Conclusion
Expectations
We set out to recreate the original Digger game on the Atmel Mega32 MCU. Although our initial expectation was to recreate the entire game, we quickly realized that it was unrealistic, given the complexities we described in the software section. We finally settled on being able to move the Digger and Nobbins as in the original (with the land-digging) and having the Digger eat the emeralds. In that sense, we met our expectations. We also managed to exceed our expectations by implementing multiple controllers, the random selection of the special emerald every 5 seconds, and a reasonably sophisticated AI.
Standards
The NTSC standard is the only relevant standard to our project. Our game can be played on any NTSC compliant TV.
Intellectual Property Considerations
The original Digger game is the acknowledged copyright of Windmill Software. The video generation code was written by Professor Land. All other algorithms and code in this project were developed and written by us, without any reference to any other code. We do not intend to commercialize this project in any way. There are no patent opportunities for our project since the original idea was not ours.
Ethical Considerations
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 made every effort to ensure that our game is safe by eliminating flicker and not using any flashing effects. We also followed the standard refresh rate of 60 Hz for television images. To the best of our knowledge, there are no dangerous elements in our game.
2. To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist.
We avoided any conflict of interest with Windmill Software by clearly acknowledging their copyright. Additionally, our game is significantly different from theirs and cannot be mistaken for the original.
3. To improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences.
This project improved our understanding of the use of the Atmel Mega32 MCU and television image manipulation. We would be more than willing to share what we learned with any interested parties.
4. To seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others.
We have sought the advice of our TA, Steven Keiper, and Professor Land throughout the course of this project. We did our best to eliminate all errors we identified in this project. We have credited the various parties whose contributions were needed to complete this project.
5. To be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data.
We have stated that our game does not have all the features of the original Digger game. We have also clearly stated that our game is an adaptation of the original, to suit the time and hardware constraints we faced.
Legal Considerations
There are no FCC related legal considerations for our project.