Happy about this video! Nobody talks about inspiration in pinball design but it's pretty interesting. I try to give the info on my layouts when people ask, but I should do it more officially than spitballing infos randomly.
Sometimes I wonder if I should've put more time into researching different tables and their mechanics... I had a layout in my mind from the moment I decided to build my own pin and have honestly no I idea if there's any particular pins I drew that inspiration from. Only when researching fun rule sets I discovered new mechanics and put them in, it was a real iterative process :D And of course when watching your videos new additions followed (I have never seen the Newton target before! Love it and put it into my pin! :) ). I guess to others my pin will look a bit boring compared to the AMAZING homebrews out there, but it's my pin and I'm SO looking forward to playing it and inviting friends and family to play with me :)
Yeah getting to play it with friends is going to be the best part! I'm really wanting to explore the EM era of games, there were so many different and unique mechs back then! Ever seen a Flip-flop? I'd never seen one but to play one a year ago and thought it was so cool and different!
hi steve For me: theater of magic, the loop of the upperplayfield of no fear, the simpson party, funhouse, black knight 2000. but above all a desire for height with several levels as well as a ramp on each side which can be done in backhand to increase the flow and chain the ramps. the subway was inspired by you....thank you
the one table i took most of my inspiration from for my table project has to be stern lord of the rings 2003, through and through. its my favorite table and the table that got me into pinball in the first place. the more i designed my table the more it became like medival madness though xD.
I think it's good you're aware of the "approachable" nature of games like AFM and MM (and I'd lump MB and CC in with those two as well) and that's part of what makes them classics. Maybe they're a little simplistic/repetitive by today's standards--but maybe that's a good thing? I mean you need an encyclopedia to understand games like AIQ :) From watching your videos and your journey I would say to just be careful not to do too much. I know you love both the learning and the doing aspects but, as your day job is probably made you aware: just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. So maybe things like the Catapult Kicker and the magnet you save for your second game (and I love that you've already resigned yourself to the fact you're making more of these :) ) and you really focus on those core gameplay aspects for this first game. And I think something I plan on doing on my Lord Huron and I think you might want to do as well to address the "approachability" factor is that on mode starts, really give a simple, but detailed, intro to the mode. Allow it to be canceled with a flipper cancel sure, but I feel like a lot of modern games just don't give you enough info when a mode is starting. Like I'm thinking that since my mode start is a ball device, why don't I require flipper cancel to release the ball from the ball device? That way the player can choose to either flipper cancel and get right to it, OR they can take the time to really study the mode instructions and then flipper cancel when *they're* ready. Love the videos, keep em coming!
Super great feedback and suggestions!! Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts and share them, I love it!! And yes I think you're right on about needing to focus on just making this game fun to play vs incorporating all the ideas I've had 😅 I also really agree about the approachability of games and modes, I'm starting to try to think about how to do that effectively in my game rn too - my modes will be selected by getting the ball into the VUK so that'll allow the ball to stay until the player flipper cancels out of the instructions like you're planning - I just gotta figure out how to explain it in as few words as possible, etc 🙄😂
I have a question about something I am planning for my machine based on a video game I love. It has a silent protagonist, like many video games, and I was specifically trying to break the theme down to more light-hearted elements (ignoring monsters and combat in lieu of exploration, etc.), and I got fixated on the idea of "no text/voices." I wanted it to be a "pure"/"natural" experience, like wandering through nature and finding a Cool Thing (that just happens to award points), and try to get the rules across with as much intuitive visual design as possible, much like you were describing about your job. While that is a challenge on its own, what I'm wondering about is the sort of modern(ish) distillation of rules where it seems like there are things almost all machines have in common - skill shots, (super)jackpots, hurry-ups, etc. It's not that I want to leave these things out necessarily, but they always have vocal call-outs when they happen, and sometimes obvious inserts on the play field as well (like, with text specifically). In your opinion, how much would lacking something like that hurt the experience, if at all? Would you feel satisfied with a sound effect letting you know you got *something* instead of a loud voice yelling "JACKPOT"? I feel like older games didn't have these sorts of tropes, but the homogenization of more modern titles isn't bad so much as a trend in tried and true design that works, so it's got me questioning things that I designed years ago before I knew as much about pinball as I do now.
My short answer is “Yes, I think it can be done”. However, I do think that you’ll really want to take to plan it out thoroughly so that your machine has a very distinct vibe and way that it presents itself- at the most basic level I think every machine is telling a story, some do a better job than others at this. I think as long as you have a good story with your machine you could totally do this and have it work without following all the typical things modern machines do. And if your playfield layout supports or reinforces the story, that will only help. Since you wouldn’t be borrowing all the common methods, it will take more creativity and imagination, but yeah I think you could totally do it.
I don't understand the arguments or criticisms. There isn't a lot of real-estate in a pinball cabinet to come up with truly original shots. Every pinball shares commonalities with all other pinball machines. It's just the nature of the limitations.
Not trying to criticize other games harshly, sorry if it came off that way - just wanted to share my thoughts around some games that contributed in one way or another towards the layout I came up with for my homebrew 🙂
Happy about this video! Nobody talks about inspiration in pinball design but it's pretty interesting.
I try to give the info on my layouts when people ask, but I should do it more officially than spitballing infos randomly.
