Konami Compass State Machines

Description:

I designed and implemented two state machines using behavioral SystemVerilog and case statements. The first was a Moore state machine that recognized the famous Konami Code sequence: UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, START. I began by drawing the state transition diagram, then translated it into Verilog logic that advanced through each state based on button inputs and reset conditions. Once the sequence was correctly entered, the circuit asserted a signal indicating the cheat code was unlocked. The second design was a Mealy state machine called Compass, which detected the sequence 0110 based on two-bit directional joystick inputs representing North, East, South, and West. I implemented valid input timing and debounce logic to ensure accurate state transitions and demonstrated the design on the FPGA by using LEDs to visualize state changes and a joystick to provide direction inputs. This part of the lab strengthened my understanding of sequential logic design, input synchronization, and practical state machine implementation on hardware.