Next Time

Though the final product more than met our original expectations, we wish we had had time to implement a number of other optional features.

In particular, we wish we had had time to develop our two-player option more fully. We would have implemented better synchronization between the BiLine systems. Currently, one player can pause while the other player contines to play. Optimally, when one player pauses, the other player's game pauses as well. Also, the games do not start at the same time. We would have liked to integrate a more user-friendly screen with a message "Waiting for second player..." and better communication routine to ensure both games start simultaneously. Also, we would have liked to add a special feature to the two-player version where when one player clears lines, the other player is penalized by an addition of blocks at the bottom of the screen. Since we were already close to running out of programmable memory, these additional features would probably mean we need to upgrade to a more feature rich chip - with more programmable memory and additional ports. Also, we would have added the sound option to both boards.

Also, we would have increased the available music choices. Currently, we have only two songs, a line cleared sound, a pause/start sound, and an end game song. It would have been nice to have different songs for different levels.

Some other ideas: