DESIGN PROJECT PROPOSAL

GAMING CONSOLE IMPLEMENTED IN LabVIEW

Team Number:

Abbas H. Zeitoun
Ahmad A. Hazimeh
Chahid R. Yammine
Jana Z. Bou Matar
Mohammad A.
Radwan
Nader B. Kayali

(5
)
(5
)
(6
)
(5
)
(4
)
(5
)

Course: EECE 200 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering

Wednesday, October 29th, 2014

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Problem Statement.................................................................................................. 3
Project Objectives.................................................................................................... 3
Project Specifications.............................................................................................. 3
Musts.................................................................................................................... 3
Wants................................................................................................................... 4
Project Constraints.................................................................................................. 4
Report Organization................................................................................................ 4
Methodology............................................................................................................... 5
Brainstorming.......................................................................................................... 5
Design Alternatives................................................................................................. 6
Main Design......................................................................................................... 6
Alternative Designs.............................................................................................. 8
Possible Problems................................................................................................. 8
Final Design Selection and Description.......................................................................8
Timeline...................................................................................................................... 9
Anticipated Results................................................................................................... 10
Qualifications and Contributions............................................................................... 10
Anticipated Costs...................................................................................................... 11
References................................................................................................................ 11
Cost Information.................................................................................................... 11
Manuals Used........................................................................................................ 11
Other Documents.................................................................................................. 11

Introduction
Problem Statement
The aim of this project is to design a gaming console based on LabVIEWs graphical
programming language. The objective of this console is to entertain its users by
providing them with a selection of games that can interface with hardware
peripherals.

Project Objectives
Throughout this project, we are going to:

Focus on teamwork and the necessity of dividing the effort equally among

team members with regard to each members personal skills and knowledge
Pass through the problem-solving process and understand the necessity of

each of its stages

Use acquired knowledge from EECE200 LabVIEW sessions
Try to develop the most efficient software that involves the biggest variety of
inputs and outputs.

Project Specifications
Musts

Three games, each of which containing settings for a specific user profile

(Name, picture etc..)

Two different ways to end the game as specified by the customer
Main menu with the option to select any of the three games, where each

game has its own user interface

Multiplayer options when applicable
Affordable costs and enjoyable experience
Product user-friendliness
Availability to a wide variety of users (different ages, abilities, preferences...)

Wants

Fancy graphics with different backgrounds for each game

Music and specific audio effects for certain functions, along with users ability

to adjust them
High-scores tab with user names
Hardware diversity

Project Constraints

The team must be formed of six members with equal contributions to the

project
The project must be LabVIEW-based
In case of hardware implementation, all wirings must be hidden from sight

Report Organization
In this report, we will address several designs to be implemented alongside the
brainstorming results agreed upon, as well as the first design sketches. We will also
provide a timeline for our activities and meetings along with the contribution and
tasks of each member of this group.

Methodology
Brainstorming
The first step we took is designing the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the three
games. It seemed crucial to understand every aspect of this project. The general
outline of the GUI will include a main menu with three buttons, each of which
corresponds to a game. In addition, the main menu will include a High-Score Board
button and a Settings button. The first design of the GUI will be as shown in the
image:

Figure 1: Sketch of the Main Menu

Design Alternatives
Main Design

Each of the main menu buttons will take the user to the selected game.
Each game will have its specific background and graphics, along with the
possibility of certain audio effects. In addition, the user will most likely
have the ability to change any desired setting or adjust it to his/her

personal preference.
Multiplayer options will be implemented in all of the games so that the

games could be played as a 1-v-1 game or a 1-v-AI game.

Hints will be provided in games, when a certain user appears to be on a
losing streak; however, this option will apply a penalty to said users final

score.
The first game, Guess the Number, will consist of two alternating rounds.
During the first round, the first user will select a certain number between
two fixed values (0 and 100) and the objective of the second user is to try
and guess that number. After each attempt, the first user will specify
whether the attempted answer is greater or less than the chosen number.
During the second round, the users switch roles, and the same play style
follows. The winner of the game will be the user who guessed the number

with the least amount of tries.

The second game, Memory, will consist of two grids, both of which contain
an equal number of elements (most likely to be cards). Each element in
either grid will have its own image, and both grids will have the same
elements, but in a shuffled order. The users objective is to try and match
the element pairs from both grids. Multiplayer mode will be implemented
in this game in a turn-based manner. Users will take turns to pair two
elements. If he\she succeeds at finding a homologous pair, his/her score
increases by a certain number of points, and no penalty is applied
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otherwise. The winner would be the one with the higher score after all
similar items have been matched. Several additions will be implemented
in this game. For example, it is unfair for at least one of the players that
the last guess be a free point, since the last pair will be a definite match.
To avoid that, one of the grids will contain an additional element that has
no double in the other grid. At the beginning of each game, this elements
identity will be pointed out without indicating its location, and it is the

users objective to remember where it is to avoid selecting it.

