Programming a game for an embedded device on ESP32

Part 0: motivation

Introduction

Odroid go

Limitations

Why all the trouble?

How low will the development be?

Part 1: build system

Introduction

C or C ++

Minimal project

IDF_PATH=
IDF_TOOLS_PATH=


if [ -z "$IDF_PATH" ]
then
	echo "IDF_PATH not set"
	return
fi

if [ -z "$IDF_TOOLS_PATH" ]
then
	echo "IDF_TOOLS_PATH not set"
	return
fi


export IDF_PATH
export IDF_TOOLS_PATH

source $IDF_PATH/export.sh

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)

set(COMPONENTS "esptool_py main")

include($ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/cmake/project.cmake)

project(game)

idf_component_register(
	SRCS "main.c"
    INCLUDE_DIRS "")

#include <stdio.h>
#include <freertos/FreeRTOS.h>
#include <freertos/task.h>


void app_main(void)
{
	for (;;)
	{
		printf("Hello World!\n");
		vTaskDelay(1000 / portTICK_PERIOD_MS);
	}

	// Should never get here
	esp_restart();
}

Components

app_trace app_update bootloader bootloader_support cxx driver efuse esp32 esp_common esp_eth esp_event esp_ringbuf
esp_rom esp_wifi espcoredump esptool_py freertos heap log lwip main mbedtls newlib nvs_flash partition_table pthread
soc spi_flash tcpip_adapter vfs wpa_supplicant xtensa

Total sizes:
 DRAM .data size:    8476 bytes
 DRAM .bss  size:    4144 bytes
Used static DRAM:   12620 bytes ( 168116 available, 7.0% used)
Used static IRAM:   56345 bytes (  74727 available, 43.0% used)
      Flash code:   95710 bytes
    Flash rodata:   40732 bytes
Total image size:~ 201263 bytes (.bin may be padded larger)
Per-archive contributions to ELF file:
            Archive File DRAM .data & .bss   IRAM Flash code & rodata   Total
                  libc.a        364      8   5975      63037     3833   73217
              libesp32.a       2110    151  15236      15415    21485   54397
           libfreertos.a       4148    776  14269          0     1972   21165
                libsoc.a        184      4   7909        875     4144   13116
          libspi_flash.a        714    294   5069       1320     1386    8783
                libvfs.a        308     48      0       5860      973    7189
         libesp_common.a         16   2240    521       1199     3060    7036
             libdriver.a         87     32      0       4335     2200    6654
               libheap.a        317      8   3150       1218      748    5441
             libnewlib.a        152    272    869        908       99    2300
        libesp_ringbuf.a          0      0    906          0      163    1069
                liblog.a          8    268    488         98        0     862
         libapp_update.a          0      4    127        159      486     776
 libbootloader_support.a          0      0      0        634        0     634
                libhal.a          0      0    519          0       32     551
            libpthread.a          8     12      0        288        0     308
             libxtensa.a          0      0    220          0        0     220
                libgcc.a          0      0      0          0      160     160
               libmain.a          0      0      0         22       13      35
                libcxx.a          0      0      0         11        0      11
                   (exe)          0      0      0          0        0       0
              libefuse.a          0      0      0          0        0       0
         libmbedcrypto.a          0      0      0          0        0       0
     libwpa_supplicant.a          0      0      0          0        0       0

Project configuration

source export.sh
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..

Expanding flash memory up to 16 MB

Turn on external SPI RAM

Lower the frequency

# Set flash size to 16MB
CONFIG_ESPTOOLPY_FLASHSIZE_16MB=y

# Set CPU frequency to 80MHz
CONFIG_ESP32_DEFAULT_CPU_FREQ_80=y

# Enable SPI RAM and allocate with heap_caps_malloc()
CONFIG_ESP32_SPIRAM_SUPPORT=y
CONFIG_SPIRAM_USE_CAPS_ALLOC=y

game
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── export.sh
├── main
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   └── main.c
└── sdkconfig.defaults

