Am I the ball?

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cap
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Am I the ball?

Post by cap »

In the Tilt movie, George Gomez tells the story of the inquisitive marketing guy who asked him:
George, I'm confused. When I play pinball, am I the ball?
This apparently stupid question is in fact pretty deep.

Which machines you think are designed such that you are the ball?
How about Premier Wipeout? The balls goes on a ski lift and slides down the slope in a slalom.
Judge Dredd, Road Show, Last Action Hero, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Stargate, F14 Tomcat

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cap
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Re: Am I the ball?

Post by cap »

I think I'm also the ball in Stargate. I go in the pyramid, in the sarcophagus and in the transporter.

This does not work for all pinballs. For example, WFT is the ball for Bullwinkle?
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Re: Am I the ball?

Post by cait001 »

Have you ever, like, REALLY looked at your hands? They are so deeply fascinating.
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cap
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Re: Am I the ball?

Post by cap »

Ici c'est ailleurs disait le voyageur.

Alright, I get it, you don't want to die when the ball drains...

On a similar note, I read somewhere the habitrails in the F14 machine represent the plane in a dogfight. That's pretty cool.
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Re: Am I the ball?

Post by EvanDickson »

That's actually an interesting question.

Some of the more popular fiction writing is immersive and popular for a similar reason - they never actually describe the main character, so you become the main character and view the story through their eyes, rather than from a third person view. Maybe this can be applied to pinball design too? Eg: CV, which pits you in a battle vs the ringmaster. You attack him. He calls you out. Or funhouse, where you are squaring off with Rudy. Both very popular games. But then like Cap said, Rocky and Bullwinkle, you're making shots, but it's not as interactive. The ball is a tool to score points, but it's not immersive. Not such a popular game.

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Re: Am I the ball?

Post by cap »

EvanDickson wrote:Rocky and Bullwinkle, you're making shots, but it's not as interactive. The ball is a tool to score points, but it's not immersive.
On closer inspection, you can become the ball on Bullwinkle, for example when you save Nell by untying her from the log or when you enter the WABAC machine to go back in time. These cases are too few and not obvious enough so the net effect is lost in the player's mind on that machine.

I like your CV example. That's exactly what I'm talking about.
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Drano
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Re: Am I the ball?

Post by Drano »

TAF is a good example. You're the ball... touring the mansion, trying to get into the vault, visiting the cemetery etc....

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