What is "good gameplay" when it comes to pinball game design? There should be ample opportunity to score extra points and to keep the ball in play. If you consistently get gutter balls and you find it hard to control the flippers, and are fumbling with the keys on the computer that is very bad gameplay. While it is fun to have plenty of bells and whistles including spoken dialog, sometimes it can distracted to the gameplay, and it certainly doesn't serve as a replacement for good game design. The McDonald's pinball game was by far the most fun, it had clever ways to gain extra points, that involved excellent animation. It was easy to play and to do well on, which is important. I never fumbled with the controls. The Rat n' Roll and the Short Circuit games were good too. There was enough going on to keep the game interesting and the game play was smooth. On the other hand, the Pepsi game was by far the worst, it was very badly designed. It was harder to play and the graphics were boring. I wasn't impressed with Sims, Starsky and Hutch (here the spoken parts were a bit distracting). Also the tiki, Meet Dave, Illuminati, and Carnaval games weren't very impressive either. They seemed to be quick knock off's of various themes without focusing on creating a fun game.
How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences? By giving you chances to really whack the ball and then give the ball interesting and graphically stimulating places to go. It is more exciting when you are given more chances to score points and then have lots of lights flashing and noises when you get those points (just like in real pinball). But the bells and whistles need to be in league with the gameplay, not just thrown in regardless of how the game is going.
This pinball game, Circuit, is a fast free-flowing game. It maintains my interest by keeping the ball moving into two traps which make a sound, one is shaped like a wheel in the center, the other is in the upper right corner. There are three bumpers at the top, and one on the left, which also make sounds and keep the ball moving. The triangular guard rails keep the ball going also as it bounces off them. The wheel spins when you hit it, which tells you you've scored, it adds visual interest. The flippers work well with the cursor controls so that you can easily prevent gutter balls. It keeps your interest by adding balls when you do well. The playfield is clean and easy to understand and attractive to the eye.