Build and flash

make
make flash
make monitor

make flash monitor

References

• ESP-IDF Documentation: Build System
• FreeRTOS Documentation: vTaskDelay

Part 2: input

Introduction

Buttons

GPIO

Initialization

const gpio_num_t BUTTON_PIN_A = GPIO_NUM_32;
const gpio_num_t BUTTON_PIN_B = GPIO_NUM_33;
const gpio_num_t BUTTON_PIN_START = GPIO_NUM_39;
const gpio_num_t BUTTON_PIN_SELECT = GPIO_NUM_27;
const gpio_num_t BUTTON_PIN_VOLUME = GPIO_NUM_0;
const gpio_num_t BUTTON_PIN_MENU = GPIO_NUM_13;

gpio_config_t gpioConfig = {};

gpioConfig.mode = GPIO_MODE_INPUT;
gpioConfig.pull_up_en = GPIO_PULLUP_ENABLE;
gpioConfig.pin_bit_mask =
	  (1ULL << BUTTON_PIN_A)
	| (1ULL << BUTTON_PIN_B)
	| (1ULL << BUTTON_PIN_START)
	| (1ULL << BUTTON_PIN_SELECT)
	| (1ULL << BUTTON_PIN_VOLUME)
	| (1ULL << BUTTON_PIN_MENU);

ESP_ERROR_CHECK(gpio_config(&gpioConfig));

Reading buttons

int a = !gpio_get_level(BUTTON_PIN_A);
int b = !gpio_get_level(BUTTON_PIN_B);
int select = !gpio_get_level(BUTTON_PIN_SELECT);
int start = !gpio_get_level(BUTTON_PIN_START);
int menu = !gpio_get_level(BUTTON_PIN_MENU);
int volume = !gpio_get_level(BUTTON_PIN_VOLUME);

Crosspiece (D-pad)

ADC

Configuration

const adc1_channel_t DPAD_PIN_X_AXIS = ADC1_GPIO34_CHANNEL;
const adc1_channel_t DPAD_PIN_Y_AXIS = ADC1_GPIO35_CHANNEL;

ESP_ERROR_CHECK(adc1_config_width(ADC_WIDTH_BIT_12));
ESP_ERROR_CHECK(adc1_config_channel_atten(DPAD_PIN_X_AXIS,ADC_ATTEN_DB_11));
ESP_ERROR_CHECK(adc1_config_channel_atten(DPAD_PIN_Y_AXIS,ADC_ATTEN_DB_11));

Cross reading

const uint32_t ADC_POSITIVE_LEVEL = 3072;
const uint32_t ADC_NEGATIVE_LEVEL = 1024;

uint32_t dpadX = adc1_get_raw(DPAD_PIN_X_AXIS);

if (dpadX > ADC_POSITIVE_LEVEL)
{
	// Left pressed
}
else if (dpadX > ADC_NEGATIVE_LEVEL)
{
	// Right pressed
}


uint32_t dpadY = adc1_get_raw(DPAD_PIN_Y_AXIS);

if (dpadY > ADC_POSITIVE_LEVEL)
{
	// Up pressed
}
else if (dpadY > ADC_NEGATIVE_LEVEL)
{
	// Down pressed
}

Poll

typedef struct
{
	uint16_t a : 1;
	uint16_t b : 1;
	uint16_t volume : 1;
	uint16_t menu : 1;
	uint16_t select : 1;
	uint16_t start : 1;
	uint16_t left : 1;
	uint16_t right : 1;
	uint16_t up : 1;
	uint16_t down : 1;
} Odroid_Input;

Demo

void app_main(void)
{
	Odroid_InitializeInput();

	for (;;)
	{
		Odroid_Input input = Odroid_PollInput();

		printf(
			"\ra: %d  b: %d  start: %d  select: %d  vol: %d  menu: %d  up: %d  down: %d  left: %d  right: %d",
			input.a, input.b, input.start, input.select, input.volume, input.menu,
			input.up, input.down, input.left, input.right);

		fflush(stdout);

		vTaskDelay(250 / portTICK_PERIOD_MS);
	}

	// Should never get here
	esp_restart();
}

References

• Odroid go schematic
• ESP-IDF Documentation: ADC
• ESP-IDF Documentation: GPIO

Part 3: display

Introduction

SPI

• MOSI -> VSPI.MOSI -> IO23
• MISO -> VSPI.MISO -> IO19
• SCK -> VSPI.SCK -> IO18
• CS0 -> VSPI.CS0 -> IO5

const gpio_num_t LCD_PIN_MISO = GPIO_NUM_19;
const gpio_num_t LCD_PIN_MOSI = GPIO_NUM_23;
const gpio_num_t LCD_PIN_SCLK = GPIO_NUM_18;
const gpio_num_t LCD_PIN_CS = GPIO_NUM_5;
const gpio_num_t LCD_PIN_DC = GPIO_NUM_21;
const gpio_num_t LCD_PIN_BACKLIGHT = GPIO_NUM_14;
const int LCD_WIDTH = 320;
const int LCD_HEIGHT = 240;
const int LCD_DEPTH = 2;


