Toys · Study 098
Pong by Itself
A game of Pong that plays itself: two imperfect computer paddles rally a square ball and keep score. Move your pointer to take over the left one.
What you're looking at
Each paddle watches the ball only while it is heading its way, and aims slightly off centre by an amount that drifts over time. It can move only so fast. The ball speeds up four percent on every hit and picks up spin depending on where it strikes the paddle, so sooner or later a return is out of reach and a point is scored.
The idea behind it
Atari's Pong reached arcades in 1972 and was the first video game most people ever saw. The original had no processor and no software. Everything, including the ball's bounce angles and the score digits, was built from ordinary logic chips wired together on a single board.
Try this
Move the pointer up and down over the canvas to control the left paddle. Take it away and the computer resumes.
