Tetris on a Split Flap
After our first “One Day Build” episode we received an overwhelming number of comments to build Tetris on a Split Flap. HELL YES. We’ve seen the game on everything from Gameboys to the lights on a Skyscraper, but was it possible on a Split Flap? Who knows!
Tetris on a Split Flap
After our first “One Day Build” episode we received an overwhelming number of comments to build Tetris on a Split Flap. HELL YES. We’ve seen the game on everything from Gameboys to the lights on a Skyscraper, but was it possible on a Split Flap? Who knows!
The Integration
We use Python to program our Split Flap Displays; also a popular coding language for old school games. We found a step-by-step guide for Tetris code by Timur Bakibayev to get the blocks stacking. Much like Snake, the code did not perfectly integrate on our Split Flap the first time. The physical makeup of a Split Flap Display is like pixels on a screen but the analog display cannot switch between characters instantaneously. This posed an issue to the flow of blocks falling and rotating into their designated place during gameplay.
The Challenges
The largest issue we encountered is the refresh rate; in other words, the “on” and “off” positions of each module. Split Flap modules consist of 50 total flaps with characters printed on them. In this case, the black flap acts as the “off” position and the white flap acts as the “on” position. The module then needs to rotate through the entire alphabet, numbers one through nine, and several special characters to get back to the “on” position. We tested a range of ways to make the game as liquid as possible. We tried spinning vs not spinning but it did not look right so we stuck with black and white.
The Gameplay
The falling blocks in Tetris flip and spin into their landing spot so our lengthy path between on and off gives the blocks a flowing tail – like a falling star. It gives the retro game a new (and pretty cool) visual.
