arduino flappy bird
Programming Technology 

Arduino – Flappy Bird Game on Arduino Nano

Gabriel Nix

A little over a year ago, a few of my friends offered a challenge I couldn’t refuse. Program a game on an Arduino in less than 24 hours – STARTING NOW. The stakes – nothing but pride. I quickly brainstormed what would be a quick and easy game to program for an Arduino. With no time to spare, I decided to make a Flappy Bird clone.

I rolled up my sleeves (not really) and spent the next 10 or so hours feverishly pounding away on my keyboard. Later that evening, I emerged from a psychotic like coma having impressed even myself. Check out what I came up with in the video below.

Not too shabby huh? That was the first game I ever programmed and I came out of the challenge with time to spare. I’d call that a mission success.

arduino flappy bird gameplay
Action shot of Flappy Bird clone game-play on an Arduino Nano.

If you’re interested, I’ve posted the code below as well as on GitHub. Keep in mind that this project was about getting this programmed as fast as possible. The code is exactly how it was written at the time – quick and dirty. So I don’t want to hear any complaining from purists that “it’s not semantic” or “there’s not enough comments”, or “you declared that var wrong” – blah blah blah…

I may decide to post a more in-depth article, or even update this one. Of course that will all depend on how much love I get from you guys. So if you like the project, let me know. If you have questions, please ask them in the comments section below. Also, you may contact me privately through any social network listed on the Contact Page.

This project was programmed on the Arduino Nano, so you may need to switch some pins depending on your rig.

Project Requirements:

Here’s the code: (also available at GitHub: https://github.com/gabenix/Arduino_Flappy_Bird)


#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_PCD8544>
#include "pitches.h"

#define melodyPin 8
int melody[] = {
	NOTE_E7, NOTE_E7, 0, NOTE_E7, 
	0, NOTE_C7, NOTE_E7, 0,
	NOTE_G7, 0, 0,  0,
	NOTE_G6, 0, 0, 0, 

	NOTE_C7, 0, 0, NOTE_G6, 
	0, 0, NOTE_E6, 0, 
	0, NOTE_A6, 0, NOTE_B6, 
	0, NOTE_AS6, NOTE_A6, 0, 

	NOTE_G6, NOTE_E7, NOTE_G7, 
	NOTE_A7, 0, NOTE_F7, NOTE_G7, 
	0, NOTE_E7, 0,NOTE_C7, 
	NOTE_D7, NOTE_B6, 0, 0,

	NOTE_C7, 0, 0, NOTE_G6, 
	0, 0, NOTE_E6, 0, 
	0, NOTE_A6, 0, NOTE_B6, 
	0, NOTE_AS6, NOTE_A6, 0, 

	NOTE_G6, NOTE_E7, NOTE_G7, 
	NOTE_A7, 0, NOTE_F7, NOTE_G7, 
	0, NOTE_E7, 0,NOTE_C7, 
	NOTE_D7, NOTE_B6, 0, 0
};

//Mario main them tempo
int tempo[] = {
	12, 12, 12, 12, 
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12, 

	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12, 
	12, 12, 12, 12, 
	12, 12, 12, 12, 

	9, 9, 9,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,

	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,

	9, 9, 9,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
	12, 12, 12, 12,
};

// pin 7 - Serial clock out (SCLK)
// pin 6 - Serial data out (DIN)
// pin 5 - Data/Command select (D/C)
// pin 4 - LCD chip select (CS)
// pin 3 - LCD reset (RST)
  
