Arduino LCD Mini‑Games Console (Menu UI + Screensaver) — V2

A collection of classic games and utilities for the Arduino Uno with a 16×2 LCD Keypad Shield.
Navigate a menu to play games like Snake, Break the Bricks, Chrome Dino, Helicopter, and more — all on a simple LCD display!

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📦 Build Footprint (V2)

• Flash (program storage): 18,498 bytes (57%) of 32,256 bytes
• SRAM (global variables): 1,653 bytes (80%) of 2,048 bytes → 395 bytes free for locals/stack

V1 previously consumed ~98% of flash. V2 cuts that dramatically by de‑duplicating code, sharing a single LiquidCrystal + button reader, and embedding games under a unified UI.

(Your numbers may vary slightly by IDE/toolchain version and enabled games.)

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🧰 Hardware

• Arduino Uno (ATmega328P)
• 16×2 LCD Keypad Shield (DFRobot‑style, buttons via A0 resistor ladder)

🛠 Features (V2)

• Unified Menu UI with clean app hand‑off (runXYZ() style) and single LiquidCrystal/button reader.
• Eye Animation screensaver after 30 s idle on the menu (any key returns).
• Namespaced buttons to avoid macro clashes (UI_BTN_* in UI, DINO_BTN_* in Dino).
• Embed‑friendly games (no duplicate setup()/loop(); use extern LiquidCrystal lcd; when embedded).

🎮 Controls

LCD Keypad Shield buttons read through A0. The UI maps them to UI_BTN_* constants; games that need their own constants use a separate namespace (DINO_BTN_*). Typical actions:

• UP/DOWN: menu navigation
• RIGHT/LEFT: game navigation (varies per game)
• SELECT: choose / start / restart
• RESET (RST): resets the board (not used for in‑game back)

🏗 Architecture

• Single LCD instance: LiquidCrystal lcd(8,9,4,5,6,7) lives in UI/UI.ino. Games use extern LiquidCrystal lcd; when embedded.
• Button reader: one read_LCD_buttons() in UI/UI.ino; games reuse via extern.
• App runners: each game exposes void runXYZ(); (e.g., runSnakeGame(), runHelicopter()).
• Screensaver: EyeAnimation auto‑runs when (millis() - lastActivityMs) >= 30000 while in MENU.
• Dino embedding: guarded by #ifdef EMBED_DINO_IN_UI → reuse UI LCD/buttons and rename entry points internally.

🕹 Games & utilities

• Chrome Dino: two‑cell T‑Rex (CREA style), cactus (ground) + bird (top), score‑based tick speed, fixed Game Over, HUD score.
• Snake: body stored as a linked list; food spawn, self‑collision, incremental speed.
• Break‑the‑Bricks: paddle + bricks on 16×2; compact physics for character LCD.
• Helicopter: side‑scroller with obstacle gaps.
• Decision Compass: pseudo‑random answers (Magic‑8‑ball style).
• How Many Days Until: date/interval utility on the LCD.
• Eye Animation: used standalone and as the idle screensaver.

🗂️ File Structure

Break_the_Bricks/
    Break_the_Bricks.ino
Chrome_Dino/
    Chrome_Dino.ino
Decision_Compass/
    Decision_Compass.ino
Helicopter_Game/
    Helicopter_Game.ino
How_Many_Days_Until/
    How_Many_Days_Until.ino
snake_game/
    snake_game.ino
UI/
    Break_the_Bricks.ino
    Chrome_Dino.ino
    Decision_Compass.ino
    EyeAnimation.ino
    Helicopter_Game.ino
    How_Many_Days_Until.ino
    snake_game.ino
    UI.ino

🚀 Quick Start

1. Open UI/UI.ino in Arduino IDE.
2. Select Board: Arduino Uno and the correct Port.
3. Upload. Use UP/DOWN to navigate, SELECT to launch a game.
4. Idle on the menu for 30 s to see the Eye Animation screensaver.

🎥 Video Demo

• see the video demo of the project here

🧪 Build Tips & Troubleshooting

• “Multiple libraries found for LiquidCrystal”: Info message; the IDE picks one. Remove duplicates to silence.
• Macro clashes (BTN_SELECT): V2 uses UI_BTN_* in the UI and DINO_BTN_* in Dino to avoid conflicts.
• Duplicate setup()/loop(): Only the UI should define them in menu builds. Standalone uploads should not include UI files.
• SRAM tight (~80% used): keep locals small; prefer static const/PROGMEM for sprites; wrap strings with F("...") to move them to flash.

🔁 What changed from V1 → V2

• De‑duplicated LCD/button code and removed placeholder stubs → big flash reduction (from ~98% to 57%).
• Added idle screensaver, fixed Game Over edge‑case in Dino, and standardized input handling.
• Made each game embed‑safe (no own setup/loop when running under the UI).

🙌 Credits

• Chrome Dino sprite inspiration: CREA ELECTRONICA / Max Imagination (two‑cell T‑Rex look).
• Thanks to the Arduino community for the LCD Keypad Shield patterns and LiquidCrystal examples.

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Made with ♥ on an Uno, tiny RAM, and lots of sprites.