It’s starring all of your favorite mascots
Google I/O is just hours away, but if you can’t maintain your excitement, the company has a way for you to spend the time. If you miss the days of playing 3D Space Cadet Pinball on Windows 95, Google’s latest project is sure to bring back some memories. I/O Pinball is out now, custom-built with Flutter and Firebase to show off the company’s latest dev technology.
It’s a game that celebrates Chrome, Android, Firebase, and Flutter, using mascots like the Chrome Dino and the Bugdroid to create four unique pinball characters. Overall, it’s a solid little web project designed to highlight some of Google’s most accomplished projects, one that works great in Chrome and on your phone alike, with some fun Easter eggs for die-hard fans.
To get started, head to I/O Pinball’s main website to play your first round. Select one of the four characters outlined above, then launch your ball to start competing against scores from players around the world. The touch controls on mobile feel a little more responsive than the keyboard controls on desktop, but it works well no matter which platform you select. The ball physics feels a little sluggish compared to real-world pinball machines, making it a bit easier to nail high scores.
If you’re interested in the developer side of things, Google did a deep dive into how the game was built using Flutter. It’s chock full of interesting tidbits, including how the title renders a 3D space in a 2D engine and can even pull a live leaderboard from around the world, tracking the top ten players using Firebase Cloud Firestore. It’s the perfect preview ahead of I/O — something fun and friendly for everyone that doubles as an in-depth example for the devs among us.
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