🎾 Classic Pong Game with Modern Touches 🚀

Relive the nostalgia of a retro classic! This project is a straightforward yet engaging implementation of the iconic Pong game, built using core web technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It features an AI opponent, adjustable difficulty, interactive elements, full responsiveness, and touch controls to provide a fun and familiar experience for all players.

✨ Key Features

• Player vs. AI: Challenge a computer-controlled opponent that adapts to different skill levels.
• Adjustable Difficulty: Choose between Easy, Medium, or Hard modes to control the AI's responsiveness and the ball's speed.
• Interactive Screens: A welcoming start screen allows you to enter your name, and a clear game over screen provides a quick "Play Again" option.
• Pause & Resume: Take a break anytime with a simple pause/resume function.
• Score Tracking: Keep track of both player and AI scores in real-time.
• Countdown System: A "3-2-1-GO!" countdown adds a nice touch before each round.
• Engaging Sound Effects & Background Music: Enjoy distinct sounds for game events and atmospheric background music.
• Full Responsiveness: Optimized for play on both desktop and mobile devices.
• Touch Controls: Intuitive touch-and-drag controls for mobile gameplay.
• Browser-Based: No downloads needed – play directly in your web browser.

🕹️ How to Play

1. Start Your Game:
   • (Optional) Enter your name on the welcome screen.
   • Click the "Play Game" button to begin your match.
2. Control Your Paddle:
   • Desktop: Move your mouse cursor up and down to control your paddle.
   • Mobile: Tap and drag anywhere on the canvas (game area) to move your paddle.
3. Pause & Resume:
   • Click the "Pause" button (which will change to "Resume") to take a break or continue.
4. Change Difficulty:
   • Select your preferred difficulty from the dropdown menu (Easy, Medium, Hard) at any time.
5. Play Again:
   • After a game concludes, click "Play Again" on the game over screen to start a new match.

🚀 Live Demo

Ready to play? Click the link below to launch the game directly in your browser:

Play Classic Pong Game Here!

🛠️ Technologies Used

• HTML5: Provides the foundational structure for the game and content.
• CSS3: Styles the game elements, user interface, and ensures responsiveness across devices.
• JavaScript (ES6+): Implements all the game logic, animations, AI behavior, audio handling, and dynamic UI updates.

⚙️ Local Setup and Development

To run this project on your local machine:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone [https://github.com/Akki-jaiswal/pong-game.git](https://github.com/Akki-jaiswal/pong-game.git)

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd pong-game

3. Serve with a local web server (Recommended): To ensure all features (especially module imports for JS and sound playback) work correctly, use a local web server like http-server or VS Code's Live Server extension.
   • Using http-server:

     npm install -g http-server # If you don't have it installed
     http-server # Run this command from within your 'pong-game' directory

   • Then open your browser to http://localhost:8080 (or the address provided by http-server).

🤝 How to Contribute (GSSoC'25 Participants & Others!)

We welcome contributions from everyone! If you're participating in GSSoC'25 or just want to help improve the game, here's how to get started:

• Read our Contribution Guidelines: For detailed steps on setting up, finding issues, and submitting Pull Requests, please see our CONTRIBUTING.md file.
• Join our Community: If you have questions, need help, or want to discuss ideas, join our Discord channel: ➡️ Join our Discord Server!

📜 License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

🙏 Acknowledgements

• Inspired by the original Pong game for endless classic fun.
• Sound effects sourced from FreeSound.org, mixit.com.