The third game, Match and Score, will include a random number generator
that makes this game based on luck. It will consist of four alternating
rounds, and each round will consist of two turns. Let the users be A and B.
In the first round, As turn is before Bs turn, while in the second round B
plays before A and so on in an alternating manner. In each turn, the user
will be assigned randomly generated elements, each of which is given a
specific positive or negative effect on this users score. The winner of this
game is the user with the highest score at the end of the four rounds.
Several add-ons will be implemented here. First, in order to ensure
fairness in this game, there will be no repetition of elements in the same
round. For example, if A is given a very good combination of elements in
his/her turn, this law ensures that the probability of B being given a good
combination in his turn is decreased. However, the pool of elements will
be refreshed at the beginning of every round to ensure that B has the
higher probability of receiving the good combination of elements in the
following round. In addition, this game will include certain animations (i.e.
a lever instead of buttons, and sound effects). There will also be certain
rogue elements that either provide a huge boost or a huge drawback to
the user who receives them. This element will be referred to as the Joker.
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If A receives a blue Joker, B skips his turn in the following round whereas if
A receives a red Joker, A skips his turn in the following round. However,
should this Joker element be given to any of the users in their last turns, it
will add or subtract a certain number of points from their score depending
on which Joker they received.

Alternative Designs

Hardware peripherals will be implemented in this project. The user will

most likely have the ability to play all three games using a variety of
hardware such as mouse, joysticks, keyboard or portable consoles such

as Gameboys or tablets.
We can include an eye sensor to control the games. This eye sensor
will be based on Electrooculography, a method through which the

users eye movements can be monitored in order to control the game.

In order to motivate the user to complete all three games, a fourth
game will be added but will be locked until the user completes all three
games and wins in at least two of them. The properties of the fourth
game will remain concealed until it is unlocked.

Possible Problems

Implementing animations in LabVIEW may prove to be cumbersome

because LabVIEW is a programming workbench which disregards

graphical aesthetics.
Ensuring efficiency in the algorithms is key to avoiding resourcehungry code that could cause bugs and hinder user friendliness.

Final Design Selection and Description

The final design should be well-chosen and should meet all the requirements. Some
of the alternatives have been studied in the following KTDA table. Considering the
8

results of this table, only the first three alternatives will be implemented unless
indicated otherwise in future reports.

Figure 2: KTDA Table of Alternative Hardware Implementations

Timeline
Friday November 7th 2014 11am3pm
Tuesday November 11th 2014
12pm-3pm

November 13th, 14th, 18th, 20th

Tuesday December 2nd

Thursday December 4th

Friday December 5th

Saturday December 6th

Tuesday December 16th

First group meeting, preparation

of first VI, and equal division of
work
Primary-Secondary Designer pair
meetings, preparation using
LabVIEW for the soft
demonstration
Implementation of all add-ons for
second submission
Acquisition of all needed
hardware (joystick, mouse,
possible others..) and
implementation on respective
games
Work on possibility of designing a
4th game as an addition
(alternate design)
Entire group preparation for
presentation along with testing of
all functions
Final Checkup on Project with all
implementations
Final Report and Log Book
submission

Figure 3: Project Group Timeline

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Anticipated Results
After working on this project, our minimum expectations as a team are to present
the customer with a selection of three fully functional games that satisfy the
minimum requirements and exceed them in certain aspects. In addition, we hope to
present interesting additional features that show our dedicated creativity,
innovation and interest in this project. We also hope that every member of our
group receives the rating he or she deserves and that our hard work be seen clearly.

Qualifications and Contributions

Our work will be divided equally among the members of our group taking into
consideration each members skills and abilities. Below is a table with each member
and his tasks in this project.
Abbas H. Zeitoun

Designing Guess the Number.

Focus on programming logic
Designing group presentation

Ahmad A. Hazimeh

Designing Match and Score

Working on the Proposal Reports
Focus on Algorithms

Chahid C. Yammine

Co-Designer of Guess the Number

Tester
Buying the Hardware

Jana Z. Bou Matar

Designing Main Menu

Providing required Audio sounds/effects
Tester

Mohammad A. Radwan

Co-Designer of Memory
Tester
Working on presentation

Nader B. Kayali

Designing Memory
Working on Proposal Reports
Focus on Graphics
Keeping Log Book
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Figure 4: Group Member Tasks

12

Anticipated Costs
-

References
Cost Information
-

Manuals Used

LabVIEW manual: http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/320999e.pdf

SPEEDY-33 manual: http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/371577d.pdf

Other Documents

Project Guidelines posted on Moodle (http://moodle.aub.edu.lb/).

Should other documents be used during our project, they will be included in the
Final Report.

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