A Pinball Project
Tonight I took the plunge and ordered two pieces of hardware:
- Power Driver Board for use with the PINMAME-HW project from AC Game Systems. Allows a PC to control up to 96 lamps and 32 solenoids through a parallel port.
- Ultimarc’s I-PAC Provides for 56 switch inputs via keyboard codes.
Finding these two boards is pretty exciting because I’ve been trying to find hardware suitable for this sort of thing for a few months now. There have been solutions to the switch problem here and there, but never for the lamp and solenoid problem, and I lack the circuit design know-how to make it happen myself (though the schematics look rather simple).
I found them by looking over things related to the Coconut Island project (clips on YouTube), so my thanks to Nuggy and Nick of RGP for shedding some light on this, as well as re-triggering my interest in a DIY pinball.
When I told James the good news, his first question was, “What’s the theme?” My response was: “I have no idea.” James’s suggestions:
- A tribute to Ketchup
- A salute to the American farmer.
- A tongue in cheek satire game about the ‘war on terrorism’.
At the moment my favorite potential theme is “The Brak Show.” Another theme comes to mind, though: Cadillac Desert. Imagine, the player brings water to the American West by deception, theft, and political maneuvering. In the wizard mode, the player battles future conservationists who use a time machine to thwart the Bureau of Reclamation’s drowning of Glen Canyon. Playfield toy: a gigantic dam at the rear which the ball rolls about like a great quarter pipe.
Any other suggestions?
April 7th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Check out this DIY pinball site.
MM
April 7th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
This sounds like a cool project. I like the Cadillac Desert idea.
April 9th, 2007 at 7:59 am
I really think you should consider a game that chronicles Glenn@Brother’s 2nd failed attempt to get a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. Instead of laying down quietly, like in ‘04, Glenn assembles a group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who are working as soldiers of fortune while being on the run from the military for a “crime they didn’t commit”. With their support, Glenn stages a successful coup d’état against Sonny Perdue-led state government. Glenn then legally changes his name to King Seigle, leads Georgia’s succession from the Union, and builds a sleek and modern castle/bachelor pad in the kingdom’s new capital city of Tucker. I’m working on a title for this epic pinball game. How’s that for a start, though?
April 11th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Atlanta rush hour traffic, of course, complete with flashing traffic signals, overpasses, and chaos. The dot matrix video board score board should resemble the traffic announcement displays that tell drivers when there is a wreck on the interstate and should include dramatic events such as Amber Alerts or air quality warnings. For your solenoid fun, vehicles should falling off overpasses, a tractor trailer could jackknife, etc.