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Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)

 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
type
TVTItem
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
label
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
page
PinballConstructionSet
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
comment
Pinball Construction Set is a 1983 Video Game by Bill Budge for building Digital Pinball Tables. It is best known for being the Trope Maker and Ur-Example of the Game Maker genre, and was one of the launch titles for a company called Electronic Arts.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })With the success of Budge's Raster Blaster pinball game, he decided to expand the tools he had created for that title and make a game about making games. After writing a mini-paint program, sound editor, a save/load system, and several other tools, he dubbed the title Pinball Construction Set, then started BudgeCo with his sister and distributed it to software stores in plastic bags. But Budge soon became burdened by the marketing work needed by a software publisher, and he struck a deal with Trip Hawkins, who was looking for titles to fill Electronic Arts' launch roster.PCS came with five sample pinball tables; Budge claimed he made "Astro Blast" in a half-hour. The title's main draw, however, was the construction tools, which were controlled with an icon-based drag-and-drop interface. As one would expect, players could adjust the board's boundaries, place components, wire items and establish scoring rules, paint the playfield and title, and even adjust the physics engine. Players could then save the game for later replay, either inside PCS or as stand-alone binaries to share with others.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })With EA's distribution, Pinball Construction Set became a blockbuster hit, eventually selling over 300,000 copies across the Apple ][, Atari 8-Bit Computers, Commodore 64, and IBM Personal Computer versions. Budge became famous as one of Electronic Arts' premiere "rock star" developers, and was sent on junkets in computer game stores, shopping malls, and television shows. EA followed PCS' success with similar Game Makers like Music Construction Set, Racing Destruction Set, and Adventure Construction Set.Pinball Construction Set was ported to the Sega Genesis in 1993 with the title Virtual Pinball.Computer Gaming World named PCS "Most Innovative Computer Game" in their 15th-anniversary issue. In 2008, it was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for "User Generated Content/Game Modification", and was an inductee in GameSpy's Hall of Fame.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })The source code for the Atari 800 version of PCS is publicly available on GitHub here.
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
fetched
2021-11-15T19:24:54Z
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
parsed
2021-11-15T19:24:54Z
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_33ca811a
type
Game-Breaking Bug
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_33ca811a
comment
Game-Breaking Bug: The IBM Personal Computer version has a bug where adding too many parts prevented you from saving the game... or from removing parts so it can be saved.
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_33ca811a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_33ca811a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_33ca811a
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_41d0e801
type
Endless Game
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_41d0e801
comment
Endless Game: "Endless" insofar as there is no limit to the number or types of pinball games that can be made, anyway.
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_41d0e801
featureApplicability
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_41d0e801
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_41d0e801
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_762d730c
type
Level Editor
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_762d730c
comment
Level Editor: The game involves building custom, digital pinball tables.
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_762d730c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_762d730c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_762d730c
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_8409a385
type
Exactly What It Says on the Tin
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_8409a385
comment
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The "Pinball Construction Set" is exactly that; a game that lets you make digital pinball tables.
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_8409a385
featureApplicability
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_8409a385
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_8409a385
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_d2cba32d
type
Game Maker
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_d2cba32d
comment
Game Maker: The Ur-Example and Trope Maker, as the game lets you make your own pinball games.
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_d2cba32d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_d2cba32d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_d2cba32d
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_name
comment
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_name
 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game) / int_name
itemName
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
hasFeature
Ur-Example / int_2a1a0df0
 MacadamBumper
seeAlso
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)
 RasterBlaster
seeAlso
Pinball Construction Set (Video Game)