Pinball…What is it?
The story of pinball is long and full of unexpected twists and turns. From its origins as a small wooden parlor game whose sole purpose was to boggart away young children’s dimes, to it’s evolution to a multi-national competitive scene, pinball has charted the growth of technology as it advanced from electromagnetic reels, to solid state drives, to full blown modern marvels with high speed processing power, internet and wifi capability, and dazzling LCD screens.
Up until the fifties, the most technologically advanced innovations that pinball had to offer was the spring loaded plunger. Machines couldn’t tell you a high score, or even tell you what the score of the game was that you were playing at any given moment. Players had to keep track of their score in their head, based off markers on the playfield. Around the 1950s electrical relays were added to pinball machines. Through a system of switches and contacts, the ball, after coming in contact with different components on the playfield, would trigger reactions in the game itself that would cause reels on the back of the game to advance as you scored points. Around this time flippers were introduced for the first time. Sound effects were often created via an actual brass bell that was kept in the head of the machine. A mechanism known as a tilt bob was also devised as a means of keeping games fair, and disallowing players from shoving the machine around too much to alter the trajectory and momentum of the ball. A small weighted rod, attached to a swivel would hang from the interior of the machine’s cabinet. Surrounding it, was a metal ring. If the rod swayed into contact with the metal ring, perhaps as a result of a particularly spirited shove by a pinball player, an electric signal would be sent back to the head of the pinball machine, and the machine would turn off entirely. Miraculously, this plumb bob system is still in use today, in its exact form, on even the most modern of machines.
Up until the fifties, the most technologically advanced innovations that pinball had to offer was the spring loaded plunger. Machines couldn’t tell you a high score, or even tell you what the score of the game was that you were playing at any given moment. Players had to keep track of their score in their head, based off markers on the playfield. Around the 1950s electrical relays were added to pinball machines. Through a system of switches and contacts, the ball, after coming in contact with different components on the playfield, would trigger reactions in the game itself that would cause reels on the back of the game to advance as you scored points. Around this time flippers were introduced for the first time. Sound effects were often created via an actual brass bell that was kept in the head of the machine. A mechanism known as a tilt bob was also devised as a means of keeping games fair, and disallowing players from shoving the machine around too much to alter the trajectory and momentum of the ball. A small weighted rod, attached to a swivel would hang from the interior of the machine’s cabinet. Surrounding it, was a metal ring. If the rod swayed into contact with the metal ring, perhaps as a result of a particularly spirited shove by a pinball player, an electric signal would be sent back to the head of the pinball machine, and the machine would turn off entirely. Miraculously, this plumb bob system is still in use today, in its exact form, on even the most modern of machines.
In the seventies, the advent of solid state programming and microprocessors changed the face of pinball. Now complex patterns and programs could be scripted for pinball machines. The rules and strategies grew more complex, and the became deeper and more strategic.
Additionally, in the seventies, a journalist and designer by the name of Roger Sharpe testified before New York City council that pinball was a game of skill and not chance. He proved his point via a virtuoso display of talent, that proved beyond any shadow of a doubt, that pinball was much more than the random clanging of a loose steel ball.
By the aughts, technology had completely reshaped the landscape of pinball, from the inside out. The machines themselves, these days, are covered in advanced machinery and led lighting. Their processing power is greater by many factors than their earlier counterparts. Games are equipped with bluetooth capability, and can connect to the internet to record high scores and update their own software. There is an entire pinball company that is devoted to DIY pinball, with users able to design their own software, and customize the playfield using the modular components of the playfield. Devices have been devised that can be inserted into any pinball machine, regardless of what kind of mechanics keep it running, and can keep live track of the score, on a handheld device like a telephone or iPad. There are apps to locate pinball machines in any city in the world. There is software to spontaneously host tournaments and set up a bracket system. There is an entire API to catalogue every pinball machine made since 1950. The story of pinball is the story of technology’s ascendance in our society, and the future of pinball can only look brighter as the technology surrounding pinball, becomes ever more sophisticated.
