World 1 / Quest 03

Pong for One

A paddle, a ball, and the first sound your computer makes from math.

Power-up: Say What You See

You’ll learn

• Power-Up 3: Say What You See
• How to send Coach a screenshot
• Physics words: bounce, velocity, speed-up
• Sounds don't have to be files — code can make them

Briefing

Start prompt

Steps

1. 1

   The rules, in one breath

   Say the rules before the build: a paddle at the bottom that you move left and right; a ball that bounces off the top and sides; if the ball gets past your paddle, you lose a life; 3 lives. Go.

   Say this to Coach

   Rules for Pong for One: my paddle is at the bottom and moves left/right with the arrow keys. The ball bounces off the top wall and both side walls. If the ball passes my paddle at the bottom, I lose a life. 3 lives, then game over. Build just the paddle and a bouncing ball first — no lives yet.

   Copy
2. 2

   Play it. Watch the ball like a hawk.

   Refresh and play for a full minute. Balls in brand-new games almost always do something weird. Maybe it sticks to a wall. Maybe it goes through the paddle if you hit it from the side. Maybe it gets slower and slower. Find one weird thing. If you can't, ask Coach to make the ball faster until something goes wrong. (Yes, really.)

3. 3

   Take a screenshot

   The moment the weird thing happens, take a screenshot. On a Mac: Shift + Command + 4, then drag a box around the game. The picture lands on your Desktop. Then drag the picture into the Hermes chat box. You'll see a little badge that says an image is attached. On Windows: Windows + Shift + S, then drag a box around the game. That copies the picture — click the chat box and press Ctrl + V.

4. 4

   Say what you see

   Now the power move. Look at these two:

   First try: the ball is broken fix it

   Better: I expected the ball to bounce off the paddle, but it went straight through when I hit it from the side. Screenshot attached — you can see it inside the paddle. It happens more when the ball is fast.

   Say yours. Expected, actual, screenshot, and when it happens.

   Say this to Coach

   I expected the ball to bounce off my paddle, but it went straight through instead. I attached a screenshot. It seems to happen when the ball is moving fast.

   Copy
5. 5

   Lives and game over (you've done this before)

   One thing at a time — you know the drill from Dodge! First: lose a life when the ball gets past the paddle. Test. Then: hearts. Test. Then: game over + restart. Test.

   Say this to Coach

   Next job only: when the ball passes below my paddle, I lose a life and the ball resets to the middle. 3 lives. Don't add the hearts or game over yet.

   Copy
6. 6

   The first beep

   Time for sound. Ask Coach to make a short beep every time the ball bounces — without using any sound files. Coach will write a few lines of code that tell your computer's speaker to make a tone. Ask what pitch means, and then ask for a higher beep on the paddle and a lower one on the walls.

   Say this to Coach

   Every time the ball bounces, play a short beep. Don't use any sound files — write code that makes the sound. Make the paddle bounce a higher beep and the wall bounces a lower beep. Then explain to me in kid words how the computer is making that sound.

   Copy
7. 7

   Speed up, then report

   Ask for the ball to get a little faster after every paddle hit. Then play until something weird happens again, and report it with Say What You See. Two bug reports with screenshots and you've earned this Power-Up for real.

   Say this to Coach

   Make the ball 5% faster every time it hits my paddle. I'll play and tell you what I see.

   Copy

Side quests +10 XP each

Stuck?

• No badge when you drag the picture in? Click the chat box and press Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows). In the terminal version of Hermes, `/paste` also works.
• No beep? Browsers only play sound after you click or press a key. Click the game once, then bounce.
• Ball stuck bouncing forever in one spot? That's a classic. Screenshot it and say what you see.

More ways to get unstuck