Please do a video just ranting about UX of pinball as a whole! Would love to hear more of your take on it :)
Thanks for sharing your inspiration!
Sometimes I wonder if I should've put more time into researching different tables and their mechanics... I had a layout in my mind from the moment I decided to build my own pin and have honestly no I idea if there's any particular pins I drew that inspiration from. Only when researching fun rule sets I discovered new mechanics and put them in, it was a real iterative process :D And of course when watching your videos new additions followed (I have never seen the Newton target before! Love it and put it into my pin! :) ).
I guess to others my pin will look a bit boring compared to the AMAZING homebrews out there, but it's my pin and I'm SO looking forward to playing it and inviting friends and family to play with me :)
Yeah getting to play it with friends is going to be the best part!
I'm really wanting to explore the EM era of games, there were so many different and unique mechs back then! Ever seen a Flip-flop? I'd never seen one but to play one a year ago and thought it was so cool and different!
hi steve
For me: theater of magic, the loop of the upperplayfield of no fear, the simpson party, funhouse, black knight 2000. but above all a desire for height with several levels as well as a ramp on each side which can be done in backhand to increase the flow and chain the ramps. the subway was inspired by you....thank you
the one table i took most of my inspiration from for my table project has to be stern lord of the rings 2003, through and through. its my favorite table and the table that got me into pinball in the first place.
the more i designed my table the more it became like medival madness though xD.
I think it's good you're aware of the "approachable" nature of games like AFM and MM (and I'd lump MB and CC in with those two as well) and that's part of what makes them classics. Maybe they're a little simplistic/repetitive by today's standards--but maybe that's a good thing? I mean you need an encyclopedia to understand games like AIQ :)
From watching your videos and your journey I would say to just be careful not to do too much. I know you love both the learning and the doing aspects but, as your day job is probably made you aware: just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. So maybe things like the Catapult Kicker and the magnet you save for your second game (and I love that you've already resigned yourself to the fact you're making more of these :) ) and you really focus on those core gameplay aspects for this first game.
And I think something I plan on doing on my Lord Huron and I think you might want to do as well to address the "approachability" factor is that on mode starts, really give a simple, but detailed, intro to the mode. Allow it to be canceled with a flipper cancel sure, but I feel like a lot of modern games just don't give you enough info when a mode is starting. Like I'm thinking that since my mode start is a ball device, why don't I require flipper cancel to release the ball from the ball device? That way the player can choose to either flipper cancel and get right to it, OR they can take the time to really study the mode instructions and then flipper cancel when *they're* ready.
Love the videos, keep em coming!
Super great feedback and suggestions!! Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts and share them, I love it!! And yes I think you're right on about needing to focus on just making this game fun to play vs incorporating all the ideas I've had 😅
I also really agree about the approachability of games and modes, I'm starting to try to think about how to do that effectively in my game rn too - my modes will be selected by getting the ball into the VUK so that'll allow the ball to stay until the player flipper cancels out of the instructions like you're planning - I just gotta figure out how to explain it in as few words as possible, etc 🙄😂
I have a question about something I am planning for my machine based on a video game I love. It has a silent protagonist, like many video games, and I was specifically trying to break the theme down to more light-hearted elements (ignoring monsters and combat in lieu of exploration, etc.), and I got fixated on the idea of "no text/voices." I wanted it to be a "pure"/"natural" experience, like wandering through nature and finding a Cool Thing (that just happens to award points), and try to get the rules across with as much intuitive visual design as possible, much like you were describing about your job.
While that is a challenge on its own, what I'm wondering about is the sort of modern(ish) distillation of rules where it seems like there are things almost all machines have in common - skill shots, (super)jackpots, hurry-ups, etc. It's not that I want to leave these things out necessarily, but they always have vocal call-outs when they happen, and sometimes obvious inserts on the play field as well (like, with text specifically). In your opinion, how much would lacking something like that hurt the experience, if at all? Would you feel satisfied with a sound effect letting you know you got *something* instead of a loud voice yelling "JACKPOT"?
I feel like older games didn't have these sorts of tropes, but the homogenization of more modern titles isn't bad so much as a trend in tried and true design that works, so it's got me questioning things that I designed years ago before I knew as much about pinball as I do now.
My short answer is “Yes, I think it can be done”. However, I do think that you’ll really want to take to plan it out thoroughly so that your machine has a very distinct vibe and way that it presents itself- at the most basic level I think every machine is telling a story, some do a better job than others at this. I think as long as you have a good story with your machine you could totally do this and have it work without following all the typical things modern machines do.
And if your playfield layout supports or reinforces the story, that will only help. Since you wouldn’t be borrowing all the common methods, it will take more creativity and imagination, but yeah I think you could totally do it.
Horseshoe shot = WhoDunnit? Other shots are a little more obvious (Stern Star Trek behind the flipper, etc).
I don't understand the arguments or criticisms. There isn't a lot of real-estate in a pinball cabinet to come up with truly original shots. Every pinball shares commonalities with all other pinball machines. It's just the nature of the limitations.
Not trying to criticize other games harshly, sorry if it came off that way - just wanted to share my thoughts around some games that contributed in one way or another towards the layout I came up with for my homebrew 🙂