Thu 13 Dec 2007
Since the dawn of video game history, one game has stood head and shoulders above the rest. The venerable and oft frequented Pong. So easy, so simple, yet so enjoyable and so terribly vexing when drunk! Loved and adored by old and young like, Pong holds a warm spot in many a human heart. It has truly survived the test of time and can easily be called a video game classic.
What game is deserving of a 21st century facelift more than pong? At the same time, Pong remains one of the most hallowed and antiquated games. Lonely black and white paddles and ball moving monotonously back and forth on the screen. It doesn’t exactly want to make you cry Hurrah! Many attempts have been made to try and update our classic golden oldie all to no avail. Colors were introduced, dimensions were added, ball speeds were changed, snazzy new display interfaces were introduced, and after each and every one of these changes, the die hards cried “Bloody Murder!!!!!”
So one chilly November morning I set out on what I knew would ultimately become my lifes purpose, figure out a way to enhance Pong and bring it into the new millenium, without sacrificing game play. After much deep pondering, I decided that the best way make Pong more hip without sacrificing anything that would get me a ton of hate mail, tarred and feathered or killed, would be to not change any of the actual graphics or gameplay elements, except for one thing: The Controller.
My 21st century spin on Pong turns a cell phone into a controller. Imagine, you and a friend going at it on a 50 foot screen in the middle of Times Square. Hey it’s New York! It can happen!
The result: Phone Pong!
For my midterm, I initially came up with the idea of building out a couple of games which are playable by phone. I decided on doing something like telephone battleship. I soon realized that given the time it probably wouldn’t be possible to build a couple of games or even one really complicated game like battleship in its entirety. After listening to the feedback everyone gave me I decided I would program something simple which can be expanded on and maybe shoot for a full blown multi-game system with user stats for the final.
As you can see the game is simple and straightforward and the beginning parts of a user/pin system are there. The idea would be for someone to sign up on the website and then be emailed or shown their pin. Obviously a high security system! Regardless, after my niece play tested it for upwards of two hours, she told me it was alot of fun, evethough, Swiper was in always in the same place it didn’t stop her from pressing every other key on the keypad each time she played.
