Lately, I've been trying out the game SHENZHEN I/O ( https://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io/ ), and have really enjoyed the assembly-like coding-based puzzle solving. So, this video is trying something new: playing a game on stream in order to teach. We played through parts of the game from the beginning, while I explain assembly concepts as we go! The assembly isn't "real", but many of the things you learn relate quite closely to concepts in real-world embedded and assembly programming.

6.828 (now 6.1810): https://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/
 
0:00:00 Introducing SHENZHEN I/O
0:05:20 The first puzzle
0:07:37 The instruction set
0:20:53 Finishing first puzzle
0:24:57 Second puzzle: handling input
0:29:49 Third puzzle: conditionals
0:44:38 Fourth puzzle: compound signals
1:10:46 Fifth puzzle: discrete output
1:26:03 Sixth puzzle: arithmetic
1:30:20 Seventh puzzle: handling time
1:45:48 Eight puzzle: discrete inputs
2:21:09 Relation to "real" embedded programming
2:32:18 How to actually learn assembly

Live version with chat: https://youtube.com/live/wBREOhqYAPE

Jon Gjengset

A live stream using the puzzle game SHENZHEN I/O as a gentle introduction to assembly programming concepts. The host walks through early game puzzles while explaining real assembly concepts including registers, memory, instruction sets, flags, conditional branching, calling conventions, interrupts, and the constraints of embedded systems. The game's simplified instruction set and hardware simulation serve as an accessible on-ramp to understanding how CPUs work at a low level, with explicit comparisons drawn between the game's mechanics and real x86/ARM assembly behavior throughout.

Explaining assembly by playing SHENZHEN I/O