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{{Infobox TITLES
|title=Pinball Construction Set
|image=[[Image: Budge0001.jpg|class=img-fluid|Packaging cover ''Pinball Construction Set''.]]
|released=1982
|origplat=[[:Category:Apple II Software|Apple II]]
|origpub=
|developer=[[Bill Budge]]
|genre=[[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]], [[:Category:Arcade| Arcade]], [[:Category:Pinball| Pinball]]
|countryorigin=United States of America 
}}

==Overview==

First released in 1982 by [[BudgeCo]] as a self-published title, and then more widely released in 1983 by [[Electronic Arts]], Pinball Construction Set was a pioneering software title that offered users something almost unheard of at the time: the ability to design, build, and play their own custom pinball machines on a personal computer. Created by software developer [[Bill Budge]], the title is widely recognized as one of the earliest examples of a “construction set” game and an early precursor to user-generated content in video games.

===Origins and Development===

[[Bill Budge]] was already an experienced programmer when he began work on Pinball Construction Set. A physics enthusiast and talented developer, [[Bill Budge|Budge]] had previously created successful arcade-style games such as [[Raster Blaster]], a pinball simulation for the Apple II that was among the most realistic of its kind at the time.

Building on his fascination with simulating realistic physical interactions, [[Bill Budge|Budge]] envisioned a pinball toolkit that would allow users to create their own tables by dragging and dropping parts— flippers, bumpers, spinners— onto a virtual canvas. He developed Pinball Construction Set on the Apple II, and it was quickly ported to multiple platforms, including the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, and IBM PC.

One of the most striking aspects of the program was its use of a graphical user interface (GUI). Inspired in part by [[Bill Budge|Budge's]] interest in Xerox PARC's early GUI concepts, Pinball Construction Set let users interact with a virtual workbench of components via a mouse-like interface (even before the widespread adoption of mice on home computers). This emphasis on intuitive design was a major step forward in usability and accessibility.

===Electronic Arts and the “Software Artist”===

Pinball Construction Set became one of the first titles published by [[Electronic Arts]] (EA), a new software publisher founded in 1982 by [[Trip Hawkins]], who aimed to elevate the role of software creators as artists. EA marketed its developers as “software artists,” and [[Bill Budge|Budge]]— complete with a stylized portrait and short bio— featured prominently in EA’s early advertisements and product packaging. Pinball Construction Set debuted with EA’s now-iconic album-style packaging, lending the software an air of creative legitimacy akin to that of a music album or book.

===Features and Legacy===

Pinball Construction Set allowed users to save and share their custom pinball tables, a concept that anticipated modern modding and sharing communities. Tables could be stored on floppy disks and loaded by other users, effectively turning Pinball Construction Set into a platform rather than just a game. It included editable table properties such as gravity and elasticity, adding a layer of experimentation and realism.

Critics praised the game not just for its technical achievements, but for its empowering philosophy: Pinball Construction Set turned players into creators. In an era when most video games were fixed experiences, Pinball Construction Set offered replayability limited only by the user’s imagination.

===Reception and Impact===

Pinball Construction Set sold over 300,000 copies, a major success in the early 1980s software market. It won numerous awards and was later inducted into the Game Developers Conference Pioneer Awards and the Game Canon, a list of games preserved by the Library of Congress for their cultural significance.

The title directly inspired a wave of similar “construction set” programs throughout the 1980s, including Music Construction Set and Adventure Construction Set, among others. It also laid conceptual groundwork for much later user-driven titles like <i>LittleBigPlanet</i>, <i>Minecraft</i>, and <i>Super Mario Maker</i>.

Pinball Construction Set stands today as a landmark title that blurred the lines between playing and creating, helping to usher in a new philosophy of interactive software—one where the user was not just a consumer, but an artist in their own right.

==Releases==

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==Links==

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball_Construction_Set Wikipedia]
* <i>Software People</i>, [[Software People#Page11|Pages 11]], [[Software People#Page99|99]]

[[Category:Titles]][[Category:Bill Budge]]