Adafruit_PCD8544 display = Adafruit_PCD8544(7, 6, 5, 4, 3);

static unsigned char PROGMEM splash[] = {
B00000000,B10000000,B00000011,B11000111,B10000000,B00000000,B00000011,B11100000,B00000011,B11100111,
B11000000,B00000000,B00000111,B11100000,B00000111,B11111111,B11100000,B00000000,B00000111,B11100000,
B00000111,B11111111,B11100000,B00000000,B00000100,B01100000,B00000111,B11111111,B11100000,B00000000,
B00000100,B01100000,B00000111,B11111111,B11110000,B00000000,B00000110,B01100000,B00000111,B11111111,
B11110000,B00000000,B11111110,B01100000,B11001111,B11111111,B11110000,B00000000,B11111110,B00111111,
B11111111,B11111111,B11110011,B11000000,B11000110,B00111000,B00011111,B11111111,B11111111,B11000000,
B11000110,B00110000,B00001100,B00011000,B00110011,B00100000,B11001110,B00110001,B10001100,B00011000,
B00110011,B00110000,B10000110,B00111110,B00001100,B10011001,B00110001,B00110000,B10000110,B00111000,
B00001100,B10011001,B00111000,B00110000,B11001111,B00110001,B10001100,B10011001,B00111000,B00110000,
B11001111,B00110001,B10001100,B10011001,B00111000,B00110000,B11001111,B00110000,B00001100,B00011000,
B00111000,B01110000,B11001111,B00110000,B00001100,B00011000,B00111100,B01110000,B11001111,B00111111,
B11111100,B11111001,B11111110,B01110000,B11001111,B00111111,B11111100,B11111001,B11111110,B01110000,
B11001111,B11111111,B11111100,B11111001,B11111110,B01100000,B11001111,B11011100,B00001111,B11111111,
B11111100,B11100000,B01001111,B00000000,B01111111,B11101111,B11011101,B00000000,B01111100,B00000000,
B00000001,B11000011,B10011110,B00000000,B00111000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,
B00001000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B11000000,B00000000,B00000111,
B11100000,B00000000,B00000001,B11100011,B10000000,B00000111,B11110000,B00000000,B00000001,B11100111,
B10000000,B00001111,B11111000,B00000000,B00000011,B11110111,B11000000,B00001111,B11111000,B00000000,
B00000011,B01110111,B11001111,B11111111,B11111000,B00000000,B00000010,B01111011,B11111111,B11111111,
B11111000,B00000000,B00000010,B01111111,B11110001,B00011111,B11111000,B00000000,B00000010,B01111111,
B11110000,B00011111,B10001000,B00000000,B00000010,B00111110,B01110000,B01111111,B10001000,B00000000,
B00000011,B00001110,B00110000,B11111111,B10001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00000111,B11110000,B11111000,
B00001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00100110,B00110000,B11110000,B00001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00100010,
B00110000,B11110001,B00001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00100010,B00110000,B11110011,B10001000,B00000000,
B00000001,B00100010,B00111000,B11110011,B10001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00100010,B00111000,B11110011,
B00001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00100110,B00111111,B11110000,B00001000,B00000000,B00000001,B00000110,
B00111111,B11111000,B00001000,B00000000,B00000001,B11111110,B01111111,B11111111,B11110000,B00000000,
B00000000,B00000011,B11111111,B11111111,B11100000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000011,B11111111,B11100000,
B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B00000000,B11001111,B11100000,B00000000,B00000000};  

static unsigned char PROGMEM bullet[] = {
B00000000,
B01011011,
B10111111,
B11111011,
B11111111,
B11111111,
B01111011,
B00000000};

static unsigned char PROGMEM bird[6][8] = {
{ B11000000, 
  B10100000,
  B10011100,
  B10001010,
  B10000111,
  B11000110,
  B01000100,
  B00111000
  },
  
{ B00000000, 
  B00000000,
  B11111100,
  B10001010,
  B11100111,
  B10000110,
  B11000100,
  B00111000
  },
  
{ B00000000, 
  B00000000,
  B00111100,
  B01001010,
  B10010111,
  B10100110,
  B11000100,
  B00111000
  },
  
{ B00011111, 
  B00101011,
  B00100111,
  B01010001,
  B10001010,
  B11001010,
  B01101100,
  B00011000
  },
  
{ B00110000, 
  B01101000,
  B01000110,
  B10001001,
  B11110011,
  B01000101,
  B00110111,
  B00001111,
  },
  
{ B00011111, 
  B00010101,
  B00100101,
  B00100001,
  B00100011,
  B00011101,
  B00001110,
  B00000100
  }
};

