Back to Arcade Doors
PF-013Arcade physics / pong• Playable now

PongFall

Hold the glass. Keep falling.

Direct Browser Play•Zero install required
PongFall
SESSION:00:00

Initializing PongFall…

Connecting to Lok arcade stream • No download required

Verified Sandbox
Browser — desktop first, mobile friendlyDirect Host
PongFallAn always-falling pong arena with glass sides, eyes in the walls and tears.
Dev notes

The Walls Have Eyes!

My entry for Trijam 393 (3-hour game jam).

The idea

I wanted to take the theme down a religious route, but there wasn't much time. If I think the game is fun, I'll spend more time on it after the jam, or if a creative idea comes to me. When I read “The Walls Have Eyes” I really sat there for a while. That's unusual for me: I usually have ideas quickly, and executing them is the hard part. That's why I'm documenting this: the work is a mix of my own design and coding with my personal LLM assistance.

The music is a Trijam mix that fit the 2007 feeling perfectly: addictive browser games, stick games, Armor Games, you on WASD and your friend on the arrow keys. Think slow-mo Matrix games and Interactive Buddy. I instantly thought of the energy of The Thing, and of falling past eyes that open and close, and getting hit in the eye with a ball. The pinball paddle came from a mix-up: I kept saying “pinball” when I meant “pong ball”. My friend Jx helped me realize it, and gave me the idea for the pinball arm extension from my mistake.

I thought it would be cool to have a game-show-like personal pong arena that just falls and falls, against an NPC or a friend. Each side has glass that breaks after three hits. Then it goes slow-mo, then zooms out to show the crazy fall past strange walls. If a ball hits a wall, the eyes open. The back wall drops tears you can collect for an upgrade. The wall of eyes still bounces the ball back into your physics arena, which keeps rocking the arena and causing chaos, and both sides can score more because of it. Honestly, this was fun. I hope you get a smile out of it.

When you win, the final point (“Dubs Through The Crack”) screeches against the walls so large that you're no longer falling to your death. You're saved in… a game show? A creepy eyeball apocalypse? God watching? I haven't decided yet.

After the jam

  • The carousel of other arenas playing alongside you with their own physics. I definitely want to make it live and let the player with the best streak or the biggest arena take the front and centre, with a smooth transition in and out of the carousel. We'll see if that's in my pay grade.
  • I love physics and creative sandboxes with a lot of customization; that's what my games are about as I learn. In the last minutes before the deadline I added a hue-shift lens with 8 filters I had ready to slot in. It might not count for the jam, but I couldn't resist.
  • I used a good amount of my outside and past tools, effects and shaders, plus my personal LOK ecosystem bundle for multiplayer.

Credits and process

I think the music was free to use the way I used it, and I believe I followed the rules. Every credit goes to Trijam. It's my first proper jam, and I stayed under three hours. It was a great exercise in planning, getting the logistics right, and deciding what to spend the time on. It's nothing like the people who built everything from scratch: there are very different levels of skill and work in a jam, so please check out the other entries on the jam page.

— the designer

Made for a game jam

Trijam 393 — 3 Hour Game Jam

Trijam 3H Game Jam, Season 8: sharpen your skills, race the clock

PongFall was made for Trijam, the three-hour game jam on itch.io: a short theme, a ticking clock and a pile of small games. The glass, the eyes and the falling arena all started there.

Jam page on itch.io

Trijam game jam mix (YouTube)Open on YouTube

In homage: this mix was on while PongFall was being built and it fit the vibe so well that it became the game's sound. Sampled clips of it are DJ'd through LOK Services as PongFall's music and ambience. Every credit to Trijam.

Read the dev notes

Join the Discord

PongFall · Patch notes

Updates

91 updates and counting, straight from Kinetic Souls

  1. Update #91v0.60.0

    🧹 Tidier on phones

    • Settings sections now fold up on a phone (the first stays open) and a Done button stays at the bottom, so the long page is easy to get through and leave.
    • The Music button is a small note on narrow screens so it no longer covers the score line.
    • LilEye and the on-screen buttons step aside while the Keyboard or Music panels are open, like Settings.
  2. Update #90v0.59.0

    📲 Phone screen fixes

    • Fixed the game sometimes filling only a thin strip at the top of the screen on iPhone after turning the phone or when the browser toolbar changed. The game now refits to the real screen size on load, rotation and toolbar changes.
    • On phones the first-fall guide now sits below the buttons instead of covering them, and gives touch instructions (drag to move, tap your paddle or flick to lunge, two fingers for pinball).
    • The menu button no longer overlaps the wind gauge, and LilEye sits above the Thrust button instead of on top of it.
  3. Update #89v0.58.0

    🧪 Checks that catch stuck screens

    • Behind the scenes: the automatic browser checks now cover the live-world menu again and test that Settings is solid, its Back button is on top, and Back closes it, on a phone and on desktop, so a stuck-in-settings bug is caught before release.
  4. Update #88v0.57.0

    👆 Flick to lunge

    • On a touch screen you can now lunge by flicking your finger quickly toward the other side, in addition to tapping your own paddle or double-tapping. A new Settings switch, Touch gestures to lunge, turns all three off if they trigger by accident.
  5. Update #87v0.56.0

    📱 Settings you can leave

    • Settings is now a solid full-screen page with a big Back button and a Main menu button that stay at the top, so you can always get out on a phone or in a browser. The match, HUD chips, music button and on-screen buttons step out of the way while it is open.
    • A small menu button (top left) opens the pause menu on phones: Resume, Settings, Main menu.
    • Every on-screen button has its own switch: Thrust, Pinball, Flip and the menu button.
    • You can lunge by tapping your own paddle on a touch screen. The Thrust and Pinball buttons look better and show their recharge as a ring.
  6. Update #86v0.55.1

    👁️ A quieter menu switch

    • The Classic and New menu switch is smaller and softly faded until you hover or focus it. Both choices remain easy to reach on desktop and touch screens.
  7. Update #85v0.55.0

    🏓 The first fall and both menus

    • A normal first visit opens the live intro and then a fresh 12-point Solo Fall match. Score the twelfth point to press your arena against the shaft walls and stop falling; the result opens the original eye menu.
    • A clear top switch moves between the complete Classic and New menus with a smooth transition. The Classic eye follows your pointer even with Reduce Motion on, without animated lag.
    • Direct match links with ?menu=0 still skip the intro. The separate Trijam build is unchanged.
  8. Update #84v0.54.0

