Pong is a game where a paddle is used to hit a ball and bounce it off a wall, allowing it to return towards the paddle. The paddle is on a single axis of movement, parallel to the wall, and must intercept the ball on its return path to keep the game from ending. The ball continues to bounce until this happens. It was originally released as an arcade game in the 1970s, though users have recreated the game on the Scratch Website.
How to Create a Pong Game
Backdrop
First, choose a backdrop. Ensure that the backdrop does not have any of the same colors as the sprite in it, as this will interfere with the sprite created later. Then, draw a line with a distinguishable color at the bottom of the backdrop to represent the area the ball should not touch. The shade of that color created with this line with should not be the same shade as any color in the backdrop or in sprites used.
Creating the Paddle
To create a paddle, create a sprite that is a horizontal line. Then, add the following script to make it follow the mouse-pointer only by the x axis.
when green flag clicked set y to (-150) //adjust this to change the vertical position of the paddle forever set x to (mouse x) //go to the horizontal position of the cursor end
Vertical Paddle
If one wants a vertical paddle, they can use the following script:
when green flag clicked set x to (-180) //adjust this to change the horizontal position of the paddle forever set y to (mouse y) //go to the vertical position of the cursor end
Creating the Ball
Create a sprite with a costume of a small circle to represent the ball. Then, add the following script to make it move, bounce, and end the game if it misses the paddle.
when green flag clicked set [score v] to (0) go to x:(0) y:(0) point in direction (pick random (-180) to (180)) forever move (10) steps if on edge, bounce //bounce off the edge if <touching (paddle v)> then //bounce off the paddle change [score v] by (1) // if the game uses a score, change it with this script play sound (water drop v) //play a sound effect when bouncing off the paddle point in direction ((180) - (direction)) //the actual command for bouncing off the paddle move (10) steps //move away from the paddle when bouncing off it end if <<touching color (. . .::grey)> or <(x position) < (-179)>> then //make this the same color of the line at the bottom of the backdrop stop [all v] //stop the game if the ball hits the bottom of the screen, as it missed the paddle end end