#2852: Parameterball explain

[Megan and Cueball are playing a game that looks similar to tennis or table tennis in four different settings, one in each quadrant of the comic. Each setting has different parameters for three parts of the game, the size of the court, the size of the ball and the height of the net. In each case Megan is on the left and Cueball is on the right.]

[Top left: The court is much smaller than a normal tennis court, each half slightly wider and deeper than a person is tall. The net, however, is a fairly normal height, maybe a bit higher than in tennis. But the ball is much larger, even bigger than a beach ball but with curved ‘seam’ to it similar to certain types of more robust balls. The ball has just bounced on Cueball’s side and he is about to hit it.]

[Top right: The ball and the net closely match that of a regular tennis game, but the court has a size much like a five-a-side football field. Cueball has just hit the ball, which is currently flying towards Megan’s side, but could seem like it will barely make it all the way over to the net. Both players are thus very small, compared with this huge court.]

[Bottom left: The ball, and net are basically the same as in table tennis, and the rackets also looks like table tennis bats. But the ‘court’ is a much smaller tabletop. The ball has just bounced back up on Megan’s side, and she is poised to smash it back. This is the only case in which the court has been elevated and the players are not standing on it.]

[Bottom right: The court is slightly larger than the top left, but the net is much taller than the humans, more than double their height, thus much higher than in for instance volleyball. Also the ball is several times larger than a beach ball (with the same curved seam). The ball is larger than Cueball, like a human hamster ball. Cueball is apparently fighting to push the huge ball high enough to get over the net, indicated by movement lines in which he is barely managing to keep the ball on the racket itself, not to mention he has only gotten the ball halfway up the net. Megan is just standing on the other side waiting to see if Cueball manages to get the ball over to her.]

[Caption below the panel:]

Parameterball is a raquet game divided into four quarters, with ball size, court size, and net height randomized each quarter.