PongMeister Devlog #1 - Introductions, Future Plans

Looking forward, looking beyond

Don't look ahead and you'll be done~

Hi, hello, good evening. I don't know if you noticed, but I just released this sweet little thing, right; PongMeister, folks are calling it. Some sort of Squash Alpha. Yeah, I think it's pretty swell. Not the swellest it can be, however, and not the swellest it'll ever be: Yes, I have plans for PGM! It is an Alpha after all.

As I've said in the main page, The Squash Alpha is the preview and test bench for something greater. PongMeister, as I intend the full package to be, is a 1-v-1, player-vs-player action tennis brawler. If you know Atari's 1972 Pong, then you have halfway figured out. If you know Reptile Games' Lethal League (and Lethal League Blaze), then you have figured out at least another 40%. 

PongMeister follows the story of our protagonist Hero, the champion of his country's most disputed sport: Rackapong. One day, however, someone taps into forbidden powers in order to dethrone him, erasing any public image Hero once had, and becoming the feared Ball Zenith. To test out his new powers, the Zenith organizes a world tournament, gathering the most skilled Rackapong warriors - but he did not count with Hero returning to take his righteous spot back.

PongMeister is inspired also by fighting game design - it will feature an arcade story mode for each of its diverse characters, each one contributing to the overarching story of the game; a versus mode, where you can go all out against your friends, and much more. 

However, HellaBallsy Games is only me, Kaiden. Developing video games is hard, and a lot of stuff I wish PongMeister could have are left in the limbo of over-scoping. To that effect, I have devised development stages for PongMeister. Let's check them out!

The Squash Alpha - initial release. When? Today!

Today, I bring upon the world PongMeister's Squash Alpha. Implementing a second player and AI is a very daunting task, and as such figuring out if my idea clicks to a single character first is essential. To that, I have devised the Squash Alpha. You - controlling Hero - are placed in a very simple room. There are no opponents, only walls the ball will bounce off. Here, you will be able to test out Hero's dynamics, as we tune the game into a better feel. Features are simplistic and the Squash Alpha is iterative by nature. What I release today might not be the same game of tomorrow. For better or for worse? I want you guys to join me in it.

To make the Squash Alpha a little less boring, however, I've added a scoring system. This is not intended to be the main gameplay gauge in the future, and is more in place to gamify this and make it a little more than a prototype. I want something to call a "first game", is what I am saying. Fighting games commonly have player scores, however, so I might consider it.

I will take feedback in a few weeks, undetermined. I will work on that feedback in periods - there are a few things in my real-world life that I want to take care of before moving on to the next stage.

Here on out, the future of PongMeister:

The Beat-Up-Your-Friends Beta - second release. When?

We will never know, as said before.

In this beta, I will introduce things intended for a more confident "1.0" release. The main attraction is the inclusion of a second player character. A rival on the back of the arena, where on the Squash Alpha there was only a wall. A second controllable player character, with re-bindable inputs! Online functionality is out of scope, but you will be able to play with friends through the use of streaming services - Parsec, RemotePlay, etc.

A second beta will follow, after Player 2 feedback has been put through gauntlets - this one will be intended for CPU/AI opponents. It is not a priority, but I know a lot of people like to play these games solo better, and I'd love to embrace them. 

After these, I will focus entirely on prepping the game for the final release.

PongMeister - The Zenith Attacks 1.0!

What do I want PongMeister to have? Oh, silly... Rollback netcode, universal controller support, replays, tournament settings... Now can I make half of those features? Sadly not. What I can make however - or, at least, will learn along the way how to - is a fully featured arcade story mode, with dialogue, character drama, and arcs!

Action packed player vs. player modes. Bully your friends to see who's the boss in Rackapong.

The full roster of PongMeister will be implemented, with whatever characters I have planned to add on the BUYF Beta and more.

Art gallery! View your favorite cutscenes again. See development images of the characters!

Character customization! Feel like Hero's balding is a little too cold? Worry not, give him a beanie! Or a cool cowboy hat. Or whatever you want! Or put on a cool color palette you think will represent you best.

Color customization! While I want PongMeister to be a monochrome adventure, the possibility of color customization - find the color most suitable for your needs - is on the table.

Acessibility options! Fiddle with all the knobs in the game for your playing pleasure.

Typing this out was painful, it feels like a marketing blurb, but it's genuinely in the list of all sorts of things I want PongMeister to have in 1.0. It's a journey - we'll get there when we get there - and I want you people to come along with me in it. 

Will that be it for PongMeister?

Life works in mysterious ways, and I cannot say when I'll exactly be done with PGM. I will be done when I say I am done, and even then my brain gets too attached to things and might just come back. Can I do rollback netcode and all that shebang now? No, but who knows in the future? Maybe new characters, other features I didn't think of... I have a vision, but that vision is pointless if it just meets one end without meeting the other. Things might change, and I'm in for it.

Closing words

This is very long. Frighteningly long. I hope you guys are still alive after reading all of it.

This is my first project. I want to be proud of it, to be beyond this wall that unfortunately many people don't get through. I may get burnt out here and there, I may get my sleep schedule ruined, but I will find a way to make ends meet. 

I am very happy to introduce myself to the world as Kaiden of HellaBallsy Games, starting out with PongMeister - The Squash Alpha. I hope I can make many memories with my audience, however small it is, and I hope this game can do the same for you.

If you want to talk with me, I'm always open in my social networks: here's my Twitter, shoot me DMs, nice words and foul words welcome. My Discord is Kaiden#5119 - maybe one day I'll make a server for PongMeister? - add me and let's talk development and slapping balls!

Until next update. See you guys soon!

P.S.: Monetization

I believe in games as art first, money second. I make the art, the money comes later to boost me up. I will not ask for a single dime for PongMeister demonstrations, alphas or betas. Should I ever open up Patreon, that will be only to service people's generosity. No exclusive content whatsoever. Should you, a future Patron, subscribe, the only thing you will recieve is slightly earlier access and maybe playtesting rights. I will only consider monetizing the game once the package I think is worth a single cent is ready for release, and that will be REALLY late.

Is that stupid? Maybe. But if it is, then I'm the dumbest human being on Earth.

However, if you think I deserve any money for this in it's current state, then let's talk in private. I haven't yet set up itch.io monetization to recieve donations, but we can make do in private. Here's hoping itch.io is not against that, I guess.