A digital clock showing 19:44:02, colorful electronic devices, buttons, wires, and glowing lights on a black surface.

Game Show-Style Electronics

For almost the entire duration of my career, I have balanced the hectic nature of freelancing with learning how to build and program the electronics that I love to incorporate into game shows.

What started as a hobby I would do to occupy free time between shows turned into an exciting side-hustle. First I learned how to code, then solder, and finally design 3d models. Now I have a storage unit filled with the electronics I customized for several productions.

Electonics We Work With

  • Lockout Systems

    I’ve created several lockout systems, the type of buttons you would see on a classic game show. Each system is tailored specifically to the needs of the game or challenge. You can see my buttons in some episodes of recent seasons of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen, Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football with Dude Perfect, TBS’ Rat in the Kitchen, Twitch’s Twitch Rivals: Ultimate Challenge, and Fox Business’ Billion Dollar Idea.

    Two contestants on a cooking competition game show, each at a podium with illuminated panels, facing each other, with team members in chef uniforms standing behind them. The top part displays the word 'GISF' on a fiery background.

  • Interactive Computer Programs

    After producing a game show-themed challenge for Hell’s Kitchen during Season 19, using only a really bloated PowerPoint, I spent some time learning how to create my own computer programs with interactivity for TV. I’ve created or helped create programs used on Hell’s Kitchen, The Ultimate Surfer, Twitch Rivals: Ultimate Challenge, as well as for several pitches and game show presentations.

    Flight arrivals board at Allegiant Airlines showing flights from Key West, FL; Austin, TX; and Boston, MA with their respective flight numbers.

  • Interactive LEDs

    All of my lockout systems are now DMX compatible, which means they can provide direct interaction either directly with proffessional production lighting or with a lighting board. I’ve also built a number of LED props and game components to be integrated into games or challenges and operated remotely via MQTT protocols. Wired or remote, these lights work perfectly with the programs I’ve built.

    Wooden wall with four circular lights labeled with names: Ben, Kyle, Matt, and Air. Two lights are illuminated, two are off. To the right, a potted plant with green and cream-colored leaves.

  • Timers and Counters

    On top of the compurized timers I work with, I have a number of LED displays I’ve built and off-the-shelf timers and counters which I’ve modified to work for various Games and Challenges. You can see some of these in Billion Dollar Idea, Twitch Rivals: Ultimate Challenge, and Thursday Night Football with Dude Perfect

    Four digital countdown clocks on wooden stands labeled with city names: New York, Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo, with the London clock showing 00:25:86 and the others showing 00:00:00. The Fox Business Prime logo is in the lower left corner.