Gamegirl: the retro console done right

We are continuing this project for the Hackaday Prize 2017. Follow us here:
https://hackaday.io/project/20874-gamegirl-part-ii-back-in-the-game

Here is a video from [Jean-André] showing the new prototype, along with some explanations on the software. Skip to 4:20 to see the Gamegirl starting up and 8:00 to see some gameplay:

Support Libretro, RetroArch and Lakka through Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/libretro

-David

We got the new assembled prototypes back from China and dispatched them to France, Switzerland and USA to the different developers, thanks to the hard work of [VRPC]. In the meantime, [techanic] also ordered a board from OSHPark and hand assembled it, which you can see in the photo above. This is really open-source hardware development at its best!

The v0.2 prototype includes:

• A battery with charger and 5V booster
• A speaker with a mono amplifier
• A power switch
• Rubber and metal dome buttons from 8bitdo

We are now trying to 3D print the case and figure out some kind of levers for the L/R buttons.

Bonus video (look at the size of this console!):

We do not take any money, but you can support the software that the Gamegirl uses.

Support Libretro, RetroArch and Lakka through Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/libretro

-David

We had an interview on Open Consoles, a French website dedicated to covering open source and Android portable game consoles, who had already covered us in June 2016.

Thanks to the hard work and patience of Franck Thery, here is the interview in French:

http://www.open-consoles-news.com/2016/09/interview-entretien-avec-les-createurs.html

And here is an English version (Google Translate):

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.open-consoles-news.com/2016/09/interview-entretien-avec-les-createurs.html

-David

If this project has to be remembered, it should be as successful example of open hardware development. Indeed, it is not just the hardware which is open but the whole development process, with discussions and files being exchanged by more than a hundred users on our Discord chat.

As an example of this openness the first working Gamegirl was in the hands of a contributor, [poulsen93] who took the picture above. And as the development advances we hope to provide more and more devices to contributors. You can contribute in a lot of ways, regardless of your experience.

Beginner tasks

• Art for future games
• Advice for using the Gamegirl in classrooms
• Review of existing software (Scratch, PICO-8, etc.)
• Drawing of your dream game editor
• Drawing of a game uploader
• Improvements to the Lakka website
• Writing on hackaday.io, Reddit, Twitter

Advanced tasks

• "Exclusive" games using LÖVE
• 3D printing of a case and L/R buttons
• USB-OTG on the Raspberry Pi Zero
• Backlight dimming using PCM
• Contributions to Lutro, Lakka and RetroArch

And more! Ask on our Discord chat. ;)

Bonus video:

-David

If you have ever in a film theatre constructed in the 1950s, chance is they probably still use the legendary Voice of the Theatre speakers, maybe with some tweeter replacement. These speakers were made by Altec Lansing engineers and delivered unsurpassed efficiency, voice articulation and time alignment and have a very characteristic sound signature. The fact that these systems were entirely equalised by ear didn't remove anything from the enjoyment of the listeners.

The analog audio output of the Raspberry Pis has a bad reputation. Similar to the cinema professionals of the 1950s, we don't have expensive sound measurement equipment. As such, we will try everything possible to get the best sound quality with our ears. Our subjective benchmark will be: it must sound good. The speaker will probably be a CDM-20008 for his flat low-frequency response (good bass) but it would be better if someone could buy a couple of them and compare them next to each other.

To further improve the low-end extension (bass), @poulsen93 is currently making tests with a Helmholtz resonator (a can of Pringles) that you can see on the photo on the left.

We are testing the amplifier on the photo on the right but we need help for noise hiss reduction as we can currently hear when the Pi is making complicated calculations or not. Don't hesitate to drop on the Discord Chat if you have some useful advice.

-David

The package that was lost two weeks ago finally arrived in Vietnam... just after [Jean-André] had left the country. Talk about bad luck.

Thankfully, other prototypes v0.1 are ready and will go to [@Travis Brown], [@poulsen93] and [@jonathan thornburg]. These are provided free of charge (display not included) thanks to the money provided by the Hackaday Prize.

You can see on the left that we are currently experimenting with the audio amplifier. More on that in a future project log!

-David

All goes according to plan! The prototype v0.1 has been soldered together and tested with a Raspberry Pi 2. Games run great under RetroArch and the buttons are buttoning up, just as planned.

Well... the only hitch is that this prototype is currently lost in a package between Switzerland and Vietnam. Indeed, we were hoping to post better pictures and videos once the package had arrived but this one will have to do for now.

In the meantime, we are preparing 2-3 more copies of the v0.1 prototype and designing the v0.2 prototype, which will look somewhat like the 3D render on top of this page (thanks @roymustang16!)

The Discord Chat is very active, with more than 100 users. We are welcoming all contributors, regardless of the experience: the beginners can help with mockups of the LÖVE game editor and menus of the console and the developers can help with electronics, CAD and programming.

-David

[David] and I are happy to announce that 8Bitdo will be our partner in this project!

If you are a retro gamer, chances are that you already heard about 8Bitdo. 8Bitdo is a company based in Hong Kong who produce very polished Bluetooth gamepads that mimic the look of our good old pads.

We got their contact thanks to the libretro guys who are already collaborating with them.

8Bitdo will help us about the buttons and the case. Finding good rubber dome buttons on the web is very difficult. Since they are experts about that, we are can be sure that the Gamegirl will have the best ergonomy we can afford.

We don't know exactly yet how we are going to collaborate but they started sharing their CAD 3D files and agreed to provide us with some buttons so we can start prototyping. They adviced us to start experimenting with the 8Bitdo ZERO model that is described in details here: http://www.8bitdo.com/zero/design.html

We are more and more excited to work on this small project because that's the kind of toys we would have dreamed to own as a child :)

-Jean-André