Basically, Williamson modeled two blocks, and fitted them with pinball arcade flipper buttons. “Sometimes two buttons really need to be two other buttons, and in those times we should not let anything get in the way of a creative solution,” Kotaku writer Mike Fahey wrote about Williamson’s creation. Basically, the controller turns two buttons on the Jo圜on into two different buttons for optimal pinballing. The Jo圜on dock he created, which he dubbed the SwitchPin, makes it much easier to play the game. He did what many a maker has done before, and used 3D printing to create a custom solution. Williamson found that playing pinball on the Switch was difficult with the standard Jo圜on shoulder buttons, which are decidedly not the typical flipper controls used to play the original game. Maker Tommy Williamson is the founder of the Nerds&Makers community, which is exactly what it sounds like - the members visit the site to “showcase cool projects, to promote makers, to find inspiration, to teach, to learn and most importantly to connect with other makers and like-minded individuals.” Naturally, many people have used 3D printing to hack the system, and customize the multi-use Jo圜on controllers however they want, which brings us back to pinball. The Switch can be plugged into a docking system and played on a TV, or used as a mobile gaming device with a touchscreen interface. It’s so popular that many gaming consoles like the hybrid Nintendo Switch, have their own versions, in case players can’t get themselves to an actual arcade-do those even exist anymore? The concept is pretty simple: you use game paddles, or flippers, to manipulate the little metallic balls on the game field inside the glass-covered cabinet, or pinball machine, to score as many points as you can. Now that I’ve got “Pinball Wizard” stuck in your head, let’s talk about this classic arcade game.

People of all ages seem to enjoy pinball because there is such a variety.“Ever since I was a young boy I’ve played the silver ball…From Soho down to Brighton I must have played them all.” – Pete Townshend, The Who “I remember the older games, but I enjoy the new ones, too. “There’s definitely a nostalgia factor involved,” Mark said. For new players, he suggests visiting Cactus Jacks, an Oklahoma City arcade with about fifty games from a variety of eras for people to experience. Mark recommends that anyone interested in becoming involved with pinball tournaments visit the Oklahoma Pinball Enthusiasts Facebook page. In the competitions, four people are paired up at a machine, and whoever scores the highest after playing several machines moves to the next round. Other tournaments are held once or twice a month in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, which have started attracting players from other states. Mark has begun hosting tournaments in a climate-controlled garage he owns in Edmond. The most popular games are about music or movies that people are familiar with, like Guardians of the Galaxy, Terminator 2, Guns N’ Roses, or Led Zeppelin.” “For example, the Godzilla machine plays old sixties movies on its screen,” Mark said. New machines are still being made, and they have more robust sound systems, video screens, and even touch screens.

The sounds and music are part of the appeal of playing a pinball game. When Mark hosts a tournament, he said it sounds like a full-blown arcade. “Pinball ownership also takes mechanical skills, because the games sometimes break or a fuse goes out, but I’ve gotten pretty good at fixing them.” “Controlling the ball is a practice in physics,” Mark said. According to Mark, a game can last a few minutes, but experienced players can keep the ball moving for half an hour. Pinball machines have advanced, but the goal remains the same: keep the ball “in play” for as long as possible and hit various targets to score points. Now, they have circuit boards and digital displays.” “The machines were mechanical then, with switches and relays.

It came out in the mid-sixties, and the goal was to hit all the card targets,” Mark said. “The first one I bought, King of Diamonds, was special because it was one of my favorites when I was young. Mark Schwisow likes to say his enthusiasm for playing pinball is a story in three acts.Īct One: As a young adult in the 1970s, Mark played lots of mechanical pinball at bowling alleys and convenience stores.Īct Two: As a father, Mark introduced his children to pinball machines in the mid-80s as something they could play together.Īct Three: As a retiree, Mark remembered his enjoyment of playing pinball, so he bought a machine four years ago, and then another, and then another, and now he owns 20 machines and hosts pinball tournaments.

Pinball wizard controller