Author Topic: 7 Inch Pac-Man (Read 26625 times)

Mungo9000 · « **on:** February 09, 2012, 07:14:00 pm »

Hi All,
Today I completed a miniature Pac-Man cabinet built around a Gameboy Advance.
I took photos throughout the build and now that it's a success I'll share with you what I did.

To begin with, here's the finished unit within a retro-gaming advert.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:15:30 pm »

To begin I bought a second hand GBA SP and a few components. I began with an Arduino prototyping control set. It seemed a good idea at first and I did have it working, but it turned out to be lousy later on.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:16:42 pm »

The first step was a bit of paper-engineering to try and figure out what I was going to build.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:19:41 pm »

Once I'd figured things out, I designed on paper before putting into the computer to print out a final plan.
I ended up using Adobe InDesign (?) which is DTP rather than a CAD program. It sounds weird but it really worked for me; I know InDesign backwards.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:21:11 pm »

Once the design was ready to go it was time to cut some MDF. 4mm thickness seemed perfect for the job.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:26:27 pm »

Let's put the GBA inbetween to gauge the distance and get busy with the glue.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:27:43 pm »

With the glue dry, things look like they're going in the right direction.

Green Giant · « **Reply #7 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:27:52 pm »

Very cool. Keep the build coming.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:31:34 pm »

Big Mistake!
I had an analogue joystick. I did try it with the GBA and found that it worked.
BUT... I only tried it in one direction. Later I would discover that this whole control system was useless.
My instincts were already telling me that this wouldn't work, but after I tested it and had a positive outcome, I kept on going with a flawed design.

(This image is the Arduino control board, cut in two and set at two different heights. It would have been brilliant if it had worked.)

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:32:38 pm »

Despite the error, things are looking good.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:33:55 pm »

On the back panel I fitted a power socket and the on/off switch.
So far so good.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:35:31 pm »

With the GBA stuffed inside, I got my first taste of how it was going to look and I suddenly felt really excited. (After all, this is my very first arcade project.)

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:40:05 pm »

Whilst this was ongoing, I got to work on the graphics.
I absolutely love Namco's "Pac-Man Collection" for GBA. This rom includes various Pac-Man games but the jewel in the crown is Pac-Man Arrangements, I was going to try and make something special for "arrangements" but after a while I decided the graphics should be for the collection as a whole and be very generic and instantly recognisable.

(Pac Man Arrangements was released in arcades as "Namco Classics Collection volume 2". If you wish to try it in mame, the rom is ncv2.zip)

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:41:04 pm »

Once the first coat of paint was on, the cabinet just came alive.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:45:01 pm »

I decided to change the buttons from the Arduino board with something more suited to the overall design of the unit.
I got these fantastic chrome edged push-to-make buttons from Amazon UK (Miniature Round Push Button, Yellow
by Electrovision)

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:47:10 pm »

I planned to print my own stickers onto a sheet of adhesive-backed, A4 laser-print gloss.
I'd spent time matching the sticker colour to the cabinet colour and had a perfect match.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:48:44 pm »

Every time I added something to the cabinet, it looked more and more like a genuine arcade machine.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:52:09 pm »

With the cabinet looking good, it was time to get to work on the GBA.

This is a very delicate soldering job. Be prepared to spend a lot more time on this than you imagine if you want nice and neat soldering.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:53:29 pm »

Cut the red wire....
The solder joints are held in place with hot-glue.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2012, 07:58:32 pm »

I was originally inspired to build this after seeing a youtube video of the worlds smallest Space Invaders.
But I think I made one great design innovation over that original.

In the original Space Invaders video, changing cartridges was a big deal and required dismantling the unit.
I realised that if I could figure out how to keep the basic shape of the GBA inside the cabinet, then carts could be swapped out through the base. It seemed like a good idea so I adjusted the design to see if I could make it work.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:02:45 pm »

Then I hit my first really serious problem. It wasn't a big deal but it sure made me feel miserable.
With all of the pushing and pulling, and despite being delicate and gentle, I damaged the ribbon cable going to the screen of the GBA. There was no way to repair it and I had to order a replacement.

My screen is proper broken

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:03:34 pm »

Whilst waiting for the replacement screen I got to work on the livery.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:07:58 pm »

With a new screen I got back to work and now ran into the problem of the analogue joystick.
I'd always had reservations about it, but once I connected it, it just didn't work.

In this image you can see a piece of white prototyping-breadboard (between the GBA and multimeter). I had planned to hard wire the controls in the cabinet and join them to the GBA by simply plugging them into this breadboard. It was an easy way to connect things and turned out to be a great time-saver.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:18:04 pm »

I ordered a replacement joystick and got to work puttting a square peg in a round hole (literally).
The joystick is manufactured by "Grayhill Inc." and the part is a series 04A joystick.