spi_bus_config_t spiBusConfig = {};
spiBusConfig.miso_io_num = LCD_PIN_MISO;
spiBusConfig.mosi_io_num = LCD_PIN_MOSI;
spiBusConfig.sclk_io_num = LCD_PIN_SCLK;
spiBusConfig.quadwp_io_num = -1; // Unused
spiBusConfig.quadhd_io_num = -1; // Unused
spiBusConfig.max_transfer_sz = LCD_WIDTH * LCD_HEIGHT * LCD_DEPTH;

ESP_ERROR_CHECK(spi_bus_initialize(VSPI_HOST, &spiBusConfig, 1));

spi_handle_t gSpiHandle;

spi_device_interface_config_t spiDeviceConfig = {};
spiDeviceConfig.clock_speed_hz = SPI_MASTER_FREQ_40M;
spiDeviceConfig.spics_io_num = LCD_PIN_CS;
spiDeviceConfig.queue_size = 1;
spiDeviceConfig.flags = SPI_DEVICE_NO_DUMMY;

ESP_ERROR_CHECK(spi_bus_add_device(VSPI_HOST, &spiDeviceConfig, &gSpiHandle));

• clock_speed_hz — - , SPI 40 , . 80 , .
• spics_io_num — CS, IDF CS, ( SD- SPI).
• queue_size — 1, ( ).
• flags - the IDF SPI driver usually inserts empty bits in the transmission to avoid timing problems during reading from the SPI device, but we perform one-way transmission (we will not read from the display). SPI_DEVICE_NO_DUMMY reports that we confirm this one-way transmission and we do not need to insert empty bits.

gpio_set_direction(LCD_PIN_DC, GPIO_MODE_OUTPUT);
gpio_set_direction(LCD_PIN_BACKLIGHT, GPIO_MODE_OUTPUT);

Teams

1. We give a low signal to DC
2. We send one byte of the command
3. We give a high signal to DC
4. Send zero or more bytes, depending on the requirements of the command
5. Repeat steps 1-4

typedef enum
{
	SOFTWARE_RESET = 0x01u,
	SLEEP_OUT = 0x11u,
	DISPLAY_ON = 0x29u,
	COLUMN_ADDRESS_SET = 0x2Au,
	PAGE_ADDRESS_SET = 0x2Bu,
	MEMORY_WRITE = 0x2Cu,
	MEMORY_ACCESS_CONTROL = 0x36u,
	PIXEL_FORMAT_SET = 0x3Au,
} CommandCode;

Launch

typedef struct
{
	CommandCode code;
	uint8_t parameters[15];
	uint8_t length;
} StartupCommand;

• code is the command code.
• parameters is an array of command parameters (if any). This is a static array of size 15, because this is the maximum number of parameters we need. Due to the static nature of the array, we don’t have to worry about allocating a dynamic array for each command every time.
• length is the number of parameters in the parameters array .

StartupCommand gStartupCommands[] =
{
	// Reset to defaults
	{
		SOFTWARE_RESET,
		{},
		0
	},

	// Landscape Mode
	// Top-Left Origin
	// BGR Panel
	{
		MEMORY_ACCESS_CONTROL,
		{0x20 | 0xC0 | 0x08},
		1
	},

	// 16 bits per pixel
	{
		PIXEL_FORMAT_SET,
		{0x55},
		1
	},

	// Exit sleep mode
	{
		SLEEP_OUT,
		{},
		0
	},

	// Turn on the display
	{
		DISPLAY_ON,
		{},
		0
	},
};

• Landscape Mode: By default, the display uses portrait orientation (240x320), but we want to use landscape (320x240).
• Top-Left Origin: (0,0) , ( ) .
• BGR Panel: , BGR. , , , , .

• 16 bits per pixel: 16- .

