List of pinball game designers

The following is a list of notable pinball game designers. Many pinball designers are famous amongst pinball players.^[1] Outstanding pinball game designers are recognized by the Pinball Expo Hall of Fame.^[2]

Designer	Notable work	Honors	Ref.
Python Anghelo	PinBot, Taxi, Big Guns, The Machine: Bride of PinBot, Comet, High Speed, Cyclone, Taxi, Police Force, Bad Cats, Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball, The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot, Hurricane, Fish Tales, and Popeye Saves the Earth	Hall of Fame (inaugurated in 2010)	^[2]^[3]^[4]
John Borg	Star Wars, Guns ’N Roses, The Walking Dead, Jurassic Park, Apollo 13, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Tron: Legacy	Hall of Fame (2012)	^[1]^[2]^[5]
Nolan Bushnell	Frenzy	Hall of Fame (2014)	^[2]^[6]
Larry DeMar	Black Knight, Jungle Lord, Space Shuttle: Pinball Adventure, High Speed, Banzai Run, FunHouse, JackBot, The Addams Family, The Twilight Zone, World Cup Soccer,* Video games: Defender, Stargate, Robotron: 2084, and Blaster	Hall of Fame (1999)	^[2]^[7]^[4]^[8]
Brian Eddy	Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness, The Shadow, FunHouse, The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot, The Shadow, and Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure	Hall of Fame (2014)	^[2]^[1]^[9]^[10]
Keith Elwin	Godzilla and Jurassic Park	Hall of Fame (2025)	^[2]^[11]^[12]
Charlie Emery	Rob Zombie Spookshow International, Domino's Spectacular Pizza Adventure, and Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle		^[13]
Dan Forden	Black Knight 2000, Bad Cats, Rollergames, Riverboat Gambler, The Machine: Bride of PinBot, The Getaway: High Speed II, Star Trek: The Next Generation, No Fear: Dangerous Sports,* Medieval Madness, Mousin' Around!, Harley-Davidson,The Party Zone, The Shadow, Attack from Mars, Safe Cracker, Revenge from Mars, and The Simpsons Pinball Party Video games: Mortal Kombat, WWF Raw, NBA Ballers, Arch Rivals, and Mortal Kombat II		^[4]^[14]
George Gomez	Johnny Mnemonic, NBA Fastbreak, Monster Bash, Revenge from Mars, The Lord of the Rings, Corvette, and Deadpool	Hall of Fame (2008)	^[1]^[2]^[4]^[15]^[16]
David Gottlieb	Baffle Ball	Hall of Fame (1991)	^[17]
Eugene Jarvis	Airborne Avenger, Superman, Firepower,Space Shuttle, High Speed, and F-14 Tomcat	Hall of Fame (2013)	^[2]^[18]
Steve Kordek	Grand Prix, Triple Action, and Vacation America	Hall of Fame (1993)	^[19]^[2]^[20]
Ed Krynski	"300", 2001, 4 Square, The Amazing Spider-Man, El Dorado City of Gold, Genie, Spirit of 76, Central Park, and Big Shot	Hall of Fame (2003)	^[2]^[4]^[21]
Pat Lawlor	Whirlwind, FunHouse, The Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Red & Ted's Road Show, Dialed In!, Banzai Run, Earthshaker!, No Good Gofers, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and Family Guy	Hall of Fame (2000)	^[1]^[2]^[4]^[22]
Raymond Moloney	Ballyhoo	Hall of Fame (1991)	^[17]
John Popaduik	Theatre of Magic, Tales of the Arabian Nights, World Cup Soccer, Star Wars Episode I, and Cirqus Voltaire	Hall of Fame (2011)	^[1]^[2]^[4]
Montague Redgrave	Parlor Table Bagatelle		^[23]^[17]
Mark Ritchie	Taxi, Diner, Fish Tales, Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure, Sorcerer, Big Guns, and Police Force	Hall of Fame (2011)	^[2]^[4]
Steve Ritchie	Black Knight, Firepower, High Speed, Black Knight 2000, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation, AC/DC, Flash, Hyperball, F-14 Tomcat, Rollergames, Spider Man, and No Fear: Dangerous Sports	Hall of Fame (1997)	^[1]^[2]^[24]^[4]
Roger Sharpe	Barracora, Sharpshooter, and Cyclopes	Hall of Fame (2000)	^[2]^[25]^[26]
Lyman F. Sheats Jr.	The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard, Guns N' Roses, Medieval Madness, Monster Bash, Spider-Man, WWF Royal Rumble, The Walking Dead, and AC/DC	Hall of Fame (2015)	^[2]^[27]
Harry E. Williams	Flat-Top, Laura, Suspense, and Lucky Inning	Hall of Fame (1991)	^[17]^[28]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Who is the Greatest Solid State Pinball Designer of all time? Results". Home Leisure Direct. July 6, 2018. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Hall of Fame". Pinball Expo. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
↑ Farokhmanesh, Meghan (April 9, 2014). "Joust artist and Williams pinball machine designer Python Anghelo has died". Polygon. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Shalhoub, Michael (2005). The pinball compendium, 1982 to present. A Schiffer book for collectors. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 978-0-7643-2300-3 – via Internet Archives.
↑ "John Borg — Pinball Concept". Kineticist. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
↑ Friedman, Todd (2016-04-08). "Trading Card Spotlight - Nolan Bushnell". The Walter Day Collection. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
↑ Hague, James (March 1997). "Bill Budge". Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers. Dadgum Games. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
↑ "0844 Larry DeMar". The Walter Day Collection.
↑ "Brian Eddy is the Patron Saint of Pinball". Nudge. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
↑ Eddy, Brian R. (2012-07-20). Classic Video Games: The Golden Age 1971–1984. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-100-3.
↑ Berkowitz, Joe (2024-07-06). "Pinball is cool again—and these stunning machines are why". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
↑ Harding, Matt (April 11, 2023). "Keith Elwin in U.K. Pinball Hall of Fame". RePlay Magazine.
↑ "About Us". Spooky Pinball. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
↑ Denzer, TJ (2025-10-02). "Dan Forden leaves NetherRealm Studios after over 35 years". Shacknews. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
↑ Joosten, Jonathan (2014-12-03). "George Gomez special". Pinball Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
↑ Langsworthy, Billy (2022-10-10). "George Gomez – Chief Creative Officer at Stern Pinball – takes us inside the design of the firm's new James Bond machines". Mojo Nation. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
1 2 3 4 McKamey, Max (2025-09-23). "A Brief History of Pinball: Flipping and Tilting Through the Years". Asgard Press. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
↑ Saucier, Jeremy (2014-02-20). "Honoring Gaming Innovator Eugene Jarvis". The Strong National Museum of Play. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
↑ "0880 Steve Kordek". The Walter Day Collection.
↑ Hevesi, Dennis (2012-02-24). "Steve Kordek, a Pinball Innovator, Dies at 100". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
↑ "0803 Ed Krynski". The Walter Day Collection. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
↑ "0836 Pat Lawlor". The Walter Day Collection.
↑ "Bagatelle patent model patented by Montague Redgrave". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
↑ "0863 Steve Ritchie". The Walter Day Collection.
↑ Shalhoub, Michael (2004). The Pinball Compendium 1970-1981. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7643-2074-3.
↑ Smith, Ryan (May 3, 2018). "The First Family of pinball: Meet the local wizards behind the game's huge resurgence". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
↑ "Pinball King Shares Wizardry". Daily Press. 1993-02-17. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
↑ "Williams-Bally-Midway the "Roman Empire" of Gaming". Gamester 81. January 6, 2012. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Who is the Greatest Solid State Pinball Designer of all time? Results". Home Leisure Direct. July 6, 2018. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[:62-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Hall of Fame". Pinball Expo. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2026-04-01.

