If you feel like you need a break from work — and who doesn’t every now and again — and want to make your brain ache a little, let us introduce Pongout.
It’s a combination of two old video games, Breakout and Pong.
Pong is pretty much the first commercial video games (the hardcore amoung you will know of Computer Space, but that had limited distribution). It’s the classic bat and ball game that launched a thousand frustrations as people grappled with video games in their lounges for the first time.
Breakout – take a bat, a ball and some coloured bricks, that you had to bash away. Little fact-ette you might not know … the two designers of the original 1976 Atari version of Breakout were, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak – founders of Apple Computers.
Sixteen year old Max Stein has put the two games side-by-side making you play both at the same time. Not only do you have to concentrate on bashing blocks away, but you have to make sure your pong bat is connecting with the little block of white light dashing around on the right hand side of the screen.
Missing either ball in either game will lose you a life.
Frankly, it makes your head hurt as you struggle to keep both sides in check, but can see how it could really get under your skin.
We think this could become highly addictive, which is why we’re writing this piece about it and not playing it again … oh, maybe one more go …