Rogue Pong

This is my submission for the 2025 LittleJS HTML5 game contest.

How to Play:

Core Gameplay

• Regular Levels: You have 60 seconds to survive each level. Complete the time to advance to the shop!
• Boss Levels: Every 5th level (5, 10, 15...) is a boss battle with no timer - defeat the boss to continue!
• Health System: Start with 5 health points. Getting scored on costs 1 health (unless you have shields). Health resets to full after each level.
• Progressive Difficulty: Each level gets harder - the AI gets faster and bosses get tougher!
• High Score Challenge: Try to get the highest score you can!

Shop & Upgrades

• Shop Between Levels: Spend your Pong Bucks on powerful upgrades and power-ups
• Paddle Size: Make your paddle larger (up to 3x base size) - but beware, getting scored on reduces it!
• Ball Speed: Control ball speed multiplier for strategic advantage
• Shields: Extra lives that protect you when you miss (max 3)
• Multiball: Spawn 2 extra balls on paddle hit for chaos!
• Magnetic Paddle: Ball curves towards your paddle (up to 10 levels)
• Shop Reroll: Press R to reroll the shop for 1000 Bucks (3 rerolls per shop visit)

Power-Ups (Press 1-3 to Use)

• Nuke (Press 1): Remove all balls from the field instantly (Max: 10)
• Laser Beam (Press 2): Fire a devastating laser that destroys the enemy paddle temporarily (Max: 1)
• Ice Cube (Press 3): Freeze the enemy paddle for 2 seconds (Max: 3)
• ... and many more!

Boss Battles

• No Timer: Boss levels have no time limit - you must defeat the boss!
• Boss Health Bar: Track boss health at the bottom of the screen
• Boss Powers: Bosses use special abilities like shrinking balls, making them invisible blink, and enlarging their paddle
• Boss Shields: Some bosses have shields that must be broken first

Controls

• Keyboard: Move paddle up and down with arrow keys or W and S
• 1-3 Keys: Use power-ups during gameplay
• P: Pause/Resume game
• M: Toggle music on/off
• N: Toggle sound effects on/off
• R: Reroll shop (when in shop)
• Enter: Continue to next level (when in shop)

Special Mechanics

• Paddle Size Penalty: If you purchased paddle size upgrades and get scored on, your paddle shrinks by one upgrade level
• Currency System: Earn Pong Bucks by scoring and completing levels. Bonus currency for remaining time!
• Dynamic Music: Different music for splash screen, gameplay, and boss battles
• Particle Effects: Beautiful visual effects for scoring, power-ups, and boss defeats