I thought it would be interesting to hear from designers and players about various aspects of design. If this gets some interesting discussions I'll continue with other elements and am open to suggestions.
I'm relatively new to serious pinball, so my play style is still pretty much run and gun. I can control the ball to a point, but I'm not skilled enough to start planning shots enough to consider or play to deep rule sets. (Rule sets will be another discussion). That got me thinking about which games I enjoy and why I enjoy them. I also realize that other more experienced players might find what I like most boring, recognizing as I get better and want to control the ball more, shot order and having a plan will make more sense.
So to kick it off, I thought I'd start with flow. For the sake of this discussion, I'm considering this the path of the ball, largely back to the flippers. Feel free to define it differently, especially if you are an experienced designer.
My hope is to understand both how other home brew designers and even players consider flow and what makes it work and not work.
At my experience level, I really enjoy MM, you almost can't make a bad shot, and having that big open playfield in the center is a big part of that. Alternatively, both Black Nights have great flow, but it returns the ball back to the flippers much quicker, and likely due to my poor skill set, I find this taxing and frustrating. However for BK2K, the music really works with the fast play and so it seems integral and I don't mind it much there.
I'm experimenting in Vpinball with different flows, but realize that most playfields have the same sweetspot, and those easy to get shots on MM really are the same in many other games.
I haven't found a balance yet, but will also add that games that aren't flow based mostly aren't to my liking. However Centaur is a game I love but very much so because it doesn't flow. The ball stops frequently and abruptly, and for a simply layout without ramps, is very challenging. I have to admit its done more for my game and patience in controlling the ball and shooting at specific points more than any other game.
I wonder if designer's ideas will mesh with players opinions.
I'm interested to hear what others think, or if they think about that at all? If I had to guess, most come to HomeBrew because of a Theme (another future topic) or perhaps a mechanism or toy they want to see made (yet more topics for later).
Are there any books on pinball design theory? If so, post them here. It would be nice to know about more resources. I'm making my first homebrew for myself, but realize that feedback from others will help me make a game I love and won't tire of too soon either.
