Via UpToDown
Thank God for emulators and the low-cost, high-availability of electronic parts.
Purchasing a single-game arcade back in the day usually set people back a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, but now you can take that 'tablet that you got last Christmas that you hardly use except for watching porn on' and turn it into a one-of-a-kind arcade machine.
Here's your shopping list:
1) Wood or other material to build your cabinet
2) Arcade buttons and joystick
3) Circuit board for those buttons (most sets come with everything you need)
4) Bluetooth board if you want to wirelessly connect the buttons to the tablet
5) Google (to download your emulators and games)
DISCLAIMER -- We don't encourage piracy. If you own a physical copy of an arcade game you may legally obtain a digital version of it. Other than that, there are MANY ways of obtaining the games you want. We won't tell you.
In a nut shell, here's what you need to do...
Step 1: Determine the size of your cabinet
If you're tablet is 7" or 10", you need to make sure there's enough space to slide your tablet into. There is already a product on the market where you can place your tablet onto a prefab cabinet, but who wants to spend $130 on a piece of plastic?
Step 2: Design the cabinet
There are many different blueprints for arcade cabinets, and no single one is the best way. Just pick one that you like. Remember: you're going to be moving it around, either to the table or your lap, so make sure it's light and comfortable to handle.
Step 3: Cut
Measure twice, cut once.
Step 4: Install buttons
The buttons, joystick, and PCB board that they connect to are most likely going to be the type that register keyboard commands. For example, if you press up on your joystick it'll register as a W or a 2 or something. You'll need to know this when you program your buttons to your tablet.
Step 5: Install Bluetooth
Again, if you want to wirelessly connect to your tablet, you'll need a bluetooth dongle to do so. Google magic, my friend.
Step 6: Install MAME
Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. There's an app for that.
Step 7: Pair buttons to tablet
After doing so, you'll be able to reroute the buttons
Step 8: Slide tablet into cabinet
And you're done!
For a more detailed explaination, head to UpToDown
Thank God for emulators and the low-cost, high-availability of electronic parts.
Purchasing a single-game arcade back in the day usually set people back a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, but now you can take that 'tablet that you got last Christmas that you hardly use except for watching porn on' and turn it into a one-of-a-kind arcade machine.
Here's your shopping list:
1) Wood or other material to build your cabinet
2) Arcade buttons and joystick
3) Circuit board for those buttons (most sets come with everything you need)
4) Bluetooth board if you want to wirelessly connect the buttons to the tablet
5) Google (to download your emulators and games)
DISCLAIMER -- We don't encourage piracy. If you own a physical copy of an arcade game you may legally obtain a digital version of it. Other than that, there are MANY ways of obtaining the games you want. We won't tell you.
In a nut shell, here's what you need to do...
Step 1: Determine the size of your cabinet
If you're tablet is 7" or 10", you need to make sure there's enough space to slide your tablet into. There is already a product on the market where you can place your tablet onto a prefab cabinet, but who wants to spend $130 on a piece of plastic?
Step 2: Design the cabinet
There are many different blueprints for arcade cabinets, and no single one is the best way. Just pick one that you like. Remember: you're going to be moving it around, either to the table or your lap, so make sure it's light and comfortable to handle.
Step 3: Cut
Measure twice, cut once.
Step 4: Install buttons
The buttons, joystick, and PCB board that they connect to are most likely going to be the type that register keyboard commands. For example, if you press up on your joystick it'll register as a W or a 2 or something. You'll need to know this when you program your buttons to your tablet.
Step 5: Install Bluetooth
Again, if you want to wirelessly connect to your tablet, you'll need a bluetooth dongle to do so. Google magic, my friend.
Step 6: Install MAME
Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. There's an app for that.
Step 7: Pair buttons to tablet
After doing so, you'll be able to reroute the buttons
Step 8: Slide tablet into cabinet
And you're done!
For a more detailed explaination, head to UpToDown