Episode 41 - Homebrew Games

Sean Irby discusses building 8 Ball Beyond, a reliable homebrew pinball machine using modern frameworks and off-the-shelf components.

Synopsis

Sean Irby, a Seattle-based tournament player and electrical engineer, discusses his homebrew pinball machine 8 Ball Beyond on the Wedgehead A A Pinball Podcast. The episode covers homebrew pinball definitions, hardware/software frameworks (Multimorphic P3, Mission Pinball Framework), the design philosophy behind 8 Ball Beyond as a love letter to classic 8-Ball games, and Sean's experience deploying the game on location at Adaball arcade. Key discussion points include why homebrew games can be more reliable than boutique commercial machines, the cost and time investment required, and the psychological challenges of multi-year projects.

Highlights

• 8 Ball Beyond has been running reliably on location at Adaball arcade in Seattle for extended periods (summer, then after Expo through ongoing operation), requiring only standard maintenance
• 8 Ball Beyond experienced one audio system crash per day due to a potential code bug, but otherwise remained stable on location with minimal intervention required
• Building a single homebrew pinball machine costs comparable to or exceeds the cost of a new Stern Pro machine
• Mission Pinball Framework allows game rules to be written in configuration files rather than line-by-line code, with complex features like multiball requiring only six lines of configuration
• Sean's custom-molded resin ball targets have held up well on location but yellowed after 6 months due to UV exposure from window light
• Modern boutique pinball manufacturers experience higher reliability issues than Stern due to scale differences, software problems, and bill-of-materials cost-cutting not present in single homebrew builds
• Sean's electrical engineering background provided confidence but minimal practical help for woodworking and mechanical design aspects of the project
• 8 Ball Beyond uses Multimorphic P3 Rock boards and runs on Mission Pinball Framework, not Fast boards

Entities

• 8 Ball· company
• Chicago Gaming· company
• Fast· company
• Jersey Jack Pinball· company
• Marco· company
• Multimorphic· company
• Pinball Life· company
• Spooky Pinball· company
• Stern· company
• VirtuaPin· company
• Pinball Expo· event
• Tacoma Show· event
• 8 Ball Beyond· game
• Pinside· organization
• Wedgehead· organization
• Alan· person
• Alex the Waterboy· person
• Johnny Kraft· person
• Roadsy· person
• Sean Irby· person
• Fusion 360· technology
• Mission Pinball Framework (MPF)· technology
• Adaball· venue
• Ataball· venue