PInball Evaluation

Assignment:

Play at least three pinball games and evaluate.

Copy screen (cmd+shift+4) the pinball game and highlight the main elements of the game using Photoshop layers. Save, post on blog and evaluate.

All pinball games evaluated are from http://www.onlinepinball.net/

Jurassic Pinball

What is good game play when it comes to pinball design?

Good game play consists of fair gameplay, not too hard and not too easy. Of the three pinball games I evaluated, 4D Pinball was very easy because the flippers were large and the ball didn't seem to go that fast compared to Jurassic Pinball, which was the most difficult of the three.

This makes Theme Park Pinball the fairest, but not necessarily the funnest. The images and theme of the game has a strong influence on the level of game play, fun and commitment depending on the person. All of these games I chose because they had some level of interest judging from the outside. I like dinosaurs, theme parks and was intrigued by the name 4D. I would say that I felt misled by theme parks and 4D because I wasn't expecting a circus or Christmas/Winter season. I was expecting more roller coasters and a more interesting 4D experience. I know from experience that even if the game play is objectively fun, people wouldn't play just from the images used.

Having the game provide visual feedback when we score adds to the overall good gameplay. Feedback such as lights and movement within the playfield would keep the players engaged and alert. The game must also makes sense and flow as one harmonious theme. Gimmicks may help depending on the theme. Everything must make sense, from the text and fonts to the way things are portrayed on the field.

Watching the documentary on Pinball, I found that the 3D pinball game was very interesting to me and I wanted to play it. They showed an elephant moving the ball onto a higher level of routes, which I thought was superb.

Themepark Pinball

How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences?

Designers create an exciting experience by creating themes for the games, which can entice people to initiate play. The playfield items must match the theme and not just have one background picture like Jurassic Pinball, which had a T-Rex as the background with random star obstacles that has absolutely nothing to do with the theme of dinosaurs. I would have created more references from the Jurassic period to incorporate into the overall theme. Theme Park Pinball should have more loops to match the roller coaster theme that most amusement parks have.

4D Pinball