Arduino Dungeon Master - Table 4

Game Board

Inspiration

 Four of the five members of our team are CS-related majors, so the team's original idea was to create a simple dungeon-crawler-type game in C++. The last member, however, was an Electrical Engineer, and, unsatisfied with only creating a cheesy maze game through a terminal, proposed that the team utilize an Arduino microcontroller to display game content and to be used for user input. Both of these ideas were combined to create a unique hybrid of the two ideas. We essentially wanted to reconstruct an old concept using a new idea.

What it does

You use a "DPS device" (i.e. the Dungeon Positioning System) composed of four pushbuttons, 1 for each to navigate semi-blindly through an underground dungeon. There is only one way out and multiple hazards in the way of getting out. If you can make it out of the maze you are rewarded with a nice game won message.

How we built it

We used wiring, some buttons, the Arduino Mega microcontroller, RGB LEDs, a 3D printed case, and the standard Arduino IDE.

Challenges we ran into

Debugging was an issue because once the product was finished it was a matter of narrowing down the causes of odd behaviors and outputs. The code was was composed of quite a few lines, and we ended up switching between two different variants to make sure that we didn't overlook any simple mistakes. The 3D print case didn't fit exactly, there were wiring issues, and setting up the push buttons.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The accomplishments that we're proud of is getting it all hooked up, figuring out how to connect the different in-game rooms and register the button prompt at the same time.

What we learned

We gained a significant boost in understanding how to make use of the Arduino's digital in/out pins We learned how to use Arduino and wire LEDs to it. Also learned how to program C++ in a way that the microcontroller could understand.

What's next for Arduino Dungeon Master

We'd like to add better visual appeal, and the ability for the user to select a difficulty. It could use some gameplay polishing, but in general this is an excellent start.