Build a Classic Pong Game From Scratch

In this screencast tutorial, I’ll show you how to use Construct 2 to make a basic Pong game that can be played either against another person or against a simple computer AI. No previous programming or game development experience is required — all you need is a copy of Construct 2 (which has a free edition).

Introduction

The game we’ll build here is a pretty basic version of Pong that allows you to either play versus a human player on the same computer or against a very basic AI. You can play the finished demo here.

You probably know how Pong works, but just in case:

• The two paddles are controlled either by the CPU, the arrow keys, or the S and X keys.
• There is a constantly moving ball that rebounds on walls on top and bottom of the game field.
• Each time the ball goes beyond a player’s paddle, their opponent scores a point.
• The first player to 10 is considered the winner.

Also, pressing P pauses the game.

What to Download

For this tutorial, you’ll need a copy of Construct 2 (C2). The free edition is more than enough for the game we will make here, and is not a limited in time which makes it a perfect choice for beginners.

There are two versions of C2 to consider: Stable and Beta. The latest Beta version is always the most recent version released, and bring new features. However, the Beta versions might introduce new bugs, and are considered to be experimental versions. Stable versions offer bugfixes and an assurance that most of the features are bug free and should work as expected no matter what you do with them. They are not a different branch of the development, but simply milestones labelled as having fixed all the bugs reported in the past.

The development cycle for C2 is quite quick, with new Beta releases roughly once per week and new Stable version releases about every 6 weeks. One thing you should be aware of is that projects saved with an older version (no matter if it is Beta or Stable) can be opened in new versions. The opposite is not true though (you can’t open a project saved with r99 in r95).

As I show the use of the Image Editor Tools that were implemented after the latest Stable version (r95) I’d advise you to download this version (r99). If at the time you are reading this tutorial a newer Stable version is available, then download that instead. Every aspect of this tutorial should still apply and you should encounter fewer bugs when working on your own projects.

If you would like to download the final game source, you can get it in CAPX format here, or ZIP format here.

Watch the Screencast

What Next?

So you’ve made a basic Pong game – great! Now take it further. Here are some ideas:

• Improve the graphics. You could go for an oldschool 8-bit look, a Geometry Wars-style neon look, or something totally different!
• Add more paddles. What if both sides had one human player and one computer-controlled player?
• Increase the challenge. Try making the ball speed up as the duration of the game goes on.
• Introduce power-ups. Make paddles shrink or grow, or move faster or slower.

I recommend you check out the official Construct 2 manual and the tutorials on Scirra.com for more help.

Thanks for watching this tutorial!