Pinball Playfield Mapping Exercise
Garmin Pinball (Play)
While a heavily branded to advertise the Garmin GPS technology, this is a pretty interesting, if simple digital pinball game. Using the typical arrow keys to maneuver the flippers (left and right) and to start the ball (down), you only have a few obstacles in which to score, and double the amount of balls than you usually have in a pinball game. Each mission is related to some aspect of the Garmin device, where you hit the bumpers or targets or manage to get onto the ramps to score bigger points.
The advantage of it being a digital game, is that there’s multiple playing fields available. For example, once you get onto one of the ramps that lead to a tunnel, the play field changes to a ‘mini game’ of an even more simple pinball field and the goal of trying to get some ice cream. Unfortunately, the sounds and the gameplay just doesn’t feel right, and gives no real reason to come back to play this game. The physics aren’t 100% realistic and there’s no virtual sense of that physicality or kinetics that are one of the main points of playing pinball.
Shown above and below are the elements of the pinball playing field. It digitized most of the elements, where the rollover switches were now just ‘blinking lights’ and again detracts from it feeling like a pinball game.
Carnival Pinball (Play)
The controls are universal with the arrow keys to move the flippers and the plunger, and using space to simulate tilting the machine, causing the game to shake. You can use space to tilt for the above game also.
While the theme of the game being a freakshow didn’t necessarily appeal to me, it was still visually interesting, with the style and colors. While technically this game is a lot more simple in design and gameplay compared to the above game, it is much truer to a physical pinball game, keeping to the one play field level. And the sounds! The sounds were perfect recreations of the real thing, even when the ball goes over the roll overs. The physics too, were very realistic, with the flippers being a bit sluggish and the ball actually feeling heavy.
The missions are basic in just getting the ball into the baby’s mouth or into the other hole multiple times, and hitting the targets to spell out certain words. Still, this game was very satisfying to play and I would play it again. Compared to the two games reviewed, this shows what one can do with a solid design idea and keeping it basic, instead of trying to put every advantage that a digital pinball machine could offer.
This layout is more typical of a physical pinball machine, with only a few obstacles. But because the ball physics are more realistic, you do need to put in a bit more skill than just letting the ball go crazy.