|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 2, 2006 22:36:54 GMT
To make your own 'gamegear' the size of let's say a gameboy micro? The processors etc have been tremendously reduced in size over the last decade(s) and there are loads of LCD screens available from old nokia phones etc. You could make it read games from a memory card. What would you need to be able to make something like this? I'm thinking: - LCD screen - USB input (optional) - memory card or some flash memory - BIOS - microprocessor - something for the sound - input for controls - batteries - etc. This is just something I would like to try and create, not in the near future but years later, I'm thinking about doing electrotechniek (dunno the english word for it) and this would be a nice project to create when I'm actually smart enough So does anyone think this is possible? Do you need the original processor or can you emulate it somehow? Would be cool to have just a small portable master system
|
|
TransButtah
Alis
King of Buzdekastanopia
Talk slowly and carry lots of sticks!
Posts: 497
|
Post by TransButtah on Oct 3, 2006 0:04:56 GMT
I think so! In my opinion, the easiest way would not be to convert the GameGear's actual parts into a new shell, but to get everything for a very small computer, and put it in there. Then, find a really small Operating System, like Linux or Unix (Unix is smaller, because there are no windows or desktop graphics), and run an emulator on it with GameGear games. But then you don't need the cart...Wait...Never mind....
|
|
|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 3, 2006 0:44:02 GMT
Yuo could use a gameboy advance or symbian os phone, but it would be way cooler to make one myself.
|
|
|
Post by playgeneration on Oct 3, 2006 7:59:06 GMT
Its entirely possible to put a whole console on just one chip. Have you seen those little megadrive tv games, that are just a controller that plugs in the tv, well thats just a megadrive on a chip. A Playstation 2 has a chip in it that has all the functions of a PS1, thats why the emulation is near perfect. At the moment somebody is making an Amiga 500 on a chip, and thats just a one man amatuer project. But doing something like that is not easy at all, it would be like making a chip that does the same thing as Meka to a certain extent. How about making an adapter for a gameboy advance that lets you plug in real gamegear carts and play them under an exsisting SMS emulator.
|
|
|
Post by rupert on Oct 3, 2006 8:01:27 GMT
i like the ideas here, I'd like to see a game gear scale model that works, but with a larger than scale screen, like a game boy micro but game gear shape. That would be nice.
|
|
|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 3, 2006 11:23:59 GMT
So you can program it all on 1 chip? But then you would still need a 'soundcard' and something to make the viedo appear on screen. It might be possible to use the LCD screen of a gamegear, program all the code onto 1 microprocessor, make some button inputs hooked on the Microprocessor (uC) and thn figure out a way how to make this all work from an SD/MMC card. You could make one permanently inside it and make an USB port for uploading all the games onto it. How about this name: the PMS, Portable Master System ;D Making the USB port should not be too much of a problem but the real problem is what parts to use, which uC to use, would it have an onboard BIOS? Do you need some virtual memory? How to program the uC so that it'll work with the memory card and that it would emulate the z80 processor etc. [edit] There should also be an option to save your game! And at start up you must get a screen in which you could choose which game you want to play. Buttons: D-pad (4 buttons) Button 1 Button 2 Pause button Start button (to pause the game and take you to a menu where you could load a game, save a game, go back to the game and exit to the title screen which you would get at start up) On/off switch Some wheel/slider for the sound.
|
|
|
Post by playgeneration on Oct 3, 2006 11:36:12 GMT
Seriously putting a master system on a chip is something that would take an immense amount of knowledge to achieve. You have to design all the logic for the chip yourself, you could recreate the graphics and sound chips on one new chip. But it would be a massive project that would probably take easily a year to do. There are much easier ways to build a portable master system than that.
|
|
|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 3, 2006 11:39:13 GMT
Like I said, I'm not in a hurry and I'm not planning to get this thing started anytime soon
|
|
|
Post by playgeneration on Oct 3, 2006 11:43:28 GMT
Like I said, I'm not in a hurry and I'm not planning to get this thing started anytime soon But theres not much point making a portable master system the hard way just for the sake of it. The console cant be that power hungry so redsigning it all would probably be a wasted effort. It would be better to use the exsisting sms2 board, which is fairly small, and add extra kit to that. You could add flash memeory to store lots of games on, a battery pack, a nomad one would do the job, and a screen - a ps1 screen is a good choice. Ive thought about making one myself, but havent got around to it yet.
|
|
|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 3, 2006 11:52:28 GMT
yeah though about that as well but it would still be way too big.
There are some chips out there that could emulate just about anything, MSX is what they are called (I think)
It would be a lot easier to use the SMS 1 since it has RGB output which can be hoked to the psone screen directly.
|
|
|
Post by playgeneration on Oct 3, 2006 11:56:35 GMT
Actually if you get a Tectoy master system, im sure the board inside them is tiny, plus they have tons of games built in already. Infact adding a screen to one of those little handheld tectoy sms consoles would be relativley simple as they are designed to be used with tvs.
People have used the real consoles to build portable versions like, snes, ps1, atari 2600 and many more, and they have all been quite small.
And you can mod a sms2 to output composite or rgb if you want, the baord is a lot smaller than the sms1 so is more suitable.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Oct 3, 2006 12:01:23 GMT
Isn't the original Game Gear made in such a way that it has a lot of empty space inside? If you could 'clone' the innards of that and place it in a smaller package, or add the extra parts like USB/flash memory support, it might work...
Or are we talking of making a sort of GP2X[?] type deal?
|
|
|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 3, 2006 12:04:05 GMT
I've got no idea tbh Never seen the insdies of a gg
|
|
|
Post by SaDistic on Oct 3, 2006 12:21:18 GMT
Actually if you get a Tectoy master system, im sure the board inside them is tiny, plus they have tons of games built in already. Infact adding a screen to one of those little handheld tectoy sms consoles would be relativley simple as they are designed to be used with tvs. People have used the real consoles to build portable versions like, snes, ps1, atari 2600 and many more, and they have all been quite small. And you can mod a sms2 to output composite or rgb if you want, the baord is a lot smaller than the sms1 so is more suitable. Yeah but I really want it to be portable and about as small as a gba. And making all the stuff myself would give me something to look forward to when I'll be learning
|
|