Project Description

The core of the course is the design and fabrication of a playable pinball machine. The primary objective is to develop from scratch a low-cost, playable experience involving a rolling ball, working within a tight time frame and constrained resources.

Design Constraints

We will provide prototypes and templates to speed the process along while still keeping a wide space of creative freedom. However, the following constraints will help keep the effort focussed.

  1. We will primarily use 6mm Baltic Birch plywood for the playfield and structural parts. This is a robust, versatile material well-suited to laser-cutting.
  2. We will limit our largest parts to no more than 575 x 1175 mm (22.6 x 46.2 inches). The 6 mm plywood is supplied in 1524 x 1524 mm sheets (60 x 60 inches) but the laser cutter is limited to a maximum size of 1200 x 900 mm, so the largest stocked sizes are 609 x 1219 mm and 762 x 762 mm (24 x 48 and 30 x 30 inches).
  3. We will use commercial pinball components for game features which most benefit from a proven solution: flippers, plungers, arcade pushbuttons, etc. However, many other available components are out of budgetary range.
  4. The primary flipper interface must be mechanical; we strongly encourage use of the existing modular flipper assembly. This is a pragmatic choice, since a mechanical flipper can deliver consierably more energy than our solenoids, and a mechanism can work even when software fails.

Design Opportunities

  1. Please note that there is no specific requirement that the machine conform to a traditional game: an interactive ball sculpture also satisfies the prompt, and for example could focus on narrative elements expressed through physical movement.
  2. Our actuators are considerably weaker than commercial pinball actuators, so a natural solution is an emphasis on gravity feed with actuators creating variations in ball lanes and pathways rather than delivering energy. This may even positively evoke the pace and feel of early styles of pinball game predating electronics.
  3. The existing inventory of parts includes LED matrix displays and low-fi speakers, so music and graphics can work great in an 8-bit lo-fi style.
  4. We can also re-use many parts of the previous designs, including the cabinet structure, flipper assemblies, and individual game features.