Elektronika in the Soviet Union created a series of handheld games in the 80s (Электроника ИМ) similar to the Nintendo's Game & Watch. How were the electronics in these games designed, especially Электроника ИМ 19 Биатлон/biathalon which is not a 100% clone of Nintendo? Given the hardcoded nature of the original Nintendo games, how would the cloned copies add different functionality?
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2I think this is on the broad side. Are you referring to circuit (electronics) design, to game design (what to do and when), to design of the in-game graphics and other elements, or what?– userOct 18, 2017 at 14:16
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@MichaelKjörling good call, I'm interested in the electronics part.– Michael ShopsinOct 18, 2017 at 14:17
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1Perhaps narrow it down a bit by offering one or more theories which people here can confirm or debunk?– snips-n-snailsOct 18, 2017 at 15:17
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1This question has been put on hold as too broad. Editing the question will automatically put it in the re-open queue - if it is deemed to be narrow enough to be answerable it will be reopened.– wizzwizz4 ♦Oct 18, 2017 at 15:52
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1I do not think they where clones as for such simple games reversing functionality was much more easier and less expensive then clone ICs. Also If I remember correctly they did not have any CPU in socket but the epoxid enclosed hybrid thing directly glued to PCB (like on watches and calculators at that time) which suggest it was some kind custom made SLA (sequence logic automat). But I am no expert in the matter ...– SpektreOct 19, 2017 at 7:29
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1 Answer
Given that the clock part in the Электроника ИМ series, according to the wiki page, was not modified to support the customary in the USSR 24-hour mode, it is likely that there was no electronic design whatsoever, and the only thing that was designed anew were the new game scenarios and the new LCD panels that could be supported by the existing underlying game mechanisms.
Small differences in the displayed picture could be handled by a few additional discrete logic elements. For example, the target in the Biathlon game corresponds to the last (lowest) position of an egg, but when it is displayed, the figure of a biathlonist should not disappear. Therefore the signal to display it would be a logical OR of the signal "egg in the lowest position" and the signal "egg in the next to lowest position".
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Thanks for explaining how a copied piece of electronics could be extended or modified without changing the underlying design. Oct 31, 2017 at 15:18