Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!news
From: "pal" <pal_news@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.freetalk.english
Subject: Re: New Game:  pingping
Date: 2 Sep 2001 23:22:35 GMT
Organization: PlayStation Net Yaroze (SCEE)
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Well, I dont' know how to put it without sounding flattery, but I find
PingPing brilliant. It is the best Pong rehash ever, really. So bad it
takes so long to boot and load a NY game...

I love:
- the title screen.
- the red/blue circle effects. Simple, clever. (could have been a little
more trippy)
- the gravity twist, enhanced by the rotation. I once made a Pong with a
similar rotation system, but here gravity makes the thing really
interesting. And unlike tennis games you can easily see and understand why
the ball is going where and how. Going left/right instead of up/down
follows from there and is good design.
- the deceptively quiet ambiance ;)
- the overall look of course.

I hate:
- that you dont plan to take some time to make it perfect. I think it
deserves it, and that playability is not perfect, probably due to the high
inertia of the rackets.
- that jerky laughing '0-5' ai on acid ;)

I experienced the same problems as the others, viz 1) menu bug 2) cheeting
ai feeling.
I'm sure a portable (eg Palm?) version would meet with great success. I had
my elder brother play with me, and he's definitely not a hardcore gamer nor
a small game lover, but he got addicted and asked for a PC version to play
at his office! (btw, the 2p game is much more enjoyable than the 1p one)

I noticed it is possible to hit the ball more than once in a row, but it is
very difficult; I think there is some interesting gameplay tricks to
achieve from there (somehow like in volleyball?)...

Will you publish the sources? I think it would be an interesting help for
getting into 3d, with simple mechanics leaving the fundamental things
visible.


pal