A project for the workshop Prototyping the Future: Embedded Programming @ Roskilde University spring 2024

A simple handheld console that I would let my son Vincent play. Without any distractions but a bunch of abstractions to strengthen his imagination with a emphasis on experimentation.

Examples of games you can play with a 100 pixel "screen".

THE CONCEPT

• A programmable console for Vincent
  • Board
    • Arduino Uno
  • Outputs
    • 10*10 LED RGB matrix instead of a screen
    • Simple piezo buzzer as a speaker
    • 4 Status LEDs
  • Inputs
    • 2 Rotary encoders
    • 4 Digital buttons
  • Game ideas
    • Adventure game, Battleship, Brick Break, Digital dice rolls, Game of Life, Pong, Tetris, Tic tac toe

THE WORKING PROTOTYPE

The assembled v1 prototype with two player pong working

• Features
  • Sound
  • "Screen"
    • Getting the not quite documented 5*5 LED matrices working as a tiled matrix was !FUN
  • Digital buttons
  • Intro jingle and animation
  • Two player Pong
    • It displays the score
    • Each point raises the gameSpeed
    • The game resets when a player hits 10 points
• Bugs
  • The potentiometers need to be resoldered and arent adressed in the latest version of the code
  • Neither are the 4 LEDs used at this point, but they are defined in the code
  • Weird ball behaviour to be expected when hitting the edge of a paddle (maybe a feature?)
  • Code needs refactoring

nick lee jerlung 2024