Requirements: Super Pong Next Gen

Defined: 2026-03-10 Core Value: Pong reimagined with juice and depth — spectacular visuals, rich mechanics, complete game experience

v1 Requirements

Requirements for initial release. Each maps to roadmap phases.

CORE-01: Ball moves continuously and bounces off top and bottom walls
CORE-02: Each player controls a paddle that deflects the ball
CORE-03: Ball angle changes based on where it hits the paddle (not purely geometric)
CORE-04: Ball speed increases gradually over the course of a match
CORE-05: Player scores a point when ball passes opponent's paddle
CORE-06: Match ends when a player reaches the target score (first to N points)
CORE-07: Player 1 controls paddle with keyboard (W/S keys)
CORE-08: Player 2 controls paddle with keyboard (Up/Down arrow keys)

AI-01: AI opponent tracks and intercepts the ball
AI-02: Easy difficulty: AI reacts slowly with error margin — beatable by any player
AI-03: Medium difficulty: AI reacts at moderate speed — provides fair challenge
AI-04: Hard difficulty: AI reacts fast but not perfectly — requires skill to beat

SCRN-01: Title screen displays game name with visual branding
SCRN-02: Mode select screen lets player choose Solo vs AI or 2-Player
SCRN-03: Settings menu allows configuring AI difficulty, sound on/off, and color scheme
SCRN-04: Game over screen shows match result (winner) and offers Play Again and Main Menu options

VFX-01: Ball emits a glowing aura that intensifies as speed increases
VFX-02: Ball leaves a fading motion trail behind it
VFX-03: Particles burst from ball impact point when ball hits paddle or wall
VFX-04: Screen shakes briefly when a player scores a point
VFX-05: Canvas renders sharply on Retina/HiDPI displays (devicePixelRatio aware)

PWR-01: Power-up spawns in the arena at random intervals during a match
PWR-02: Player collects a power-up by hitting it with the ball
PWR-03: Multi-ball power-up spawns a second ball in play
PWR-04: Enlarged paddle power-up temporarily increases collector's paddle height
PWR-05: Speed boost power-up temporarily increases ball speed
PWR-06: Slow time power-up temporarily slows the opponent's ball perception (slows everything except collector's paddle)
PWR-07: Active power-up is visually indicated on the collecting player's side

ARENA-01: Default arena: classic open Pong layout
ARENA-02: Obstacle arena: center barrier or pair of obstacles that deflect the ball
ARENA-03: Each arena has a distinct visual theme (colors, background style)
ARENA-04: Player selects arena from mode select or settings screen

AUD-01: Sound effect plays when ball hits a paddle
AUD-02: Sound effect plays when ball hits top or bottom wall
AUD-03: Sound effect plays when a player scores a point
AUD-04: Audio context initializes only after first user interaction (respects browser autoplay policy)
AUD-05: Sound can be toggled on/off from settings

Deferred to future release. Tracked but not in current roadmap.

Explicitly excluded. Documented to prevent scope creep.

Feature	Reason
Online multiplayer	No backend, high complexity — out of scope for v1
Mobile touch controls	Keyboard-first; separate design problem
Persistent leaderboards / accounts	Requires database / server
More than 4 power-up types	Research warns balance becomes unmanageable beyond 4
Tutorial flow	Pong teaches itself; tutorial adds complexity for no gain

Which phases cover which requirements. Updated during roadmap creation.

Coverage:

Requirements defined: 2026-03-10 Last updated: 2026-03-10 after roadmap creation