Blobctober Progress

Taking my blob for a walk.

Wow, I guess I can say I made my own handheld electronic game. It doesn't really feel that way. Sure, it's my game, with my drawings, my game logic, my arrangement, my 3d design, but I used components made by other people, machines made by other people, software made by other people, and tutorials made by other people. I guess I just don't feel like I made it so much as I feel like I put it together. Maybe if I start designing and manufacturing my own PCB boards, I'll feel a little more legitimate? Either way, this thing exists and it's still developing.

I already have one fully enclosed iteration that just slides right onto my camera and works, and now I'm working on a smaller version with integrated batteries. I sized down a lot of components - the screen, the ESP32, and the battery - which arrived across the last couple of weeks. No idea if the new microcontroller will actually work, or if the lipo battery will manage not to catch fire, and I refuse to answer those questions until I have a proper case printed for them. The version of the device shown above is the first iteration, and the second iteration is right around the corner. I just have to polish up a couple oversights with my 3d model and print it again, and we should be good to go. Here's a print below that didn't turn out completely, but it still shows off just how much space has been saved since the first iteration.

It's fun how the screen looks bigger on the smaller device even though it's the same size as the screen on the larger one. The concern right now is cable management and soldering all these fat wires to this tiny ESP32, yikes! That and, again, if this little ESP32 will actually work. I looked (briefly) over the specs, and in theory it should be fine, but man, this thing is like the size of my thumbnail, it's so tiny, it just doesn't feel like it should work. Here's hoping though!

Still haven't done many improvements on the software (actual game) side of the device. I added a "pet profile" which right now is just an age and balance. The balance is built up by a single arcade game you can play, and the points you win go to the pet balance. I added a settings screen with one setting you can adjust: the screen brightness! It felt like there was a lot more, but I guess that's it! Iteration two does have a light sensor built in, as I plan on adding a light meter for photographic purposes. I also want to add a clock screen as well, and a programmable button in the settings.

-Onio