Quoted from frankmac:

Retired at 45 After over20+years of owner operating three successful business ventures that I started from the ground up.
Yes, I sold all three companies. I am fine!
How are you doing.

Quoted from blacklightprod:

Let me state a fact here. What is the value of KPOP games (Theatre of Magic, Tales from the Arabian Knights, Magic Girl, Circus Voltaire and people really liked the art on RAZA. Look I'm not saying to actually hire KPOP, I'm saying he's available. If he designs a game, and someone like Spooky manufactured it would people line up for miles to buy it... ahhh yeah they would.
KPOP knows more about designing a pinball than everyone at Spooky combined times 10. With that being said I'm not saying hire him, I'm not saying hire Balcer, or any of the other free agents. I'm saying just HIRE someone with a proven track record of pinball design what is wrong in saying that. Personally I would love to buy a Magic Girl or RAZA both games look amazing. Unlike some people I wasn't dumb enough to go on impulse and hand over any money. I would NEVER give KPOP 50 cents in advance but if Stern hired him would you buy the game? Yes you would just like you bought a Bryan Eddie game. I can see it now Stern hires KPOP and everyone goes crazy talking trash, then his game is released and people or crawling all over themselves to buy it.
Like it or not Pinball buyers have short term memory when it comes to seeing something they want. Did people go back in on Big Lebowski, Aliens, etc? Ahh yeah they did, if American Pinball came out RIGHT NOW and said we bought the design rights to Magic Girl and its our next game what would happen? People would line up with money to buy it. Screw KPOP he's a thief, but what does that have to do with Magic Girl and buying it from American Pinball? Nothing. Are you going to actually sit here and say with a straight face if American Pinball a company we can trust, bought the RIGHTS to everything Magic Girl and produced the game it wouldn't sell like hot cakes? Magic Girl would be American Pinball biggest seller ever period!
But none of that is the point, because the point is there are proven designers out there with more experience than the current crew at Spooky. I am NOT a fan of Joe Balcer designs, but do you think he would have done a lot better job with Halloween? Yes and by ten miles.
Spooky needs someone over there to design the games end of story. I personally don't care who as long as they have a track record. Spooky should do what it has proven it can do which is manufacture, leave the designing to those better suited.
Spooky in my opinion needs to come out of the clouds dump the EGO, and admit our current team isn't good enough. Do you see Gary Stern designing pinball games? He's the leader, whomever is leading Spooky should LEAD the company to a new level. It starts by hiring talent. Have you ever heard the term 'everyone focus on what you're best at'. Spooky can manufacture, but can their current team design, create artwork, computer animation, do they have the engineers for mechs? Don't be the guy who thinks you can do it all because you will fail be the leader, create a winning team and score touchdowns not field goals.
Spooky has the everything they need now to take it to new heights a facility to build games and money. Now use that money to build an award winning team and then watch spooky grow!