Ep 12: Keith Elwin!
In Episode 12 we have the honor of interviewing the man, the myth, the legend...Keith Elwin! We cover an array of topics like classic pinball, tournaments, Jurassic Park, how to get better at pinball, dinosaurs, and of course, Iron Maiden.
Kineticist’s take
Keith Elwin discusses his transition to Stern and design philosophy behind Iron Maiden.
Synopsis
Keith Elwin, legendary tournament player and now senior designer at Stern Pinball, discusses his transition from San Diego-based independent operator to Chicago-based full-time employee. He details the homebrew Archer project that became his portfolio piece, Iron Maiden design philosophy balancing tournament depth with casual accessibility, and his design principles emphasizing flow, state-change mechanics, and risk-reward gameplay. The conversation covers rule-set design, player skill development, and his approach to appealing to multiple market segments (tournament, location, home collector, premium collector).
Entities
- Stern Pinball· company
- Expo· event
- Archer· game
- Iron Maiden· game
- The Beatles· game
- Loser Kid Pinball Podcast· organization
- This Week in Pinball· organization
- Bowen Kerins· person
- George Gomez· person
- Jeremy· person
- Josh Roop· person
- Keith Elwin· person
- Lyman Sheets· person
- Rick· person
- Scott Larson· person