Video Pinball (1980 video game)

Video Pinball is a video game programmed by Bob Smith and released by Atari, Inc. in 1980 for the Atari VCS (renamed to the Atari 2600 in 1982). The Sears rebranded version for its Tele-Games system is Arcade Pinball.

Gameplay
Video Pinball is a loose simulation of an arcade pinball machine: ball launcher, flippers, bumpers, and spinners. Hitting the Atari logo on the playfield four times awards an extra ball.

Pulling down on the Atari joystick pulls the pinball machine plunger back while pressing the joystick button shoots the ball into the playfield. The left and right flippers are activated by moving the joystick controller left or right. The ball can be nudged (as in nudging a table gently in real life) by holding down the joystick button and moving the controller in a particular direction. Nudging too much results in a tilt, forcing the ball to drain.

Development
Bob Smith applied to work for Atari at the end of the 1970s and was hired on the spot. Smith shared an office Brad Stewart who had worked on the Atari 2600 version of Asteroids. After a week in the office, Smith was offered a list of possible games to work on from his boss Dennis Koble and opted to work on Video Pinball. While he did play the original Video Pinball arcade game in Atari headquarters, he played the Superman pinball game by Atari for inspiration.