Pinball Machines
The pinball machine is a coin-activated popular electromechanical game. You get three balls and you have to hit bumpers and targets to score points.
Montague Redgrave’s patented changes to bagatelle (an earlier game) made it possible for the game to become modern pinball. He shrank the machine, reduced the number of large bags of balls, and added a coiled spring and plunger.
Gameplay
The gameplay of a pinball machine is a combination of skill and luck. It is difficult to master because it requires a high level of understanding of the calibration of the machine, the speed and trajectory of the steel ball, and how to time and apply the flippers. A mistake can result in a loss of points, or even a complete loss of the game. It also takes a lot of practice to learn how to balance body weight to manage tilt, and to position the hands and feet to hit the switches and eject the balls.
Many machines have special rules that increase the player’s score by a random amount. This is called a jackpot, and it was once the main goal of most games. These jackpots were commonly worth one to four million points, and scoring them air hockey game machine was a very complicated task. Modern games tend to dilute the meaning of the jackpot by awarding several during multiball modes, and by making them easy to attain.
There are several computer programs available to simulate the play of a pinball machine. These have gained in popularity as processing and graphics capabilities have increased, and can be used on desktop computers, tablets, and smart phones. Some feature a top-down 2D view of the playfield, while others include 3D modeling and ball physics simulation. Some also allow players to tilt the machine and emulate the mechanical feeling of the flippers.
Electronics
As with the early pinball tables, a modern pinball machine requires an electrical system to operate. The control system is located inside the backbox, and includes the power supply, line filter, fuses and power surge protection.
In the early days of electro-mechanical games, the control system consisted of a series of relays and wires. However, in the late 1960s and 1970s, solid-state circuit boards and microprocessors enabled companies to produce machines with complex rules and digital displays. Games were also improved by innovations like speech and ramps.
One of the most popular features of a modern pinball machine is the tilt sensor. It is designed to prevent players from cheating by shaking the machine, which can affect how the ball travels down the playfield. The sensor consists of a metal ring with a cone-shaped pendulum bob hanging through it. A skilled player knows how much to shake the machine to avoid setting off the tilt sensor.
The front of a pinball machine is printed on a sheet protected by glass (the backglass). It typically displays an image that reflects the game’s theme. Some examples include the castle of the Medieval Madness game and the collapsing building of the Godzilla game. Newer games also incorporate an introductory video, which runs on the machine’s monitor.
Mechanisms
A pinball machine consists of two major parts, the backbox and the cabinet. The backbox is a box on top that holds all of the displays and the majority of the computer components of the game. The VR game machine cabinet is the main part that holds the playfield and all of the mechanisms that interact with the ball. It is the largest portion of the machine and is usually held up by legs.
The flipper mechanism consists of an elongated linear channel that extends between the opposing sides of the housing and behind the playing platform. Each of the two plungers is attached to an arm of a bell crank lever. A spring normally biased the bell crank levers away from one another is positioned between them and each plunger has a slider attached to it. When the game is activated by the player, the sliders slide into their trigger positions causing each bell crank to operate as a flipper when its associated plunger is pushed.
The solenoids found in modern machines are switched by power transistors under software control to lower switch current and voltage, greatly extending their lifespan and adding flexibility to the machine’s features. These newer electronics also allow the game to include speech and various time-related modes that require player action. The onset of the video game craze in the late 1970s dealt a severe blow to pinball sales, but it encouraged manufacturers to experiment with creative ways to improve player appeal.
Design
A pinball machine is an electromechanical game played in public places such as bars and arcades. It requires the payment of a coin before it can be played and generates revenue for its owner, the operator. The machine is powered by electricity which can also power lights and sound effects to attract players. It is designed with a backbox and a frontglass, both of which are usually illustrated with stylized graphics that relate to the theme of the game. The backbox contains mechanical, electrical and electronic parts and assemblies. It also houses the coin slot, start button and two buttons to operate the flippers.
One of the most important developments in pinball design came about during the 1930s. It was when the first electrified machines were made. Pacific Amusements produced the game Contact in 1933, and it was the first to use a solenoid to activate the bonus hole, which allowed players to earn additional games or balls. Other innovations were also introduced at this time, such as speech from the game, which was common on games like Gorgar; asymmetrical playfields, pioneered by Ed Krynski; mushroom bumpers (passive bumpers that send the ball back in an angry way); and metal laneways to feed the ball to the flippers, invented by Steve Zale.
As computer processing and graphic capabilities have improved, a variety of pinball simulations have been created. Many are based on established franchises such as Mario, Pokemon and Sonic. Others, such as Jersey Jack Pinball, focus on creating original pinball games with themes relating to popular movies or TV shows.
