Schlagwort: Controllers

  • An Arduino Tetris console inside of an NES controller

    An Arduino Tetris console inside of an NES controller

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    An Arduino Tetris console inside of an NES controller

    Arduino Team — March 3rd, 2020

    Tetris was as a perfect complement to Nintendo’s original Game Boy when it came out in 1989, and now “Copper Dragon” has been able to fit an entire system for it — sans monitor or speakers — inside of a faux NES controller. 

    Impressively, this feat was accomplished with an Arduino Nano and a few passive components, producing not only very believable grayscale blocks, but also playing the familiar tune to accompany the video.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPVpsAUs4aY?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Two signal pins are used for the gray levels, plus a pin for sync, and video generation is programmed in AVR assembler code. Audio is not just PWM, but a simple DAC circuit created by charging and discharging a capacitor at the video line frequency.

    I wanted to build a game console into the case of a small USB game pad (a NES controler look-alike). To make the work a challenge, I wanted to only use an Arduino Nano clocked at 16 MHz and some passive components (diodes are OK) and create the best possible video and audio signal that is imaginable with such restrictions.

    As it turned out, a monochrome 288p video signal with 4 gray scales is possible when progamming the controller at machine level. 4-channel music is also possible.

    My game of choice is Tetris in a version that comes pretty close to the original GameBoy version with a very similar audio track.

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    Website: LINK

  • theMIDInator is a marvelous MIDI controller

    theMIDInator is a marvelous MIDI controller

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    theMIDInator is a marvelous MIDI controller

    Arduino Team — December 9th, 2019

    While you may know on some level that an Arduino can help you make music, you probably haven’t seen as good an implementation as this MIDI controller by Switch & Lever. 

    The device features a numeric pad for note input, which can also be used as a drum pad, and a variety of knobs and even a joystick for modifying the beats. Controls are housed inside a beautiful laser-cut, glued, and finished wooden enclosure.

    An Arduino Mega (with its 54 digital IO and 16 analog pins) is used to accommodate the inputs, and data is passed on to a digital audio workstation, or DAW, to produce actual sound. 

    Code and circuit diagrams are available here if you want to build one, though your setup can be customized however you like!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ5yPdoPooU?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

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    Website: LINK

  • Creating a physical game controller with Arduino

    Creating a physical game controller with Arduino

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    Creating a physical game controller with Arduino

    Arduino Team — September 3rd, 2019

    Steven Goodwin wrote a JavaScript game called Space Bounce where a character in a space suit has to jump from one side of a mine shaft to another, collecting roughly star-shaped objects, while avoiding spikes. It’s a simple yet rather entertaining game, and since there’s really only one type of interaction (jumping) he decided to make things a bit more interesting by adding a physical controller.

    His custom device employs a pair of pressure pads on the ground to sense a player standing on one or the other, and when one’s feet leave the mat, the on-screen player jumps to the opposite wall. Players must then recover and balance on the other mat, and jump back when needed.

    An Arduino senses this interaction using the standard Firmata firmware, and a PC running the Johnny-Five library and a Node server passes commands onto the game itself via WebSockets.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd82hZeIhYs?feature=oembed&w=500&h=375]

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    Website: LINK

  • This DIY radio controller resembles one you’d find on the market

    This DIY radio controller resembles one you’d find on the market

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    This DIY radio controller resembles one you’d find on the market

    Arduino Team — March 13th, 2019

    If you’ve ever considered constructing your own wireless RC transmitter, be sure to check out this build by Electronoobs.

    The device uses an nRF24L01+ module to transmit inputs from a pair of joysticks and toggle switches, along with an Arduino Nano for interface and control. 

    What sets this project apart from his previous versions, however, is the very nice 3D-printed enclosure for the electronics and a pair of high-quality joysticks that allow for precise input. 

    Additionally, Electronoobs’ latest design features tuning buttons to properly center the sticks, and an OLED display to show the actual input value that it’s sending to the receiver (a simple Nano/nRF24 setup for demo purposes). 

    Yes, I’ve made another radio controller. Why? well, I wanted to have a more commercial look. So, I’ve designed a 3D case, then I’ve used some high quality joysticks in order to have better analog read, It has an OLED screen so we could see the data we send and we could also digitally adjust the data. It also has 2 modes, linear and exponential

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMF5NXeHOnk?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Code and more details can be found in Electronoobs’ tutorial.

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    Website: LINK

  • Play Mario Kart: Double Dash with a hacked VTech steering wheel

    Play Mario Kart: Double Dash with a hacked VTech steering wheel

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Play Mario Kart: Double Dash with a hacked VTech steering wheel

    Arduino Team — February 19th, 2019

    YouTuber “Insert Controller Here” has been creating gaming controllers out of a variety of objects, like bananas, mayonnaise, and meat. For his latest iteration, the YouTuber decided to convert a VTech Turn and Learn Driver into—what else?—a Mario Kart: Double Dash steering console.

    As seen in the video below, the build consists of disassembling the toy, then soldering wires to the correct points to recreate steering wheel input, braking, and throttle. An Arduino Leonardo is used for the gaming interface, allowing Mario and Luigi to make it around the track by turning the wheel and applying brakes, while the accelerator is simply “shifted” into place.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNuI0311-qA?start=2&feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

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    Website: LINK