This software was developed as a result of my Bachelor Thesis titled "Computer games design based on the application of a microcontroller" (srp. Реализација рачунарских игара заснована на примени микроконтролера) under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Nadica Miljković from the University of Belgrade - School of Electrical Engineering defended on September 24, 2024.
A video that demonstrates all the features of the finished project is available on YouTube (Google LLC, San Bruno, California, USA) and it can be accessed via the following link.
- Introduction
- Software and Hardware Requirements
- User Interface Overview
- Game Controls
- Citing Instructions
The goal of this project was to build a fully functional game console using some of the simplest and low-cost hardware components available, as well as to program a set of games. An Arduino UNO microcontroller board was used as the core of the console to execute source code. The console supports single-player and two-player versions of the following games:
- Snake (Taneli Armanto, Nokia, Espoo, Finland)
- Pong (Allan Alcorn, Atari, Sunnyvale, California, USA)
- Flappy Bird (Dong Nguyen, .Gears, Hanoi, Vietnam)
The games are not original by design, but their implementations were developed independently in C++ programming language without seeking other people's ideas or solutions. In order to make the code more readable and to simplify the management of individual components, some additional libraries were also manually written. However, the source code does rely on the following list of public libraries and header files as well, in their original forms:
- LedControl library - Developed by Eberhard Fahle, Accessed on November 8, 2024
- pitches.h file - Part of an Arduino built-in example, Accessed on November 8, 2024
The code also uses functionalities provided by libraries that are an integral part of the UNO R3 microcontroller board and, as such, these libraries are not a part of this repository (e.g., Arduino.h, avr/progmem.h and stdint.h).
DISCLAIMER: Although the project as a whole is shared under the GNU GPL (General Public License) Version 3+ license, the LedControl library has its own license located at the Libraries/Display directory. It is important to read this license and to follow its obligations, in case of further work on this project.
This repository contains:
- Console directory in which the main Arduino sketch (Console.ino) is located
- libraries directory which contains all of the libraries used by the game console that are not an integral part of the Arduino UNO microcontroller board
- GNU GPL (General Public License) Version 3+ license
- README.md file
- CITATION.cff file used to generate the "Cite this repository" link on the GitHub page
The following chapters will explain:
- How to assemble the described game console and to run the written software on it
- What the user interface looks like
- How to play each version of every available game
Software:
- Linux OS, Windows OS, or macOS
- Arduino IDE
Hardware:
- Arduino UNO or UNO R3
- USB 2.0 cable type A/B
- Breadboard
- Analog joystick (x2)
- 8x8 LED matrix display with the MAX72XX driver [1] (x2)
- Passive buzzer
- Jumper wire male to male (x9)
- Jumper wire male to female (x15)
- Resistor (optional)
The image below shows how the hardware should be assembled. It was created using Wokwi [2]. Since the identifiers of the used pins are not clearly presented in figure, pin identifiers can also be found inside the Constants.h file which is located in the libraries/Constants directory.
To run the available source code on Arduino UNO or UNO R3 hardware, following steps are requires:
- Download the code as a ZIP archive and extract its contents.
- Move the Console.ino file to the directory where Arduino IDE stores sketches (this location can be found by opening Arduino IDE and clicking on File/Preferences).
- Copy all of the downloaded library folders to the libraries subfolder inside of the directory where Arduino IDE stores sketches.
- Connect the Arduino UNO microcontroller board with computer, open the copied Console.ino sketch in Arduino IDE and upload the sketch to the board.
References:
[1] MAX72XX drivers are manufactured by the Maxim Integrated (San Jose, California, USA).
[2] Wokwi is a web simulator for embedded and IoT (Internet of Things) systems that assists in learning and planning embedded device interactions and programming. It is developed and operated by CodeMagic Ltd.
When using the console, the user will encounter three different interfaces:
- Main menu
- Player selection menu
- Games themselves
The following image represents the main menu:
On the left half of the screen, there is a drawing of an arrow facing up and an arrow facing down. This is an indication to the user that it is possible to scroll through the list of available games by aiming either of the two joysticks in up or down directions. A short looping animation of the currently selected game is displayed on the right half of the screen. To confirm currently selected game and to advance to the player selection menu, one of the joysticks should be moved to the right.
The image below represents the player selection menu:
All games can be played by either one or two players. Change the number of players by moving one of the joysticks up or down. To confirm the selected number of players and to start the game, aim either of the two joysticks to the right.
The next image shows what the single-player version of each game looks like:
Before the selected game begins, a short countdown is always shown to let the players get ready. After the end of the game, the achieved score is shown on the screen and users can either return to the main menu by aiming one of the joysticks to the left, or play the game again by aiming either joystick to the right. The specific controls for both versions of available games are explained in the next chapter of this document.
The snake will always spawn near the bottom-left corner of the screen and its initial direction will be to the right. Use the left joystick to change the direction in which the snake is heading. If the joystick is aimed diagonally, the game will not know whether to change the horizontal or vertical direction of the snake, so the snake will just continue heading in its current direction. Therefore, make sure to aim the joystick as precisely as possible to avoid undetected commands. If the snake runs into one of the walls or into its own body, the player will lose and the game will end. The player will win if they collect 127 apples.
In case of a two-player game, the second snake will always spawn near the bottom left corner of the right half of the screen and its initial direction will also be to the right. Use the right joystick to navigate the second snake movements. The snakes must avoid each other while trying to collect the apples together (collaborative multi-player approach). The game will end in victory if the total length of the two snakes is the greatest possible (128).
When playing a single-player game, use the left joystick to move the racket along the left border of the screen by aiming the joystick up or down. It is important to keep the joystick aimed in the desired direction until the racket moves to a new position. Otherwise, if you only quickly push the joystick up or down and then let go, the movement will not be registered and the racket will stay in place. Unlike the other games, Pong has multiple rounds. This means that the game will end once someone reaches 3 points and only then it will be possible to return to the main menu or to start a new game.
The same rules apply for the two-player version of the game. The racket on the right half of the screen is controlled by the second player using the right joystick.
Each time the left joystick is clicked, the bird will fly up by one pixel and its falling speed will reset to the initial value. The longer the joystick is not pressed, the faster the bird falls. If the bird hits any of the incoming pipes or if the bird falls beneath the bottom border of the screen, the player will lose the game. To achieve victory, the bird needs to successfully pass through 50 obstacles. The game is intentionally hard, but there are no impossible pairs of incoming obstacles.
In the two-player version, each player has their own bird and the birds are required to pass through the incoming pipes together (collaborative multi-player approach). To control the second bird, use the right joystick. The game will be harder for the second player since the second bird is closer to the right edge of the screen and there is less time to react. If either of the two birds collides with an obstacle or falls through the bottom border of the screen, the game ends for both players.
If you find this software useful, please cite my bachelor thesis and this repository as:
- Vagner, A. (2024). Computer games design based on the application of a microcontroller. Bachelor Thesis, University of Belgrade - School of Electrical Engineering, mentor: Dr. Nadica Miljković.
- Vagner, A. (2024). Computer games design based on the application of a microcontroller (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. https://github.com/aleva147/Arduino-Game-Console, Accessed on November 8, 2024.
- Vagner, A. (2024). Computer games design based on the application of a microcontroller. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14577108
CONTACT: Aleksandar Vagner (LinkedIn)