World's Smallest Arcade Machine (Guinness Record)

[ruijc]

Hi Art,

My goal is different.
I just want to build a home humidity and temp meter with a funny enclosure.

The game cabinet was my idea to make it look different and fun.

It has a splash screen ( intro screen ) from pong but no gamming capability.

Also, making the cabinet design, cutting with the cnc and assemble all the pieces was a lot of fun.

The project is almost done and I can send you the final pictures if you like.

I just thought about sharing it here because of the enclosure and thought you might like it.

Regards
Rui

[Art]

Can you post a schematic? and would you be happy to use a joystick if it were provided free?
How would you feel about my re-applying in the forum's name as a group?
Your hardware is already better, and you know it, and people have already volunteered to manufacture parts.
What if a decent game was written for you, to run on your hardware?

I didn't do this without knowing I can follow through, but looking at that, it seems ridiculous.

I have thought about asking some existing copyright owners for use of their property
for the sole purpose of a record attempt.
It seems unlikely, but sometimes things happen just for asking.
I got to use our government's topographic maps in an iPhone App, and in another App,
I got to legally use a system ROM of the Commodore Amiga for an emulation, and that's just in 2013.
Some things like that seem like it wouldn't happen, but sometimes it's not the case.

Knowing what the rules are, even though I don't like them, I would opt for Space Invaders.

[Art]

I haven't written Space Invaders, but I ported it to Canon Digital Cameras:



I would see what I can come up with on a test board,
but there might be trouble if licensing for that game and it's cabinet graphics wasn't granted first.

[Demon]

What about pong, brickout and tetris?

Robert

[Art]

It doesn't have to have any or all of the games of the current one.
I'd like to do one game, but make it a better one, hence the original driving game idea.
Tetris, I already wrote for my 144 LED matrix, so it's a bit too easy.

Breakout, I like the idea of a pot for the control, there was a breakout arcade machine with a knob,
but I need trigonometry that I have not yet solved in PBP (ball bouncing off walls at inverted angles).

[Art]

Your pm is full

Hi :)

In a nutshell, I'm wondering if you're interested in participating,
as in building a cabinet as small as you can, keeping it's dimensions to yourself,
and sending me the schematic so I can write a game on a bigger breadboard version.

I can probably arrange the joystick and buttons for free, and am also going to try to get some displays.
I think Sparkfun will play ball for this kind of project.

In that case, I would reapply to Guinness as a PBP group.
It is good to leave my application open in any case, as I can check the record daily.
It's fine if you're not into that, but I would certainly opt to avoid building the hardware if possible.

Cheers, Brek.

[ruijc]

Hi Art,

Sorry for the PM inbox being full.

About the cabinet, i will be happy to participate.
The design i have right now is the smallest i can go because of the nokia lcd ( breakboard ) and for my tactile buttons but it's possible to do it smaller.
The MCU i'm using is a 18F2520 which has alot of programming memory ( great for storing lots of screen pictures ).
The same PCB can be used in a way that instead of sensors you can use joystick or other goodies.

Here are some more recent pictures of the cabinet with buttons and pcb:

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i62/ruijc/Arcade3.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i62/ruijc/Arcade5.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i62/ruijc/Arcade6.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i62/ruijc/Arcade7.jpg



It's possible to use a small joystick instead of the buttons.

Regards
Rui

[Demon]

...Breakout, I like the idea of a pot for the control, there was a breakout arcade machine with a knob,
but I need trigonometry that I have not yet solved in PBP (ball bouncing off walls at inverted angles).

Does your game have to be "perfect" in the sense of variable angles depending on where you hit the ball on the paddle? I'd keep things simple with a fixed angle, say 45deg for example, and then it's just a simple math (addition/subtraction) of coordinates within a set range.

Does Guiness impose your gameplay to be "exactly" like the one in arcade?


About the controller, are you allowed to use a stylus to operate it? Then you could use a tiny potentiometer with a dimple on the surface of the cap to act as grip for the stylus tip.


Does the unit have to respect the proportions of an actual arcade machine? (case, display, controller) If you do, where would you get those?

Robert

[Demon]

Have you considered a 64x64 graphic LCD?



There has to be competition out there to use 128x128 again. I'd look seriously at staying one step ahead of the next guy; no more than 2/3 the size of the current record holder.

I would think a smaller LCD would also mean simpler gameplay.

Robert


http://vslcdmodule.com/prod_2692153.htm