    🎱 Knock the icons

    • In the live-world main menu, a ball that breaks out of your arena now hits the objects around it: the jukebox, easel, gear and the rest get shoved and spun, then float back to their spot, and the ball bounces off them. Reduce Motion keeps them still.
  9. Update #83v0.53.0

    🤫 A secret in the shaft

    • A new secret: type the right word on the title screen or the menu and the eyes in the background of the title screen start to watch your cursor. Find it.
  10. Update #82v0.52.0

    🧿 Eyes that watch

    • The eyes in the background of the live-world main menu now watch your cursor (they used to only follow the ball). The Eyes follow the cursor setting controls them, and so does Reduce Motion.
  11. Update #81v0.51.0

    👀 Eyes and motion

    • New setting: Eyes follow the cursor (on by default). It controls whether the big eye on the original menu and your LilEye watch your pointer; turn it off and they look straight ahead.
    • Reduce Motion now starts off for everyone instead of copying the system setting. Turn it on in Settings any time; your own choice is always kept.
  12. Update #80v0.50.0

    👗 More to wear

    • Four new PongPainter slots: Hit effect (what a return looks like), Score burst (the celebration when you score), Frame corners and Ceiling lights. Earned looks for each (Sparks, Star Shower, Gem Corners, Fairy Lights and more) plus rare to legendary ones from LokPacks (Shockwave, Thunder Hit, Stardust, Fireworks, Meteor Shower, Winged Corners, Crown Corners, Chandelier, Prism Bar).
    • LilEye can now wear glasses, scarves and wings, and has Bubble and Sakura auras.
    • Four more animated menu and world themes from LokPacks: Sakura, Deep Sea, Neon Dusk and Parchment.
    • Earned looks now show a rarity like pack looks do.
    • LokPacks page: Equip any look straight from your collection, star favourites, see a NEW tag on fresh finds, and save up to six Outfits (your whole look in one tap).
    • Cosmetic only: the simulation and replays are unchanged.
  13. Update #79v0.49.0

    🎨 A box of your own

    • PongPainter adds earned eye shells, iris patterns, outer arena shells and flying object styles. Five distinct looks in each group can be unlocked through completed falls or wins; outer shells never change the collision box.
    • Five new iris colors can be unlocked with tears. The Paint Counter now has search and Owned / To unlock filters, with a visible result count.
    • All new looks are cosmetic. Classic defaults, simulation replays and the separate Trijam build stay unchanged.
  14. Update #78v0.48.0

    🌌 Backgrounds

    • New PongPainter slot: Backdrop, the scene behind the whole falling shaft. Three earned by playing (Dusk Fog, Blueprint, Night Rain) and eight from LokPacks, animated: Ember Chasm, Neon Rain, Bioluminescent Deep, Crystal Cavern, Aurora Curtains, Stormfront (lightning lights the shaft), Starfall Void and Event Horizon. They also show in the menu and pause world. Reduce Motion freezes them.
    • Six new glass backgrounds for your arena side, found in LokPacks: Snowfall, Waves, Stained Glass, Circuit, Nebula and Aurora. Pick them in Arena Sides.
    • LokPacks: opening a pack now has sound, a daily streak bonus (play three days in a row for +10 Customization Tokens a day), and a progress line per rarity in your collection.
    • Cosmetic only: the simulation and replays are unchanged.
  15. Update #77v0.47.0

    🎁 LokPacks

    • Every finished match now earns a LokPack: a Fall Pack (3 cards), a Win Pack (4) or a Cost Pack for winning overtime (5). Open it from the end screen, or from the LokPacks object in the live world (and the LokPacks button in the original menu). Sandbox, Game Lab and very short matches earn none.
    • Cards hold rarer looks, Customization Tokens (CT) and sometimes a bonus pack. Five rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, with a guaranteed Epic every 12 packs and Legendary every 50. Duplicates turn into CT, and CT can craft any look you are missing. No LokTokens are inside: matches stay unranked and token-free.
    • Over thirty new looks, many animated: seven arena frames (Stained Glass, Overgrowth, Aurora, Plasma, Cinderline, Stormcage, Prism), ball trails (Comet Tail, Rainbow Wake, Chain Lightning), ball shapes (Nova, Orbit), girders (Neon, Crystal), paddles (Hot Iron, Aurora). They appear in PongPainter with their rarity, and move unless Reduce Motion is on.
    • Four animated menu and world themes: Cinder (sparks), Aurora Hall, Snowglobe and Starfall. LilEye can wear hats (Party Hat, Beanie, Monocle, Halo, Crown) and auras (Ember, Aurora, Void).
    • The Loksleeve, after 616 Survivor Neon Sleeve: choose a pack wrap, a card back and a card frame from the ones you find, and swap them any time. Everything is cosmetic; the simulation and replays are unchanged.
  16. Update #76v0.46.0

    🎮 Trails, girders and lettering

    • Three more PongPainter slots, all earned by playing. Ball trail style: ribbon, bubbles, pixels, flame, stardust. Girder style for the beams above and below your arena: hazard, pipe, oak, glass. Score font: serif, poster, soft, slab.
    • Quality pass on the new shapes: paddles and balls are now shaded with a lit edge and a shadowed side instead of flat fills.
  17. Update #75v0.45.2

    🎮 Shapes: paddles, balls and tears

    • Three new PongPainter slots change the shape of things, not just the colour. Paddle body: pill, neon rod, segmented, hazard bar, pixel bar, glass pane, blade. Ball: ring, star, diamond, cube, eyeball, planet, pulse. Tears: star, heart, crescent, gem, leaf. All are earned by playing (falls and wins), with no sign-in.
    • The defaults are exactly the original shapes, and shapes are cosmetic only: hits, speed and scoring never change.
  18. Update #74v0.45.1

    🎮 Arena Frames and a fuller PongPainter

    • Arena Frames now really frame your arena: a physical frame drawn outside the glass and girders. Eleven styles: plain line, riveted foundry iron, deep-space starfield, brass bezel, hazard stripes, neon tube, hoarfrost, circuit board, chain gang, gilded scroll and oak. The two paid frames (Foundry, Deep Space) use the new styles.
    • PongPainter has over 80 new looks you earn just by playing, no LokTokens and no sign-in: iris, eyelid and blink colours, paddle faces, arms and power glow, glass tints, crack and shard colours, frames, girders, floors and clamps, ball cores, trails and impacts, tear colours, halos and bursts, shaft colour grades and backdrops. Each shows how many falls or wins unlock it.
  19. Update #73v0.45.0

