For this Build-a-present, I'll be making a cube that not only lights up in a Christmas-themed way but also play with it together with your family and friend.
The device has two modes that you can use: the mood light mode and the game mode. The RGB leds light up the top while the 8 x 8 led matrix is placed below. The default option is the mood light mode but if time permits, I think adding an imu sensor to check the orientation is a good option to let the cube know what mode is currently right-side up
Mode light mode
The mood light mode turns the cube into a mood lamp that lights up a random RGB color. The special with this lamp is that you can set the color of the light for the first box and the second box lights up the same color. You can use this to set what your mood is through the color. It's a cute way of communicating with your love ones especially those that cant go out because of the pandemic. My initial thought is to use encoders for this to set the light but I'm hoping I can do this an easier way.
Game mode
The game mode is for playing games with another player with the box. I'm thinking of two games, one is the Arrow dance where you have to press the button corresponding to the arrow displayed by the led matrix as fast as you can. As the game progress, the faster the arrows changes. The last one to keep pressing the right button wins. The next game is the Build-a-pine-tree where the player lights up each led that will make pine tree. First to form a LED Pine tree shape thru the LED matrix wins. Other shapes such as the gingerbread man or a smiley is another option I can incorporate in the game.
What's next?
I'd like to move forward with gathering up the parts needed for this as well as the casing that will served as the cube. For the size, I'd do a Arduino Uno-sized version and scale it down to a Arduino Nano to make it more portable. If by chance I win a Arduino Uno mini, I'd use that in one cube and an Arduino Nano in another.
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