Playtesting both the physical machine and the digital machine at the Strong Museum.
Although the museum wasn’t too busy, a fair number of people came over to play my machines. Many of them were drawn to my cardboard machine and really liked the visuals on it, namely the eel and the lights. When they played it, however, many gave up early because the ball drained too fast and they found it very difficult. Some people (especially children) wanted to interact with the eel in some way.
Those who played my digital machine liked the music and visuals and were able to last much longer on there than on the cardboard machine. Many really liked my general concept and how I iterated on it. I can say that I’m very proud of how both of these machines came out and they were very fun to make without being too complex or difficult, given my experience in designing pinball machines. With some more robust functionality and visual details, I think the digital machine would make for a good portfolio piece.
I received good feedback for my machine for the in-class playtest.
A screenshot of my visual pinball machine
Machine during playtesting
People liked the theme of the machine and thought it was cool, but most said it was too dark and this made the features hard to see. I will definitely address this in my advanced design and make the whole thing brighter. I also had one comment mentioning that the ball can get stuck in the pin between the flippers, so I may decide to remove this entirely from my machine and block the gutters along the side so the ball doesn’t drain quite so easily.
I also got advice on adding a kicker for the multiball feature (from hitting the button on the top floor) instead of spawning it at the plunger so that the ball can be automatically in play and the player doesn’t have to pull the plunger. On a similar note, people didn’t like the ball falling back into the plunger on occasion, so I’ll take a closer look into how I can reduce that occurrence and make for a more interesting lower playfield. Overall, I got a lot of helpful feedback for this design that I can use to make my machine better in the advanced iteration.
My layout drawing that I’m continuing to build upon for my visual pinball machine.
For my simple visual pinball design, I decided to continue with my physical advanced machine concept of the electric eel and neon lights. I think this machine lends itself well to the digital realm and opens more doors for what I can do and add, since I was a bit limited in my advanced design in terms of features and interactivity.
Although I am mostly using this opportunity to learn Visual Pinball and experiment with different things, most of the machine (save for the eel) will be replicated and iterated on depending on the feedback I received for my advanced design. For my advanced machine, I plan on modeling a very simple eel and putting it on the field like I have with my physical machine.
A picture of the full pinbox in class, setup for playtesting.
Although the el wire and the blinking lights on the eel were a bit washed out in the room from the lighting, people liked the aesthetic, especially the wires shining through the transparent material. One comment I received mentioned that the loops felt really nice and that the upper level worked well.
People liked the ramp and felt that it was of a good difficulty – however, I couldn’t physically mold it into quite what I wanted, even though it works well as it is. It was also challenging to add the bumpers to the upper level because of the malleability of the material, and the lights wouldn’t stay put inside of the tunnels. I would say hooking up the wire so that it was where I wanted it was the most difficult part of building this machine.
Some other suggestions I got were to add more things to the playfield, such as drop targets/bumpers or other goals that players can aim for. I am thinking of translating this design to visual pinball because I really like the concept of it and people enjoyed the features I had in place, and I could definitely expand upon it gameplay-wise. I also want to take advantage of the digital medium to add/elaborate on the neon lights and implement different kinds of materials, since I wouldn’t be restricted to what I can physically make and use.
When I was shopping around for Halloween decorations, I came across this interesting, light-up skeleton eel on sale at the JOANN location here in Rochester (https://www.joann.com/). I decided to make my advanced pinball machine themed around that.
My layout drawing / original pitch.
The “advanced” part for me was working with el wire and creating a second floor with a ramp leading to it. Further learning from my previous pinball iterations, I incorporated two tunnels underneath the upper playfield. I also found some clear folders that I never used and thought it would be cool to use that for the upper floor instead of plain cardboard so the el wire could be coiled underneath, exposing the inside of the tunnels more. I was inspired by the Black Knight 2000 machine in some of the playfield features, most notably the tunnels underneath the second floor and a ramp leading up to it.
The pinbox in the dark without the eel, just the el wire.
I also added some bumpers to the upper level to make it more interesting, but I didn’t have enough room for nearly as many as I previously thought in my layout drawing.
My original concept was to create a playfield themed like an amusement park because it’s a fun setting to work off of and expand upon. In my previous bagatelle design on surfing, I received feedback stating that tunnels were fun for players, so I integrated more tunnels (the ones by the plungers and the tunnel in the middle for the Ferris wheel in this example). I also played around with the concept of ramps and bumpers and how that could play into the theme.
The ramps are meant to be roller coasters and the tunnels are meant to resemble those of dark rides or haunted houses. I topped the bumpers with colored paper to further push the jovial theme of amusement park rides.
Both Ben and I agreed that we wanted gameplay centered around more than just draining the other player’s marbles, so we went with having players visit all of the amusement park rides as the objective.