unsigned long clock = 0;
unsigned long timerDelay = 0;
unsigned long fallTimer = 0;

int score = 0;

int highScore = 0;

int buttonState = 0;
boolean buttonActive = true;
int boost = 0;
int height = 10;
int fallSpeed = 0;
 
int flap[] = {0,2,3,3,2,1,1};

int sewer1 = 84;
int sewer2 = 126;
int sewerSpeed = 2;

int gap1 = 7;
int gap2 = 14;

int hills[84]; 
int hillSlope = 1;
int hillTop = 26;
int shade = 0;

int song = 0;

void sing(int s){ // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THEME SONG      

	song = s;

	int size = sizeof(melody) / sizeof(int);
	for (int thisNote = 0; thisNote < size; thisNote++) {
		int noteDuration = 1000/tempo[thisNote];
		buzz(melodyPin, melody[thisNote],noteDuration);
		int pauseBetweenNotes = noteDuration * .4;
		delay(pauseBetweenNotes);
		buttonState = digitalRead(2);
		buzz(melodyPin, 0,noteDuration);
		display.clearDisplay();     
		background();
		display.fillRect(24, 30, 29, 14, WHITE);
		display.drawBitmap(17, 0, splash, 48, 48, 1);
		display.display();
		buttonState = digitalRead(2);
		if(buttonState == LOW){break;}
	}
}

void buzz(int targetPin, long frequency, long length) {
	long delayValue = 1000000/frequency/2; 
	long numCycles = frequency * length/ 1000; 
	for (long i=0; i < numCycles; i++){ 
		digitalWrite(targetPin,HIGH); 
		delayMicroseconds(delayValue);
		digitalWrite(targetPin,LOW);
		delayMicroseconds(delayValue);
	}
}

void background(){ // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BACKGROUND
  
	display.fillRect(0, 46, 83, 2, BLACK); 

	if(hills[83] < hillTop){hillSlope = 0; hillTop = random(20, 40);}
	if(hills[83] > 45){hillSlope = 1;}
	if(hillSlope == 1){hills[83] = hills[83] - 1;}
	if(hillSlope == 0){hills[83] = hills[83] + 1;}

	//if (hills[83] % 2 == 0){shade = 1;}
	//else {shade = 0;}

	for (int i = 0; i < 83; i = i++) {                            
		hills[i] = hills[i+1]; 
		display.drawPixel(i+1, hills[i], BLACK);
		display.drawFastVLine(i+1, hills[i], 3, BLACK);
		//display.drawLine(i+1, hills[i], (i+1) * 2, hills[i] + ((i+1) * 2), BLACK);}
			
			if (i % 2 == 0){
			  display.drawLine(i+1, hills[i], (i+1) * 2, hills[i] + ((i+1) * 2), BLACK);}
			  //display.drawFastVLine(i+1, hills[i], -(hills[i]), BLACK); }  
	}
}  


int bullet1 = 3;
int bullet2 = 36;
int bulletTravel1 = 150;
int bulletTravel2 = 250;



void bullets() { // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BULLETS

	if (bulletTravel1 < 0){
		bulletTravel1 = 150;
		bullet1 = random(1, 6);
	}
	if (bulletTravel2 < 0){
		bulletTravel2 = 150;
		bullet2 = random(35, 39);
	}

	bulletTravel1 = bulletTravel1 - 4;
	bulletTravel2 = bulletTravel2 - 4;

	if (bulletTravel1 >= 84 && bulletTravel1 <= 88){for(int i = 300; i < 450; i++){tone(8, i, 100);}}
	if (bulletTravel2 >= 84 && bulletTravel2 <= 88){for(int i = 300; i < 450; i++){tone(8, i, 100);}}

	display.drawBitmap(bulletTravel1, bullet1, bullet, 8, 8, 1);
	display.drawBitmap(bulletTravel2, bullet2, bullet, 8, 8, 1);
}

void sewers() { // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEWERS

	if (sewer1 < 0){
		sewer1 = 84;
		gap1 = random(5, 20);
	}
	if (sewer2 < 0){
		sewer2 = 84;
		gap2 = random(5, 20);
	}

