Because every console needs a (few) Pong port(s).
This is my first Pico-8 project. I've got a lot more ideas for it, and it's not done yet.
Future Plans
- Powerups if a match goes on long enough? Honestly, not sure if this needs it.
- Music
Known Issues
- The AI is occasionally too good at the game.
- Sometimes the ball goes too fast to catch.
Changelog
v4
- Goal sound.
- AI tweaks.
- Ball speedup changes.
v3 - Made the court pretty
- Added a score display
- Made the AI a little easier by making the ball go faster over time.
v2 - Updated the splash screen.
v1 - Initial release.
It's interesting how in Wii Tennis, which is still really kinda just Pong, you can't even control where your guy goes, but it's all about timing the hit.
Were you thinking about adding the bit where you can alter the trajectory depending on where the paddle hits? That's usual..
On one hand, in your versions so far, the trajectory can't be altered, so there is this point where the ball is going fast enough that after I hit, I have to start moving to the point where I think it's going to come back to me right away, or move towards the center and come back. That part felt like real tennis game movement.
The more "standard" Pong seems to be mostly about just trying to create very sharp angles of ball movement that make it hard for the opponent to return. That's probably legitimate too.
I have to say that Pong is pretty graphically sparse -- even for me! You might want to consider adding some graphics. Tennis doesn't have bouncy walls, but racquetball does. If the paddles are on the same side of the wall and take turns hitting, you have to dodge the ball when it's not your turn to hit, that could spice things up.
Yeah, I think I can make the playfield a little more interesting. The ball speeds up semi-randomly, right now, but I was going to add a bit more fine tuned controls for doing that. The ball going at strict angles is a little boring, to me.
Right now, I think my next move for it will be getting some sprites in, and setting some actual palettes up.
I think it was a great first effort. I just played it for quite some time. I had to keep getting myself to agree at arbitrary score levels. Thanks!
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