Bytegotchi

Top View
Side View 1
Side View 2
Side View 3
Life/Main Screen
Enemy Screen
Character Select Screen

Inspiration

We were inspired by the traditional Tamagotchi toys from the 90's and 2000's, as well as our love for cats and the Bitcamp "Marshie" mascots.

What it does

It is a Tamagotchi-style program with 4 external inputs: a joystick and 3 buttons. Players can select one of the 3 "Marshie" mascots to take care of. They can control their Marshie and feed/wash it using the joystick and buttons. They can also send it to fight, where they can command it to attack, heal, or flee. If the player doesn't take care of the Marshie or if it takes too much damage in battle, it dies and the player must start over.

How we built it

We utilized an Arduino Uno and a breadboard, along with a joystick module and 3 buttons. These were wired together and the Arduino was connected to our computer using a USB cable, establishing a serial data connection. The main Tamagotchi program was made with Processing, which is a version of Java that allows for simple image/shape displaying.

Challenges we ran into

We had several challenges throughout the build process. Our first issue was connecting the Arduino to the Processing code, which we solved by transmitting the data from the joystick/buttons as serial data. Another issue we faced was that the controls were slightly uncomfortable to use. We fixed this by rearranging the buttons and mounting the joystick on an empty drink cup. One major challenge we faced was that button presses were being counted multiple times, causing actions to happen more than once. We mitigated this by adding a delay to reading the button inputs. Another major roadblock was implementing the battle system.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are all very proud of the work we were able to accomplish in 36 hours. We were able to connect hardware to software via Arduino, Processing, and serial data transmission. We also constructed the physical board and wired it. Programming the game in Processing is another accomplishment we are proud of.

What we learned

We learned about serial data transmission, Arduinos, Processing, game development, and innovation.

What's next for Bytegotchi

Adding more detailed animations, fleshing out the battle system, adding more depth to taking care of the Marshie.

Built With

Submitted to

Bitcamp 2022

Created by

I coded functionality for the joystick and game states of the Tamagotchi, including the start screen, Tamagotchi screen, battle screen, and game over screen using the Arduino IDE and Processing.

Arkan Shaheen
I helped code the GUI that uses Processing to display on the screen and Arduino to make the physical GUI, and I helped make the backgrounds.

Bbluefire Cruz
I built and wired the physical control board (Arduino, joystick, buttons) along with Alex. Additionally, I created the code that established the serial connection between the Arduino and the Processing code. I also created the animations for eating and washing.

Jay Rana
Worked on design interface/GUI for Processing. Helped wire Arduino with hardware equipment. Helped debug Processing code and do visual designs.

Alex Van