Off the LDB: Akira Pinball homebrew with Dan Albano. Recorded at Pinball Expo 2026.
Summary
Dan Albano shows his Akira homebrew at Pinball Expo 2026, featuring dual-character play and custom mechs.
Michael of Raccoon City Pinball interviews Dan Albano, maker of the Akira homebrew pinball machine, at Pinball Expo 2026 in the Homebrew Village. They discuss the game's two-character rule set (Kaneda and Tetsuo), its custom mechs including a player-controlled supercharger, a permanent electromagnet pryo tube multiball, and its tech stack built on MPF, a Raspberry Pi, and Fast hardware. The game is an early whitewood with planned art and inserts for a next iteration at Expo 2027.
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I managed to grab the maker for this one and holy shit there's some great innovation and engineering that went into this game. It's a bit inconspicuous at first glance until you pay attention to the details. - A player controllable "supercharger" hidden under a mirror that reveals the loop and coil. - An "Iron Man" style pop up cistern that's a ramp which holds three balls with a passive magnet that releases when energized (take that Stranger Things lol) - An elevator platform that transports balls to a lock. All main mechs have movie tie-ins including the mini-playfield. A dual ruleset design as you pick either Kaneda or Tetsuo similar to Heighway ALIEN. The next revision will include inserts, more software and a printed playfield. Have a listen, a great maker willing to share all his tricks.
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