From the Forums: Video Game for the Tricket

TRICKET game

Video game for the Trinket! Shared on the Adafruit Forums: “So, I wrote this little game, loosely based on Space Invaders and Battlestar Galactica. It uses a Trinket, one button and a 2×16 LCD panel from Parallax. It is simple, but shows what can be done with these cool little boards and it doesn’t involve thermometers or motors (though, that is cool by itself.)” More details on the Half Byte Blog:

Having found some cool 2×16 LCD panels for five bucks each at Radio Shack, these Trinkets and a bunch of parts, I set out to make a game for my step son.  I’m still working on a game concept that will keep his interest, but I did a proof of concept game based on Space Invaders (my all time favorite game.) So, how can one make a Space Invaders on a TWO line by SIXTEEN character display? Well…you need to be creative. AND…you have to fit it, along with a necessary library, into under 5.1K.

So…what did I do? Well, found an old notebook I kept from my TRS-80 days. Looked at some old Tiny Basic game code and…coded.

First, I needed an idea. The display I am using, from Parallax, allows for eight special characters.  So, I played around with a few designs and one of them looked like the Battlestar Galactica. After some thought, I had the idea: The Galactica’s Viper squadrons are out on patrol. The Galactica was in a fierce battle that has rendered it nearly immovable, it can only hyperjump. It’s turrets are all damaged, save the forward bank, she can only shoot from her forward cannons.  A Cylon has discovered the Galactica and is taking runs at it.  Problem is, the Cylon is jumping randomly, making a direct hit nearly impossible.  If, however, the Galactica does manage to destroy the Cylon, the Galactica then hyperjumps too.  Then, it all happens again.

Cool, huh?

So, I set out to code it. I put code together to read a switch, move a character back and forth and come up with an interrupt mechanism for the button.

Turns out, it was simpler than I thought.  I had some hiccups with the Arduino IDE (which involved upgrading the toolchain, upgrading part of it again, some choice words…) but got them ironed out and, now, the Colonials are fighting the nasty Cylons again….

Read more.


Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 38,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — New Products 11/15/2024 Featuring Adafruit bq25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 3.3V Buck Board! (Video)

Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: A New Arduino MicroPython Package Manager, How-Tos and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

Adafruit IoT Monthly — The 2024 Recap Issue!

Maker Business – Adafruit Daily — Apple to build another chip at TSMC Arizona

Electronics – Adafruit Daily — SMT Tip – Stop moving around!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !


No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.