I am completely new to the world of Table-top Role Playing Games (TTRPG), but I am a huge fan of the movie Blade Runner. So when a Blade Runner TTRPG was announced to much fanfare on Kickstarter, I thought it would be a great way to get introduced to this type of gaming. As I began to learn about the game, I thought there might be some fun things I could do with electronics and simple code to augment the gameplay and add to the overall user experience. I decided on making an electronic and interactive prop that could be integrated into the gameplay to perform certain tasks, like a Voight-Kampff (VK) test, or rolling a die. I wanted this prop to live inside an enclosure that looks enough like a VK machine that it's easily recognized, but also a shape that is simple enough to 3D print with basic equipment. And finally, I wanted it to have a little bit of a "Wow!" factor, so I had to include some cool lights, sounds and graphics too.
What does it do?
- When you turn on the power, all 3 screens display the VK logo and you are instructed to press the "VK" button.
- When you press the "VK" button, the screens will cycle through a simulated boot sequence.
- After the boot sequence, the large LCD screen will display the main menu, and the OLED screens will display two different animated graphics.
- The first menu choice runs a simulated VK test by displaying several images then displays one of 3 randomly selected results (human, replicant or unsure).
- The second and third menu items simulate a 10 or 12 sided die roll, respectively. These are placeholder functions. As I learn more about the game, I will adjust the functionality of the menu choices to enhance the gameplay beyond simple die rolls.
What is it made from?
- 1 Arduino Nano
- 2 Seeeduino Xiao
- 1 LCD display, with built-in microSD card reader
- 2 OLED displays, 0.96" 128x64
- 4 momentary push buttons
- 1 SPST rocker switch
- 1 passive buzzer
- 1 9V rechargeable battery
- 1 9V battery connector
- 3D printing filament of your choice (I used dark gray PLA)
- Optional red and green LEDs
How is everything wired together?
- Nano to LCD
- Nano to microSD
- Nano to Xiao x2
- Nano to buttons
- Nano to buzzer
- Xiao x2 to OLED x2
NOTE: The BMP image rendering routine was adapted from the spitftbitmap.ino example by Adafruit Industries, part of the Adafruit ST7735 library. Used under the MIT License.
LICENSES: The software and content of this project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International, and the hardware and hardware design elements are licensed under the CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2 - Strongly Reciprocal.