Escape From Isidis - Documentation

LCD singleplayer handheld game set on Mars.

Arduino

Circuit board

LCD

Game case

Game pieces

We decided to make a handheld singleplayer game with computer elements. We decided to make it space-themed and chose Mars as the location. We took some inspiration from The Martian and similar media set on Mars.

We created a case for the game in OnShape. It's 10 by 15 centimeters. It has a space for the USB-A cable that charges the battery inside. When closed, the case is 4 centimeters deep and opens to be 2 centimeters deep on each side. One side is empty and is used to store the small pieces, while the other side contains the grid that holds the pieces.

The pieces are blocks that snap into the grid in the case. Each differently-shaped piece represents a different building that the player can add to the grid on each turn. The possible buildings are: Habitat, a 2 by 2 square; Oxygen Harvester, a 1 by 2 rectangle; Control Center, a 7-tile U-shaped building; Research Station, a 3-tile L-shaped building; Drill, a 5-tile C-shaped building; Water Refinery, a 5-tile cross-shaped building; and Shield Generator, an 8-tile O-shaped building. Additionally, there are three unique resource pegs, marked Water, Food, and Stone.

We decided the game would be turn-based with random events. The random events ended up as different weather states which have different rates of occurring.

Setup

1. Take resource tiles and randomly place them on the map
2. Place home base anywhere on the map
3. Place 2 oxygen, 2 food, and two water in home base

Turns 

1. Random event
2. Economy phase, roll die and give yourself appropriate resources. If you have no room for said resource, you do not gain the resource. 
3. Action phase, may take as many actions as oxygen stored. Use up one oxygen per action taken (some actions may take more than one).
4. Logistics phase, may move around up to 2 resources.

A simulated circuit was created in TinkerCAD to test code. The Arduino was connected to the LCD, which displays turn numbers, dice rolls, and weather states. None of us knew how to program an LCD before this project, so we had to learn how. We had some difficulties, but it ultimately worked out.

After the circuit was modeled in TinkerCAD, it was built in real life and soldered so it would stay together. The code was then transferred to the real Arduino.