#define BYTES_TO_BITS(value) ( (value) * 8 )

void SendCommandCode(CommandCode code)
{
	spi_transaction_t transaction = {};

	transaction.length = BYTES_TO_BITS(1);
	transaction.tx_data[0] = (uint8_t)code;
	transaction.flags = SPI_TRANS_USE_TXDATA;

	gpio_set_level(LCD_PIN_DC, 0);
	spi_device_transmit(gSpiHandle, &transaction);
}

void SendCommandParameters(uint8_t* data, int length)
{
	spi_transaction_t transaction = {};

	transaction.length = BYTES_TO_BITS(length);
	transaction.tx_buffer = data;
	transaction.flags = 0;

	gpio_set_level(LCD_PIN_DC, 1);
	spi_device_transmit(SPIHANDLE, &transaction);
}

#define ARRAY_COUNT(value) ( sizeof(value) / sizeof(value[0]) )

int commandCount = ARRAY_COUNT(gStartupCommands);

for (int commandIndex = 0; commandIndex < commandCount; ++commandIndex)
{
	StartupCommand* command = &gStartupCommands[commandIndex];

	SendCommandCode(command->code);

	if (command->length > 0)
	{
		SendCommandData(command->parameters, command->length);
	}
}

Frame drawing

#define UPPER_BYTE_16(value) ( (value) >> 8u )
#define LOWER_BYTE_16(value) ( (value) & 0xFFu )

void Odroid_DrawFrame(uint8_t* buffer)
{
	// Set drawing window width to (0, LCD_WIDTH)
    uint8_t drawWidth[] = { 0, 0, UPPER_BYTE_16(LCD_WIDTH), LOWER_BYTE_16(LCD_WIDTH) };
	SendCommandCode(COLUMN_ADDRESS_SET);
	SendCommandParameters(drawWidth, ARRAY_COUNT(drawWidth));

	// Set drawing window height to (0, LCD_HEIGHT)
    uint8_t drawHeight[] = { 0, 0, UPPER_BYTE_16(LCD_HEIGHT), LOWER_BYTE_16(LCD_HEIGHT) };
	SendCommandCode(PAGE_ADDRESS_SET);
	SendCommandParameters(drawHeight, ARRAY_COUNT(drawHeight));

	// Send the buffer to the display
	SendCommandCode(MEMORY_WRITE);
	SendCommandParameters(buffer, LCD_WIDTH * LCD_HEIGHT * LCD_DEPTH);
}

• We can create another FreeRTOS task (task), which is responsible for coordinating SPI transactions.
• You can transfer a frame not in one, but in several transactions.
• You can use non-blocking transmission, in which we initiate the sending, and then continue to perform other operations.
• You can use any combination of the above methods.

RGB565 and byte order

#define SWAP_ENDIAN_16(value) ( (((value) & 0xFFu) << 8u) | ((value) >> 8u)  )
#define RGB565(red, green, blue) ( SWAP_ENDIAN_16( ((red) << 11u) | ((green) << 5u) | (blue) ) )

Demo

void app_main(void)
{
	Odroid_InitializeInput();
	Odroid_InitializeDisplay();

	ESP_LOGI(LOG_TAG, "Odroid initialization complete - entering main loop");

	uint16_t* framebuffer = (uint16_t*)heap_caps_malloc(320 * 240 * 2, MALLOC_CAP_DMA);
	assert(framebuffer);

	int x = 0;
	int y = 0;

	uint16_t color = 0xffff;

	for (;;)
	{
		memset(framebuffer, 0, 320 * 240 * 2);

		Odroid_Input input = Odroid_PollInput();

		if (input.left) { x -= 10; }
		else if (input.right) { x += 10; }

		if (input.up) { y -= 10; }
		else if (input.down) { y += 10; }

		if (input.a) { color = RGB565(0xff, 0, 0); }
		else if (input.b) { color = RGB565(0, 0xff, 0); }
		else if (input.start) { color = RGB565(0, 0, 0xff); }

		for (int row = y; row < y + 50; ++row)
		{
			for (int col = x; col < x + 50; ++col)
			{
				framebuffer[320 * row + col] = color;
			}
		}

		Odroid_DrawFrame(framebuffer);
	}

	// Should never get here
	esp_restart();
}

Source

References

• Odroid go schematic
• Go play
• ESP-IDF Documentation: SPI Master
• LCD Driver Datasheet