    🎮 Pages with weight

    • Settings, controls, Arena Sides, LilEye, Stats, Saved matches, the original menu and the pause and end cards now share the lit, physical look of the world objects: bevelled metal panels with a lit top edge, buttons that press in, lamp-style switches and brushed sliders. Colours still follow your theme and accent, and nothing moved.
  20. Update #72v0.44.4

    🎮 Tidier end screen and Door

    • At the end of a match in the live world the old centre banner no longer sits over the Play-again ball; the choices and their words carry the moment.
    • The Door (multiplayer) page no longer shows the Settings chip over its header.
    • A missing supporter feed on the server is now asked about once every ten minutes instead of on every visit.
  21. Update #71v0.44.3

    🎮 Gear page fixed

    • The Gear object in the live-world menu opened a blank page; its Settings page now opens properly (the keyboard-controls panel had the same fault and is fixed too).
    • Broken glass still lands on an invisible floor and flies and tumbles as before. It is now a named feature (docs/FEATURES_TO_IMPROVE.md) with ideas for making it visible later.
  22. Update #70v0.44.2

    🎮 Better translations of short words

    • Difficulty and mode names (Chill, Casual, Sharp, Relentless, Classic, Timed, Sandbox, Versus) now stay as names in every language instead of being translated into unrelated words, and the tagline stays intact.
    • Mode and Difficulty on the menu signs are translated as game words, and shouted text stays shouted.
    • A bug sweep across desktop, phone, reduced motion, both menus, seven themes and seven languages found no errors; the remaining issues are listed in docs/ISSUES.md.
  23. Update #69v0.44.1

    🎮 Settings that do something

    • In the live-world menu, Reset settings to defaults in the gear page did nothing. It now resets everything (including your theme, accent and companion) and the mode, difficulty and other-arenas signs update to match.
    • Changing mode, difficulty or other arenas in the gear page now updates the hanging signs when you close it.
  24. Update #68v0.44.0

    🎮 Pick your menu

    • New in Settings, Look: Menu style. Choose Live world (experimental), where the menu, pause and results are objects in the falling shaft, or the Original menu, the page of buttons as before. Both are fully supported and the choice applies the next time the menu opens. A link can force one with ?menu=world or ?menu=classic.
    • The multiplayer Door and the Game Lab now open inside the same framed screen as every other object, with the same Back and Esc.
    • Starting a match from the live world no longer goes through a black frame: the match is built underneath and the menu fades away over it.
    • The scattered floating icons on the original menu are off by default (Settings, Look: Floating menu objects on the original menu turns them back on).
  25. Update #67v0.43.0

    🎮 Real objects, more themes

    • Every object in the world is redrawn as a lit, physical thing instead of a flat icon: a jukebox with an arch of tube light and a bouncing equalizer, a riveted porthole with a turning gear train, a brass-framed stat board whose bars grow, a door with a hazard sill and blinking lamps, a wooden easel, a wardrobe, a cassette with turning reels, a bubbling flask, a leather-bound rules book, a keyboard whose keys light up, a floppy disk, a reset button, and LilEye in its nest looking around and blinking. They are larger too.
    • The hanging plaques are bevelled metal with chains and screws, and the whole world takes the colours of your theme.
    • Six new interface themes: Frostglass, Dusk, Blueprint, Verdigris, Ember and Graphite (earned by falls and wins), each with its own metals, lamps and plaque finish.
    • New in Settings, Look: pick your own accent colour over any theme, and a plaque finish (steel, brass, glass or paper).
    • The browser icon is a lit, shaded eye. The first flat icons are kept as prototypes in the code for placeholders.
  26. Update #66v0.42.0

    🎮 Every word, every language, and the end in the world

    • Any text the game shows is now translated automatically into all 8 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese): menus, the world menu plaques, the pause objects, the HUD and banners drawn on the canvas, tooltips, labels, the rules page and the dev notes. Pick a language in Settings (the gear object).
    • Nothing you type is translated: usernames, room codes, links and names stay exactly as written. Numbers stay yours too.
    • New text needs no setup: scripts scan the source and walk every screen of the running game, and the translation workflow writes the new strings in all languages on its own. Machine translation can read oddly; English is always complete.
    • Settings: the language picker shows all 8 languages.
    • The end of a match is in the world too: when it finishes the arena plunges away and the choices hang where it was. The ball is Play again (or Request rematch online), the floppy disk saves the replay, the door goes back to the menu. Scoring the winning point hangs two balls: WIN, or AT WHAT COST?
    • The companion is now called LilEye everywhere (one word).
  27. Update #65v0.41.0

    🎮 Pause is in the world

    • Pausing a match now pulls the camera back from your arena and the choices appear as objects around it, the same way the main menu works: the ball on your arena floor is Resume, the gear is Settings, the floppy disk saves the match, the arrow is Restart, the wardrobe dresses your arena live, the keyboard shows the controls, the jukebox opens music, the book is the rules and the door leads back out.
    • Click or tap an object, or use Tab and the arrow keys; P or Esc still resumes. Online the match keeps running behind the objects, as before.
    • A short line under the objects shows the mode, difficulty, score and time left. The old pause card is still there with ?menu=classic.
    • Under the hood: the menu and pause now share one object layer (src/world/objectField.ts), so the next screens move over the same way.
  28. Update #64v0.40.0

    🎮 The menu is the world

    • The main menu is now the live shaft itself: your own arena with a real rally, the other arenas around it, the walls and their eyes. There is no page of buttons any more.
    • Three signs hang from your arena's ceiling for Mode, Difficulty and Other arenas; click one and its choices unfold as plaques. The ball on the arena floor is PLAY: click it and the camera pushes in.
    • Everything else is a small object on a tether around the arena: Jukebox, Stat board, Easel (PongPainter), Wardrobe (Arena Sides), LilEye, Door (multiplayer), Cassettes (saved matches), Game Lab and Gear (settings). Click one and the camera flies to it and opens its page in a framed screen.
    • Works with the keyboard and screen readers, and stacks into rows on phones. The old menu is still there at ?menu=classic.
  29. Update #63v0.38.0

    🎮 Smaller flags, just an eye

    • Pictures and flags on your arena sides are less than half the size they were, so they read as a detail of the glass instead of a cartoon poster.
    • LilEye lost its legs: it is just an eye now.
  30. Update #62v0.37.0

    🎮 Dress the real match

    • Pause menu → Arena Sides (live): the editor opens as a side panel over your actual paused match. Every slider, flag, tree and lantern shows up on the real arena as you change it, and you can drag pictures and objects right in the match.
    • Esc closes the editor first and takes you back to the pause menu.
    • Offline matches only for now (an online match cannot be paused).
  31. Update #61v0.36.1

