Powered by Waveshare's ESP32-S3-LCD-1.69, an ESP32 S3-based setup with a 1.69-inch ST7789V2 display, this mini console offers portability without sacrificing performance. Thanks to an onboard 500mAh Li-ion cell, you can game anywhere, anytime. All components, including the ESP32 board and custom button board, are housed inside a custom-designed enclosure, which we built in Fusion 360 and then 3D printed using the Creality K10 Max.

Snake Game Console Project and PICO Blasters

Let's have a look at The Snake Game Console first, which was a compact, portable system powered by a Raspberry Pi PICO, featuring a 64x32 RGB matrix panel and a 3D-printed enclosure. It runs a classic Snake game, where you guide the snake using four-directional buttons, chase down random red dots for points, and try to avoid crashing into yourself. Plus, it's got an onboard battery, so you can take it anywhere and play on the go.

Then came PICO Blaster, which takes the same hardware setup and turns it into a fast-paced Space Invaders-style shooter. With an additional custom control board, revamped gameplay mechanics, and color-coded projectiles, this game is all about reflexes and strategy.

Players navigate a spaceship, dodging incoming attacks and firing back using two types of weapons—rapid-fire bullets and a powerful blaster that wipes out everything in its path (though with a cooldown to keep things interesting!).

Both of these games were written from scratch and were a pain to code, really. Most of the development time was spent in creating the game logic and the hardware part for both devices was super easy and was prepared in less than a day.

For the Mini Version, I have only ported the Snake Game. we could make more games for the device, which will be an idea for a future project.

Mini Version Design

For the design of this project, we first imported the 3D model of our ESP32 Display into Fusion360, along with the Cad file of our Button PCB with Buttons, as well as the battery and push switch Cad files.

Next, we organized the components in a logical and practical layout, positioning the switch PCB beneath the display, placing the battery behind both the display and the switch PCB, and situating the push switch on the rear side just above the battery. Once everything was arranged, we proceeded to design an enclosure that encapsulates all the components and unifies them seamlessly. For the aesthetic, I opted for a boxy, retro design reminiscent of the 1990s, drawing inspiration from classic Nokia phones—elements of which can be seen in its form.

The enclosure was prepared and separated into two halves: the front enclosure and the lid part. The front enclosure houses the ESP32 display board and the Switch PCB. The ESP32 Display is pressure fitted in its position; we have also included mounting holes in case someone wishes to tighten the display properly with the enclosure. The switch PCB is fastened in place with four M2 screws.

The Lid section holds both the battery and the power switch.

Both the front enclosure and the lid section are joined together with four M2 screws since we created four screw bosses on the front enclosure and four holes on the lid to slide the screws through and attach the two pieces together.

For the 3D print, we exported the mesh files for both pieces and printed them on our new Creality K10 max with a 0.4mm nozzle and 25% infill White Hyper PLA.

ESP32 Display Dev Board

We are using the ESP32-S3-LCD-1.69 in our project, as it is a low-cost, high-performance MCU board that perfectly suits our needs.

Equipped with a 1.69-inch capacitive LCD screen, a lithium battery charging chip, and a six-axis sensor with a three-axis accelerometer and gyroscope, this board is packed with features that enhance...