Introduced 3 mechanics
Pong
The commercial big bang: one screen, two humans, one number that goes up.
Mechanics this game introduced
These are recorded as first appearing here. Each links to a full history of where the idea went next.
Space & Locomotion · 1972
Single-Screen Arena
A single-screen arena keeps the entire playable world inside one unscrolling frame, so every object on display is in p…
Origin: Pong
Progression & Persistence · 1972
Numeric Score
A numeric score is a running total the game keeps on the player's behalf, the earliest form of memory in the medium an…
Origin: Pong
Multiplayer & Social · 1972
Same-Screen Two-Player
Same-screen two-player puts two people at one display with their own controls, so both see identical information and e…
Origin: Pong
Mechanics it built on
Ideas Pong inherited rather than invented — each traceable back through the ontology to a root.