Introduction: 8x8 Colorduino Pong Game
In this
instruction I will show you how I built a pong game, using an 8 x 8 RGB LED matrix board module. This module is called Colorduino. It has an onboard microcontroller and an interface to connect to other Colorduino boards. It has the capability of handling 64 pcs color LEDs. The board can be controlled with Arduino code. I created two controller each controller has two buttons. This game can be played by two players. The goal is to prevent the ball to reach the wall on your side. There is a 3 LEDs width platform which can bounce back the ball to your opponent. My concept was to make it as simple as possible. The whole building process takes about 1 hour (the crocheting for the controllers are not counted in). The project cost was 20 $. The device is powered by a 18650 battery.
Step 1: BOM List
Material Name amount link
Colorduino V2.0 Dot Matrix RGB LED Driver shield 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Full-col...
Plastic Enclosure for buttons 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/70-X-45-X...
Rubber-sheathed flexible cable 1 pc https://www.elandcables.com/cables/h05rr-f-cable
Cable Gland 4 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/10pcs-Hi...
Proto PCB 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20pcs-5x7-4x6-3x7...
18650 Battery Holder 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Quality-1865...
18650 Battery 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4PCS-battery-1865...
Push Button Switch 12mm Momentary pushbutton 4 pcs https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/10pcs-Mo...
Cable for soldering 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/item/5m-Red-5m-Black-S...
Solder tin 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Sale-Hig...
2 Position Latching Toggle Switch 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Promotio...
4,7 kohm 4 pcs https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/100pcs-1...
3V to 5V DC-DC Converter Step Up Boost mobile 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/1PC-New-...
2 Pole 5mm Pitch PCB Mount Screw Terminal Block Connector 1 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/item/IMC-hot-20pcs-2-P...
3 Pin 5mm Pitch PCB Mount Screw Terminal Block 2 pc https://www.aliexpress.com/item/IMC-Hot-20-Pcs-3-...
Housing for the electronics 1 pc
Total material cost of the project: 20,21 $/total project
Step 2: Assembly
Check the video at the first step. Some additional information to the video:
Collect all materials according to the BOM list. I used proto PCB and soldered all components.
I connected all the components according to the attached schematic. This is easy to build the circuit, it can be done by everyone, who is willing to use a soldering iron. I used the legs of the resistors to connect the PIN-s. Dupont jumper cables are ideal to connect the LED matrix to the protoboard. The whole protoboard can be assembled before installing into the housing. I installed PCB mount screw terminal connectors. This helped me to test the circuit without the housing. After testing I just unplugged the cables, installed the proto PCB into the housing and pushed the cables through glands, then I screwed all the cables back.
The Arduino code is originated from this instruction, thank you for the inspiration.
https://labs.bsoares.com/ping-pong-com-matriz-de-l...
The controllers should be checked before installing into the housing.
The plastic housing is modified with the help of a utility knife and a drill.
I put the controllers into green and blue crochets to distinguish the two players. The crochet was designed and created with the help of this instruction:
Step 3: Upload the Attached Software
The software is uploaded by Atmel Studio. First, I tried to use Arduino IDE, but I was not able to use it, so I had to use AVR Programmer Avrisp mkII. This made my work a bit harder. I attached the Arduino code, and the Atmel Studio project. Check the video above how to use Arduino code in Atmel Studio 7.
I had some issues with the uploading PIN-s of the Colorduino. The ISP PIN-s of the Colorduino board is located between the MCU and the LED board and the 6 PIN connector of the Avrisp mkII programmer has no space. I had to take the two board apart to do the upload. During the development phase, I had to upload the code many times so I decided to put the ISP connector on the other side of the board. To do that I had to mirror the pins and used a small proto PCB board. If you just need a few uploads so not bother simple take the to boards apart do the upload than connect again. More information about Avrisp mkII: https://www.microchip.com/webdoc/avrispmkii/avrispmkii.intro_connecting.html
The Arduino code is originated from this instruction, thank you for the inspiration.
https://labs.bsoares.com/ping-pong-com-matriz-de-leds-8x8-ee13cce39007
Final words
My children tried this game and loved it. I think there is a lot of potential in this project, other games can be developed easily.
Have a nice day!
