Building a Pinball Game in Scratch — Classic Video Games Intersession
Coming Soon — Help Me Write This Article!
I'm putting together a detailed article about building my Scratch pinball game during the classic video games intersession. To make sure I capture everything accurately, here are the questions I'll be answering. Check back soon for the full story.
The Questions
The Intersession
What was the classic video games intersession?
How long was the course and what did it cover?
What classic video games did we study?
Why did I choose to make a pinball game?
Game Design & Planning
How did I plan out the pinball table layout?
What references or real pinball machines inspired the design?
How long did the design and planning phase take?
Physics Simulation
How did I simulate gravity and ball movement in Scratch?
How do the flippers work — what controls the launch angle and force?
How did I handle ball speed, acceleration, and friction?
What was the hardest physics problem to solve?
Hitbox Modeling
How did I model hitboxes for each element on the board?
What types of obstacles and bumpers did I create?
How does collision detection work for curved surfaces vs flat walls?
How did I handle edge cases like the ball getting stuck or clipping through walls?
Challenges & Lessons Learned
What was the biggest challenge during development?
What did I learn about game development from this project?
If I could redo it, what would I change?
How does building a game in Scratch compare to using a traditional game engine?
Stay Tuned
I'll be filling in these sections with the full story, screenshots, and lessons learned. Check back soon!