    🎮 Seven languages

    • The first translations are in: Spanish, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese for the main menu and settings headings (machine translated; some game words like fall may read oddly until a person polishes them).
    • Fixed the translation workflow so new English text is translated automatically on every change.
  32. Update #60v0.36.0

    🎮 Things in the fall

    • The menu now has a jukebox, a stat board and a gear floating down the screen with everything else. Grab one, spin it, toss it across the room; click it to open the music library, your stats or the menu settings.
    • They fall slowly, bounce off the sides and come back in from the top. Reduced motion keeps them still (they stay grabbable and clickable).
    • Turn them off in Settings → Look. They appear after your first fall.
  33. Update #59v0.35.1

    🎮 Clearer menu

    • Locked options now say exactly what opens them ("after 3 falls") right on the button, not just in a tooltip, and carry a dashed border so they read as not-yet.
    • Menu buttons got a glassy lift-and-press feel with a clear keyboard focus ring.
    • A slow mist drifts behind the menu (still when reduced motion is on).
  34. Update #58v0.35.0

    🎮 Languages

    • PongFall now speaks the LOK localization standard: English text lives in one file and an automatic workflow writes Spanish, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese from it.
    • Settings → Language switches the game (it picks your browser language the first time). A language shows as unavailable until its translation has been written; English is always complete.
    • The main menu and the settings headings are converted first; the rest of the screens move over a few at a time.
  35. Update #57v0.34.0

    🎮 Open matches

    • Multiplayer now has an Open Matches list: list your own custom match so anyone can join it, or join one somebody else listed (host, mode, goal, arenas, age), refreshed every few seconds.
    • Quick Match is unchanged and never lands you in a listed match.
    • The list switches on once the server update is applied; until then the page says so and everything else works as before.
    • Social plan (friends, recent players, private chat) written up in docs/SOCIAL_DESIGN.md.
  36. Update #56v0.33.0

    🎮 Sandbox lab

    • Sandbox now has a lab panel: add balls and tears, mend the glass, wake the pinball arm, bend fall speed, ball speed and tear gravity with sliders, apply presets (Calm, Pressure cooker, Tear rain) and rewind 10 or 30 seconds.
    • Every lab action is recorded, so a sandbox run still replays exactly. Sandbox stays unranked and pays nothing.
    • Existing saved matches still replay: the new command only appears in new sandbox recordings.
  37. Update #55v0.32.0

    🎮 Settings page and better stats

    • Settings is now a full page (two columns on wide screens, Esc to close) with a Keys section that opens the keyboard editor.
    • Player Stats got an overview: falls, win rate, current streak, best run, a strip of your last 40 falls (saved above the line, fallen below) and a per-mode split.
    • A favicon, so the browser tab finally has an eye.
  38. Update #54v0.31.0

    🎮 Themes and shader packs

    • Settings → Look: pick an interface theme (Shaft, Terminal, Paper; Neon after your first win; Lok Gold after 10 falls). Locked themes show how to earn them.
    • Shader packs regrade the whole screen: Tube, Noir, Neon, Dream and Ember, with vignette, scanlines and film grain. Reduce motion keeps the grade and drops the busy parts.
    • Both are cosmetic and apply to the menu, the game and every page.
  39. Update #53v0.30.0

    🎮 LilEye and sharper eyes

    • New default eyes: wet, shaded eyeballs with iris fibres, a limbal ring, highlights and glossy lids. The old flat eyes stay as Settings → Use the classic flat eyes.
    • Meet LilEye: a small companion at the edge of the screen that watches the fall with you, follows your pointer, blinks, and reacts to near misses, cracks, points, tears and the end of a fall. Click it to say hello.
    • Three personalities (Curious, Sleepy after 3 falls, Cheeky after your first win), a name and an iris colour on the new LilEye page. Each personality is a lokpet card for the LOK dex.
    • Turn LilEye off in Settings.
  40. Update #52v0.29.0

    🎮 Flags, covers and quips

    • Arena Sides: 249 country flags, searchable, to hang on your back glass (MIT-licensed flag-icons set; one script imports a whole flag pack).
    • Click a picture or object in the live arena and it talks back. Album covers play and pause their song; the Game Jam Playlist cover is the first.
    • New My profile picture image: you see your real LOK account picture on your side, everyone else sees a silhouette. It is never sent to other players.
    • Every picture in the game now names its source and licence (own and licensed art only).
  41. Update #51v0.28.1

    🎮 Drag in the live arena

    • Arena Sides: grab a picture or object right inside the live, swaying arena and drag it where you want it. The arena keeps falling while you place things.
  42. Update #50v0.28.0

    🎮 Arena sides

    • New Arena Sides page in the main menu: dress your side of the arena with a hue-tinted back glass, patterns, pictures, objects (lit tree, lantern, editable sign, fireflies, bunting, moon), a side filter and a ceiling theme that blends across the middle.
    • The editor previews on a real, running arena (same simulation and renderer as a match), so every slider changes it live. Switch to the whole shaft to see the other arenas dressed too.
    • Choose My side only or Whole arena. Solo opponents and the other arenas wear preset looks; online, your opponent sees your side and you see theirs.
    • The dotted centre line now follows the season, mode or live event instead of settings.
    • Everything is cosmetic: matches, replays and rankings are unchanged.
  43. Update #49v0.27.0

    🎮 Polish and the metronome

    • New rally metronome: a faint pendulum at the bottom centre of your arena that ticks with the pace of the match (Settings to hide).
    • Control hints are off by default. Flavor lines rotate under the main menu.
    • The menu eye now opens and closes smoothly when clicked instead of snapping.
    • Other arenas can show their bots' names (Settings: Show names in other arenas); crowned arenas show the leader's name.
    • Type HelloWorld on the main menu for the cheat menu (device-local).
    • Player-facing words with lock are now spelled with lok (Unlok, Lokked). Cold Pulse and Pulse Cyan replace the old signal names.
  44. Update #48v0.26.3

    🎮 Win and the fall

    • Banking the win now really ends in the fall: the arena hangs on its cord while you choose, then plunges out of sight, marked WON · STILL FALLING with a crown. If your arena ground against the walls and stopped the fall, it holds instead (SAVED!). The end card says which: You won... but at what cost?, or You won and the fall stopped.
  45. Update #47v0.26.2

    👑 The shaft crown

    • The sole points leader in the visible shaft wears a crown beside their name. It moves as scores change and disappears while players are tied.
    • Online rooms now show both players’ LOK or guest display names. Returning players keep their room names after a reload; match recovery and waiting-room cancellation are available.
    • The crown is visual only and does not change Classic physics, unlocks, rankings, or the frozen Trijam build.
  46. Update #46v0.26.1

