Almost Pong
Games
browser arcade game
SHOW HN2022
1,135points
181comments
#10of 2,570 in 2022
Top 1%of 2022 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
68 positive, 56 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 17 critical, out of 144 comments about the project. Thread score +0.40.
Idea: 19 for, 1 againstDesign: 11 for, 7 againstExecution: 6 for, 3 againstPerformance: 1 for, 4 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Simple, addictive, fun gameplay
From 4 comments
Good Job, I hate you for tempting me to play more. I'm afraid to play more because I think a bunch of random objects will pop up and make me go crazy, and its a little too late…
scrame on HNThis is fantastic! I love it. "I don't even like video games" :D Having the experience of fail, score 1, score 1, score 14,... is really fun. I think it has just the right mix of…
loxias on HNlove seeing this kind of thing, a simple concept perfectly executed
bodge5000 on HNCool game! Also has an addictive element.
billyboar on HN
Satisfying sound design
From 2 comments
This has THE MOST satisfying sounds of any game I've ever played
dpix on HNI like it. Also the sounds are neat.
m4rc3lv on HN
Flappy Bird-style physics feel right
From 2 comments
This feels like a playable version of Flappy Bird. The physics are sane and feel right. Flappy Bird seemed designed just to frustrate.
nsxwolf on HNWow, the parabolic motion for this is spot-on. It seems you faithfully reproduced s=(a*t^2)/2, or got extremely close to it - very impressive :) It's also very responsive. (max…
TimTheTinker on HN
Objections
Hard to play on mobile because thumb covers the play area and taps hit links below
From 4 comments
It's really hard to play on the phone. At first I kept tapping on the links below the game when I focused more on the game and less on my finger position. After I got used to…
emmaLe on HNGreat game! On mobile my finger naturally drifted toward the bottom of the hit pad for visibility and I ended up clicking the link below it a couple times. Disappointing. :(
johnmaguire on HNFun game. On the mobile it would be great if I could tap anywhere on the screen and not just the black area as my thumb obscured the paddles sometimes.
superasn on HNOn mobile, it would be useful if the tap area was extended below the board by an inch or so.
zagrebian on HN
Performance issues on Chrome/Firefox and high-refresh monitors
From 3 comments
Chrome on m1 mac - laggy and frustrating in a bad way Safari on m1 mac - no lag and frustratingly fun :)
jseutter on HNImpossible to play on a 280hz monitor. I see you're using Date.now() to calculate the delta. Instead, use the first argument given to you by requestAnimationFrame for higher…
zebracanevra on HNThat's a fun concept, but you might want to speed it up a little bit. I stopped at 20 because I got bored, it's way too slow. The ball moves too slowly and the paddles should…
throwaddzuzxd on HN
Name Pong is trademarked by Atari
From 1 comment
Be careful, especially if you do anything commercial with this: "Pong" is trademarked by Atari. Fun game, but might need to choose a different name...
Laremere on HN
Requests
Make it a mobile app
From 3 comments
This is addicting! Make it a mobile app! (Should be simple with Unity) Create a launching website, add branding (keep it simple) And ad a daily challenge / and allow users to…
TeeWEE on HNYou have about 48h to be the first to put it in a mobile app store if you're into that. Cool concept!
Nowado on HNThis has a real chance to be a successful mobile game, if I were you I may start thinking about an app. Every project has to stop somewhere, though, so leaving it as a fun little…
wanderer_ on HN
Full-screen or larger clickable area below the board
From 3 comments
Really fun and addictive. I would extend the screen downwards so there is a clickable area that is not part of the play area. Then you will be able to see what is going on…
justinhj on HNvery nice, it needs full screen
6510 on HNOn mobile, it would be useful if the tap area was extended below the board by an inch or so.
zagrebian on HN
Name it Flappy Pong
From 3 comments
Hey! Your 12 games in 12 weeks thing (back in ...2014? Jesus, time flies) was what got me into HTML5 game dev! So I wanted to say thank you for the inspiration :) I especially…
andai on HNMissed the chance to name it Flappy Pong
mushyhammer on HNFlappy Pong. Fun stuff! Well done
robbiejs on HN
Questions
Where is the source code?
From 1 comment
Source code?
heroku on HN
Is the name a nod to Almost Pizza?
From 1 comment
Is the name a nod to Almost Pizza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLHRjaUBb3o ?
__s on HN
Alternatives named
Flappy Bird
From 2 comments
Remember when Flappy Bird was making $50k a day (or something like that [0]) and the creator should shut it down? Ah, memories. You could potentially recreate this to put on the…
cercatrova on HNWow, the parabolic motion for this is spot-on. It seems you faithfully reproduced s=(a*t^2)/2, or got extremely close to it - very impressive :) It's also very responsive. (max…
TimTheTinker on HN
Flappy Pong (Atari 2600)
From 1 comment
"Flappy Pong" exists, as an Atari 2600 game no less: https://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=298 I helped the author track down and fix a certain bug: the…
vikingerik on HN
Qomp
From 1 comment
Reminds me of qomp by Stuffed Wombat (“You are the Ball. Escape.”). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1066900/qomp/ https://twitter.com/wombatstuff
modernerd on HN
Don't Touch The Spikes
From 1 comment
Reminds me very much of AdamAtomic's Flappy Jam entry [1] that was later cloned as a fairly popular mobile game called Don't Touch The Spikes [1]…
ilkke on HN