Homebrew HDTV Pinball Art Installation

Not only is this homemade pinball machine fantastic—it uses a big widescreen monitor/HDTV as its play surface—it appears to be some sort of social commentary on the conflict between kids and their parents over their leisure activities.

The "real world" level represents kids' media usage and their parents' attitudes towards it. Left hand (parents' wishes) sends the ball (the kid) to school, books, church and museum. Right hand (the kid's wishes) sends the kid to TV, peers, videogames and the Internet-connected computer at the top left.

The installation is currently on display in the Palau de la Virreina in Barcelona.

El rei de la casa [Flickr]

10 Comments

asx

#1 – 12:22 PM August 28, 2007

Global VR also came out with something similar (albeit commercial) that uses vpin mame tables. I've seen them in the odd Airport arcade over the last couple months. There are a few other outfits making them as well - need idea, but I prefer the real deal despite the space requirements.

asx

#2 – 12:38 PM August 28, 2007

no links in comments? not awesome.

globalvr.com/products_ultrapin_cabinet.html

maybe this'll work.

Javier Candeira

#3 – 7:11 PM August 28, 2007

Thanks about the writeup, and for getting right the 'social commentary' angle. Gizmodo just picked up the link, and they wrote it is a game to "teach kids stuff": not so, it is a game to talk to grown-ups about their response to children's interaction with videogames and the Internet.

More at this one-question interview with friend and indefatible Debian contributor Miriam Ruiz: http://www.miriamruiz.es/weblog/?p=92

The pinball is a homebrew in the sense that it's a custom one-off, but it has been produced industrially: the CNC machine the wooden panels for the cabinet were cut on is bigger than some of the apartments I have lived in.

In fact I am now looking to borrow time on a CNC machine so I can learn about how they work while building myself a smaller version of the cabinet. I want to design a couple more pinball tables to play on it.

So if you know anyone who can give a starving artist/student free access to a CNC machine in Melbourne (Australia), please give me a shout!

Javier Candeira

#4 – 8:11 PM August 28, 2007

ASX: Cool, I didn't know those existed. I am sure they are spiffier than ours: Visual Pinball is a very good pinball simulator. Emilia, which is the one we used, is GPL (thus modifiable by all and sundry), but rather more limited.

Anonymous Anonymous

#5 – 3:02 AM August 29, 2007

The author of the pinball illustrations is Mauro Entrialgo. http://mauroentrialgo.com

Javier Candeira

#6 – 1:47 AM August 31, 2007

I am the author of this pinball. I am sure I commented here yesterday, and I would like to know what I did wrong that prompted the deletion of my comments. You can communicate with me via the email in my registration. Thank you.

Javier Candeira

#7 – 1:49 AM August 31, 2007

Oops. My ISP's proxy did me in. Sucks to be me.

Joel Johnson

#8 – 3:09 AM August 31, 2007

Javier, we wouldn't have deleted any comments of yours on purpose, although it is possible the system chewed a few up. If so, apologies! It's a very nice machine you've made.

laptop530

#9 – 10:43 PM November 9, 2009

This is great news. Best of luck for the future and keep up the good work.

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laptop530

#10 – 10:45 PM November 9, 2009

This is great news. Best of luck for the future and keep up the good work.

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