An embedded, retro-style snake game inspired by Dragon Ball and crafted as a web application that communicates with a joystick, button, and potentiometer. This project reimagines the classic game with a Dragon Ball Z twist, turning the snake into Shenron, the wish-granting dragon, who collects dragon balls instead of traditional food.
- Game Concept: Create a retro-inspired snake game in Python, adapted as a web application.
- Hardware Design: Design a handheld enclosure inspired by a PlayStation Portable (PSP) for a nostalgic feel.
- DBZ Theme: Reimagine the snake as Shenron, collecting dragon balls in tribute to the Dragon Ball series.
This project aimed to combine the retro snake game experience with the visual aesthetics of a PSP and the theme of Dragon Ball Z. The original design included a TTGO T-Display to show game stats (menu, leaderboard, high scores), while the main game ran on a connected laptop.
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Dependencies: Follow this tutorial to set up a web server for p5.js.
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Hardware: Connect a joystick, button, and potentiometer to the TTGO T-Display, housed in a 3D-printed enclosure. Also, I used 4 self-tapping screws to help construct a more rigid housing for the joystick & button. Here is the necessary wiring schematic for the circuit:
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Serial Communication: Ensure serial communication setup between the TTGO and the computer. Here’s the GitHub repo that helped set this up.
The game is built with:
- p5.js: For the snake game rendering and interactive visuals.
- Serial Communication: To capture inputs from the joystick and buttons.
- TTGO T-Display: Displays essential game information.
- Launch the Web Application: Start the server to render the game in a browser by hitting the Go Live button on the bottom right of VS Code once you've finished the installation & setup.
- Control Shenron: Use the joystick to navigate, and the button to interact with the menu.
- Game Mechanics: Shenron "eats" dragon balls to grow, and the goal is to collect as many as possible.
- Joystick Input Glitch: If you encounter random directional movements, this may be due to faulty joystick hardware.
- Serial Communication Lag: Ensure that joystick values update only with three-value packets for accurate movement control.
- Tutorial Assistance: p5.js tutorial by The Coding Train for snake game basics.
- Professor’s GitHub Repository: Serial communication guidance.
This project brought new challenges in integrating hardware with game logic. Future improvements include refining the enclosure fit and adding functionalities like a button-smashing mini-game.