Project Details at http://pozible.com/uXeBoy
Follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uXeBoy
E-Mail to uXe@uXeBoy.com
Project Details at http://pozible.com/uXeBoy
Follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uXeBoy
E-Mail to uXe@uXeBoy.com
I am sorry to be blunt but why would anybody want this?
Why not use the controller that's already built into the game boy?
It seems to be so that you can take a dead DMG and convert it into a NES controller.
lidnariq wrote:
It seems to be so that you can take a dead DMG and convert it into a NES controller.
But there are ample NES controllers... Furthermore, the buttons and D-pad are so almost identical to that of the DMG ones that they are swappable. Really, I don't see that anything is gained here except volume and a difficulty in storing the device...
Really, this project is just something that I was excited about having for myself - and I figured that it could be worth throwing it out there to see if there are 100 other people in the world who feel the same way! if it seems pointless to you then I guess you're not one of those people, and if it turns out that those people don't exist then so be it... I am already happy to have made it this far with the project, and I won't mind if it ends with you saying "I told you so" as long as you promise not to kick me while I'm down! 
I wanted to avoid copying and pasting information verbatim from the project description that I have already provided a link to because it feels redundant to me, but it seems unavoidable at this point so here goes:
I wanted to avoid copying and pasting information verbatim from the project description that I have already provided a link to because it feels redundant to me, but it seems unavoidable at this point so here goes:
The possible applications for the uXeBoy are limited only by your imagination:
Combine the uXeBoy board with a GameBoy shell, a small LCD display, and the microcontroller / microprocessor board of your choice (AVR / Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBoard, Gumstix, etc.) to create a do-it-yourself handheld device!
Alternatively, you could leave out the microcontroller / microprocessor and connect the uXeBoy directly to your video game console (or a PC running an emulator) as a sort of 'enhanced' NES control pad with a built-in screen - just like the good old Hip Gear 'Screen Pad', but twice as awesome!
Another option could be using a microcontroller to turn the uXeBoy into something like Bandai's 'Mega-Controller' - and have the LCD show customisable settings and parameters, and maybe throw in a tilt sensor? You could design your own system around using the uXeBoy's screen as a sort of 'second display' like the Wii-U 'Gamepad'. Or leave out the screen altogether, design your own enclosure to fit the uXeBoy board and make a pint-sized mini-control-pad!
You could follow the concept to its logical conclusion and make a miniaturised replica of the NES motherboard to fit inside the back-half of the GameBoy shell - or use something like the Papilio FPGA board to create a virtual implementation of the NES motherboard!
Many video artists and musicians use a GameBoy as their interface for performing - for them the uXeBoy could open up a world of possibilities for new performance techniques, while still maintaining the familiar interface of a GameBoy!
Combine the uXeBoy board with a GameBoy shell, a small LCD display, and the microcontroller / microprocessor board of your choice (AVR / Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBoard, Gumstix, etc.) to create a do-it-yourself handheld device!
Alternatively, you could leave out the microcontroller / microprocessor and connect the uXeBoy directly to your video game console (or a PC running an emulator) as a sort of 'enhanced' NES control pad with a built-in screen - just like the good old Hip Gear 'Screen Pad', but twice as awesome!
Another option could be using a microcontroller to turn the uXeBoy into something like Bandai's 'Mega-Controller' - and have the LCD show customisable settings and parameters, and maybe throw in a tilt sensor? You could design your own system around using the uXeBoy's screen as a sort of 'second display' like the Wii-U 'Gamepad'. Or leave out the screen altogether, design your own enclosure to fit the uXeBoy board and make a pint-sized mini-control-pad!
You could follow the concept to its logical conclusion and make a miniaturised replica of the NES motherboard to fit inside the back-half of the GameBoy shell - or use something like the Papilio FPGA board to create a virtual implementation of the NES motherboard!
Many video artists and musicians use a GameBoy as their interface for performing - for them the uXeBoy could open up a world of possibilities for new performance techniques, while still maintaining the familiar interface of a GameBoy!
I did read the entire page, but "the possible applications for the uXeBoy are limited only by your imagination" left me feeling like I was missing the point, because this really seems to have only one very specific purpose.
It's a nice looking board that you've made, and I'm sure it mounts very nicely inside a GB case, I just think it's weird that you want to replace the one that already comes with the GB instead of just modding that one to output the kinda signal you want.
Anyhow, good luck with it. I don't really mean to poo-pooh it, but I don't personally understand the goal so I was hoping you'd explain more about what it's for. The suggestions on the page would apply to any controller, of which there are plenty of ready made varieties. The special thing about this project is that it fits in a GB case, but there is already a controller built into the GB...
It's a nice looking board that you've made, and I'm sure it mounts very nicely inside a GB case, I just think it's weird that you want to replace the one that already comes with the GB instead of just modding that one to output the kinda signal you want.
Anyhow, good luck with it. I don't really mean to poo-pooh it, but I don't personally understand the goal so I was hoping you'd explain more about what it's for. The suggestions on the page would apply to any controller, of which there are plenty of ready made varieties. The special thing about this project is that it fits in a GB case, but there is already a controller built into the GB...
rainwarrior wrote:
I just think it's weird that you want to replace the one that already comes with the GB instead of just modding that one to output the kinda signal you want.
Well I suppose my answer to that would be that if I decide one day that I want to use the uXeBoy as a GameBoy again then I could just reinstall the old board because I haven't destructively modified anything in any way...
In fact, using my PCB you could build a uXeBoy without having to touch one single piece of the now inherently limited supply of original GameBoy parts, by only using third-party replacement parts for the case, buttons, pads, screen protector, etc - all of which are easily available from places like:
http://store.kitsch-bent.com/category/b ... e-game-boy
mikejmoffitt wrote:
But there are ample NES controllers
Not ample forever, and third party controllers such as Retrobit lack a certain feel. Relying on anything that wears out mechanically and cannot be replaced, such as the dwindling supply of NES controllers, is a bad idea long-term.
In any case, there's probably a way to do this without destroying a working Game Boy, and it involves making a Game Link to controller cable and a program to emulate a controller. As I understand it, both the NES controller protocol and the Game Link protocol are just SPI (clocked serial).
tepples wrote:
In any case, there's probably a way to do this without destroying a working Game Boy
Yes, there is - I mentioned it in the post directly above yours:
uXe wrote:
...using my PCB you could build a uXeBoy without having to touch one single piece of the now inherently limited supply of original GameBoy parts, by only using third-party replacement parts for the case, buttons, pads, screen protector, etc - all of which are easily available from places like:
http://store.kitsch-bent.com/category/b ... e-game-boy
http://store.kitsch-bent.com/category/b ... e-game-boy
tepples wrote:
it involves making a Game Link to controller cable and a program to emulate a controller. As I understand it, both the NES controller protocol and the Game Link protocol are just SPI (clocked serial).
I have seen it work in the opposite direction (NES controller into the Game Link port):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur6NEOVaPX4
Yeah I was reading the first post kind of scratching my head going "what's the purpose of this thing?" It would be great to combine that first post with your "these're all the things it can be used for" post. Cool project for sure! I like how you gave this thing its own name. So the point of this thing is to not "destructively mod" the gameboy controller pad? Destructive mods are the best mods! Sacrifice hardware in the name of science!