Recreating a Homebrew Game System from 1987
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Recreating a Homebrew Game System from 1987
We often take for granted how easy it is to get information in today’s modern, Internet-connected world. Especially around electronics projects, datasheets are generally a few clicks away, as are instructions for building almost anything. Not so in the late 80s where ordering physical catalogs of chips and their datasheets was generally required.
Mastering this landscape took a different skillset and far more determination than today, which is what makes the fact that a Japanese electronics hobbyist built a complete homebrew video game system from scratch in 1987 all the more impressive.[Alex] recently discovered this project and produced a replica of it with a few modern touches.
The original console, called the Z80 TV Game, was built on an 8-bit Z80 processor. The rest of the circuitry is fairly intuitive as it uses various integrated circuits that have straightforward wiring. It supports cartridges with up to 32 KB of ROM, outputs a 168×210 black and white image as well as 1-bit audio.
There are around 26 games for this platform developed mostly by the original creator of the console and another developer named [Inufuto] who also developed a multi-platform compiler for the system. [Alex]’s version adds PCBs to the overall design making assembly much easier. He’s also added a cartridge port for the various games and included controller ports for Genesis or Master System controllers.
Even outside the context of the 80s the console is an impressive build, encouraging development of homebrew games that continues to this day. The original creator maintains a site about the console as well (Google Translate from Japanese). There are a number of development tools still available for this platform that allow modern gamers and enthusiasts to interact with it, and all of [Alex]’s schematics and other information are available on his website as well.
For a more modern take on a homebrew system, take a look at this one based on a PIC32 that can not only run homebrew games, but original Game Boy ROMs as well.
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And, since the disk drives actually work, I kinda hate to swap them for a Gotek. I have Racore expansion boxes for a second disk drive slot, but they're all incomplete, missing parts I can't even identify or find references for.
