So, after about 9 years, I went ahead and built Pong again. Simple game, right? But there’s a lot packed into it when you look at it as a coding project.

Back in the day, I was wrestling with C++ to make it happen. Building Pong then was like jumping in the deep end, not fully knowing how to swim. Until I built Pong with C++, I never realized how beautifully complex that language was. I learned more from that project than I did from any of the tests I took during that time.

Fast forward to now. C++ is kind of a blurry memory, and I’m learning Python now. So, I thought, why not take a trip down memory lane and rebuild Pong? With Python, things felt different – the syntax, the libraries, everything seemed much friendlier.

There is something about building a game that is inherently motivating because you get direct visual feedback. It was a mix of challenges and ‘Aha!’ moments, interwoven with memories of the past. I learnt so many concepts on the go — inheritance, classes, functions, libraries, etc.

This is probably a small project to expert developers, but to someone like me who is starting out and learning to code (again) — Pong will always be more than a simple retro game, it is a bookmark in my coding journey.