    🔄 The room remembers

    • Online rooms save deterministic match checkpoints for their two players. A returning guest on the same device or a returning LOK player can open the room again after a reload.
    • Both players pause, restore the same checked simulation tick, and continue once both are ready. Public rooms still forfeit after five minutes away; invite rooms remain available for seven days.
    • The room checkpoint and recovery controls stay private to the two room members. The original Trijam build is unchanged.
  47. Update #45v0.26.0

    🧬 Mutators and strange weather

    • Game Lab now has optional mutators for ball pace, glass strength, fall speed, wind, gravity, arena sway, paddle transfer and pinball-arm power. Combine them for offline, unranked runs.
    • Eye Weather sends seeded waves of three collectible tears through the shaft. Its simulation changes are versioned for replay and stay out of online matches.
    • Pressure Doors, Shaft Postcards and Ball Signatures join the visual experiments. Old Glass Traces and Shaft Signals round out the swappable visual kit; every switch starts off.
  48. Update #44v0.25.0

    🧩 A modular fall

    • Run content now resolves through one stable catalog for rules, shaft events, visual effects and swappable asset slots.
    • The run composer checks compatibility, keeps simulation content out of online play when it is not verified, and marks changed runs unranked. Classic starts with its original rules and asset packs; the frozen Trijam build stays separate.
    • The new design guide defines event timing, replay and readability guardrails, and directions for future content packs.
  49. Update #43v0.24.0

    🌬️ Wind vents and tear irises

    • Optional offline Wind Vents appear on a random side, pulse a crosswind that bends the ball and drifting tears, then relocate. Vent matches are unranked and start only when enabled in Settings; online rooms keep standard physics.
    • Six iris colors unlock in PongPainter for 10 locally earned tears each. They change the eyes only and never use LokTokens.
    • Background eyes now hold a barely-open gaze, blink at staggered intervals, and wake when you click the shaft. The new mode direction deck is in docs/PONGFALL_MODE_IDEAS.md. Simulation version 23 records the vent physics.
  50. Update #42v0.23.4

    🎨 More ways to paint the fall

    • PongPainter now has a second curated look for every slot: shaft themes, eyes, paddles, glass, arenas, balls and tears.
    • Each paint card has a tiny arena preview. Random owned look assembles a fresh outfit from cosmetics already in your collection, and Reset all paint restores the original colors.
    • Cosmetics remain appearance-only. New catalog items need to be registered by the shared LOK catalog service before they can be purchased.
  51. Update #41v0.23.3

    🪟 Shared Lok Shop frame

    • PongPainter now uses the LOK ecosystem’s shared responsive shop frame, keeping the wallet, supporter ticker, LokServer, categories and paint cards in one familiar order.
    • The shared frame is presentation only. Account data and purchases still use PongFall’s LOK integration and trusted server path.
  52. Update #40v0.23.2

    🔁 Paint sync follows account-save readiness

    • Keep existing PongFall cloud-save readiness rules. Equipped paint saves locally and syncs across devices when the PongFall account-save backend is enabled.
  53. Update #39v0.23.1

    🛍️ LokServer and the supporter bar

    • PongPainter now follows the LOK Shop layout with the public supporter ticker, live account wallet, and LokServer topic buttons.
    • The ticker loads the public supporter feed without creating a guest login or replacing the player account session. Reduced Motion disables its scroll.
  54. Update #38v0.23.0

    🎨 PongPainter and the LOK Shop

    • PongPainter opens after your first completed fall and adds account-owned themes and colors for eyes, paddles, glass, arenas, balls, and tears.
    • The shop reads the shared LOK wallet, catalog, and inventory. Purchases use the trusted LOK spend service; PongFall matches still grant no LokTokens.
    • Equipped looks change rendering only, sync with your LOK profile, and leave Classic physics and the frozen Trijam build intact. The LOK Universe manifest now declares the shared wallet and supporter placements.
  55. Update #37v0.22.2

    💫 Three small visual experiments

    • The Game Lab adds Comet Ball, a soft direction tail; Paddle Wake, a motion trace behind fast paddles; and Glass Impact Halo, a short ring that marks the latest strike.
    • All three start off, are independently toggleable, never change physics, and follow Reduce Motion. Classic settings and the frozen Trijam build are unchanged.
  56. Update #36v0.22.1

    🕹️ Player 2 paddle focus

    • P1 uses G/H to focus either paddle; P2 now has independent B/V focus keys and matching on-screen buttons.
    • In Local Rival, each player controls only their own team. In CPU co-op, both players can focus the shared team. Releasing focus links the paddles and lets them glide back into alignment.
  57. Update #35v0.22.0

    🎛️ Duo paddle control

    • Duo Fall now has two individually simulated paddles for each team. They move together by default, protecting each end of the joined shafts.
    • Hold G to steer Arena 1 alone or hold H to steer Arena 2 alone. Releasing the key relinks them; the unselected paddle glides into alignment. On-screen buttons provide the same focus controls.
    • J is planned as the Arena 3 selector when Trio mode is added. Simulation version 22 records the extra paddle physics.
  58. Update #34v0.21.0

    ⚔️ Duo Fall rivals

    • Duo Fall now offers CPU co-op or a local rival. CPU co-op keeps both pilots on Team 1; Local rival puts P1 on the left and P2 on the right.
    • Each team gets its own movement, tilt, thrust, and pinball controls. The opponent choice is stored in replays. Both setups remain unranked. Simulation version 21 records the change.
  59. Update #33v0.20.0

    🤝 Duo Fall

    • Duo Fall adds a local co-op mode for two people on one keyboard. Team 1 pilots the left paddle together while the CPU plays Team 2 on the right.
    • Two joined shafts make a wider and taller arena. Work through the far glass to score; the first team to 12 wins. Duo Fall is unranked and opens with multiplayer after your first completed fall.
    • P1 uses W/S, A/D, Space and E. P2 can help steer with I/K and use J/L, U and O for shared team actions. Simulation version 20 identifies the new arena rules.
  60. Update #32v0.19.0

    🌪️ Paddle wake

    • Game Lab adds Paddle Wake, an optional physics experiment that lets paddle motion stir a small current around the ball. Compare it on or off before a match; enabled experiments mark offline results unranked and leave unlocks untouched.
    • Paddle Wake is excluded from online rooms. Simulation version 19 records the rule change so compatible replays remain exact. Classic defaults and the frozen Trijam build are unchanged.
  61. Update #31v0.18.0

