A clever developer, Nolen Royalty, has just pushed the boundaries of the classic video game by creating a unique version of Pong. This adaptation, called "faviconic", uses the favicons of 240 Chrome browser tabs to display the game.
Inspired by a version of Flappy Bird confined to a single favicon, Royalty decided to extend the concept to a larger number of tabs. The result is surprising: a grid of 8×30 tabs forms the game screen, with the bottom part displayed in the main browser window and the top part distributed across the tab favicons.
To achieve this project, Royalty had to overcome several technical challenges. He used AppleScript to automatically create the tab grid, Web Workers to work around the performance limitations of background tabs, and the Broadcast Channel API to synchronize all the tabs with each other.
Read also – Chrome on Android finally gets this must-have feature, here's how to enable it
A technical challenge brilliantly met
Implementing this unconventional Pong required careful attention to detail. Royalty spent considerable time taking precise measurements to perfectly align the main window canvas with the tab favicons. He also optimized the favicon update to maintain an acceptable frame rate.
The game code skillfully manages the passage of the ball and paddles between the main canvas and the favicons. To improve the visual effect, Royalty even added a trail behind the ball, emphasizing the impression of fluid movement between different parts of the screen.
While the source code is available, Royalty admits that it remains in prototype mode and could benefit from improvements. Nevertheless, this project creatively demonstrates how standard web technologies can be subverted to create unique experiences.
This version of Pong, while fun, raises interesting questions about the innovative use of modern web interfaces. Classic games may well be reinvented in unexpected ways, offering a new perspective on the interaction between web content and the browser user interface. It remains to be seen whether other games could be adapted to run on simple favicons.
0 Comments