I ordered the part from Digikey.com and it was sent from America to the UK. This made the shipping more expensive than the part itself (altogether about £22 for the joystick - for comparison, the GBA was only £17). When I installed the joystick I found it was faulty. This bothered me because I knew that by the time I sent it back and paid all of the shipping on the replacement it would have been a major expense. However, I spoke with digikey via their live-chat and they arranged to send a replacement part free of charge. My experience of their customer service was brilliant and I mention it here for what it's worth.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:20:27 pm »

I was noticing that my stickers were already looking shabby so I decided to remove them and try to find a better replacement.
After some experimenting I found that the stickers I was making were good, but became superb when coated in clear sticky-backed plastic.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:22:16 pm »

I was now just about ready for the final stretch.
First I fitted and cradled the new (working) joystick.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #26 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:24:53 pm »

I replaced all of the stickers and set all of the buttons. Then connected them to the breadboard to try everything.
Playing games on the cabinet controls was a great moment; even if the electronics was still outside the cabinet.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:25:58 pm »

The final task was to ever so gently squeeze everything into the cabinet and reconnect the controls to the breadboard.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #28 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:27:20 pm »

Here is the 'almost' finished unit stood next to a coffee mug. Suddenly you realise how small it is when you have something to give it scale.

Mungo9000 · « **Reply #29 on:** February 09, 2012, 08:32:21 pm »

FINISHED!

ZOMG, that felt like it took forever. Finally it's done and playing beautifully. Despite being small it offers a surprisingly good gaming experience.

As this is my first build I would really appreciate your comments and naturally, I am open to any questions you may have.
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this, I do appreciate it.

DaveMMR · « **Reply #30 on:** February 09, 2012, 11:55:43 pm »

Wow that is pretty cool. Awesome job. I like that!

jmike · « **Reply #31 on:** February 10, 2012, 07:17:40 am »

Mungo9000, this thing looks amazing! You must have lots of patients to work on something like this, I would have chucked it out the window after the first failed attempt.

So what next?

bigmatty77 · « **Reply #32 on:** February 10, 2012, 09:38:13 am »

I love seeing these mini projects, i admire you guys who can build something at such a small scale and have it look so amazing.

I also think its a great idea using a GBA, there was some great classic arcade ports on that system, would even be worth getting one of those flash carts so you wouldn't even need to change the games, just select from a list like on a full size mame cab

pageophile · « **Reply #33 on:** February 10, 2012, 09:53:39 am »

Tip of the hat, that turned out GREAT!

Love these mini's, remind me of the little Coleco units that always seemed to stop working.

dandare · « **Reply #34 on:** February 10, 2012, 11:17:54 pm »

Great stuff!

I'm in the process of building a mini too, and have ordered the same joystick.

Very nice finish, you should be proud!

ps. I think it may be time for a dedicated 'mini' on the forum?.

DCsegaDH · « **Reply #35 on:** February 11, 2012, 12:27:13 am »

Nice job, it probably took a lot of patience.

putto72 · « **Reply #36 on:** March 03, 2012, 09:55:37 am »

Nice cab! You can never get enough of Pac Man & Ms Pac Man..

I can confirm that the Digikey joystick is really good, I used it too for my tiny Ms Pac cabinet (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=117840.0). Wiring everything is always a nightmare in these small projects.. welcome to the burned-finger club!

cypher33 · « **Reply #37 on:** June 25, 2012, 07:26:04 pm »

Quote from: Mungo9000 on February 09, 2012, 07:52:09 pm

With the cabinet looking good, it was time to get to work on the GBA.

This is a very delicate soldering job. Be prepared to spend a lot more time on this than you imagine if you want nice and neat soldering.

I'm having major issues witht the joystick!! Could you give me some advise please?

05SRT4 · « **Reply #38 on:** June 25, 2012, 07:35:06 pm »

Very good!!!! I love it, I had fun building my MK mini to. I had the same Idea with a pac-man mini, I have the GBA just sitting collecting dust, I need to get on it!!

PL1 · « **Reply #39 on:** June 25, 2012, 08:30:48 pm »

Quote from: cypher33 on June 25, 2012, 07:26:04 pm

I'm having major issues witht the joystick!! Could you give me some advise please?

Cypher33,

What kind of issues? (Specific inquiries/details help. So do pics if you're not sure how to describe something -- "+ Additional Options..." just below the text editing window when replying.)

If it helps, here's the datasheet for the Grayhill 04A joystick:

http://www.alliedelec.com/images/products/datasheets/bm/GRAYHILL_INC/70217130.pdf

Grounds/commons go to the center pin.

Scott


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