Vertical pong. Frustration included.
The Experiment
I wanted to test how quickly Grok 3 could create a working game. The answer: faster than I expected.
Vertical Brick Pong is a modern twist on the classic: rotated 90 degrees with brick breaking elements added.
What I Built
A simple arcade game where:
- Paddle moves up/down (not left/right)
- Ball destroys bricks on the opposite side
- Progressive difficulty
- High score tracking
Stack: JavaScript, HTML5 Canvas
Key Learnings
1. LLMs are genuinely good at games
Clear rules + visual output = great LLM use case. The AI understood game mechanics quickly and produced working code.
2. Orientation changes everything
Same mechanics, different angle. It feels like a new game. Vertical pong requires different reflexes than horizontal.
3. Polish is quick wins
Sound effects, particle explosions, screen shake. Added in an hour, made the game 10x more satisfying.