I’d like to think that when Al Alcorn created Pong, he would have liked it to be more than just a couple of rectangles and a square “ball." Pong, as visually sterile as it may be, was obviously a groundbreaking achievement and arguably created the entire video game industry in its wake, but had the technology of the time allowed it, what sort of personality would the game have been given? Perhaps it would take place in a fantasy setting? And feature cool playable characters based on European historical figures? And cool power-ups and abilities? That’s kind of the direction indie studio Left is Right aka part-time solo game developer and full-time dad Stuart Wallace is heading with his upcoming game QuestBall. Check out the trailer.

Of course I was instantly reminded of Laser Dog’s brilliant PKTBALL (Free) from several years back which also did the portrait-oriented one-touch take on competitive table tennis, but honestly the genre is so well-suited for mobile I’m surprised more people haven’t taken a stab at their own versions of it. QuestBall has a decidedly action RPG slant to it too as each of the game’s 8 characters has a unique special attack they can trigger when their meter fills up, and besides not letting the ball get past you you’ll also need to watch that your life meter doesn’t get drained by such special attacks or other environmental hazards that can happen in the game’s arenas.

QuestBall seems like a solid idea with a lot of personality. It will be free with ads and a one-time $1.99 IAP to remove them, and if you liked PKTBALL and/or like the look of the trailer above, be sure to check out QuestBall when it launches this Saturday, June 20th.