The Plug and Make Kit is a toolbox you can use for infinite ideas. So what happens if you ask a mix of Arduino designers, engineers, and managers to sit down and brainstorm new ideas to have fun with it? Well, at least one of them is guaranteed to come up with an adorable, old-school, slightly addictive video game. 

That’s exactly how Luca Doglione developed Flappy LED and LED Pong, during a “Make Tank” workshop we held in our Turin, Italy office a few weeks ago!

Meet Luca Doglione, Plug and Make Kit Star

Doglione is an engineering manager for the Arduino software and cloud teams, and one of the key people behind our website, cloud services, and course platform. He likes games in any shape or form, from board games to competitive computer games to vintage 2D arcade games. During the workshop, he was inspired by the different types of Modulino nodes and how they can be used together.

Flappy LED

Using Modulino Distance, Modulino Knob, Modulino Buzzer, and Modulino Buttons, Doglione quickly came up with a simple way to interact with the LED matrix on the Arduino UNO R4 WiFi, all of which are included in the kit. 

The goal of the game is to guide an LED dot up and down to avoid obstacles as you go – just like you would do with the bird in Flappy Bird. The longer you are able to avoid collisions and keep the LED moving, the higher the score!

You can control the movement of the LED light in two alternative ways: turning the knob, or moving your hand up and down above the distance sensor. You choose which mode you prefer by simply pressing the corresponding button on Modulino Buttons (A for the encoder or C for the distance sensor). 

Follow the full tutorial on Project Hub to build this quirky game yourself, and let us know how you customize or expand it. The sky’s the limit!

LED Pong

Doglione worked out Flappy LED so quickly that he had time to ideate a second game. He immediately thought of the classic Pong, and created his own version with Plug and Make Kit. This project is just as portable and easy to recreate as the first, and can be played by two people together. 

LED Pong requires two Modulino Knob: since each kit includes one per type of the seven nodes currently available, it is also a great idea for a collaborative making session with a friend! 

The knobs are used to move the paddle and bounce the ball back and forth. Missing the ball gives the other player one point – as neatly displayed on the Modulino Pixel. The first to reach five points wins! 

The full tutorial is here on Project Hub: try it out, and you’ll quickly bounce from nostalgia to excitement over how many new ideas Plug and Make Kit will unlock!

From reimagining old games to learning new tricks!

After seeing his playful ideas come together so easily, Doglione says, “My favorite part of Plug and Make Kit was being able to bypass the electronics to focus on user experience and interaction. This really unleashed my creativity. Having to figure out circuits always stopped me from tackling complex hardware projects – and I have a degree in computer science! Having that little yellow base and modular Modulino nodes made it really satisfying to see my project looking neat.”

What do you think about Doglione’s games? And what vintage games could you recreate with Arduino Plug and Make Kit? 

Flappy LED

LED Pong