You know when you first see pictures of newborn puppies and think ‘Look how small and cute they are!’, then instantly start that mental battle as to whether you have enough space for a dog or not? Well, I’ve come across a handheld that gives you those same feelings, and the bonus is that, unlike a cute puppy, it doesn’t need feeding and won’t ever grow.
For the visually impaired among you, you might want to grab a magnifying glass. I’m wearing my glasses as I type this, but I think I’d need the Hubble telescope to play this thing properly. This ‘DIY Fidget Device’ from YouTuber The Wrench answers the age-old question of ‘how many buttons do you need to play a computer game, and the answer is one.
Now I know what you’re thinking; button-mashers in Super Smash Bros. tend to just use one button anyway, and it’s usually the C-stick when playing on the GameCube, but I’m talking about one single button with no other triggers or buttons around it. Remember Flappy Bird? Of course you do, you weren’t born under a rock. Well, that just needed one button to make Signor Beakface (probably his name) flap upwards, and that’s precisely what The Wrench has based this handheld on.
The Tiny Handheld Guaranteed To Kill Boredom… For A Short Amount Of Time
Tiny consoles are a bit of a novelty that we’re obsessed with here at Retro Dodo. With a 0.96″ OLED screen, it sits under the FunKey with its 1.54″ screen but is a big improvement on the minuscule Thumby with its 0.38″ by 0.27″ display. And yes, you read that right; it uses an OLED screen, not an LCD, so I could play Flappy Bird on this thing in the best possible quality… if I can make out what’s happening on the screen, that is.
Of course, with only one button to use while playing, you can’t play many titles on The Wrench’s device. Still, if one-button gaming is your preferred niche and you’ve already got a healthy catalogue of titles ready in the wings, then this could be a game-changer for you. Attach it to a keychain, a necklace, or an earring and game on the go (albeit with difficulty if it’s attached to your own ear… probably best to put it on a friend’s ear so you can see it better).
After putting a DFRobot Fermion display, a DFRobot Beetle ESP32-C6 development board, and a push-button together on a breadboard, The Wrench called in their brother to create a simple version of Flappy Bird and commissioned a custom printed circuit board to connect everything together. Admittedly, it’s a tiny little thing that I think I would lose done the back of the sofa considering how many times I lose my wallet in my own house, but I love the ingenuity here, and it’s definitely a cool piece of kit that would certainly keep me more occupied while catching the train or chilling in the WC (there’s only so many times you can read that shampoo bottle when you forget to take your phone in with you!). Thanks to the Wrench and hackster.io for bringing this to our attention!
