Raspberry Pi RP2040 matrix lets you play classic Snake game
Originally published on tomshardware.com by Ash Hill on 23 November 2024
The Nova board, developed by Vcc Labs and powered by the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, continues to attract attention with its innovative features and creative applications. One of the most recent demonstrations showcases a playful emulation of the classic Snake game on the Nova’s 7 x 10 LED matrix display.
In this rendition of Snake, the LED matrix lights up with changing colors to represent the snake and its food. The controls allow movement in all four directions using buttons, and the snake grows longer with each piece of “food” it consumes, represented by a red LED. A green LED is added to the snake’s tail with every successful bite. Like the original, the game ends if the snake collides with itself or the edge of the display.
This game demo coincides with a design update for the Nova board, which now includes an extra ground pin and an “LED OUT” pin. The latter allows users to connect addressable LEDs for expanded lighting possibilities beyond the matrix display.
The Nova board relies on the RP2040 microprocessor, with each LED in the matrix being individually addressable, making it ideal for pixel-based games like Snake. The game setup requires five buttons for directional control and an additional button for resetting the game, along with external pull-down resistors to support the inputs.
The Snake game is open source, inviting enthusiasts to recreate it on their own Nova boards. It is programmed using the Arduino IDE and the FastLED library, and all necessary instructions and code are available on the project’s Instructables page.
For those intrigued by the Nova board’s potential, the official Kickstarter page offers detailed insights into the project. However, as with any crowdfunding campaign, potential backers should approach with caution, recognizing that pledging is an investment in a project that might still encounter challenges in production or delivery.
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