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| The Screamingly Great Left Orbit Spinner on ACDC |
The game of pinball centers on the physical interaction of the ball, how the player manipulates that ball, and how the ball interacts with the playfield. Because of this physical interaction (along with sound effects and scoring potentialities), not all shots are the same. Along this same line, if you ask players who are flipping the ball, they may tell you: "This shot rocks!" or "This shot sucks!!!." How is that possible? You're flipping a ball through a predetermined path on a piece of wood and after the ball leaves the flipper it leaves your control until it reaches its destination. How does that action equate to "feeling great"?
To solve this grand query, I would like YOUR opinions on this phenomenon and am also in the process of asking a slew of people from throughout the pinball universe to see what they think about the question.
So let's see what you pinball aficionados have to say??? Use the Comment form below or the Contact form on the left. Send in your input and let's see what we find!!!
Thanks for your info!
7 comments:
When you catch the ball with the flipper and hurl it fast to the target and it makes a "Thrack" sound hitting hard, that impact feels good.
When the Game makes you have to hit certain shots to proceed and cash in the big points ,that is the be all of feeling good at pinball... Example in Scared Stiff when you reach scared stiff you must hit the coffin, then ramp(BoneyBeast) ,then coffin Then Ramp ect to advance the STIFF -O-Meter to cash in it is very rewarding when a time limit is set . Or Warp 9 On STNNG , Or many goals on Cirqus Voltaire . My there are many games to give you such a thrill and you become a Victim of a Pinfever of sorts
The best shots are the ones that can be dialed in by the player to be made with regularity and therefore be satisfying.
Feedback- its all and only about feedback- the choreography of the event , the things you see, hear, the emotion evoked by the realization that you have: advanced, achieved a goal, completed something, incremented score, heard or discovered a piece of the story, evoked an emotion from an opponent whether real (your buddy) or virtual( the animated 3d Hulk toy you just hit). The smooth transition of the ball is a visually and aurally perceived event. Feedback- like all games is the magic.
The best shots are not too easy, not too hard, and have good feedback so you know you did something cool, or that you pushed forward in the rules of the game.
It's about satisfaction. It's such a relief when you achieve it, like a weight is lifted off your shoulders and you're on top of the world. (Especially those difficult, timed shots worth a ton of points).
It feels similar to scoring that winning goal/basket/TD/Home run/KO punch and getting a rise from the audience.
Same with golf, pool or bowling. When that ball rolls a strike, or falls in the intended hole/pocket, it evokes the same visceral reaction as scoring a super jackpot.
Pinball does an amazing job of letting you know that YOU are the one in control...but it also does a great job of letting you know that YOU screwed it up...love a great shot, but I also like the feeling of great ball control. To me there's greater satisfaction from a solid live catch/drop catch/cradle separation followed by a tough shot.
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