I think there are some fantastic coders in the pinball industry.

Just like any evolution, the pinball companies will learn how to grow into this new world they are creating with graphic rich games and the player's desire for deep rule sets (i.e. lots of code). With the addition of the LCD, they've taken a step into the world of having to understand and optimize UX.

Hopefully they ask the right people the right questions and get there without some of the pain, but I have no doubt they will get there.

I understand what Darscot is saying, even if I don't 100% agree with it all. If you've worked at a large software corporation with a mature SDLC, you know the powerhouse that a full-on PD department can be. Pinball just doesn't have that kind of cash, so they will have to make do however they can. I think they've done a great job so far.

This is something I see thrown around a lot that is just incorrect. There are a lot of legitimate reasons for day one DLC. Since this thread is about pinball I won't go into it all, but most companies with DLC day one have a good reason for it. There are some stinkers out there, but it's a small minority.

I think things have been this way for a long time, not just in freemium games. Companies are just getting better at it too.

For example, one of the things the company I work for does is to determine someone's giving potential so non-profits know who to approach for money and for how much. Even down to how to appeal to the specific donor in some cases.

Some sites are advanced enough to present unique visitors different donation options based on who the system determines they are.
Certain visitors might get $5, $10, and $25 donation buttons while other visitors may get $25, $50, and $100.

Once a basic system like that is in place, the only direction to go is to improve it. Run that cycle for a decade and well... you see the results.

I can assure you that I am far beyond competent and still know that pinball machines have their own unique requirements and constraints. The end code may not be that complex compared to large SaaS systems, but for any developer to say "hey, I understand how to scope a project that I don't have any experience in" usually results in people/companies wondering why they are 2000 hours into a project scoped at 500 hours.

In modern, large, scaling SaaS systems a lot of the heavy lifting is done by frameworks or other software stacks that have had untold monies and hours poured into them. I don't think pinball gets that luxury.

That said, check out Mission Pinball Framework if you want to see some great coders putting together code for pinball machines. The SDLC for MPF has matured so much over the past few years and even includes automated testing. Those guys have put an amazing effort forward and it shows.

http://missionpinball.org/

If you are getting that down and dirty with MPF you should reach out to Jan/Brian/Quinn who are the developers on it. They would love to hear about your project, I'm sure! Hit them up on their forums, if you haven't already: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/mpf-users

You don't have your location listed, but if you are going to be at the Southern-Fried Gameroom Expo next week I'd love to hear about your project!!

Managing the trough correctly is a beast.