pxt-coderdojo-controller

This is an open-source, low-cost, do-it-yourself game controller for the micro:bit. You cannot purchase a finished product. Instead, you'll need to gather all the components and assemble it yourself or with your class.
Read more in the hardware section for a detailed building guide

Features

• 8 buttons: Up, Down, Left, Right, X, Y, A, B
• 2x AAA batteries, On/Off switch, and LED indicator
• Built-in speaker and customizable red LED
• Micro USB cable storage compartment
• Protection against short circuits and incorrect I/O usage
• Compatible with micro:bit v1.x and v2.x
• Over 100 hours of battery life

Usage

Creating software for this controller can be done with Microsoft MakeCode for micro:bit

• Create a new project and give it a name of your choice
• Click on Extensions in the block menu
• Search for coderDojo-controller and click on the thumbnail

After adding the extension, you'll find the specific blocks for this controller under Dojo Controller

The blocks work the same as the standard micro:bit A and B buttons and can be used in 2 ways:

• An event driven approach: use the on button pressed block. The code inside gets executed when a button is pressed/clicked. The behaviour can be changed to execute the code if the button is released instead.

coderDojoController.onButtonPress(CoderDojoButtonID.X, CoderDojoButtonEvent.Pressed, function () {
    coderDojoController.setRedLed(CoderDojoLedState.On)
})

coderDojoController.onButtonPress(CoderDojoButtonID.X, CoderDojoButtonEvent.Released, function () {
    coderDojoController.setRedLed(CoderDojoLedState.Off)
})

• Alternatively, a loop driven approach can be used with a standard if block combined with the button is pressed function. The code inside the if block will be executed multiple times, as long as the button is being pressed.

basic.forever(function () {
    if (coderDojoController.buttonIsPressed(CoderDojoButton.X, CoderDojoButtonState.Pressed)) {
        coderDojoController.setRedLed(CoderDojoLedState.On)
    } else {
        coderDojoController.setRedLed(CoderDojoLedState.Off)
    }
})

Note that the A and B buttons on the micro:bit have the same function as the A and B buttons on the controller. You can use the extension without the controller hardware and have the extra buttons available when plugged into the controller.

Build

cd into project folder
npm install pxt
pxt target microbit
pxt gendocs --locs
if needed: update translations in _locales/
pxt build

Supported targets

• for PXT/microbit (The metadata above is needed for package search.)

License

MIT