Shrinking traditional gaming consoles into handheld variations has lengthy been a favourite pastime of electronics hobbyists. It’s interesting on quite a few fronts. First, there may be the problem of reengineering the system such that the {hardware} can match right into a a lot smaller house than was initially meant. Furthermore, the novelty of carrying a Tremendous Nintendo, Nintendo 64, or comparable console within the palm of your hand is interesting to many — to not point out the confused seems you might be certain to get from individuals that can’t recall that individual transportable gadget ever being launched.
YouTuber LukeMods has an extended historical past of shrinking consoles into handheld methods, beginning with a really slick Nintendo 64 construct. However that’s previous information now, so when LukeMods bought the urge to construct a brand new handheld, a unique path was chosen. On this case, the goal was an arcade recreation referred to as Sound Voltex. For these unfamiliar with the title, it’s a rhythm recreation one thing like Beatmania IIDX or Arcaea. Gamers need to hit buttons that symbolize the notes approaching on-screen at simply the proper time to rack up massive factors.
A take a look at the {hardware} throughout meeting (📷: LukeMods)
This mission was made infinitely simpler by ignoring all the {hardware} contained in the precise arcade cupboard, and as a substitute selecting to make use of Unnamed SDVX clone, which recreates the Sound Voltex expertise on any Linux, macOS, or Home windows machine. With the software program sorted out, a Raspberry Pi 4 single-board laptop was chosen to run it. A 3.5-inch touchscreen show was hooked up to the Raspberry Pi, and nearly all of the system’s performance was discovered.
A Teensy 3.2 growth board was included to help with dealing with the inputs and serving as a controller. Seven giant arcade-style buttons (with LED backlighting) and a pair of rotary encoders have been chosen to be used as inputs. A speaker and customized audio amplifier have been put in to help sound output. The gadget runs off of a pair of 18650 rechargeable batteries.
The {hardware} was all fitted right into a customized, 3D-printed case that appears considerably like an outsized Recreation Boy. It might not idiot anybody into pondering it’s a industrial system, nevertheless it seems fairly good all the identical.
Sound Voltex could also be one thing of a distinct segment recreation, however the platform developed by LukeMods is kind of versatile, so it shouldn’t be an excessive amount of hassle to run different video games if it’s not your cup of tea. With a Raspberry Pi 4 on the coronary heart of the gadget, working RetroPie on it, for instance, would doubtless be fairly easy. However even when you don’t plan to construct your personal, LukeMods’ mission is properly value a search for the eye to element that went into it.