Meantendo

A DIY ESP32 Handheld Gaming Console
13 games. Infinite demos. Built from scratch.

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Demo

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Features

• 13 playable games including Snake, Pong, Tetris, Flappy Bird, Asteroids, Breakout, and Conway's Game of Life
• Visual demos — Matrix Rain, Kaleidoscope, Maze Solver, Particles, Fractals, Slime Simulator
• Hardware controls — Analog joystick + 6-button layout (A, B, X, Y, Select, Back)
• Buzzer audio feedback — click, confirm, and error sounds
• Animated menu — auto-scrolling, category headers, animated cursor, scanline transitions
• Flicker-free splash screen — fade-in/out Debyte logo on boot
• 20MHz SPI — buttery smooth gameplay on the ST7735 display

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Hardware

Component	Model
Microcontroller	ESP32 Dev Board (38-pin)
Display	1.8" ST7735 TFT (160×128)
Input	Analog joystick + 5 tactile buttons
Audio	Passive buzzer
Bus	SPI @ 20MHz

Total build cost: ~₹800–1200

See the Bill of Materials for full parts list and links.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• PlatformIO Core or PlatformIO IDE (VS Code extension)
• ESP32 toolchain (installed automatically by PlatformIO)
• A USB cable capable of data sync

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Debyte404/Meantendo.git
cd Meantendo

# Install dependencies and build
pio run

# Upload to your ESP32 (ensure COM port is correct in platformio.ini)
pio run --target upload

# Monitor serial output
pio device monitor

Or open the project in VS Code with the PlatformIO extension installed and click Upload.

Note: Unplug the TFT display's CS wire (GPIO 5) before uploading, then reconnect it after flashing. The display can interfere with SPI during programming.

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Project Structure

Meantendo/
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp          # Entry: init → splash → menu loop
│   ├── core/             # Shared engine
│   │   ├── Game.hpp      # GameDef registry + registration
│   │   ├── Display.hpp   # TFT SPI init, pin mapping
│   │   ├── Input.hpp     # Joystick + button reads
│   │   ├── Buzzer.hpp    # Audio feedback
│   │   ├── Menu.hpp      # UI: categories, cursor, scrollbar
│   │   └── Splash.hpp    # Fade-in/out logo
│   └── games/            # Game implementations
│       ├── Snake.cpp
│       ├── Pong.cpp
│       ├── Tetris.cpp
│       ├── Breakout.cpp
│       ├── Asteroids.cpp
│       ├── FlappyBird.cpp
│       ├── GameOfLife.cpp
│       ├── Kaleidoscope.cpp
│       ├── MatrixRain.cpp
│       ├── MazeSolver.cpp
│       ├── Particles.cpp
│       ├── Fractals.cpp
│       └── SlimeSim.cpp
├── assets/           # Product photos
│   ├── product.jpeg
│   └── wiring.jpeg
├── docs/
│   ├── BOM.md            # Bill of materials
│   └── wiring_guide.md   # Pinout and wiring diagram
├── include/              # Header files
├── test/                 # Unit tests
├── platformio.ini        # Build configuration
└── README.md

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Controls

Button	Action
Joystick	Navigate menu / move player
A	Select / confirm
B	Back / cancel
X / Y	Reserved
Select	Alternate confirm
Back	Exit game to menu

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Pinout

Component	ESP32 GPIO
TFT CS	GPIO 5
TFT DC	GPIO 16
TFT RST	GPIO 17
TFT SCLK	GPIO 18
TFT MOSI	GPIO 23
Joystick X	GPIO 34 (ADC)
Joystick Y	GPIO 35 (ADC)
Joystick SW	GPIO 19
Button A	GPIO 32
Button B	GPIO 33
Button X	GPIO 26
Button Y	GPIO 27
Button Back	GPIO 25
Buzzer	GPIO 15

See wiring_guide.md for the full pinout table and wiring photos.

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Credits

Built with caffeine by Debyte

Libraries used:

• Adafruit GFX
• Adafruit ST7735
• Arduino
• ESP32

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License

MIT License — see LICENSE