Based on the testing we did outside of class, this objective worked well because some of the rides (namely the ramps and Ferris wheel) were difficult to hit, so it wasn’t too easy to win, but still quite possible. Based on feedback gathered from the class playtest, though, players actually found the ramps too difficult. As I watched, I noticed a lot of players kept losing marbles inside of the bumpers, so I’ll want to construct filled bumpers in my next design to prevent this. I may also need to reconsider bumper placement for future designs, since they didn’t seem to support the goal of visiting all of the rides – rather, they acted against it and caused players to drain marbles quicker. Besides that, the Ferris wheel was accessible and players were determined to visit all of the rides.
A couple of players also said they wanted the to spin the Ferris wheel. This got me thinking of how I could implement interesting features to future designs that are unique, such as LED obstacles, spinners, or other neat things based on what the design inspires in players. All in all, it was a helpful playtest and made me consider some important factors that I didn’t think of when coming up with the design initially.
My vision for this two-player pinball machine is inspired by a theme park. I envision this having bright colors and multiple “attractions” that players can interact with on the playfield. For my first layout drawing above, there would be two roller coaster-themed ramps connecting the two machines symmetrically. Each playfield would have bumpers that resemble bumper cars and the fields would be bridged by a Ferris wheel with a tunnel through the middle. I’m also thinking of having a tunnel either on or connecting the fields and themed like a haunted house. Many people liked the tunnel from my previous design, so I’d like to explore that mechanic more in this next project.
Each player’s main goal would be to visit all of the attractions, rather than rack up the most points or drain the other player. Other considerations include making sure that the tunnels and other edges within the playfields don’t break the flow of the game. I would want to focus on rounding out the corners and placing more bumpers around edges to keep the flow smooth.
Big Surf was a fun bagatelle to build – in particular, I really had to think outside the box in order to determine how to design the pin “waves” the ball could ramp off of in a way that was fun and feasible.
Playtest Feedback
Theme
Many playtesters liked my theme and color scheme. One of the big challenges I faced besides making the “waves” was how to best represent the theme and finding materials that would go with it. Luckily, I was able to find some pins that came in different colors that matched the style and they ended up working well for gameplay too. Based on this, I will continue to put effort into theming my future designs.
Implementation of Features
Overall, the implementation of my features and point system seemed to work well. I got a suggestion to use paper and hot glue for the ramps instead of pins so it would be smoother and more wave-like.
Originally, it wasn’t my intention to have a tunnel (referred to as “the cove”), but I felt it provided an interesting challenge when I was testing it on my own, so I kept it and added a scoring area for it. A lot of people liked it based on the feedback I received, though it was very difficult to use because the top of the tunnel lifted above the playfield and the ball would get stuck on it.
Playability
Besides the tunnel sticking out above the playfield, the rest of the machine is easily navigable and players can get to all of the areas I designated for points. There are places that are easier to get to than others, which was my intention and it worked well from what I observed.
What I Would do Differently
I would have liked to refine the style of the board a bit more and work on a better solution for the “waves” that more so matched my concept. Overall, I feel like this was a very successful playtest and the feedback I received was quite positive and constructive.
Assets
All of the features on the board were done with generic materials I purchased from Barnes and Noble. I drew the surfboards using clipart from Google Images as references, but I didn’t print out any graphics or copy the exact designs from the clipart.
For my bagatelle design, I decided to go with a simple theme – Surfing and beach culture in the USA. I like this theme because it is lighthearted and easily recognizable by many people. It is also somewhat historic, nodding to mid-20th century beach culture, though not quite as historic as the bagatelle.
I also want to play around with smoother mechanics – semicircles and curved lines that the ball can “roll” off of, as opposed to the traditional approach of the ball bouncing off various elements on the playfield. Upon starting my design, I found that it is best to make the curves with tightly-positioned thumbtacks/pins in the absence of plastic, and they still give a bit of that “rolling” feel to mimic waves in the ocean.
The player’s goal is to get balls stuck between pins with point values to increase their score. Although the player can’t use flippers to maneuver the ball, they can control how hard to hit the ball initially – which can land them in a hard-to-reach location and earn them a lot of points.
Observations and Next Steps
The only way to really know if the playfield “flows” in a smooth way is to test it many times, since adjusting any one of the pins making up a “wave” can drastically alter the outcome and path of the ball. I’ll also want to adjust the scoring and rules pertaining around the maximum number of balls allowed on the playfield (since my concept started with three, but I think five would be more fair and fun). I’ve made a few changes to my design since starting it, mostly pertaining to the placement of pins not part of a semicircle and the scoring. The bottom of the playfield isn’t flat like depicted in my layout drawing, so I’ve moved the pins along the bottom to follow the slope. This makes them harder to hit (but still possible), so I’ll want to increase those 50-point values specifically.
