LED Chaser Game.

Hi my name is Jai Aery and in this instructable I will be presenting my final project LED chaser game.

For this project, here are the materials you will need...

1. 555 Timer x1

2. Johnson's Decade Counter x1

3. Arduino Uno x1

4. 4 Digit Seven Segment Display x1

5. Potentiometer (10k) x1

6. Assorted LEDs x7

7. Pushbutton x1

8. Resistors 

9. Electrolytic Capacitor (10 uF) x1

10. Wires

Last is a breadboard

For the wiring, the Tinkercad and the schematic below can help with connecting all of the components together.

place down all the components like the image above and connect the VCC and GND to the breadboard

Using the image above you will be able to make the 555 and decade counter connection. starting off connect the 555 and the decade counter to ground and Power. Then connect one of the yellow wires from CPO on decade counter to the output on the 555. Then for the other wire connect a wire to the MR to the CP1n . Then connect another wire from the CP1n to the ground. Then connect the capacitors to the ground and Power. Then connect the capacitor near the 555 to the 555 control voltage. Afterwards connect Potentiometer to power and then to the the 555 Discharge and Threshold. Finally connect the Electrolytic Capacitor to the 555 Threshold and the Ground. last add resistor to the 4 Digit Seven Segment Display

connect all of the led to the resistor then connect the led to the decade counter. 

Now that the LED chaser is built, the last part of the wiring is to connect all of the Arduino Pins, and connect pushbutton as well as the 4 digit 7 segment display. Listed below are all the Arduino Connections.

Pin 2 = Button

Pin 3 = f

Pin 4 = a

Pin 5 = d3

Pin 6 = b

Pin 7 = output 5

Pin 8 = output 4

Pin 9 = output 7

Pin 10 = output 3

Pin 11 = output 1

Pin 12 = output 2

Pin 13 = output 6

Pin A0 = e

Pin A1 = d

Pin A2 = p

Pin A3 = c

Pin A4 = g

Pin A5 = d4

In the image below, you can see where the pins are connected. 

To start off in the code, you will need to initialize all of you variables. By initializing the variables, you will be able to control the pins of the Arduino and much more. All of the variables with the LED in it are the variables that are taking the pulse from the output of the decade counter. The variables with the letters are the variables that are controlling the pins of the 4 digit 7 segment display. All of the variables are set to equal the pin that they are connected to. The picture above shows all of my variables.

Now that all of your variables are initialized, you need to set them to input or output to actually connect the pin. You can do that by doing the following.

pinMode((Variable name),(Input or Ouput));

For example, for the first LED, I have that set as input, because that pin is receiving the pulse from the decade counter. In fact, all of the LED variables need to be set as input because they are receiving the pulse from the decade counter. All of the 4 Digit 7 Segment variables need to be set as output because they are outputting the signals to the pins. For the pushbutton, that needs to be set as input because it is also receiving a signal from the click. Lastly, there is randomSeed(analogRead(0)). This piece of code allows the random number generator (later on in the code) to actually generate random numbers. By adding all of the variables to the setup function, you are essentially incorporating the components into the circuit.

Now that the setup function is done, we can move on to the biggest part of the code, the loop function.

Now onto the largest part of the code, the loop function, where the main code takes place. The first part that I have added is an initial message, which is completely optional. I do so by adding a message in the serial monitor, that is inside a while loop with the initialMessage variable. The condition is that if the variable is 0, the message is displayed. I have it so that inside the while loop, after the message is displayed, I add one to the variable so that the message is only played once.

Now onto the actual code for the game. To start off, I set the randColour variable to equal a random number from (1-3 (Including those)). Then, I have 3 main if statements, that run based off of the randColour variable. If the randColour variable equals 1, then the code for the red colour is run. If the variable is 2, the code for the yellow colour is run. Lastly if the variable is 3, then the code for the green colour is run. The code within each is essentially the same, however when comparing the button to the LEDs, the LED numbers are different.

To start, I have another while loop similar to the first one, to run the message of the colour that was given. This message is only displayed once, and displayed again after the button is pressed.

Next, I initialize a variable called buttonState and set that to read the value of the pin connected to the button.

int buttonState = digitalRead(button);

After that, I have an if statement that checks if the button is equal to HIGH, which means that the button is pressed. In the same if statement, it checks to see if the LEDs are on. Now this is the part that will vary from the three colours. The if statement should look like the following...

if ((buttonState==HIGH) && ((digitalRead(led1)==HIGH) || (digitalRead(led4)==HIGH) || (digitalRead(led7)==HIGH)))

If we take the statement above as an example, it is checking to see if LEDs 1,4 and 7 are on, which are the LEDs for the colour red. In the picture all the way at the top, you can see that my LEDs 1,4 and 7 are my red LEDs. For the yellow if statement code, the LEDs that are being read are LEDs 2 and 5. For the green if statement code, the LEDs that are being read are LEDs 3 and 6. This is the only part that is different from the three if statements. There is a delay added afterwards so that you only get one pulse from the button. Now coming back to the LED if statement, if the button is pressed and one of the listed LEDs is on, then one is added to the score, the displayScore function is called with the score as the parameter and x is set to equal 0 so that the next colour can be displayed. However, if the button is pressed but the listed LEDs are not on, then one is subtracted from the score, the displayScore function is called with the score as the parameter and x is set to 0 once again. If you look at the Arduino file, you will notice that the code is the same for the other two colours, just the compared LEDs are different. At the end of the loop function, there is an if statement that resets the score once it reaches either 10 or -10. And with that completed, the loop function is done. However, there are the functions to display the score which we will head to next.

Now onto the last part of the project, the functions for the score. In the Loop function section, I mentioned a displayScore function. This is first function I will be explaining.

The function starts off by taking the score as its parameter. It then calls on the pickDigit function with a parameter of 0. This function lights up the specific digit that is gonna be changed. Since this function was called with a parameter of 0, that lights up the third digit from the left. Since that digit is now lit up, it can be changed. The next part of the function has an if statement that checks to see if the score is negative or not. If the score is negative, then the dash function is called upon, which lights up the negative sign on digit that was chosen earlier. If the score is not negative, it lights up a zero instead of a dash. A delay is added afterwards. Next, the pickDigit function is called upon again, now with a 1 as its parameter. Since its parameter is now one, the previous digit is turned off from being controlled and the first digit from the right is turned on.

Next, the pickNumber function is called upon with the absolute value of the score as the parameter. The pickNumber function takes the score as the parameter, and calls upon case with the corresponding number. Within each case is the corresponding function that lights up the number. For example, in case 1 is the function that lights up the number 1 on the display. Since the new digit was turned on, the pickNumber function lights up that digit depending on what the score is. If it is negative, the absolute value is sent so that the program understands. Finally, another delay is added, which completes all of the code for this project

Now that you have made it this far, you will be able to see how the game/circuit actually works. Attached is a video file which shows the demonstration. Congratulations on completing the project!

In the Computer Engineering Final Project submit