Arduino Esplora Video Game

Arduino Fun & Games
Arduino Esplora Video Game

Screen shot 2013-01-14 at 8.08.15 AM

It’s the project the Arduino Esplora seemingly was designed to create: a handheld video game. Mike Barela added a 1.8″ display from Adafruit, and adapted the code created by another maker named R0D0T.

I was looking for a game that was more than the basics to show off the Esplora + Display combo. I found R0D0T’s code and with accelerometer, music, and display, it was a great match. As I use the Arduino IDE, I merged the code, changed the display library to Adafruit’s, and recreated a couple library routines that R0D0T had used but had no Adafruit equivalent. Then I had to map the buttons (which required Esplora library calls), and the accelerometer (which I originally used hardware but changed over to library calls). I mapped the SPI interface to the display and it worked! Some small tweeks to color and alignment but it is basically still R0D0T’s original (a tribute to his ninja-coding).

14 thoughts on “Arduino Esplora Video Game

  1. Andy from Workshopshed says:

    Remote control for robots would be my other suggested use for this.

    1. Mike says:

      Andy, that was my last Esplora project – I used an Esplora connected to an XBee and battery as a wireless controller to an Arduino Uno connected to a receiver XBee and a motorshield to control a robotic head. See http://21stdigitalhome.blogspot.com/2013/01/wireless-arduino-esplora-controls.html for the details.

      1. Workshopshed (@Workshopshed) says:

        Brilliant, just reading now.

  2. Mike says:

    John, thanks for the article. I have been working on Esplora projects since Radio Shack started selling them after Christmas. First it was engineering the undocumented display header. I added an XBee via that, then figured out the pinout was compatible with the Adafruit display without mods. Then I used the wireless Esplora to control a robotic head. Then I looked for a compatible game and this is where R0d0t’s previous work with such a cool game made it a great candidate to port. The series of articles is on the same blog http://21stdigitalhome.blogspot.com/.

  3. MAKE | Your Comments says:

    […] the article Arduino Esplora Video Game, John Gugliotti […]

  4. 아두이노 이스플로라(Arduino Esplora) 비디오 게임 | Make: Korea says:

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

My interests include writing, electronics, RPGs, scifi, hackers & hackerspaces, 3D printing, building sets & toys. @johnbaichtal nerdage.net

View more articles by John Baichtal

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK