I think its not a surprise for anyone that I intend to port the Gamebuino Meta library as soon as it is published - unless there is something exceptionally clever that blocks me from doing so.
6 Likes
Just stumbled over this Kickstarter - makes it difficult to convince myself to buy a META when I could get this for the same cost?!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/954662076/gameshell-redefine-retro-game-console/description
4 Likes
Well, it all depends on what you are looking for.
My impression is that, if a machine has the speed and resolution to do emulation, it gets typecast as an âemulationâ machine, and thatâs about all people do with it.
On the other hand, the Arduboy and Gamebuino, because of their low speed, low resolution, and limited memory, were ignored by the emulationists. As a result they attracted a community of people who wanted to learn about game programming. These people wrote interesting, fun, quirky new games and programs. This is what I am hoping for with the Pokitto and the Gamebuino Meta.
On a Linux based system, the program does everything through Linux, so if you learn to use this system, you are mainly learning about Linux.
The Pokitto has no operating system as such, so learning to use it is the same as learning how low end micro-controller systems work.
So choosing the âbestâ system to buy depends on what you want to do:
-
If you want to play games on a portable emulator, there are tons of Chinese systems that do this, that exist now and have big screens and many preloaded games.
-
If you want to learn about Linux, you could get a Pocketchip, which also runs Pico-8 (a fantasy console with a very active developer com community). (The Pocketchip makers say that their system needs 1gb of ram to run Pico-8. The Clockwork system only has 0.5gb of ram.)
Or you could run a Raspberry Pi system and be sure of having lots of help and utilities and open source support.
-
If you want to be part of a community exploring and making new software for a fun new machine, I think the Pokitto and Gamebuino are promisingâŚ
Catsfolly
5 Likes
dam thats expensive for whats basically a gamegirl (raspberry pi gameboy)
wich is more modular since you build it yourself
i agree with @catsfolly thought the meta is expensive, and if you look spec for spec the pokitto is a bit more solid with a better screen
i have been in the works myself for an in-between micro-console and linux emulator box
i dont have any graphics chip but it runs openwrt linux and has wifi, still fiddling to get the display working
my main focus is to keep cost down, and im not sure if i should turn it into its own console or an overpowered pokitto hat 
(shamless plug, but if anyone is good at developing linux stuff pm me)
One cool thing about the Gameshell, is that they actually include a antigravitational field too for 3d printing the shell:
7 Likes
PocketCHIP has 0.5 gb of RAM. Am i wrong?
Also
I think also Gameshell is expensive. But pocketchip⌠arggh⌠they not shipping to Turkey 
Pocketchip (and chip in general) will struggle with some pico8 games. This is due to the 60fps mode that you can do in pico8 now 
I donât like the PocketChip. If it had an actual enclosure with decent buttons, maybe Iâd be interested. Anything that powerful needs to look good and feel good. I donât think the PocketChip cuts it.
I hope you all realize that a 48Mhz 32kb microcontroller is a pretty different animal than a 1GHz ARMv7
The point of using an ARM Cortex M0 is that it is the simplest ARM processor you can get. It is possible to understand the entire chip - if you take the time. You will probably never have the chance to learn how the core in PocketChip actually operates- in fact, even the Rapberry Pi is a similar âblack boxâ. RPi and PChip are open - but only to a point.
This is why I like programming a chip like the LPC11U68 inside the Pokitto. You are the absolute master of the hardware, it will not do anything without your implicit knowledge. With PChip and RPi, you are doing what you are allowed on the application layer.
7 Likes
Oops, you are right. My mistake. Pico-8 requires 512mb of ram, so the CHIP-pro (which currently only has 256mb), canât run it. thatâs what I was thinking about. Sorry about that.
To use Pico-8, you need a keyboard. I think the board in the Gameshell accepts a keyboard, but adding an external keyboard might make it less portable.
I donât have a PocketChip myself. Iâve never even seen one. The keyboard does not look fun to type onâŚ
1 Like
that ram requirement is pretty high and i dont fully see why
if someone re implement pico8 system they could pull it off with less overhead, im kinda looking into doing that for my little device that has 128MB but also runs linux