	if(score == 4){sewerSpeed = 3;}

	sewer1 = sewer1 - sewerSpeed;
	sewer2 = sewer2 - sewerSpeed;

	display.fillRect(sewer1 - 1, 0, 8, gap1 - 4, WHITE);         // Top Tube
	display.fillRect(sewer1 - 2, gap1 - 4, 10, 4, WHITE);        // Top Cap

	display.fillRect(sewer1 - 2, gap1 + 20, 10, 4, WHITE);       // Bottom Cap
	display.fillRect(sewer1 - 1, gap1 + 24, 8, 20, WHITE);       // Bottom Tube

	display.fillRect(sewer2 - 1, 0, 8, gap2 - 4, WHITE);         // Top Tube
	display.fillRect(sewer2 - 2, gap2 - 4, 10, 4, WHITE);        // Top Cap

	display.fillRect(sewer2 - 2, gap2 + 20, 10, 4, WHITE);       // Bottom Cap
	display.fillRect(sewer2 - 1, gap2 + 24, 8, 20, WHITE);       // Bottom Tube  

	display.drawRect(sewer1 - 1, 0, 8, gap1 - 4, BLACK);         // Top Tube
	display.drawRect(sewer1 - 2, gap1 - 4, 10, 4, BLACK);        // Top Cap

	display.drawRect(sewer1 - 2, gap1 + 20, 10, 4, BLACK);       // Bottom Cap
	display.drawRect(sewer1 - 1, gap1 + 24, 8, 20, BLACK);       // Bottom Tube

	display.drawRect(sewer2 - 1, 0, 8, gap2 - 4, BLACK);         // Top Tube
	display.drawRect(sewer2 - 2, gap2 - 4, 10, 4, BLACK);        // Top Cap

	display.drawRect(sewer2 - 2, gap2 + 20, 10, 4, BLACK);       // Bottom Cap
	display.drawRect(sewer2 - 1, gap2 + 24, 8, 20, BLACK);       // Bottom Tube  
}
  
void scores() { // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORES
	if(sewer1 <= 11 && sewer1 >= 9 || sewer2 <= 11 && sewer2 >= 9){
		score++;
		for(int i = 1500; i > 1000; i--){tone(8, i, 50);}
	}
	display.setCursor(71,0);
	display.fillRect(70, 0, 9, 9, WHITE); 
	display.println(score);
  }

void collision() { // ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ COLLISION
	if(height + 1 < gap1 && sewer1 <= 26 && sewer1 >= 14){died();}
	if(height + 8 > gap1+20 && sewer1 <= 26 && sewer1 >= 14){died();}
	if(height + 1 < gap2 && sewer2 <= 26 && sewer2 >= 14){died();}
	if(height + 8 > gap2+20 && sewer2 <= 26 && sewer2 >= 14){died();}

	if(height < bullet1 + 6 && bulletTravel1 <= 26 && bulletTravel1 >= 14){died();}
	if(height > bullet2 && bulletTravel2 <= 26 && bulletTravel2 >= 14){died();}

	if(height + 8 > 39){died();}
  }

void died() { // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIED

	buttonActive = false;
	tone(8, 500, 100);
	delay(200);
	tone(8, 500, 100);
	delay(100);
	tone(8, 300, 500);
  
	if(score > highScore){highScore = score;}
	while(height < 39){
		clock = millis();
		fallSpeed = ((clock - fallTimer) / 200) + 1; 
		height = height + fallSpeed;
		display.clearDisplay();   
		background();
		sewers(); 
		bullets();  
		display.fillCircle(23, height + 4, 3, WHITE);    
		if (fallSpeed > 2){display.drawBitmap(18, height, bird[5], 8, 8, 1);}
		else if (fallSpeed > 1){display.drawBitmap(18, height, bird[4], 8, 8, 1);}
		else {display.drawBitmap(18, height, bird[1], 8, 8, 1);}       
		scores();
		display.display();
		delay(100);  
	}
	display.fillRect(13, 7, 56, 32, WHITE);
	display.drawRect(14, 8, 54, 30, BLACK); 
	display.setCursor(25,11);
	display.println("SCORE");
	display.setCursor(27,21);
	display.setTextSize(2);
	display.println(score);
	display.setTextSize(1);
	display.display();
	buttonState = digitalRead(2);
	while(buttonState == HIGH){
		buttonState = digitalRead(2);
		delay(40);
	}
	score = 0;
	buttonActive = true;
	sewer1 = 84;
	sewer2 = 126;
	sewerSpeed = 2;
	bulletTravel1 = 150;
	bulletTravel2 = 250;
	bullet1 = random(1, 4);
	bullet2 = random(35, 39);
	boost = 0;
	height = 10;
	fallSpeed = 0;
	clock = millis();
	fallTimer = clock;
}

