Pong
The 1972 original, and still the shortest explanation of what a video game is: two paddles, one ball, do not miss.
Pong is where the commercial games industry started. Atari shipped it in 1972, the cabinet reportedly broke because it filled with coins, and the entire design is two rectangles and a square.
It holds up because the one subtlety in it is good: where the ball strikes the paddle changes the angle it leaves at. That means a defensive player can only ever return the ball, while someone aiming with the edges of the paddle can force their opponent to run. Fifty years of sports games are built on top of that single idea.
Controls
Arrow keys or W and S to move your paddle. Two players share the keyboard
Tips
- Hit with the edge of the paddle to steepen the angle and make the return harder to reach.
- Return to the centre after every hit. Guessing a side is how rallies are lost.
- The ball speeds up through a rally, so the longer it goes the earlier you need to start moving.