Disclaimer: This game is by no means related to Atari's 1972 Pong classic hit. It is merely inspired by it, as it is by many other games. I have no affiliation with Atari and/or the Pong franchise, and neither do I have the intention to infringe on Atari's copyright.

Welcome to PongMeister - the Squash Alpha!

The Squash Alpha is the first development stage of my project: PongMeister, a new take on 1v1 virtual tennis. 

In the Squash Alpha, you play in a very simple arena. It's just you, some nice space, and a ball. Test out the main character, Hero! Aim for a high score, and share with the community on the itch.io thread!

Game rules:

You start the game with the ball in your front and 3 points of health. When the ball passes the DANGER line, a health point will be deducted. When you reach 0 health, it's Game Over! 

Every time you hit the ball, you get more points. The ball also speeds up, so be careful! But don't be afraid of it: the faster the ball is when you hit it, more points will be added to your total. Get on it's face and show it no mercy!

If the ball is overwhelmingly fast, don't fret - use the Block maneuver to stop the ball in it's tracks and aim your shot carefully. However, you need to spend Super Meter to do so. You build up some meter every time you hit the ball - keep up a combo, and the meter acquired per hit increases! Don't be afraid to block every so often!

Controls - Keyboard:

• Arrow Key Up/W - Move Up
• Arrow Key Down/S - Move Down
• Z/J - Attack
• X/K - Block

Controls - Game pad:

• Directional Pad Up/Left Stick Up - Move Up
• Directional Pad Down/Left Stick Down - Move Down
• Down/Left Face Button- Attack
• Right/Up Face Button - Block

How to play:

There are three attacks in PongMeister: a neutral attack, performed by pressing Attack with no direction; an Up attack, performed by pressing Up + Attack; and - you guessed it - a Down attack, done by pressing Down + Attack.

Blocking can be done from any movement and position, as long as you have the meter (1 stock) for it.

Feedback:

As a prototype, the game is available for free. While you can do whatever you want with your money, the only thing I ask you to give me in return is feedback, either on the forums or on the comments down below. 

This is the first game I am ever releasing, and as such it will have corners of inconvenience I am still ironing out. If you like the idea of the game, if you dislike anything about it - I will be listening to it, and you may help shape up the development of PongMeister down the line. 

Credits:

PongMeister - the Squash Alpha is created by:

Design, Artwork, Programming, Sound Effects and Voice - Kaiden (@kaidentbio)

Music is "UB-E 4 (Drums & Synths 100BPM)" by Jordan "Erokia" Powell from Freesound.org - Check out his Soundcloud!

Special thanks to:

Mom and Dad, for putting up with me;

Kaian-a-coel, Critzy and Sinful Horns, for being the chumps that are always pushing me to do the best I can;

The Gamemaker Studio 2 Discord server, for always providing assistance when in need;

The many GameMaker Studio 2 content creators, for letting me learn about this magical little engine.