Flappy Kiernan

An engaging Flappy Bird-like game designed specifically for the ESP32-2432S028R "Cheap Yellow Display" (CYD) board. This game features smooth animations, responsive touch controls, and persistent high scores.

Overview

Flappy Kiernan is an arcade-style game where players control a character (Kiernan) through a series of pipes by tapping on the touchscreen. The game features:

• Flicker-free animations using hardware-accelerated sprite rendering
• Responsive touchscreen controls
• Persistent high score tracking using SPIFFS
• Dynamic difficulty adjustment
• Smooth countdown and game over transitions

Hardware Requirements

• ESP32-2432S028R "Cheap Yellow Display" (CYD) Board
• USB Cable for programming and power

Libraries Used

This project relies on the following libraries:

• LovyanGFX - High-performance graphics library providing flicker-free rendering through hardware acceleration and double buffering
• XPT2046_Touchscreen - Library for interfacing with the XPT2046 touchscreen controller
• Arduino ESP32 Core - Arduino core for the ESP32
• SPIFFS - SPI Flash File System for storing high scores

Installation

1. Install the required libraries:

   • LovyanGFX: Install through Arduino Library Manager or clone from GitHub
   • XPT2046_Touchscreen: Install through Arduino Library Manager or clone from GitHub
   • ESP32 Arduino Core: Follow these instructions

2. Connect your ESP32-2432S028R board to your computer

3. Select the appropriate board in Arduino IDE: "ESP32 Dev Module"

4. Compile and upload the sketch to your device

Project Structure

The code is organized into three main sections:

1. Main Definitions, Setup, and Game State

   • Display configuration
   • Constants definitions
   • Game data structures
   • Setup and main loop

2. Game Mechanics and Player Sprite

   • Player sprite data
   • Game mechanics functions
   • Touch handling
   • High score saving

3. Rendering Functions

   • Menu screen rendering
   • Countdown animation
   • Main game rendering
   • Game over screen

Pin Configuration for ESP32-2432S028R (CYD)

Display (ILI9341)

• SCLK: GPIO14
• MOSI: GPIO13
• MISO: GPIO12
• DC: GPIO2
• CS: GPIO15
• Backlight: GPIO21

Touchscreen (XPT2046)

• T_IRQ: GPIO36
• T_DIN: GPIO32
• T_OUT: GPIO39
• T_CLK: GPIO25
• T_CS: GPIO33

Credits and Acknowledgments

• Original concept inspired by Flappy Bird by Dong Nguyen
• Display and touch handling techniques adapted from Random Nerd Tutorials
• Optimization strategies inspired by the ESP32-Cheap-Yellow-Display project by Brian Lough
• Special thanks to the authors of LovyanGFX for providing the double-buffering capabilities that make flicker-free animation possible

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Future Improvements

• Add sound effects using the onboard buzzer
• Implement difficulty levels
• Add more visual elements and animations
• Create custom sprites for pipes and background elements

Troubleshooting

• Display shows nothing: Ensure the backlight pin (GPIO21) is properly controlled. The backlight is active when the pin is pulled LOW.
• Touch not working: Check the touch SPI pins and make sure the touch controller is initialized before the display.
• Game performance issues: Reduce the sprite color depth or size to improve rendering performance.

Contributing

Contributions to improve Flappy Kiernan are welcome! Please fork the repository and submit a pull request.