Dirty Pool Podcast - Ep40 - Keith Elwin: Amateur Pinball Player
Dirty Pool Podcast - Ep40 - Keith Elwin: Amateur Pinball Player
▶ Full Dirty Pool Podcast Playlist Keith Elwin joins the Dirty Pool Podcast to talk about his path from competitive player to game designer, how Randy helped pull him into pinball, and the way he approaches building a new machine from the earliest ideas forward. We also talk about the pressure that comes with being called the best, the designers he looks up to, what defines Keith outside of pinball, obscure Steam games, and, most importantly what sandwich relates to each flipper skill. 📡 Twitch 📺 YouTube 📷 Instagram 📘 Facebook 👕 Apparel
Kineticist’s take
Keith Elwin discusses design philosophy, career trajectory, and mechanics-first approach on Dirty Pool Podcast.
Synopsis
Keith Elwin appears on the Dirty Pool Podcast (Ep. 40) for an extensive informal conversation covering his design philosophy, career history, personal collecting, and approach to pinball mechanics. The discussion ranges from his early days as an operator and tournament player, through his work on homebrew projects like Archer/South Park, to his design methodology emphasizing mechs-first layout construction and non-linear progression. Elwin discusses his preference for shorter, replayable games over lengthy rulesets, his influences (particularly Pat Lawlor), and specific design challenges including the abandoned shark-eating mechanism from Jurassic Park.
Highlights
- Keith Elwin paid significantly more for a Safe Cracker machine in recent years than its historical value (originally ~$1,500, now higher)
- Keith's first pinball machine was Xenon, purchased for $160
- Pat Lawlor is Keith Elwin favorite pinball designer, citing his use of mini flippers and accessible toy placement
- Keith Elwin did NOT write strategy guides for Revenge from Mars or Monster Bash despite being falsely credited on GameFacts
- Randy Elwin (Keith's brother) was the primary catalyst for Keith entering pinball, bringing him to arcades as a child
- Pinball 101 was created after Randy had a child and was off work; it started as experimental content that grew into a full DVD project
- South Park homebrew whitewood was parted out and sold for scrap (~$1,500 for parts/board), with the playfield later used as fence material
- The Archer whitewood (proto-Iron Maiden) is currently stored in Keith's storage unit
- Keith's design philosophy prioritizes mechs-first: place the mechanical element first, then design playfield layout around it
- Keith Elwin prefers 15-20 minute games due to self-described 'pinball ADHD' and dislikes extended rulesets like Lord of the Rings despite designing complex ones
Entities
- Stern Pinball· company
- AC/DC· game
- Archer· game
- Fallout· game
- Iron Maiden· game
- Jaws· game
- Jurassic Park· game
- Lord of the Rings· game
- Revenge from Mars· game
- Safe Cracker· game
- South Park· game
- TNA· game
- Dirty Pool Podcast· organization
- GameFacts· organization
- San Diego· organization
- Elizabeth· person
- George Gomez· person
- Harrison· person
- Keith Elwin· person
- Pat Lawlor· person
- Randy Elwin· person
- Tim Paul· person
- Pinball 101· product