An ESP32 chip plus 107 leds,
spinning at 600RPM
The code for the games is bolted to the propeller of a big-ass fan.
A big fan spinning lots of LEDs
Ventilastation is an open source electromechanical game console with an odd display, built for creating and playing circular video games.
Fully designed, published and built in Argentina.
The evolution of Super Ventilagon (2015), it builds on its predecesor's circular display by adding sprite based 8-bit like graphics, and super easy programmability with Micropython.
An ESP32 chip plus 107 leds,
Slip Ring
Power supply and data signals go thru a Slip Ring towards the base, that uses a Raspberry Pi to play back the game music and sound effects.
Open Source
and Open Hardware
If you have a washing machine or a fan you are no longer using, you can build your own Ventilastation. Find out more in our Github repository.
Making games for Ventilastation
Ventilastation is ideal for games that are specifically designed for its circular display.
To make it easier to create games, the Micropython programming language is embedded in the spinning ESP32 microcontroller. And a computer-based emulator is available, so you can build and test your games before commiting to make a dedicated hardware console.
To start coding, we recommend browing the sample game Vyruss, which is less than 700 lines of code, available in the project's repository.
Build your own Ventilastation
All the source code, the electronic schematics, and the mechanical blueprints to build your own Ventilastation console are open source and open hardware.
Get started in the GitHub repository. And if you ever get stuck, don't hesitate to contact us, we are happy to help more folks build their own.
A game console made by alecu
With the help of plenty of friends:
- Tecnoestructuras
- Python Argentina
- GameOn!
- ArsGames
- EspacioTec
- Cybercirujas
- FlashParty
Some previous games:
- Reflektor (2013)
- Super Ventilagon (2015)
- Vigilen los Cielos (2016)