Conclusions

We were able to meet or exceed all of our expectations that we had for our project. We were not able to use LCD output since we had a malfunctioning unit, but with some patience, we were able to implement the game on TV. The game itself is entertaining and becomes very challenging at higher levels in the single player mode. The versus mode that we added on is fun and fast-paced, as well.

Hard work pays off

If we were to do this project again, we would have used an LCD panel (assuming it worked). We might add new things to the game: for example, we would have powerups that grant bonuses like extra life, more firepower, etc. Also, after a certain number of levels, we could have a special level with a boss ship. Another thing we would do is provide a better balance of difficulty from level to level. The gameplay could be enhanced significantly with the addition of sound. We would use a piezoelectric speaker to produce in-game sound effects. The code could be optimized some by converting some things to assembly and the instructions saved would allow us to implement some of the extra features.

The designs conforms to the RS-170 standard well enough to display the game on a TV. The code does take some liberties with the timing scheme but the video signal does not appear to be distorted.

Intellectual Property

Our video generation was based on Bruce Land's example code. Parts of the code were optimized for our game. The concept for our game is based on Galaxian by Namco. This project is strictly academic in nature and is not intended to be used for profit.

Ethical Considerations

Referring to the IEEE Code of Ethics, we were consistent with the points listed in the following ways:
1. to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;
We were careful to ensure that our project would not cause harm to people or property. Our game does not use flashing patterns that would cause epileptic seizures, though we have issued a warning that the possibility of seizure still exists. The gamepads are known to be reliable and safe as well.

3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
We have been honest in stating the functionality of our project and have tested it to the best of our ability.

5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;
Our project exploits the capabilities of the hardware we used and the work we have done can be used as a reference for designing more applications.

6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;
This project allowed us to gain experience with microcontroller design, and thus improve our technical competence.

7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
We thoroughly tested all of our hardware and software to ensure everything functions according to our specifications. We acknowledge the work of Bruce Land for the TV signal generation code and Namco for creating Galaxian, which inspired our project.