Pinball Construction Set
Encyclopedia
Pinball Construction Set (PCS) is a computer game by Bill Budge
published by Electronic Arts
. It was released for the Apple II and Atari 800
in 1983 and was later ported to other platforms, such as the Commodore 64
and DOS
(as a booter
).
arcade
machine, by dropping controls onto a table. Controls included bumpers, flippers, spinners and other standard pinball paraphernalia
. Attributes such as gravity and the physics
model could also be modified. Users could save their creations and develop custom artwork to go along with them. Tables could be saved on floppy disk
s and freely traded.
. In the competitive publishing era of the 1980s, however, he willingly allowed EA to publish his game when they approached him in 1983, since he didn't really want to be an entrepreneur
.
Budge was inspired to program the game after developing Raster Blaster
, the first pinball game for the Apple II. He encountered many hurdles in trying to develop an open-ended pinball development tool, mostly because of the Apple's relatively limited processing power and graphics capabilities.
Pinball Construction Set was ported
to the numerous home computer
s of the era, including the Commodore 64
and as a PC booter
. PCS went on to sell over an astounding 300,000 copies in all platforms. EA followed with Music Construction Set
, Adventure Construction Set
and Racing Destruction Set
all from different authors.
considered the game quite revolutionary, and easy to understand because of its representative icons and drag-and-drop method of constructing a table. The nine-page manual was considered "overkill", since Pinball Construction Set required no programming knowledge; CGW reported that an eight-year-old had no problems creating his own tables.
.
s Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Pinball Construction Set was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
s for "User Generated Content/Game Modification". Bill Budge accepted the award.
Bill Budge
Bill Budge is a computer game programmer and designer. His two main claims to fame are 1981's Raster Blaster and 1983's Pinball Construction Set. Both these games were released originally for the Apple II....
published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. It was released for the Apple II and Atari 800
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
in 1983 and was later ported to other platforms, such as the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
(as a booter
PC booter
A PC booter, or booter, is a type of software for home computer era personal computers that was loaded and executed in the bootup of the computer, from a bootable floppy disk, rather than as a regular program; a booter thus bypassed any operating system that might be installed on the hard disk of...
).
Description
Pinball Construction Set created a new genre of computer games—the "builder" or "construction set" class of games. With PCS, users can construct their own virtual pinballPinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
machine, by dropping controls onto a table. Controls included bumpers, flippers, spinners and other standard pinball paraphernalia
Paraphernalia
In modern usage, the word paraphernalia most commonly refers to apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used in or necessary for a particular activity as in, "Beth is such an avid sports fan that her walls are covered with baseball paraphernalia"....
. Attributes such as gravity and the physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
model could also be modified. Users could save their creations and develop custom artwork to go along with them. Tables could be saved on floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s and freely traded.
History
Budge originally published and distributed this game via his publishing "company" (Budge and his sister), BudgeCoBudgeCo
BudgeCo was a video game developer and publisher of the early 1980s. It was founded by Bill Budge, the designer and programmer of the 1980s hit Pinball Construction Set....
. In the competitive publishing era of the 1980s, however, he willingly allowed EA to publish his game when they approached him in 1983, since he didn't really want to be an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
.
Budge was inspired to program the game after developing Raster Blaster
Raster Blaster
Raster Blaster is a 1981 computer pinball game for the Apple II resembling the classic Firepower table.-Summary:This video game was written and designed by Bill Budge and published by BudgeCo. It showed a fullscreen high resolution display of a pinball game table...
, the first pinball game for the Apple II. He encountered many hurdles in trying to develop an open-ended pinball development tool, mostly because of the Apple's relatively limited processing power and graphics capabilities.
Pinball Construction Set was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the numerous home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s of the era, including the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and as a PC booter
PC booter
A PC booter, or booter, is a type of software for home computer era personal computers that was loaded and executed in the bootup of the computer, from a bootable floppy disk, rather than as a regular program; a booter thus bypassed any operating system that might be installed on the hard disk of...
. PCS went on to sell over an astounding 300,000 copies in all platforms. EA followed with Music Construction Set
Music Construction Set
Music Construction Set is a music composition notation program. It was originally developed in 1984 for the Apple II, and quickly ported to other systems of the era. It was designed and developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts...
, Adventure Construction Set
Adventure Construction Set
Adventure Construction Set is a program written by Stuart Smith that is used to construct tile-based graphical adventure games. ACS was originally published by Electronic Arts in 1984 on the Commodore 64, and was later ported to the Apple II, Amiga and MS-DOS platforms...
and Racing Destruction Set
Racing Destruction Set
Racing Destruction Set is a car racing and motocross computer game that was published in 1985 by Electronic Arts. It was developed for the Commodore 64 computer system, and was advertised as being Commodore 128 compatible...
all from different authors.
Reception
Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
considered the game quite revolutionary, and easy to understand because of its representative icons and drag-and-drop method of constructing a table. The nine-page manual was considered "overkill", since Pinball Construction Set required no programming knowledge; CGW reported that an eight-year-old had no problems creating his own tables.
Legacy
In 1993, Budge went on to port his game to the Sega Genesis under the name Virtual PinballVirtual Pinball
Virtual Pinball is a video game that plays as an electronic version of pinball. One to four players can choose from either 29 pre-made games or design one using the in-game editor tools. Designing options include ten different backgrounds and six themes. You also get to choose where objects are...
.
Awards
Pinball Construction Set is an inductee in GameSpyGameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
s Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Pinball Construction Set was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
A Technology and Engineering Emmy Award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development...
s for "User Generated Content/Game Modification". Bill Budge accepted the award.
See also
- Adventure Construction SetAdventure Construction SetAdventure Construction Set is a program written by Stuart Smith that is used to construct tile-based graphical adventure games. ACS was originally published by Electronic Arts in 1984 on the Commodore 64, and was later ported to the Apple II, Amiga and MS-DOS platforms...
- Music Construction SetMusic Construction SetMusic Construction Set is a music composition notation program. It was originally developed in 1984 for the Apple II, and quickly ported to other systems of the era. It was designed and developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts...
- Racing Destruction SetRacing Destruction SetRacing Destruction Set is a car racing and motocross computer game that was published in 1985 by Electronic Arts. It was developed for the Commodore 64 computer system, and was advertised as being Commodore 128 compatible...
- The Incredible Machine