lcd-game-engine

Tiny games on tiny hardware.

What is this?

During the 2025 DO I.T. Hackathon, we were encouraged to think about how hardware could be a solution to real-world problems. To that end, we decided to build a miniature game console, complete with a 16x2 LCD screen, button and joystick inputs, 1-channel sound, and am emulator for local development and testing.

This project is aimed at budding game developers, hackers, programmers, and thinkers; as well as those who educate them. It provides a safe, fun, and accessible platform to get started building with hardware, and to explore both Python and Raspberry Pi development

What parts do I need?

TODO

How can I make a game?

Start by checking out the two examples, dino.py and rpg.py. The dino game recreates the classic Google Chrome "no connection" experience, while the RPG gives a small taste of how the joystick can be used for moving a character around the screen.

lcd_engine.py and py_engine.py both export an Engine class. The one you import will be dependent on your environment:

• For local development, use the emulator in py_engine.py
• Once your game is working, run it on the Pi with lcd_engine.py

The core module provides GameObject, the base class for all other objects rendered in the game. Provides two variables, x and y, as well as a primitive render function, which should be replaced. Either ASCII characters (as srings) or custom sprites (as numbers, see below) can be rendered.

The Engine class provides the following ways to interact with the emulator or console:

• register_sprite(name, number) - The console is limited to 8 unique, non-ASCII sprites. This function will load assets/{name}.png, and map it to the numbers 0-7 in the render function.
• get_joystick() - Returns an object with booleans left, right, up, and down, allowing for 8-directional input.
• get_button_a() - Returns a boolean depending on the state of the A button.
• get_button_a() - Same as above, but for the B button.
• set_state(state) - Accepts a dictionary of values, accessible through engine.state[...]. Convenient for global variables that need to reset to some intial value when the game resets, and for keeping code concise (creates a copy).
• set_player(obj)- Set the "player", a special object accessible more directly through engine.player (creates a copy).
• new_object(obj) - Create a new object (creates a copy).
• delete_object(obj) - Delete the provided object (by reference).
• get_objects_of(class_name) - Returns all objects that are instances of the given class.
• run(loop) - Starts the game. loop() is a function that defines the game's logic.
• reset() - Resets the engine's player and state to their initial values and objects to empty.

How can I assemble it?

Contributors

This was very much a group effort, put together by many talented souls:

• Ethan (https://github.com/EthanDenny)
• Farhan Probandho (https://github.com/farhanprobandho)
• Farhan Reaz (https://github.com/farhanhaseen22)
• Som (https://github.com/som-sinha)
• Ripudaman (https://github.com/singhripudaman)
• Rowan (https://github.com/dunningkrugerkid)