If I think of games that instill the very essence of the word ‘retro’, then I picture people gathered around a pinball machine in a dingy arcade, watching one whizz-kid (or a pinball wizard if The Who are in the house) beating a high score.
We all love pinball here at Retro Dodo Towers, but as we don’t have room for a big pinball machine in amongst the piles of PS1 games and old consoles, I tend to resort to the Pokemon Pinball titles and Kirby’s Pinball Land to get my kicks.
There’s just something about it that is so addictive; the sounds, the unpredictability, the sheer simplicity of the concept. That’s why the FlipOnGo handheld concept that I discovered over on Yanko Design has caught my eye.
Designed by Giacomo Carlini, this handheld won’t emulate multiple old consoles but will concentrate on one thing and one thing only – virtual pinball on the go.
It’s A Pinball Wizard… But Is There A Twist?
My initial thoughts are that the FlipOnGo looks like it might be well suited to sitting down for dinner with the PlayDate. While the PlayDate has a crank to turn on the side, this small handheld comes with a spring-loaded trigger to launch balls and buttons that activate the flippers at the bottom of the screen.
And with the selection wheel at the top of the device, the whole thing feels a little bit like it might work better as a hi-tech version of Bop-It!
Now I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no – you wouldn’t have to keep filling this thing with metal balls. These will be completely digital games with virtual balls, so there’s no chance of one ricocheting wildly and cracking your screen from the inside.
I’m a big fan of the small score screen at the bottom of the handheld too; it’s got all of the elements that I would expect from a pinball machine and that would give me that classic experience of being stood in a bar with a pint next to me, just in the palm of my hand instead of on a large table.
Crazy Flipper Fingers & A Supple Wrist
Initial images show how popular games such as Overwatch and League of Legends might be portrayed in the game. The main screens used in Carlini’s design are perfectly sized and positioned, with the display kind of reminding me of an iPhone with Spotify open. It all looks neat and well put together in terms of graphics, I just wonder how this thing might feel while playing.
I can imagine pulling the lever back on an actual version of this console to shoot digital balls would feel very satisfying, I just can’t help feeling that buttons on the face of the device would have been better for moving the flippers than the buttons towards the top of the handheld. Big hands will be key for playing this device, and if it does come into production, I think I’d only play mine over a soft surface for fear of dropping it.
As this is still a concept, I don’t have any information as to how much Giacomo Carlini’s device might cost or when it might be available to get our hands on. But rest assured, if it does come to fruition, then one will be popping through my letterbox faster than you can say ‘Tommy’.
And if you don’t know what any of these references are, then stop what you’re doing and type Pinball Wizard into YouTube before doing anything else.
