Pinball needs lights, I get it, but a lot of mods are all about lights on pinball and it makes me wonder: what about darkness?
Is darkness a feature in a game, too? It sure is in video games like Doom. I can see arguing darkness is important, too.
Maybe the game designer intended for there to be shadows and darkness in some spots on the playfield to make it a little more challenging and/or more unpredictable? When expression lights are added, it really lights up every nook and cranny of the playfield, yes, but it takes away some of the designer intent. Or does it?
One might even argue more lights makes some playfields easier.
Forgive me, this is not necessarily a criticism if you love an extremely well-lit playfield. I mean, you should be able to do whatever you want with your game — and more power to you — but as the headline asks: is there an unnecessary fixation on pinball lighting?
Let me separate the audience for a minute. Sometimes I’m a streamer and anybody will tell you that’s streaming, lighting is extremely important to get the absolute best video picture. So, this article isn’t talking to those that stream pinball. Fully understand that you need more light. Lots of light for streaming and/or video production. You’re not just playing the games, you’re trying to show others on video the best possible picture — you get a pass on all this lighting discussion.
But non-streamers, do you absolutely, positively need more lighting, really?
Maybe my old eyes are sensitive, but do people like all this extra light? I can see doing something subtle around the speaker grill, where no lights are present by default, but does the translite need additional lighting? I saw a mod recently that lights up the Stern translite because apparently there aren’t enough lights behind the default Stern translite? The mod looked too bright and I didn’t see the cosmetic attraction at all. In fact, I think it made the translite look too bright. Yes, there are adjustments and you can tone down the lighting more across the entire translite by having more controllable lights but, why is this a thing?
It gets worse when we talk about the playfield. Some are modding with additional lighting to the playfield, when in most cases a lack of lighting — darkness — can be part of the gameplay. Not going to say it’s “cheating” but sometimes when it’s darker it can add challenge. Yes, if you can’t see part of the playfield, lighting up part of that playfield does give an advantage.
Remember the room in Super Mario Bros. 3 where enemies passed through darkness? Imagine if you saw the enemies all the time? It would make that level a lot easier to beat.
I realize pinball is also about modding to some (many?) pinheads, so I am curious, what about remaining true to the designer’s vision for gameplay? That would include the default playfield lighting. If we start adding all sorts of lights, lighting up the darkness, are we altering the gameplay and thus changing the designer’s vision?
Some of the mods I’ve seen out there are amazing and do include lights or more lights. Again, if you spent thousands to buy a machine and put it in your home, you definitely have the right to mod it until the cows come home. I just wonder if it’s no longer a machine that can be compared to any other? Maybe this is why Stern with their Insider Connected should allow for Home Owner users to setup their own “location” because once they mod their table, they can add/remove components/mods that change the gameplay.
The shark eats the ball mod that adds an additional ramp? Yes, that changes gameplay. Am not a fan of mods like these that change gameplay. I get people’s interest in adding features to games the designer didn’t include. Should Jaws have eaten the ball in the game like happens in Jurassic Park? That’s been something many have debated since Jaws pinball was announced by Stern. Personally, I’m siding with Keith Elwin that said his team tried to come up with something that was cool with the shark eating the ball while rising from underneath the playfield. Everything they tried, he stated, was part of the vision of the game.
I’m cool with that explanation. If some other company wants to make a Jaws pinball and decides they can make Jaws eat the ball like the dino does in Jurassic Park, have at it. There will be another time in the future for another Jaws pinball. Does every Jaws pinball need to have Jaws eating the ball?
Can you think of other necessary and unnecessary pinball mods?
The discussion on the importance of darkness on the table is very interesting. I would imagine lighting has to be a huge design discussion when creating a game, much like the design for a good lighting show at a concert. It would be very interesting to get a designers point of view on this topic. I have to admit that some of the newer tables, especially from Jersey Jack Pinball, the lighting can be a little harsh and overwhelming for me, not necessarily when they are static, but once they start flashing, or dancing around the field.
In regards to mods I have seen many that are very cool, but I would be reluctant to install one especially one that altered the game, or had a mechanical element to it. Concerns that come to mind are potentially voiding the manufacturer warranty, another would be if the part ran into an issue over time would a replacement, or service option be available? Mods I may consider would be replacing the translite, or updating the plunger knob. These would be an example of mods that are easily reversable.
It seems in the pinball community, few of the folks that mod these games seem to care about the warranties. This might sound a bit crazy with machines that can cost new north of $10,000, but I guess many of these modders feel like the warranty period is somewhat meaningless to their mods(?). And/or the mods they are doing are more cosmetic in nature. Certainly not the shark eats ball mode I mentioned, because that literally changes the game.
Do lights change the game? They sure can. High scores from modded machines mixed with factory, unmodded machines are a dicey subject and one that this article doesn’t really delve into in great depth, but it’s a subject we need to consider.
HI Skull/Todd,
I’m curious what lighting levels you use when configuring your vpx or real pinball tables. Do you have a universal value or is it on a per table value?
Sincerly,
Magicpolo
I currently don’t have a computer that can handle VPX, and I also don’t have a real pinball machine. I would probably leave the default settings unless it really bothered me, or was hard to see.
Hi Polo – like Skull, I don’t adjust the lighting in VPX. Whomever designed the game should provide me with good lighting as a default. I realize different monitors and computers can change this, so I’m not completely opposed to changing these settings in the future on some games, but ideally I don’t have to make these changes.
I have added light for streaming live, but prefer to play with the intended, out of box lighting on these games. I don’t begrudge others for adding lights galore to their games, but personally I want to play a game at home that is as close to what I would pay to play on location. They don’t do lighting mods on location. In fact, they tend to have tighter tilt bobs, more extreme pitch, sometimes machines not even leveled properly. I want to be able to win free games on location by practicing on the games owned, so I want to get as close to that environment for practice as possible (minus the abuse the on location machines take).