    🌀 A livelier shaft feed

    • The first-ever intro keeps its gentle, intact-glass rally. After your first completed fall, the live intro rotates through Solo Fall, multi-arena, Versus, Timed, and Sandbox simulations.
    • The exhibition now demonstrates real paddle movement, pinball arms, tilt, thrust, power hits, glass cracks, arena satellites, Flux, and camera framing. It remains a non-recording display match and never advances progress.
  62. Update #30v0.17.0

    🧪 The Shaft Game Lab

    • Dev Mode now includes five separate before-and-after visual experiments: shaft districts, the remembering eye, old glass traces, echo rallies, and shaft signals. Each has its own switch, local playtest notes, and a recommendation checklist for where it belongs in the main game.
    • Lab experiments are visual-only in this update. They can be tested in regular matches, which are clearly marked unranked and do not advance unlocks; their results remain in history. Online rooms keep the baseline until an experiment is marked tested locally.
    • Paddle wake physics is listed as planned while replay and multiplayer lockstep checks are designed. Export or copy your device-local checklist. The Trijam build and Classic defaults remain unchanged.
    • GSix Hub now places PongFall updates, lore, and LOK discovery links below the playable game. LOK keepsakes are a preview until verified Passport awards are supported.
  63. Update #29v0.16.0

    🌬️ Falling air profiles

    • Choose Classic falling wind to keep PongFall’s original whistle, or Dynamic for a broader rushing-air sound that shifts with fall speed and gusts.
    • The falling sound choice is available before a match in Main menu Settings and during play in Sound settings. It saves between visits and changes smoothly.
    • The first-time settings flow now has a safe fallback for unknown sound profiles. The Classic cue is preserved, and a future falling-sound Easter egg is recorded in the design notes.
  64. Update #28v0.15.0

    👁️ The eye returns to center

    • The intro title and main copy now sit centered over the live rally. Drag or use arrow keys to nudge the title; it springs back with momentum.
    • Intro glass follows the real rules again. Both exhibition AIs predict the incoming ball, and the standard paddles must hit it to keep the rally alive; missed paddles can crack and break glass.
    • Field Manual, Reduce Motion, intro camera framing, and Shift the Light now live in Main menu Settings. The first Classic option restores the original eye-menu look. The eye has a richer gaze and remains keyboard operable.
    • Main menu content now scrolls as one page so long settings and player panels do not collide with the footer or controls. Patch notes are available from the menu.
  65. Update #27v0.14.0

    🎾 A live first fall

    • The intro now runs a protected two-AI Solo Fall rally that keeps the glass intact until you take over.
    • Enable Insta-Matches from the small Match options tab to enter the exact rally already on screen. Camera choices include Cinematic, Locked close, and Shaft view.
    • Hide the in-game HUD from the menu or Settings while keeping touch controls available. Background arenas show Saved and Fallen outcomes after their matches.
  66. Update #26v0.13.0

    🔥 Heat, breeze, and player stats

    • Swipe up across the ball to heat it and add a small speed boost; swipe down to give it a breeze and slow it slightly. Warm and cool cues show the effect.
    • Swipes are deterministic in replays and online matches, decay toward normal speed, and have bounded strength and a short cooldown.
    • The Stats page tracks match outcomes and glass, tear, overtime, and usage records. Local P1 and P2 have separate records; online matches belong to each player account.
    • Usage stats open after five completed matches and can be disabled in Settings.
  67. Update #25v0.12.0

    🎬 Intro and local soundtrack library

    • Normal visits open an animated title screen with a live, two-bot Solo Fall exhibition before the watching-eye menu. ?menu=0 still enters a direct match.
    • Music stays available across title, menu, and gameplay. Browse the LOK soundtrack or import audio into a private, device-local library with favorites and playlists.
    • The intro demo uses a personal-arena camera and never records player progress or match results.
  68. Update #24v0.11.1

    🌐 LOK account bridge

    • PongFall shares the GSix LOK sign-in session with the Hub and sibling games, shows your LOK name in play, keeps guest play in device-local storage, and returns you to the Hub after embedded sign-in.
    • Added the LOK Universe platform manifest for PongFall. The public update feed and 616 Survivor soundtrack remain linked from their source games; account progress now opens eligible gated tracks.
    • PongFall match history stays unranked and grants no LokTokens.
  69. Update #23v0.11.0

    👁️ The eye returns

    • The watching-eye menu opens on every normal visit; ?menu=0 still enters a match directly. The same fall count opens the remaining modes and multiplayer.
    • The Shaft Field Manual keeps the detailed rules with a quick start and local, online, guest, account, and save instructions.
    • Local Versus gives player 2 their own tear collection and pinball activation, and held inputs release correctly after a pause.
    • Named local save slots preserve incompatible old simulations. Online rooms use server-reserved invite codes, a fixed public queue, private Realtime channels, and ordered input retries once the database migration and room flag are enabled.
    • The frozen Trijam build has its own rules and stays separate from the current game. Every release title has an emoji; the Trijam Game Jam Build link includes the weekly jam invitation.
  70. Update #22v0.10.1

    📱 Menu fits small screens

    • The main menu scrolls on short screens and its footer no longer covers the buttons (the multiplayer panel was too tall for small windows).
  71. Update #21v0.10.0

    🌍 Online multiplayer

    • Online multiplayer: Multiplayer > Create room gives a short code (PF-XXXX); a friend joins with it from Multiplayer > Join room. Both games run the same match and trade only input, so it stays in step. Rematch from the end screen. Nothing is stored; it only relays messages through LokServices.
    • Match codes now also carry the score to win and the time limit, and the multiplayer panel lets you pick both.
    • Pause menu: match info, volume and music sliders, mute, reduce motion and control hints right in the menu, plus a key reminder. Online, the menu opens over a match that keeps running, with Leave match.
  72. Update #20v0.9.2

    🚀 Space always lunges

    • Space always lunges the paddle when you press it, with the pinball arm out or not. Letting go of Space lunges again, even while the lunge is recharging, so a timed release can stack the arm boost and the lunge.
    • Your paddle keeps moving up and down while Space is held.
  73. Update #19v0.9.1

    📝 Dev notes page

    • A Dev notes page (menu footer and pause menu) with the Trijam 393 write-up, credits, the concept sketch with its transcription, and how it maps to the build.
  74. Update #18v0.9.0