void gamePlay(){// -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAMEPLAY

	int flapHeight[] = {height,height,height - 5,height - 7,height - 9,height - 7,height - 6};
	buttonState = digitalRead(2);

	if(buttonState == LOW && buttonActive == true){
		for(int i = 900; i < 1400; i++){tone(8, i, 20);}
		for(int x = 0; x < 7; x = x++){ 
			display.clearDisplay();
			background();
			sewers();
			bullets();
			display.fillCircle(23, (flapHeight[x] - boost) + 4, 3, WHITE);
			display.drawBitmap(18, flapHeight[x] - boost, bird[flap[x]], 8, 8, 1);
			scores();
			display.display();
			buttonState = digitalRead(2);
			delay(50);
			buttonState = digitalRead(2);
			delay(50);
			buttonState = digitalRead(2);
			height = flapHeight[x] - boost;
			collision();
			if (x > 2) {
				if(buttonState == LOW && buttonActive == true){x = 0;boost = boost + 7;for(int i = 900; i < 1400; i++){tone(8, i, 20);}}
			}
		}
		height = flapHeight[5] - boost;
		clock = millis();
		fallTimer = clock;
		boost = 0;
	}

	else{ 
		fallSpeed = ((clock - fallTimer) / 400) + 1;
		if (fallSpeed > 3) {fallSpeed = 3;}
		height = height + fallSpeed;

		if (height > 39){height = 39;}
		display.clearDisplay();

		background();
		sewers();
		bullets();

		display.fillCircle(23, height + 4, 3, WHITE);

		if (fallSpeed > 2){display.drawBitmap(18, height, bird[5], 8, 8, 1);}
		else if (fallSpeed > 1){display.drawBitmap(18, height, bird[4], 8, 8, 1);}
		else {display.drawBitmap(18, height, bird[1], 8, 8, 1);}
		   
		scores();

		display.display();
		delay(100);
		collision();
	}    
}
// ----------------------------------------- SETUP ----------------------------------------- 

void setup() {    
	display.clearDisplay();
	pinMode(2, INPUT_PULLUP);
	//pinMode(3, OUTPUT);

	display.begin();
	display.setContrast(50);
	display.setTextSize(1);

	for (int i = 0; i < 83; i = i++) {hills[i] = 47;}
	hills[83] = 47;

	while(hills[0] > 30){background();}

	buttonState = digitalRead(2); 
	while(buttonState == HIGH){
	sing(1);   
	}
}

// --------------------------------------- MAIN LOOP --------------------------------------- 

void loop() {
	clock = millis();
	gamePlay();
}

Gabriel Nix

Just another blogger. I'm also passionate about graphic design, programming, photography, circuitry, technology, philosophy, religion, and the human experience.

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3 thoughts on “Arduino – Flappy Bird Game on Arduino Nano”

  • luiz
    June 5, 2017 at 6:39 pm
    Permalink

    got this error:

    exit status 1
    variable ‘splash’ must be const in order to be put into read-only section by means of ‘__attribute__((progmem))’

    • luiz
      June 5, 2017 at 6:44 pm
      Permalink

      fixed, but now its prompting:
      expected initializer before ‘splash’

  • Thierry
    September 25, 2017 at 9:39 am
    Permalink

    Cool! what is your pin layout? 🙂

Comments are closed.