The popularity of retro gaming has given us a steady stream of hardware to purchase, from the NES Mini to the Analogue Pocket, but one thing all of these devices have in common is that they allow you to play decade-old games – and not entirely new 'retro' titles.
Clyde Shaffer aims to change that with GameTank (thanks, Retro Dodo), which, on the surface, resembles a forgotten Famiclone from the late '80s, but is in fact a brand-new 'retro' platform that runs unique hardware and will be home to its own range of exclusive games.
"Similar in spirit to fantasy consoles like the Pico-8 or TIC-80, the GameTank is set apart by its implementation as a physical hardware device first, and an emulator second," explains Shaffer. "Its custom framebuffer-based graphics architecture allows it to produce smoother and more fluid animations than are typical of 8-bit hardware. Additionally, the audio system is highly configurable, using a second 6502 as a dedicated sound coprocessor."
GameTank isn't taking the 'easy' route to faux-retro greatness here – it will use authentic cartridges and output a composite video signal from an old-school RCA connection, just like in the days of yore.
"Besides the processors, the system is built out of basic logic and RAM chips instead of an FPGA or microcontroller," continues Shaffer. "In other words, this isn’t just another emulator—it’s an entirely new breed of hardware for the next generation of 8-bit games."
Here are the specs of this intriguing device:
- CPU
- WDC's W65C02S clocked at 3.5 MHz
- Video
- 128x128 framebuffer, some rows on top and bottom hidden by most TVs
- Graphics acceleration
- Hardware-accelerated byte copy, also known as a "Blitter", can transfer images to the framebuffer on every clock cycle at 3.5 MHz
- Graphics RAM
- 512 KB used as source data for blitter
- General-purpose RAM
- 32 KB banked in 8 KB sections
- Audio
- W65C02S at 14 MHz with 4KB RAM, default 14 kHz sample rate
- Controller
- D-Pad + "A" "B" "C" and "Start" buttons, 2x ports
- Cartridge
- Custom 36-pin 0.1-inch pitch format, standard board contains 2 MB of flash memory
- Expansion port
- 26-pin rear expansion port exposing 12 bits of GPIO and other system signals
What makes this even more appealing is that GameTank is an open-source project. "All of the GameTank’s hardware is open source: including schematics, board files, 3D print files, and part lists," Shaffer says. |The C SDK, the emulator, the client program for the cartridge flasher, and many of the games are all also open source. The console board designs are maintained in both surface-mount and through-hole versions for robotic assembly and DIY soldering, respectively."
The goal for GameTank is to become a "playground for software and hardware tinkerers alike," so if that sounds appealing to you, make sure you subscribe to its Crowd Supply page.