    🎮 Game jam build, progression and a real menu

    • The Trijam 393 game jam build is frozen at /jam/ and a GAME JAM BUILD chip in the bottom-right corner switches to it (and back). It has only what was made in the three-hour jam.
    • The main menu now opens after your first match. Until then the game starts straight in a Solo Fall match, with only a faint line at the top edge. Settings has Reset main menu.
    • Progression: every finished match is a fall. Solo Fall is open, and each fall opens the next mode: Classic, Timed, Sandbox. After 4 falls multiplayer opens.
    • Multiplayer panel in the menu with shareable match codes (mode, difficulty, arenas, flux and seed). Online play is still marked coming soon.
    • A real pause menu: Resume, Restart, Settings, Keyboard, Music, Rules, Main menu, Reset settings to defaults.
    • After a match: Retry or Main menu. Winning at the target says 'You win... but at what cost?'. If your arena grew enough to stop the fall, a flickering 'You Survived?' follows; if not, the fall never stops.
    • Optional Flux: the NPC drifts between difficulty tiers and paddle sizes change on both sides of the other arenas (unranked).
    • The arena with the most points, or the biggest box, slowly floats to the front and the others drift back. You can still zoom out.
    • The wall eyes are fully shut for the first minute. A second hit makes them peek, a third (or any hit after the minute) opens them.
    • Hold Space with the arm out: your paddle keeps moving, and letting go thrusts the paddle as well as releasing the arm, so a timed release can double-boost. Space no longer loses its lunge after your glass breaks.
    • Music panel shows artist and album and links to the game that has the song (616 Survivor).
  75. Update #17v0.8.2

    💧 Earn the arm with tears

    • The pinball arm is earned by collecting 4 tears and pressing E (it grows out for 12 seconds, repeatable). Breaking your own glass is now an optional shortcut that keeps it out for good.
  76. Update #16v0.8.1

    🤝 Menu first, arm for player 2

    • The game always opens on the main menu. Links with ?mode=, ?diff= or ?arenas= now preselect those choices instead of skipping the menu (?menu=0 skips it).
    • Multiplayer follows the same arm rules: player 2 gets the pinball arm once their own glass is broken. Hold their thrust key (U) and use their up / down keys to aim it; tilt with J / L.
  77. Update #15v0.8.0

    🎯 Tilt, the pinball arm and music controls

    • Tilt your paddle with A / D (player 2: J / L). A tilted paddle bends the return angle.
    • The pinball arm is locked at the start of every match and grows out once you earn it. It is shorter and sturdier, and no longer carries over from earlier games.
    • Hold Space (once the arm is out) to aim the arm at your mouse; let go of Space just as it hits the ball to stack a power boost, up to three in a row.
    • Press C for the keyboard switcher: rebind every key.
    • New music button: play, pause, skip, volume, and 616 Survivor's Lokifed soundtrack streamed from 616 (tracks gated in 616 stay locked here).
    • Versus player 2 keys are now I / K, J / L tilt, U thrust.
  78. Update #14v0.7.1

    ✨ Near misses

    • When a ball slips past your paddle by a hair, every eye in the walls and the background startles and glows.
    • The main menu links to the Trijam 393 game jam this was made for.
  79. Update #13v0.7.0

    🌈 Lens

    • Win your first match to unlock the Lens: a colour filter over the whole game with a hue shift slider and 8 looks (Noir, Old Film, Neon, Infrared, Frost, Night Vision, Negative, Dream). Settings → Lens.
  80. Update #12v0.6.1

    👥 Versus

    • New modes: Versus (2P) and Versus Timed - two players on one keyboard (P1 W/S, Space, E; P2 I/K, L, O). Never ranked.
    • Menu: quick Local 2-player button and an Online (LOK) slot marked coming soon; footer credits GSIX Designs.
  81. Update #11v0.6.0

    👀 Main menu

    • A simple main menu with a watching eyeball: pick mode, difficulty and other arenas, then PLAY (or Enter); the eye zooms away into your match. Skipped when the URL already sets mode, diff or arenas, or with ?menu=0.
  82. Update #10v0.5.2

    💪 The pinball arm

    • The pinball paddle is now an arm: a second bar that extends horizontally from the middle of your paddle and swats up or down, always knocking the ball upward hard. The paddle still blocks on its own.
    • The arm unlocks when your glass breaks and your paddle is free. It stays on, and every third arm hit is a power hit that never switches off while you keep swatting.
    • Hold the swat and let go: the arm snaps back and fires the ball forward ("power hit unloaded").
    • Default score to win is now 24. 14 points grow your arena wall to wall, where it presses against the shaft, slows and stops.
    • A ball outside your arena belongs to the shaft: wind and the fall carry it. Breaking another arena's glass now also drops 3 tears.
    • Glass shards tumble freely, are shoved by balls and bounce off the walls but stay in view.
    • The arena ceiling and floor are steel girders clamped to the glass: lights, hairline cracks and a bent sparking clamp when a pane breaks.
    • The game opens with one background eye beside each wall eye, scattering into the old pattern as the game goes on.
    • When a game ends the screen settles while the arenas fall away, with a soft camera bounce.
  83. Update #9v0.5.1

    🎵 Game jam DJ

    • Default music: 72 fifty-second clips sampled evenly across the 3-hour Trijam mixtape (credit: Trijam, youtube.com/@TrijamGJ), DJ-cut between clip starts at random intervals with a crossfade. New Music volume in settings.
  84. Update #8v0.5.0

    🕹️ Pinball paddle and wall eyes

    • The tear upgrade is now a pinball flipper paddle: flip it up or down (arrow keys, mouse left or right click, FLIP buttons, or tap the top or bottom half on touch). The swinging bar drives the ball with real physics, and every third hit is a power hit.
    • The NPC flips toward your ball when it holds the pinball paddle.
    • Wall eyes are now set into riveted wall plates with recessed bolted sockets and plate-metal lids, so they look part of the wall.
  85. Update #7v0.4.0

    🎠 Rocking arenas and the carousel

    • Your arena rocks with real physics: off-centre hits give torque, it swings on springs, and a tilted arena rolls the ball downhill.
    • New setting: Other arenas (Solo, 1, 3 or 5). They hang on a loose rotating carousel around you, bump into each other and into you, and play their own matches.
    • Triple score: break another arena's glass with your own ball for 3 points.
    • On Sharp and Relentless, balls knocked loose from other arenas can hit your glass.
    • New modifier: Rough Seas.
  86. Update #6v0.3.1

