PocketCHIP puts PICO-8 retro-game development into handheld device
Exciting news for homebrew software hobbyists, gamers and DIY enthusiasts – the world’s first $9 microcomputer is now powering an open-source, hackable game studio that fits into the palm of your hand.
Oakland-based company Next Thing Co. has modified its CHIP microcomputer, slapped on a case that oozes retro-cool, and released it as the PocketCHIP, a self-described “game console, portable synthesizer, and Linux field terminal”. Priced at about $49 USD, it comes pre-installed with the PICO-8 game console and game development software – so you’re able to play and make games immediately on the PocketCHIP.
Building games in the PocketCHIP with PICO-8
Described as a “fantasy console”, PICO-8 lets people play and create pixel graphic games reminiscent of the Gameboy Colour. Thanks to PICO-8 and the ability for the PocketCHIP to connect to the internet out of the box, you can play thousands of free indie games and can make them using built-in code, sprite, and sound editors.
It’s a deliberately lo-fi environment to work in. PICO-8’s native resolution is 128×128 pixels – and to create sprites and backgrounds you have a palette of 16 colours. The games are also 32K – occupying less data than your average text document.
PICO-8’s creator, Joseph White, admits that these are “harsh limitations” but says they are “carefully chosen to be fun to work with, to encourage small but expressive designs”.
White believes that by restricting the scope of what you can do – people are encouraged to be creative and, working within the constraints, actually finish building their games.
Specifications
The PocketCHIP includes a 1GHz ARM CPU (with a Mali 400 GPU), 4GB of flash storage, 512MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, a keyboard, and a five-hour LiPo battery.
Like the Raspberry Pi – CHIP and PocketCHIP are open-source and hackable. You can disassemble the PocketCHIP into five parts and it has a bunch of sensor inputs at the top – so you can bet some money that DIY-ers, hackers, and hobbyists are out there making cool little robots with the PocketCHIP. Some people flash the firmware, and use it to play DOOM and other retro-game emulations. That’s not all – with a bit of work and some 3D Printing – you could also turn it into a working VR headset. The possibilities are endless.
Thankfully, it comes with Bluetooth, USB and display ports, so you can connect it (with some work) to a display, speakers, mouse and keyboard.
While the PocketCHIP can be used straight out of the box, you’ll get more out of it if you’re willing to take some time to fiddle about in the command line terminal and mess around with code. If you’re ever stuck, there’s a massive PICO-8 and CHIP support community out there sharing resources and know-how.
It’d be a great gift for a tech-savvy 13-year-old (or precocious 8-year-old) but it’s also suitable for anyone who has ever been 13 – and is a great way to get into game design and programming in a cool handheld device. When it’s so small, so cheap, and so fun – it’s hard to say no.
Posted in Blog, Games, Technology
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