The idea of playing games with Arduino hardware might make you think that titles created on such a platform wouldn't be interesting. But once you review the specifications of old consoles like the Atari 2600, the truth is that there's plenty of hardware to work with and experiment. That said, we present LEDmePlay, a console based on the Arduino MEGA 2560 that uses a 32 by 32 LED grid as its screen.
These days, the most popular option for building a home console or arcade cabinet loaded with emulators is the Raspberry Pi. However, it would be crazy to ignore the potential of Arduino hardware. If you compare the specs of a Raspberry Pi with those of the average Arduino, it's clear from the start that the processing power advantage falls in favor of the mini computer, but that doesn't stop the Arduino from taking on the console role. There is a lot of documentation out there, and its enthusiasts have learned over the years how to squeeze the most out of the different versions of Arduino. What brings us together today is the LEDmePlay project, based on the Arduino MEGA 2560 (or Genuino MEGA 2560 if you're outside the United States), which uses an LED screen, but not as you might imagine.
Yes, the LEDmePlay screen is essentially a 32 by 32 LED grid. Those who are masters of the soldering iron and can create LED matrices could probably make something like this on their own, but the Adafruit portal sells that matrix ready to use for $40 (not counting the existence of cheaper Chinese clones). The number of parts involved amounts to 23 (not counting nuts and bolts), and logically, several adjustments in the Arduino configuration. LEDmePlay also includes two classic nine-pin connectors for gamepads and joysticks (like those used by the Commodore 64 or the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis), which allows for expanded controller support.
If we look at the complete assembly guide, the LEDmePlay is not as simple as it appears, but I am convinced that many of our readers could put together something like this in a weekend or two. As always, this is a DIY project, and there is always room for modifications or replacements later. The official LEDmePlay page offers a total of eight free games that can be loaded onto the console, with their corresponding instructions.
