Snacktime Slider

In this partner project, a big challenge was scalability. Due to the time constraints of the project, only one level was designed as a proof of concept. However, we wanted our implementation to be able to easily handle new levels without having to design a new FSM and Datapath for each one.

The way we did this was basing the game logic on a simple 6x6 array representation of the gameboard. Each snack occupies 2 or 3 spots and has a unique ID. Blank spots are represented as 0. When players move the snacks, this simple array is first updated accordingly. Then, a separate module reads the 6x6 array and outputs a 16 x 16 px sprite corresponding to each ID to the VGA.

This level of abstraction meant we didn't need to worry about the complexity of the sprites when designing an initial setup for a level, or when updating the gameboard with the player's movements. Additionally, it meant a new level of the same difficulty could easily be implemented by simply switching the 6 x 6 array to a different one that represents the initial setup of a new level. The difficulty can be increased by using a larger initial array such as a 7x7 or 8x8 array, although that would require a few more adjustments to add more snacks and and their corresponding IDs.

A shortcoming of the current version of this project is that the controls are not provided on the screen, and my partner and I would just explain them verbally to the players. If this game were to be released to a larger audience, it would be paramount to add such instructions, as well as a numbering on the snacks to indicate which ID each one corresponds to.

Overall, this project was a valuable experience for learning the methods and challenges in designing FPGA architecture, and working with the various constraints one might encounter in hardware design.