Target Practice: Bagatelle Design

My Bagatelle, “Target Practice”, is designed to resemble a set of shooting targets. My intention was for players to feel as though they are engaged in target practice as they launch the balls around the play field. The targets themselves will be made using paper art that the ball can roll over, while push pins (brown dots) will aid in the experience of hitting the targets. I have also added walls to the side of the ball launch and the top to aid in guiding the ball around the play field during launch.

Each target is designed so that point values increase as the ball gets closer to the center. This can be noticed with the larger target, which has lower valued ball catches near its outer rings and higher valued ones near the bullseye area. Inside each target’s bullseye area, there will be a small bell (green dot) to indicate to the player that they have hit a bullseye. These areas have the highest score value because they should be the hardest to reach.

The lower targets on the play field are identical in size and orientation. Each of their ball catches has a higher score because they should be harder to reach than the ones in the center of the play field. Between the lower targets is a backup ball catch, meant for players who didn’t score on the targets themselves. I have also decided to build a ramp to block off the flipper area, allowing the ball to drain if no points are established.

After presenting in class, I got a limited amount of feedback in terms of suggested changes/comments. One of those, however, was to add multipliers or combos to make my scoring more unique. Since I was aiming for a more simple Bagatelle, I might only add this if I have extra time or feel the play field is empty. I do, however, want to add some more art to make the theme more present. For example, adding bullet holes to represent scores and a backdrop for visual appeal. Regardless, I am excited to start building my design.

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