    📖 Rules page and settings

    • A Rules and how it works page (the ? button, the gear menu, or /rules.html): controls, glass, scoring, tears, Power Paddle, comeback rules, difficulty, modes and tips.
    • Basic settings: difficulty, mode, score to win, time limit, master/effects/ambience volume, mute, fog quality, reduce motion, control hints, wind gauge, on-screen buttons and left-handed layout, reset to defaults. The panel pauses the game while open.
  87. Update #5v0.3.0

    👁️ The deep shaft

    • The arena now falls down a layered deep shaft: parallax structure, depth markers, debris, light shafts, wind gusts and buffeting.
    • Fog is now a shader pushed by the wind, the fall, the arena and impacts.
    • Power Paddle: unlock it with tears, activate with E or the POWER button; every third hit is a boosted strike.
    • Comeback rules: 4 down wakes your paddle until you lead by 2; 6 down gives the NPC the paddle for good. Perk: TheGreatsAreNeverForgotten.
    • Glass cracks branch from every impact, stay part of the pane, and shatter along the cracks.
    • Background eyes are dim and glow when their wall eye is hit; halfway through, they give way to one huge eye that pairs with a wall eye.
    • Whistling wind ambience, placeholder pong blips and a layered glass-break sound.
    • Reduce Motion setting.
  88. Update #4v0.2.0

    💨 Physics feel pass

    • Thrust: Space or double-tap lunges your paddle and hands its speed to the ball.
    • Arena sways and tilts with impacts; wind blows the tears; the fall eases and surges.
    • Slice tears like fruit (mouse drag or touch swipe); tears are bigger and slower.
    • Plain walls no longer open eyes or drop tears; background eyes start closed and react.
    • Fog, falling parallax and speed streaks.
    • Procedural sound: falling air, eye squish, glass, thrust. M mutes.
    • Four NPC difficulties (Chill by default) and an easier start.
    • Settings button: difficulty, mode, volume.
  89. Update #3v0.1.2

    🌐 Online

    • Vercel deploy config, public updates feed for gsix.online.
  90. Update #2v0.1.1

    🧱 Foundation

    • Replayable runs (tick-stamped input), modes and modifiers as data, mount API, host interface, pause, local high score.
  91. Update #1v0.1.0

    🏓 First arena

    • Single arena vs AI with breakable glass, falling field, eyes, tears, zoom.

PongFall · Lore

The shaft keeps score

SHAFT TRANSMISSION // EYES OPEN BELOW

Chapter 1 // THE FALLFIELD RECORD

The shaft: no bottom on the map

A private arena in a shared descent

Every match begins inside one small glass arena. The dark around it is much larger.

The shaft is an old service void that keeps going after the plans run out. Steel rails, sealed lights, pipes, and dust pass by at different speeds. The arena is the only thing that feels measured: two paddles, one ball, two panes of glass.

A rally is a way to hold your place. Every point changes the arena and the speed of the fall. Other arenas can appear in the distance, each keeping its own game while the shaft carries them together.

Declassified Key Intel

  • The main shaft remains the landmark across every mode.
  • Experimental shaft districts change atmosphere only; they do not replace the arena or its rules.
Chapter 2 // WITNESSOBSERVATION

The eyes: witnesses in the walls

A hit travels farther than the ball

The wall eyes wake when struck. Their tears are useful. Their attention is harder to explain.

The first eyes were set into riveted sockets to watch for damage in the shaft. Repeated impacts wake them one by one. Past a certain depth, the scattered watchers seem to answer as a single face.

Some runs leave a stronger impression than others. The Game Lab can test whether a small local-history reaction makes the eyes feel observant or merely distracting. That response stays on your device.

Declassified Key Intel

  • The remembering-eye effect is optional and cosmetic.
  • No account history is sent to the visual experiment.
Chapter 3 // AT WHAT COSTMATCH END

Saved or fallen: choose what the win means

The cord holds for one decision

A win can catch your arena for a moment. The shaft keeps moving either way.

When a score ends a match, a translucent cord can hold the arena while you decide whether to keep the win or risk it in overtime. Take the win and your arena falls onward with its crown. Refuse it, and the next rally can save you or take the result away.

In the shared shaft, every arena tells its own ending. Saved arenas settle against the wall; fallen arenas drift out of reach. The symbol is a record of what happened, not a promise of reward.

Declassified Key Intel

  • Experimental matches remain unranked and do not grant LokTokens.
  • Cross-game keepsakes are concepts until account awards can be verified.

LOK discovery

Find the marks

Keepsake concepts for the LOK worlds:

  • First Descent · finish your first fall.
  • Glass Witness · win while your glass stays intact.
  • Saved / Fallen · mark how your arena ends.

Concepts only; no Passport award is granted until results can be verified.

Explore LokDex →

Passport preview

Keepsakes, later

Experimental play is unranked and earns no LokTokens. Cross-game badges will appear after verified PongFall awards are supported.

Open the Passport →

Every Friday

Fall into Trijam

PongFall began as a three-hour Trijam entry. There is a new chance to take part every Friday.

Visit Trijam 393 →
Local records only

Every fall stays unranked

PongFall has no global leaderboard or LokToken rewards. Your match history and playtest notes stay available in the game; experimental matches are labeled separately.

About the game

PongFall is pong played inside an arena that is always falling. Each side is sealed behind glass that breaks after three misses, and once it is gone, anything that crosses the hologram goal line is a point for the other side.

Scoring grows your arena, which slows the fall. The watching eyes in the walls open when a ball hits one, and their tears can be collected for an edge. Let the other side score and your arena shrinks while the depths close in.

Dev Mode includes optional Game Lab experiments with before-and-after controls. Experimental matches are marked unranked, remain in local history, and do not grant LokTokens or unlock progress.

How to play

  1. Move your paddle with the mouse, touch, or W and S.
  2. Return the ball to protect your glass; three misses on a side break it.
  3. Score through a broken glass side to grow your arena and slow the fall.
  4. Press Z to zoom between your arena and the full falling field, P to pause.

Features & Progression

  • Breakable glass with per-side counters
  • A constantly falling arena that grows and shrinks as you score
  • Eyes in the walls that react to every hit
  • Replayable runs and local high scores
  • Modes and modifiers: Classic, Timed, Solo Fall and a Sandbox
  • Five optional Game Lab visuals with a local playtest and main-game recommendation checklist

Read the full lore: The shaft keeps score ↓

More Arcade Doors

View All Doors →
SV-616

Survivor 616

The block turned after dark.

Play Now
SP-004

Spend It All

Burn a fortune. Learn what it costs.

Play Now
KS-005

Kinetic Souls Classic

Momentum is the weapon.

Play Now
DD-012

Demo Day

Two games. One destruction sandbox.

Play Now