2-in-1 Reaction Speed Arcade Game

Inspiration

The inspiration of our game came from the arcade game Cyclone, where the goal is to click the button when the LED lands on a signaled part of the circle.

What it does

The goal of our game is to click the button when the LED reaches a designated part of the circle (the very last LED). Upon successfully doing this it will add 1 to your score, as well as increasing the speed of the LED, continually making it harder and harder to achieve this goal. The goal is for the player to get as high of a score as possible, as the higher your score is, the harder it will get. Upon clicking the wrong designated LED, the score will reset, as well as the speed value, effectively resetting the game.

How we built it

The project was split into two parts; one was the physical building of the device and another was the making of the code.

In terms of building the physical device, at first we weren’t too sure what we wanted to do, so we ended up with a mix up of parts we could use. All of us were pretty new to using the Arduino, and its respective parts, so it was initially pretty complicated, before things started to fall into place. Through the use of many Youtube videos, and tinkering, we were able to get the physical device up and running. Much like our coding process, the building process was very dynamic. This is because at first, we weren’t completely sure which parts we wanted to use, so we had multiple components running at once, which allowed for more freedom and possibilities. When we figured out which components we would be using, everything sort of fell into place.

For the code process, it was quite messy at first. This was because none of us were completely familiar with the Arduino libraries, and so it was a challenge to write the proper code. However, with the help of online guides and open source material, we were eventually able to piece together what we needed. Furthermore, our coding process was very dynamic. We would switch out components constantly, and write many lines of code that was never going to be used. While this may have been inefficient, we learned much throughout the process, and it kept our options open and ideas flowing.

Challenges we ran into

In terms of main challenges that we ran into along the way, the biggest challenge was getting our physical device to function the way we wanted it to. The initial challenge came from understanding our device, specifically the Arduino logic board, and all the connecting parts, which then moved to understanding the parts, as well as getting them to function properly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

In terms of main accomplishments, our biggest accomplishment is overall getting the device to work, and having a finished product. After running into many issues and challenges regarding the physical device and its functions, putting our project together was very satisfying, and a big accomplishment for us. In terms of specific accomplishments, the most important parts of our project was getting our physical device to function, as well as getting the initial codebase to function with our project. Getting the codebase to work in our favor was a big accomplishment, as we were mostly reliant on what we could find online, as we were essentially going in blind during the coding process (none of us knew too much about coding with Arduino).

What we learned

During the process of building our device, we learned a lot about the Arduino ecosystem, as well as coding for it. When building the physical device, a lot of learning went into it, as we didn’t know that much about using it, as well as applying programs for it. We learned how important it is to have a strong connection for our components, as well as directly linking our parts with the Arduino board, and having it run proper code.

What's next for Cyclone

In terms of what’s next for Cyclone, there are many possibilities for it. Some potential changes we could make would be making it more complex, and adding different modes to it. This would increase the challenge for the player, and give it more replay value as there is more to do with it. Another potential change we could make is to make it on a larger scale, with more LED lights and make attachments, such as the potential use of different types of sensors. In addition, we would like to add an LCD display or a 4 digit display to display the player’s current score and high score.