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Download code – Now Arduino 1.0 compatible!

There are four main libraries used with Video Game Shield: TVout, a library for outputting black and white video to a television; Nunchuck, a library that does software I2C and manages the two Nunchucks attached to the shield; ClassicController, a library that manages two Classic Controllers, and VideoGameHelpers, a library that includes some helper functions and all of our example games.

• All Video Game Shield Libraries with Examples – 2016-03-11 (zip)

Installing the libraries

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

If you’re using one of these libraries, you need to install it first. To do so, download the library and unzip it. It should be in a folder of its own, and will typically contain at least two files, one with a .h suffix and one with a .cpp suffix. Open your Arduino sketchbook folder. If there is already a folder there called libraries, place the library folder in there. If not, create a folder called libraries in the sketchbook folder, and drop the library folder in there. Then re-start the Arduino programming environment, and you should see your new library in the Sketch > Import Library menu.

We’ve had reports that on OSX, the zip file will be extracted into its own directory. This is incorrect behavior, as our zip file does not have any such top-level directory. You will need to copy all the contents of this top-level folder into your sketchbook’s libraries folder.

Use the source

The Video Game Shield code is also available at github.

Caveat

Our code and libraries help make it easier to output to the TV and read from two Wii remote accessories (nunchucks, classic controllers, etc) and make some games. It’s not perfect. You can likely do better. If you have any improvements, bugs reports, or ideas, we want to hear them. Put them in the forum, or send them to us directly. We’re also working on new example games and more features for the libraries to make it even easier for you to make cool stuff.

Download Hardware Design Files

The Video Game Shield was developed with Kicad, an open source electronic design suite. It is available for Windows, Linux, and OS X.

• All Video Game Shield Design Files (ZIP)
• Video Game Shield Schematic (1.4 MB SVG)
• Video Game Shield Schematic (PNG)

Licensing

We consider the Video Game Shield open source hardware.

Myles’ TVout library is MIT licensed. The block placing puzzle game is based upon Myle’s work adapting Laurens Rodriguez Oscanoa’s Simple Tetris Clone.

Our Nunchuck and ClassicController libraries are GPL licensed, and uses Peter Fleury’s I2C library with a few tweaks and additions.

Our VideoGameHelpers library is GPL.

All the design files are licensed Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. This means you may copy, distribute, and display them (and any modifications or “derivative works” you make) if you give credit to Wayne and Layne, LLC, by linking back to this website, and you must also license any modifications or derivative works under this exact same Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

There are similar rights granted by the GPL, but attribution is not required. It’s appreciated, though!

With the MIT licensed files, attribution is required in the source.

Video Game Shield design files by Wayne and Layne, LLC, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Different licensing may be available. Contact us for more information.