Although I didn’t get many comments in class regarding my initial concept, I think I will get good feedback when testing my design.
Thus far in class, we’ve made a couple visits to the Strong, had class lectures on pinball machines, and watched Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball – a documentary illustrating the dying days of the pinball industry. Particular topics that I find interesting regarding pinball’s legacy include the historical impact of earlier prototypes during the Great Depression, the rise and resurgence of competitive pinball, and the invention of bumpers on the playfield.
During the Great Depression
Pinball’s journey during the Great Depression began with the founding of D. Gottlieb & Co. in 1927 in Chicago, IL under David Gottlieb. The company began mass-marketing early pinball/bagatelle machines during the Great Depression (The Los Angeles Times). Some of the games they released within this historical time are Baffle Ball (1931), Speedway (1933), and Merry-Go-Round (1934), among many others (ipdb – list of Gottlieb games).
It is important to note that none of these early pinball machines had flippers, not until 1947 – they were primarily luck-based games. Players could nudge and tip the machines to influence the ball, but couldn’t change the game’s fate directly. This eventually led to its illegalization in 1947 (History). These games, especially Baffle Ball, were very popular. Assembly-line production of these machines commenced and over 75,000 units were sold, according to the notes we took in class. Prior to 1932, these machines were flat and put on top of tables. Battery-operated machines started to appear in 1933, and by 1934, some could plug into electrical outlets for sound, lighting, and other features (ThoughtCo).
Pinball was highly profitable during the Great Depression because many people were out of work and spent a lot of time in bars and lounges, where these machines were located. It was fairly cheap to play and entertaining for many, especially in a time where stress and hopelessness among the population was high.
Competitive Pinball
Although we didn’t talk much about it in class, I was interested in looking into the history of pinball competitions and how it is still alive and well in the present day, long after the golden years of pinball. When the topic of pinball tournaments is mentioned, there are two key companies that play a large role – The International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) and The Professional & Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA).
The IFPA began in the early 1990s and hosted four pinball competitions before falling inactive in 1995. The organization created the World Pinball Player Rankings to establish an official ranking system for pinball. In 2008 (judging by the player rankings recorded), they had a resurgence. Now, they organize championships at State, National, and International levels every year (About the IFPA).
Similarly, another famous organization responsible for hosting pinball competitions, PAPA, was founded in the mid 1980s by Roger Sharpe and Steve Epstein in New York City. They ran six world championship tournaments before retiring and passing the company to Kevin Martin. According to Epstein, the concept for PAPA began in the late 1970s. They developed a league scoring system that was used for the first time around 1985/1986, and the tournaments started in the 1990s. Unfortunately for PAPA, a severe flood rolled in to the facility in 2004 and destroyed two hundred and thirty-two pinball machines. The facility was rebuilt and championships were held again in August 2005. Since then, the company has now turned to a non-profit organization after donating to the Replay Foundation, which continues to operate the machines and tournaments under PAPA’s brand name (About PAPA).
The first six World Pinball Championships tournaments were held annually in February starting in 1991, with a three-year gap between 1995 and 1998 (PAPA 1-6 World Championships). PAPA’s most recent competition, Pinburgh 2018, featured more than 300 pinball machines and 840 players over the span of three days (Pinburgh 2018). It seems that competitive pinball has been on the rise in the past decade.
Bumpers on the Playfield
Bumpers, which became an integral part of pinball in later years, were invented in 1936. They are round-shaped targets that can add points to a player’s score or set the stage for other kinds of actions when hit by the ball. The invention of bumpers replaced pins and pockets, better serving the purpose of being more fashionable and interactive than the former. There are two distinct categories of bumpers – active and passive.
Active bumpers are the most common kind of bumper; they push away the pinball when struck. The active bumper has donned many names over the years, including thumper bumper, by Williams Electronics on their game Saratoga released in 1947. Eventually, Williams decided on calling them jet bumpers instead, but other companies such as Gottlieb and Bally called them pop bumpers and thumper bumpers respectively. There is also the disappearing bumper, which is a type of active bumper that can move below the playfield under certain conditions, or “disappear”, and the top becomes part of the playfield (ipdb – bumpers). A list of pinball games that use the disappearing bumper includes Sea Wolf (1957 and 1959 versions) and Metro (1961) by Williams, and Cirqus Voltaire (1997) by Midway (Games with Disappearing Bumpers).
Passive bumpers look a lot like active bumpers, but they do not push the ball away on contact. A prime example of a passive bumper is the mushroom bumper, popularized by Bally in the 1960s/1970s. The mushroom bumper lifts a disk on top of the bumper when it is hit and activates a switch that registers the impact (ipdb – bumpers).
