Handheld gaming systems have been on the market for almost 35 years since Milton Bradley released the Microvision game console (first to use interchangeable game cartridges) back in 1979. Since that time, they have evolved into the popular systems we use today such as the Nintendo 3DS XL, PlayStation Vita and SNK’s Neo-Geo X. A short time after Nintendo released the NES and Game Boy platforms, a few individuals ‘reverse engineered’ those gaming systems. They were able to emulate how the processor functioned allowing for ROM versions of the games associated with the respective platforms to be played on different hardware (namely PCs). There have been a few individuals and groups that have taken console emulation to the extreme with their respective gaming boxes. One of those is set to be released sometime in the near future from Hyperkin with their Retron 5, which will pack a total of five emulators (NES, SNES, GBA, Genesis and Famicom) into one console. The top of the heap for emulation boxes comes in the form of Bacteria’s Project Unity, which houses the actual boards from 15 different consoles along with three emulators thereby creating the king of video game rigs. While those projects are incredible in their own right, they are not actually portable so gaming-on-the-go is out of the question. This is where Max Thrun’s GamingCape handheld gaming system shines as it’s small, compact and able to emulate a host of games without the need for an external display.
自从米尔顿布拉德利的第一台使用可更换式游戏卡盒的Microvision掌上游戏机于1979年发布以后，已经过了35年的时间。从那时开始，掌上游戏机演变出了我们今天普遍使用的系统，比如任天堂3DS XL，PlayStation Vista和SNK的Neo-Geo X。之后不久任天堂又发布了NES和Game Boy平台，有些个人爱好者对这些系统进行了“逆向工程”。他们对处理器的工作方式进行了模拟，从而让专用于某个平台的ROM版本也能够在不同的硬件上运行（也就是PC上运行）。还有一些人和组织通过制作游戏盒子，把游戏机的模拟做到了极致。其中将要在不久后发布的由Hyperkin公司制造的Retron 5游戏机在一个机壳内总共搭载了5个模拟器（即NES，SNES，GBA，Genesis和Famicom）。最厉害的模拟游戏盒是人称“细菌（Bacteria）的改装玩家制作的Project Unity游戏机，它包含了15个不同的游戏控制台和三个模拟器，从而成为了视频游戏装备之王。尽管这些设备都是由他们自行开发的，这让人不可思议，但是由于它们实际上不具备便携性，所以根本谈不上“且行且游戏”的概念。而这正是Max Thrun公司的GamingCape掌上游戏机出彩的地方，因为它小巧、简洁而且能够模拟一大波游戏，也不需要外接显示器。
The system was designed around a BeagleBone Black single-board computer that features a 1GHz AM335X ARM Cortex-A8 processor - capable of running Ubuntu, Angstrom Linux or Android. Thrun outfitted his emulator with a 16-Bit Color TFT LCD display (320x240), an analog multi-directional joystick with two thumb buttons, a series of sensors (including a 3D gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer) along with mic/headphone jacks. All that hardware is packed into a custom 3D printed case that looks strikingly similar to the original Game Boy, (where Max drew his inspiration from when designing the GamingCape). So what console/s does his design emulate? How about a total of six platforms including the NES, Game Boy in three flavors, Sega’s Master System and Game Gear and even the original ID hit, Doom! Not bad for something of relatively small stature, especially when compared to the bigger emulators others have designed. This advantage should be owed to the compact design of BeagleBone Black, which has a dimension of 86.36 mm×54.61mm and a pair of expansion sockets to connect different capes such as BB VIEW LCD expansion board. It is now available on Embest website and you can drop a visit if you want.
GamingCape掌上游戏机用的是BeagleBone Black开发平台，处理器是1GHz ARM Cortex-A8内核的AM335x，能够运行Ubuntu，Angstrom Linux或者Android系统。游戏机的显示器是一个16位彩色TFT LCD屏，分辨率为320x240。配备一个多方向模拟摇杆和两个物理按钮，以及各种传感器（包括3D陀螺仪，加速度计和磁力计）和麦克风/耳机插孔。所有的硬件都安装在一个定制的3D打印外壳中，看起来很像最初的Game Boy（Max Thrun公司在设计GamingCape时就是从Game Boy获得灵感）。那么这款游戏机能够模拟哪些游戏呢？一共支持6款平台，包括NES，三种风格的Game Boy，世嘉的Master System和Game Gear，以及最初的ID公司射击游戏DOOM！这对于其相对小巧的体积来说已经不错了，特别是和其他较大的模拟器相比，这得益于BeagleBone Black紧凑的设计，其大小仅为86.36 mm×54.61mm，带有扩展插槽，可以添加包括BB VIEW LCD扩展板在内的多种扩展设备。英蓓特官网有售，有兴趣的同学可以去看看。
掌上游戏机, BeagleBone, embest, 模拟器 |
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