µGame¶

A handheld game console programmable with (Micro/Circuit)Python.

A small game console directly programmable in Python. I always wanted to make this, and after my work on PewPew FeatherWing I finally decided that I’m ready.

The first version may be a bit of a stretch — I tried to make it as small as possible, fitting in the 5x5cm limit of PCB manufacturers, so that it will be cheap to make the PCBs. Using the cheap ST7735 TFT display, and a cheap ATSAMD21E chip. I also tried to put all the components on one side of the board.

Of course the hard part is writing a game library, and the actual games. There is already one simple platformer game written as a demo, and the software library is getting new features added as needed.

Logs¶

2019-06-21 - Suddenly: A Speedup
2019-06-06 - The Last µGame
2019-05-20 - CircuitPython 4.0.0 Released, Please Wait for 4.0.1
2019-04-19 - Underwhelming DMA
2019-04-12 - CircuitPython 4.0 and Display Support
2018-09-30 - Updated Firmware with CircuitPython 3.2.0
2018-06-21 - Another 3D-printed Case
2018-05-28 - µGame Turbo is no More
2018-04-30 - In Stock Again
2018-04-02 - µGame Turbo
2018-03-23 - New Shipment Soon
2018-02-24 - µGame on ESP8266 with MicroPython
2018-02-22 - The First Case
2018-02-11 - Yes, we have no Bananas
2018-02-09 - OpenSCAD Model
2018-02-05 - nGame Revisited
2018-01-31 - We Have Stock!
2018-01-28 - Documentation and Tutorial
2018-01-27 - Tindie and Repos
2018-01-25 - Bouncing Ball
2018-01-24 - Fabrication
2018-01-10 - Bigger Battery
2017-12-29 - Final Prototype
2017-12-28 - nGame is µGame, only Smaller
2017-12-26 - Testing at the Fab
2017-12-13 - Version 6
2017-12-08 - Design Decisions
2017-12-05 - Sound Issues Resolved
2017-12-03 - Vacuum Invaders
2017-12-03 - Audio Woes
2017-12-02 - Daring a Ludum
2017-12-02 - Battery Life
2017-11-30 - Version 5
2017-11-26 - First Game
2017-11-25 - Homebrew
2017-11-11 - The Case for a Case
2017-11-09 - Hardware Version 4 and Sound
2017-11-06 - Built-in Sprites
2017-11-05 - Extra Characters
2017-11-04 - Text Layers
2017-11-03 - The Stage Library
2017-11-03 - Delays are Inevitable
2017-10-31 - Another PCB
2017-10-29 - The Power of Plain C
2017-10-29 - First Walking Sprite
2017-10-28 - Inside a Tile Engine
2017-10-28 - Basic Tile Engine
2017-10-27 - The Magical Number 16
2017-10-26 - Reading BMP
2017-10-22 - Version 3
2017-10-22 - Notes for the Next Version
2017-10-22 - Emulating PewPew Lite
2017-10-22 - Custom Firmware, Flash and Buttons
2017-10-21 - First Prototypes
2017-10-10 - Display Test

Links¶

Components¶

Component	Count	Notes
ST7735R 1.44” 14-pin TFT display	1
SKPMAPE010 tact switch	6
243.5 tact switch	1
MK12C02 SPDT slide switch	1
DET402-G-1 speaker	1
0805 capacitor 1µF	4
0603 resistor 10kΩ	3
0603 resistor 100Ω	1
0603 resistor 2.2kΩ	1
0603 resistor 47kΩ	3
micro-usb socket	1
S25FL216K flash memory	1
ATSAMD21E18A-AU microcontroller	1
AP2112K-3.3TRG1 low-dropout voltage regulator	1
MCP73831T-2ACI/OT lipo charge controller	1
PAM8301AAF audio amplifier	1
MBR120 shottky diode	1
0603 LED	1