[obit-3] Farokhmanesh, Meghan (April 9, 2014). "Joust artist and Williams pinball machine designer Python Anghelo has died". Polygon. Retrieved May 13, 2020.

[:3-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Shalhoub, Michael (2005). The pinball compendium, 1982 to present. A Schiffer book for collectors. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 978-0-7643-2300-3 – via Internet Archives.

[5] "John Borg — Pinball Concept". Kineticist. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[6] Friedman, Todd (2016-04-08). "Trading Card Spotlight - Nolan Bushnell". The Walter Day Collection. Retrieved 2026-04-01.

[halcyon2-7] Hague, James (March 1997). "Bill Budge". Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers. Dadgum Games. Retrieved 15 September 2025.

[8] "0844 Larry DeMar". The Walter Day Collection.

[:02-9] "Brian Eddy is the Patron Saint of Pinball". Nudge. Retrieved 2024-01-31.

[:22-10] Eddy, Brian R. (2012-07-20). Classic Video Games: The Golden Age 1971–1984. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-100-3.

[11] Berkowitz, Joe (2024-07-06). "Pinball is cool again—and these stunning machines are why". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2026-03-30.

[12] Harding, Matt (April 11, 2023). "Keith Elwin in U.K. Pinball Hall of Fame". RePlay Magazine.

[13] "About Us". Spooky Pinball. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[14] Denzer, TJ (2025-10-02). "Dan Forden leaves NetherRealm Studios after over 35 years". Shacknews. Retrieved 2026-03-30.

[:12-15] Joosten, Jonathan (2014-12-03). "George Gomez special". Pinball Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-22.

[:03-16] Langsworthy, Billy (2022-10-10). "George Gomez – Chief Creative Officer at Stern Pinball – takes us inside the design of the firm's new James Bond machines". Mojo Nation. Retrieved 2023-11-22.

[:1-17] 1 2 3 4 McKamey, Max (2025-09-23). "A Brief History of Pinball: Flipping and Tilting Through the Years". Asgard Press. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[18] Saucier, Jeremy (2014-02-20). "Honoring Gaming Innovator Eugene Jarvis". The Strong National Museum of Play. Retrieved 2026-04-03.

[19] "0880 Steve Kordek". The Walter Day Collection.

[20] Hevesi, Dennis (2012-02-24). "Steve Kordek, a Pinball Innovator, Dies at 100". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.

[21] "0803 Ed Krynski". The Walter Day Collection. Retrieved 2026-04-01.

[22] "0836 Pat Lawlor". The Walter Day Collection.

[23] "Bagatelle patent model patented by Montague Redgrave". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[24] "0863 Steve Ritchie". The Walter Day Collection.

[25] Shalhoub, Michael (2004). The Pinball Compendium 1970-1981. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7643-2074-3.

[reader-26] Smith, Ryan (May 3, 2018). "The First Family of pinball: Meet the local wizards behind the game's huge resurgence". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 7 October 2021.

[:04-27] "Pinball King Shares Wizardry". Daily Press. 1993-02-17. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

[28] "Williams-Bally-Midway the "Roman Empire" of Gaming". Gamester 81. January 6, 2012. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

See also

References