Tiny Tapeout 8 : Sea Battle

Among the most intriguing projects within TT8 is "Sea Battle", a silicon implementation of the classic battleship game. Sea Battle represents a unique blend of creativity and technical prowess, using a traditional game framework to explore and demonstrate the possibilities of custom chip design.

Game Concept

The Sea Battle project aims to recreate the game on a chip, where players take turns guessing the coordinates of enemy ships hidden on a grid. Each time a player guesses a coordinate, the chip processes whether it’s a hit or miss. The design includes memory to store ship positions, logic to determine hits and misses, and a feedback mechanism to communicate results.

How Sea Battle Pushes Boundaries

While it may seem simple, Sea Battle introduces several advanced concepts within a compact design:

• Efficient use of logic gates: The game relies on logical operations to process coordinates and hits, showcasing how even a complex game can be built using limited resources.
• Memory management: Ships’ positions need to be stored and retrieved quickly during the game, which challenges designers to consider memory usage and access efficiency.
• Interactivity in hardware: Games like Sea Battle highlight the potential for interactive systems on custom silicon, demonstrating the possibilities beyond just static computation.

The Sea Battle project within TT8 focuses on an interactive game and demonstrates the potential for fun, educational, and practical applications in semiconductor design. It can inspire engineers, hobbyists, and educators to explore interactive logic designs that go beyond theoretical use cases.

The Value of Projects Like Sea Battle in Tiny Tapeout 8

Sea Battle isn’t just a game—it’s a testament to how far we’ve come in making custom silicon accessible. By working within the constraints of the TT8 framework, designers are forced to innovate, think efficiently, and find creative solutions to technical challenges.

Moreover, Sea Battle and other similar projects provide incredible learning opportunities. For new designers, building a game like Sea Battle introduces essential skills in digital design, including:

• Logical thinking: Translating a real-world game into logic circuits challenges designers to think in terms of gates, flip-flops, and registers.
• Resource optimization: Designers must balance functionality with limited resources like chip area and power consumption.
• Verification and testing: Ensuring that a game like Sea Battle runs smoothly requires careful simulation, verification, and testing, all of which are critical skills in the hardware design world.

Conclusion

As Tiny Tapeout continues to expand, projects like Sea Battle show that even classic games can serve as a proving ground for innovation in custom silicon design. Whether you’re an experienced engineer or just stepping into the world of semiconductors, TT8 and the Sea Battle project invite you to explore, learn, and—most importantly—innovate.

Links:

1. https://tinytapeout.com/runs/tt08/
2. https://tinytapeout.com/runs/tt08/tt_um_yuri_panchul_sea_battle_vga_game
3. https://repositories.efabless.com/urish/tinytapeout-08/tree/main