Ninjix

Ninjix is the larger game port included with Machine Lab. It came from a previous Minix-style final project and is useful because it shows that the labs lead to real application structure, not only isolated device functions.

What It Exercises

• keyboard and mouse input;
• framebuffer rendering;
• menus, overlays, panels, and HUD text;
• audio hooks;
• profiling and frame timing;
• reusable device libraries;
• a UART multiplayer protocol;
• paired runtime execution.

Why It Matters

Small examples prove one device at a time. Ninjix proves that the device pieces can support a full reactive program:

• input is translated into application events;
• rendering is separated from game state;
• timers drive progression;
• serial messages coordinate two hosted programs;
• deterministic smoke scripts make a large project testable.

Run It

machinelab run build/examples/ninjix

For multiplayer:

machinelab run-pair build/examples/ninjix --right build/examples/ninjix

In interactive multiplayer, select Multiplayer in both windows, then choose opposite ATTACK and DEFEND roles.

For a fast deterministic smoke test:

machinelab run-pair --headless build/examples/ninjix \
  --right build/examples/ninjix --max-ticks 900

For a longer authored demo:

machinelab run --headless --script scripts/ninjix_level1_demo.mlabscript \
  --dump-frame build/ninjix.ppm -- build/examples/ninjix

Teaching Notes

Ninjix is a good final-project reference when students ask:

• how large should a state machine be?
• where should input parsing stop and application logic begin?
• how should rendering helpers be organized?
• what does a serial protocol look like inside a game?
• how can a project remain demoable and testable?

It should not be treated as the starter template. It is evidence of the target scale, not the minimum expected project.