Vince Pontarelli, an accomplished composer and sound designer, played a key role in elevating the audio experience of numerous pinball machines from the mid-1990s through the early 2010s. His work at Williams/Bally in the 1990s encompassed composing music, crafting sound effects, and performing voice callouts for classics like World Cup Soccer ‘94, Medieval Madness, No Good Gofers, and Monster Bash—games still widely regarded for their memorable sound packages. Pontarelli later transitioned to Stern Pinball in the 2010s, contributing to licensed machines such as Metallica, The Walking Dead, and Deadpool, where he helped merge digital audio technology with engaging gameplay experiences.
His distinctive style combined clear thematic compositions with comedic or atmospheric voice work, reinforcing each machine’s storyline and character. By leveraging digital sampling systems and expanding the range of audio used in pinball, Pontarelli advanced the industry’s standard for what a pinball machine could sound like—prompting other designers to integrate music and sound more centrally into their designs.