rely on kinetic appeal or the inherent novelty of every game being physically random. The static nature of an arcade means you really have to think about things like player pacing, ensuring every game “feels” unique, and leaning on player immersion in a whole different way. Pinball is amazing, as you are the “ball” right from the start. The player inherently feels the physical impact they have on the game. With arcade games, it is a real challenge to replicate that feeling of control between the player and the on-screen character. You have to think on a much smaller, hyper-analytical path. You have to make everything feel fair and natural to how a player controls the game, add a layer of risk/reward, along with replayability and satisfying challenge.

**Matt: Here's a curveball. If you could make one theme into a pinball machine, what would it be and why?**

**Hilton**: [Futurama](https://www.kineticist.com/hype/futurama-pinball). Ben and I have been talking about this theme for probably 15 years. The comedy aspect is so important to me, no matter the theme. Futurama is chock full of so many great characters, humor, and excellent voice actors. The theme kind of writes itself for pinball, and to be able to work with that license and creative team would be a dream come true. I have a fair amount of rule ideas in my notebook already.

**Matt: Finally, this is a question I love to ask everyone I interview: What are your top 3 favorite pinball machines? I'm sure you have a soft spot for Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Are there any other titles that have a special place in your pinball life?**

**Hilton**: I have a pretty big collection, and my favorites are hard to pin down. I personally love variety and tend to gravitate toward rare, fun, and punishing games. You may get a different answer depending on the day, but for now, I am going with [Andromeda](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/andromeda), [Centaur](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/centaur), and The Walking Dead. I am also really looking forward to playing the new Transformers, as I really like what [Elliot Eismin](https://www.kineticist.com/people/elliot-eismin) does on design, but also to see what [Elizabeth Gieske](https://www.kineticist.com/people/elizabeth-gieske) is doing on rules/software in combination with the layout!

For more information on Aliens of Destruction, [check out their website here](https://aodarcade.com/). Preorders are now open and production is limited to 100 units total.

## Related
- Game: [The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (SE)](/games/pinball/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-se)
- Game: [Evil Dead](/games/pinball/evil-dead-ce)
- Hype: [Futurama](/hype/futurama-pinball)

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