This little Space Invaders game runs on an Arduino Nano with a salvaged CRT screen
This little Space Invaders game runs on an Arduino Nano with a salvaged CRT screen
Arduino Team — July 6, 2022
Rob Cai on Instructables created his own version of the classic Space Invaders video game using an Arduino Nano. However, unlike most other projects which would typically incorporate some sort of LCD or OLED display, he opted to use a small black and white cathode ray tube (CRT) display salvaged from an old video intercom system.
First, Cai needed to locate the analog-only video input on the salvaged display, along with its nominal power supply voltage. From there, he built a small, very minimalist arcade cabinet out of cardboard and used hot glue to put the panels together. But before he could put anything together, Cai wrote his port of Space Invaders by designing several types of 2D sprites and loading them into a few arrays. Output of a video signal was achieved through the use of the TVout library, which takes an array of pixels and writes them sequentially to the designated RCA video output pin, as well as synchronizing each frame with a secondary pin.
The game controls consist of five buttons, four of which are on the left to move in a certain direction, and the last one on the right to fire the player's laser upwards. For more information on how Cai built this mini Space Invaders arcade, you can read his guide here or watch the demo video below!
Arduino Team — July 6, 2022
Rob Cai on Instructables created his own version of the classic Space Invaders video game using an Arduino Nano. However, unlike most other projects which would typically incorporate some sort of LCD or OLED display, he opted to use a small black and white cathode ray tube (CRT) display salvaged from an old video intercom system.
First, Cai needed to locate the analog-only video input on the salvaged display, along with its nominal power supply voltage. From there, he built a small, very minimalist arcade cabinet out of cardboard and used hot glue to put the panels together. But before he could put anything together, Cai wrote his port of Space Invaders by designing several types of 2D sprites and loading them into a few arrays. Output of a video signal was achieved through the use of the TVout library, which takes an array of pixels and writes them sequentially to the designated RCA video output pin, as well as synchronizing each frame with a secondary pin.
The game controls consist of five buttons, four of which are on the left to move in a certain direction, and the last one on the right to fire the player's laser upwards. For more information on how Cai built this mini Space Invaders arcade, you can read his guide here or watch the demo video below!
What's Your Reaction?
