My simple virtual pinball design is called Cirque Du Pinball. The goal for my simple virtual design was to test Visual Pinball and the features it provides when making a pinball machine. I decided to focus on a circus theme for this simple design. Inspiration for this concept came from an idea I had on a previous pinball machine. Since Visual Pinball allows the use of lights, sound, and music, I thought that imitating a circus full of music and fun visuals would be a good way to learn what the software has to offer. I also plan to use this design as a starter for my advanced virtual design, which will be an imitation of my physical bowling pinball machine . This will make it easier when I’m working on a more complex machine with the software.
After doing some research into simple pinball designs, as well as circus designs, I came up with the design above. My field will be relatively simple, but will use most of the components provided by Visual Pinball. I have added bumpers, spinners,and drop targets, each of which will have some sort of circus theme. The field is also pretty open, to allow movement of the ball and an easy way to reach areas where points will be gained.
At the top of my design, I have added bumpers to give the player an area to rack up points. Each bumper will have lights and give the player 100 points on contact. On the left side there will be spinners that give 200 points as well as a wall and bumpers to direct the player back into the scoring zone. This area will be decorated to resemble height based circus activities such as the trapeze and cannons.
To the right of my design, I have added drop targets that spell the word clown. When all the targets are hit, they will give the player 1000 points. Other than that, this side is a duplicate of the left and will also help direct players into the scoring zone. At the bottom of my design, there are default slingshots, which will be decorated for a circus theme.
After giving my presentation, there wasn’t too much feedback in terms of my design. However, there were some items that could be fixed as I move forward. I learned that spinners come in specific forms in Visual Pinball and not the idea I had for my design. In this case, I might move the spinners around and add drop targets to both sides. I also might make the design a bit more advanced by adding a credit system and the ability to start the game. This will aid me when scripting in my final virtual design. Other than that, I like where this design is going and I can’t wait to get it started!
