How To Make A Ping Pong Game On Scratch

Last modified: October 8, 2023

Introduction

Do you enjoy playing ping pong? Have you ever wanted to create your own ping pong game? In this post, I will guide you through the process of making a ping pong game using Scratch, a beginner-friendly coding platform. Whether you are a beginner or have some coding experience, you can follow along and create your very own ping pong game. So, let’s get started!

Creating the Ping Pong Game on Scratch

1. Setting up the Stage
Start by opening Scratch and creating a new project. By default, Scratch provides you with a cat sprite, which we will modify later. For now, let’s set up our game stage. Click on the “Choose a Sprite from Library” button and select a “Ball” sprite. Next, delete the default cat sprite by right-clicking on it and selecting “Delete.” Now, let’s resize the stage. Click on the “Stage” tab and set the dimensions to 480 pixels width and 360 pixels height.

2. Adding the Paddles
To create the paddles, we will use two rectangular sprites. Click on the “Choose a Sprite from Library” button again and select a “Rectangle” sprite. Duplicate it by right-clicking on the sprite and selecting “duplicate.” Rename the first one as “Player Paddle” and the second one as “Computer Paddle.” Now, let’s position the paddles. Click on the “Player Paddle” sprite, go to the “Events” category, and drag the “when green flag clicked” block to the scripting area. Add the “go to x: -200 y: 0” block to position the player paddle on the left side of the screen. Similarly, position the computer paddle on the right side using the “go to x: 200 y: 0” block.

3. Creating the Ball
Now, let’s work on the ball sprite. Click on the “Ball” sprite and position it at the center of the stage using the “go to x: 0 y: 0” block. Next, go to the “Looks” category and drag the “hide” block to the scripting area. We will make the ball visible later when the game starts.

4. Adding Movement to the Paddles
To control the paddles, we need to add movement. Click on the “Player Paddle” sprite, go to the “Events” category, and drag the “when green flag clicked” block to the scripting area. Now, add the “forever” block to continuously check for movement. Inside the “forever” block, add the “if then” block and check if the “up arrow” key is pressed. If it is, move the paddle up using the “change y by 10” block. Repeat the same steps to check if the “down arrow” key is pressed and move the paddle down.

5. Making the Ball Bounce
Now, let’s make the ball bounce off the paddles and the edges of the screen. Click on the “Ball” sprite, go to the “Events” category, and drag the “when green flag clicked” block to the scripting area. Add the “forever” block to continuously check for collisions. Inside the “forever” block, use the “if then” block and check if the ball touches the player paddle. If it does, change the ball’s x direction using the “change x by 10” block. Repeat the same steps for the computer paddle and the screen edges. Additionally, to keep the ball bouncing, add the “repeat until” block and check if the ball touches the top or bottom edges. If it does, bounce the ball by changing its y direction.

6. Scoring System
To create a scoring system, we will use variables. Click on the “Variables” category and create two variables: “player score” and “computer score.” To display the scores, go to the “Looks” category and drag the “say” block to the scripting area. Use the “join” block to display a message like “Player Score: [player score].” Update the scores when the ball touches the left or right edges. Increment the player score if the ball touches the right edge and the computer score if it touches the left edge.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully created your own ping pong game using Scratch. You’ve learned how to set up the stage, create paddles, add movement, make the ball bounce, and implement a scoring system. Feel free to customize your game further by adding sound effects, changing the backgrounds, or even adding levels of difficulty. The possibilities are endless, and with Scratch, coding becomes a fun and creative experience. Enjoy playing your ping pong game and continue exploring more exciting projects with Scratch!

Additional Ping-Pong Resources: