Original VP Table Workshop: Designing a Table Around a Theme

Hi all-

This mini tutorial will focus on drawing inspiration from your theme when designing original Vp tables.

I've recently had an opportunity to talk to some of our original table designers to get some thoughts and options about the creative process. There seem to be a couple of different schools of thought on how to work on a table, specifically

table design influencing rules and theme

rules influencing table design and theme

theme influencing rules and table design

One of my favorite vp designers, Eala Dubh Sidhe, had encouraged me to explore a tutorial on theme influencing table design and rules, so I figured this would be a good place to start. In modern tables, integration of theme has been key to tables being well received. In pinball's earlier day, theme tended to be integrated in a more general way, in some situations with art packages swapped out to use the same table and rules but to market to another audience. As graphics, complexity of rules, sound and music began to improve and mechanisms became more complex, pinball was able to grow into something more than it was in its EM and early solid state days and became an integrated media experience rather than just a basic game. Theme integration provides an avenue to engage a player in imagining a table as something more. Themes allow us to use existing cultural symbols to excite, provide context and meaning to objectives, and also provide clues to what you want to do in the game. Theme has become such a part of the pinball landscape that it is almost an expectation of players...and that a poorly integrated theme results in people being indifferent of your project.

 In using theme to develop original compositions, the overall goal is to consider how to translate elements of your main theme to your audience. By considering what parts make up a theme, what the parts do, and how they interact, these can help inspire the choices you make regarding rules and play field design. One of the first steps in this process is brainstorming...collecting a bunch of ideas at once and pondering how these can interrelate. At this point, there is no such thing as a bad idea. Brainstorming before building your game creates a well of ideas that you can always draw on when you come to points of frustration and indecision. I have included a brief list of questions that can help guide the brainstorming process and to get you asking questions that will help you infuse your game to your theme. 

Please post any feedback, opinions, or  experiences (good or bad) using this set of questions, or let me know if you have any further ideas!

-Lodger

**Last updated:

10-28-15: added additional question, hoping to revise list in future to narrow to most helpful questions.**

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Theme:

Date:

-General-

What does your subject do? What are its defining characteristics?

Does it have colors? How might this be applied to a playfield?

Are there pieces to the subject?

What makes the subject recognizable?

Does the subject take place in a set location?

What are the big events related to the subject?

What words/vocabulary is related to this?

Is there anything that involves winning?

Is there anything that involves losing?

Is there any conflict?

What would it look like if the main conflict was resolved?

Is there a story?

Is there anything that can abruptly change what people in the theme are doing?

-Relatable-

What within the theme do you enjoy doing?

What within the theme would you *not* enjoy doing?

Is there anything funny about the subject?

Is there anything scary?

Is there anything exciting?

-Character Centered-

Are there any people who are important to this theme? What are they like and what do they do?

What are the most interesting parts about the hero?

What are the most imposing things about the villain?

Are there any recognizable characters/events that help?

Are there any recognizable characters/events that hinder/are barriers?

Is there a crowd or anyone that experiences the subject second hand?

Are there multiples of anything in the theme?

-Movement-

Does the subject move or change over time?

What are the most interesting physical parts of the subject?

With what parts would a person interact?

Is there anything that involves going up?

Is there anything that involves going down?

Is there anything that involves going left?

Is there anything that involves going right?

Is there anything that involves stopping?

Is there anything that involves starting?

Is there anything that involves being hidden?

Is there anything that involves being seen?

Is there anything that involves fighting or collisions?

Is there anything that involves unusual forces/movements?

-History-

Has anyone done this theme before?

What did they highlight before?

Are any of these ideas worth borrowing?

 What would you have done differently?

What makes your idea unique?

what sort of table do you want to create, and what do you expect to achieve with it?