''Plasma Pong'' is an unfinished

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

created by American programmer Steve Taylor when he was attending

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. It is an enhanced version of Atari, Inc.'s ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a 1972 sports video game developed and published by Atari for arcades. It is one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but B ...

'' where the ball and paddles move through a multicolored substance simulated via

fluid dynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...

. The game received positive attention, but development was put on hiatus in 2007 after receiving a

cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...

notice from the ''Pong'' trademark owner, Atari Interactive.

Gameplay

Two players control a paddle each, at either side of the screen, volleying a ball between them. The environment is a fluid-like plasma which can be pushed and sucked with the paddles. There are three game modes. In single-player, the player combats a progressively smarter AI in a fluid environment where the fluid moves faster and faster, affecting the ball more and more. Multiplayer is little different, with two players typically sharing a single keyboard to play against each other. The sandbox mode, however, gives the player near total access to color, particle, and fluid motion effects, allowing them to simply play around with the game's fluid dynamics engine and see what interesting motions they can create.

Reception

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'' included ''Plasma Pong'' on a list of the best indie games of 2007. They highlighted the complex but manageable gameplay and beautiful graphics, but criticized the occasionally unpredictable ball control. In June 2007, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' described the game as "sort of like playing Ping-Pong while floating in melted lollipops".

Legacy

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remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

was made by another programmer.

References

External links

(archived in 2007) 2007 video games MacOS games Pong variations Video games developed in the United States Windows games Multiplayer and single-player video games {{paddle-videogame-stub