How To Make Ping Pong Game On Scratch

Last modified: October 9, 2023

If you’re a fan of ping pong and want to try your hand at creating a game of your own, Scratch is a great platform to start with. Scratch is a visual programming language that allows you to create interactive games, animations, and more. In this guide, we’ll walk through the process of making a ping pong game on Scratch. So, let’s get started!

Setting up the Stage

Start by opening the Scratch editor and creating a new project. By default, Scratch provides you with a cat sprite, but we’ll be using the default sprite for now. Next, let’s set up the stage for our ping pong game.

Backdrop

Click on the “Choose a Backdrop” button in the stage area and select a suitable backdrop for your ping pong game. You can choose a simple court or get creative and design your own backdrop. Make sure it gives the feel of a ping pong court.

Paddle and Ball

In the sprite pane, click on the “Choose a Sprite” button and select a suitable sprite for the paddle. You can choose a simple rectangle shape or an image of a paddle. Then, click on the “Choose a Sprite” button again and select a sprite for the ball. You can use a simple circle or find an image of a ball.

Positioning the Sprites

Now, let’s position the paddle and ball on the stage. Click on the paddle sprite and use the “go to x: [ ] y: [ ]” block from the motion category to place it at the desired position. Similarly, position the ball sprite on the other side of the court. You can experiment with different positions to find what works best for your game.

Gameplay and Interactions

With the stage set up, let’s move on to creating the gameplay and interactions for our ping pong game. We’ll need to handle the movement of the paddle, the movement of the ball, and collisions between the ball and the paddle.

Moving the Paddle

We’ll use the arrow keys to control the movement of the paddle. Go to the paddle sprite and add the following code:

When green flag clicked
Forever
If [up arrow] key pressed then
change y by [10]
If [down arrow] key pressed then
change y by [-10]
End

Moving the Ball

To make the ball move, we’ll use a variable to control its direction. Add the following code to the ball sprite:

When green flag clicked
Set [direction v] to [90]
Forever
point towards [direction v]
move [10] steps
End

Collisions and Scoring

We’ll use the “touching [ ]?” block to detect collisions between the ball and the paddle. When a collision occurs, we’ll change the direction of the ball to make it bounce. Add the following code to the ball sprite:

When green flag clicked
Set [score v] to [0]
Forever
if then
change x by [-10]
set [direction v] to [180 – direction]
change score by [1]
End

Conclusion

And there you have it! You’ve created a simple ping pong game using Scratch. Of course, this is just the beginning, and you can further enhance your game by adding additional features like levels, power-ups, and multiplayer functionality. Experiment, have fun, and let your creativity flow!

Additional Ping-Pong Resources: