Dinosaur Game
Do you remember the dinosaur game? And all the nostalgia it brings? Well, today I'm going to build one using an Arduino. We'll use the Wire and LiquidCrystal_I2C libraries. To adjust the contrast so you can see the image, there's a potentiometer on the back. Turn it gently with a screwdriver until the image becomes visible:
Required Components:
-
Arduino Uno (or any compatible microcontroller)
-
16x2 LCD with I2C module
-
Push-button
-
Jumper wires
-
Breadboard (optional, recommended for organization)
Connections:
LCD with I2C
-
GND → Arduino GND
-
VCC → Arduino 5V
-
SDA → Arduino Uno A4
-
SCL → Arduino Uno A5
Button
-
One pin → D2 (digital input)
-
Other pin → GND (use INPUT_PULLUP in code)
LED (optional)
-
Anode (+) → digital pin (e.g., D8)
-
Cathode (−) → 220 Ω resistor → GND
Code:
#include <Wire.h>
#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>
LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x27, 16, 2);
const int jumpButton = 2;
int dinoPos = 0; // 0 = ground, 1 = jumping
int cactusPos = 15; // Cactus position
int score = 0;
boolean gameRunning = true;
unsigned long jumpStartTime = 0;
const int JUMP_DURATION = 600; // Jump time in milliseconds
byte dino[8] = {
B00000,
B00000,
B00111,
B00101,
B10111,
B10100,
B01110,
B00000
};
byte cactus[8] = {
B00100,
B10100,
B10100,
B10100,
B10100,
B10111,
B01100,
B00100
};
void setup() {
lcd.init();
lcd.backlight();
lcd.createChar(0, dino);
lcd.createChar(1, cactus);
pinMode(jumpButton, INPUT_PULLUP);
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.write(byte(0));
}
void loop() {
if (gameRunning) {
// Handle jumping
if (digitalRead(jumpButton) == LOW && dinoPos == 0) {
dinoPos = 1;
jumpStartTime = millis();
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.write(byte(0));
}
// Check if jump should end
if (dinoPos == 1 && millis() - jumpStartTime >= JUMP_DURATION) {
dinoPos = 0;
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.write(byte(0));
}
// Move cactus
static unsigned long lastMove = 0;
if (millis() - lastMove >= 200) { // Control cactus speed
lcd.setCursor(cactusPos, 1);
lcd.print(" ");
cactusPos--;
if (cactusPos < 0) {
cactusPos = 15;
score++;
}
lcd.setCursor(cactusPos, 1);
lcd.write(byte(1));
lastMove = millis();
}
// Improved collision detection
if (cactusPos == 0 && dinoPos == 0) {
gameRunning = false;
gameOver();
}
// Update score
lcd.setCursor(12, 0);
lcd.print("S:");
if (score < 10) lcd.print(" "); // Padding for single digits
lcd.print(score);
}
}
void gameOver() {
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Game Over!");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print("Score: ");
lcd.print(score);
while (digitalRead(jumpButton) == HIGH) {
delay(100);
}
// Reset game
score = 0;
cactusPos = 15;
dinoPos = 0;
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.write(byte(0));
gameRunning = true;
}