'Pong' creator tries to fund trivia card game through Kickstarter

Video games

Yannick LeJacq NBC News

16 hours ago

Seriously?! / Kickstarter

The creator of the classic video game "Pong" has taken to Kickstarter for his next video game project.

When it comes to video games, you can't get much more classic than "Pong," the 1972 Atari game which essentially spearheaded the ascension of the modern video game industry. But now that even Atari's US chapter has been forced to file for bankruptcy, what is "Pong" creator Al Alcorn to do when he's inspired to produce a new video game?

Like many of colleagues, Alcorn has looked to Kickstarter for the answer.

Along with fellow Atari veteran Roger Hector, Alcorn recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for a trivia card game called "Seriously?!" The game will run on iOS and Android and the game developers note that it will be "hosted" by a "Siri-like" character ? essentially, a snarkier version of the iconic virtual assistant that's already become the butt of so many jokes. There are also plans to introduce a number of celebrity hosts including Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, who makes a guest appearance in the game's pitch video.

As a comic trivia game, "Seriously?!" bears an unmistakable homage to popular games like "Cards Against Humanity" (basically a more adult version of "Apples to Apples") and "You Don't Know Jack" (the same, but for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"). The idea with "Seriously?!" is to combine tabletop games like "Cards" with their virtual counterparts. Phones or tablets running the game will scan the physical cards and then play a visual or audio cue for contestants. Kickstarter backers will also be able to submit their own sample questions or challenges for the game. Alcorn and Hector said that anyone who gets their work accepted will be credited as a game designer in the final product.

With 25 days left to go, "Seriously?!" has a little more than $3,300 of its $100,000 goal.

Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered technology and games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email at: Yannick.LeJacq@nbcuni.com.

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