PongPlusPlus - Pong with Powerups

PongPlusPlus is an in-progress experiment using C++ and SDL for game-design, inspired by the classic video game Pong.

Getting Started

In order to run this game, you will need to install the SDL and SDL-ttf library on your computer. Instructions for installation are listed below:

Dependencies for Running Locally

• cmake >= 3.7
  • All OSes: click here for installation instructions
• make >= 4.1 (Linux, Mac), 3.81 (Windows)
  • Linux: make is installed by default on most Linux distros
  • Mac: install Xcode command line tools to get make
  • Windows: Click here for installation instructions
• SDL2 >= 2.0
  • All installation instructions can be found here

  Note that for Linux, an apt or apt-get installation is preferred to building from source.

• SDL Extensions
  • SDL True Type Fonts (TTF) - Installation instructions here
  • On linux, the preference would be to use sudo apt-get install libsdl2-ttf-dev
• gcc/g++ >= 5.4
  • Linux: gcc / g++ is installed by default on most Linux distros
  • Mac: same deal as make - install Xcode command line tools
  • Windows: recommend using MinGW

Basic Build Instructions

1. Clone this repo.
2. Make a build directory in the top level directory: mkdir build && cd build
3. Compile: cmake .. && make
   • NOTE: If you are compiling on Windows and want make files, you can use the -G "Unix Makefiles" flag.
   • NOTE: If you are getting errors linking to SDL, you can run cmake with a pointer to the library as below: cmake .. -D CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="C:\Users\jtass\vcpkg\packages" -G "Unix Makefiles"
4. Run it: ./PongPlusPlus.

Features

Interface

In the below image, various game objects have been highlighted with colored boxes:

• Red: The paddle zone. Paddles will move up and down along this boundary.
• Yellow: The score board. Each side of the field has a score indicator for their respective players.
• Pink: Ball start. This is the location where the ball will always start before being served.
• Green: Current active powerup. Each player's powerup is displayed here by color. When used, the box becomes hollow.

Gameplay

Recommended Number of Players: 2

Gameplay Loop:

• Each player takes control of a paddle.
• The serve owner serves the ball at the opposing player - on bootup, this will always be player 1.
• Players move vertically on their respective halves of the field to bounce the ball back and forth, speeding the ball up each time.
• If the ball passes your paddle, the opposing player will be rewarded with a point. You will be awarded the next serve.
• Play continues until either player reaches 10 points, at which point the game will be reset.

Powerups

Once per point, a user can attempt to catch the ball. Doing so successfully will award the user a game-altering powerup. But beware, missing a catch will reduce the size of the paddle by 10%, down to a minimum size of 30%.

Powerup Varieties:

• Fire
  • Effect: Increases the ball speed by 2x immediately. Each subsequent hit will increase ball speed by 10%, rather than the usual 5%.
  • Duration: 10 Hits

Fire.Ball.mp4

• Ice
  • Effect: Each time a paddle is contacted by the ice ball, its speed decreases by 20%.
  • Duration: 10 Hits

Ice.Ball.mp4

• Sun
  • Effect: Both players are blinded. The color contrast between the ball and the background become more difficult to distinguish.
  • Duration: 5 Hits

Sun.Ball.mp4

• Shadow
  • Effect: Shadows erupt around the opposing player's side, rendering them unable to see their paddle.
  • Duration: 3 Hits

Shadow.Ball.mp4

• Confusion
  • Effect: The ball begins to move in wave patterns and behaves in unexpected ways when objects are contacted.
  • Duration: 5 Hits

Confuse.Ball.mp4

Controls

Player 1:

• Move Paddle Up: W
• Move Paddle Down: S
• Catch Ball: D
• Serve Ball: Space

Player 2:

• Move Paddle Up: Arrow-Up
• Move Paddle Down: Arrow-Down
• Catch Ball: Right-CTRL
• Serve Ball: Return (Enter) or Numpad-Enter

Roadmap

• More Powerups:
  • Root ball
  • Shrink ball
  • Energy ball
  • LOVE ball
• Computer-controlled Player 2
• Menus, including power-up selection
• Stat-tracking