2nd Game Dev Project: Burst Bats

For the 2nd project on the GameGen tutorial track, my assignment was to replicate and modify the classic multiplayer game Pong. To do this I added a lot of features that are overall inspired by fighting games, mostly centered around meter management in the form of a "Burst" meter (might be wearing my inspirations on my sleeve a bit too obviously with that one). To build the meter, the players rally the ball back and forth, and when the meter fills up, players can use portions of it to perform charge shots, sending the ball back at faster and faster speeds. Alternatively, the players can save up their meter and use it all when the meter is full to "Burst", making their paddle longer and faster, slowing down time, and performing automatic charge shots for the duration, making it a powerful option for saving meter wisely. Lastly, I added a wall behind each player, and when a player has their wall damaged, they gain half their meter back. This acts as somewhat of a comeback mechanic, and helps the players feel a bit more in control as the ball gets more and more hectic. Overall with this project I wanted to take the classic gameplay of pong, and inject some volatility and player agency into it to make it more engaging.

You can try Burst Bats on itch.io here:

https://dancman.itch.io/burst-bats