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E-OS — ESP32-S3 Handheld Console

An ESP32-S3 based, dual-screen (TFT+OLED) handmade gaming console project running on a FreeRTOS architecture.

🌐 Project Website

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About the Project

This project is a handheld console developed from scratch using the ESP32-S3 microcontroller. Without relying on any pre-built UI frameworks or emulators, the operating system (E-OS) and the game engines were custom coded in C++ to run specifically on this hardware.

Hardware Architecture

• Processor: Dual-Core ESP32-S3 running at 240 MHz.
• Dual Display:
  • Main Screen: 160x128 Color TFT (SPI). Handles the main game rendering and UI.
  • Secondary Screen: 128x64 OLED (I2C). Located at the top of the device; displays system status and high scores.
• Memory: 16MB Flash + 8MB PSRAM OPI. Massive memory bandwidth ensures a stutter-free experience.
• Audio & Controls: 8-bit buzzer and an analog joystick (with hardware deadzone filtering).
• Storage: Micro SD Card integration for game assets.

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Software Architecture (E-OS)

• FreeRTOS: One processor core (Core 0) handles the game logic, while the other core (Core 1) is entirely dedicated to screen rendering.
• Carousel UI: Features an animated, rotating carousel menu design for navigating between games.
• Hardware Pause: Thanks to RTOS task management, games can be paused instantly at the hardware level.

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15 Custom Games

All games are heavily optimized for the device's resolution and hardware limits.

	DOOM: Doom-style raycasting engine.
	MODE 7 RACING: Classic racing mechanics. Collect checkpoints and leave rivals behind.
	WIRE-FRAME 3D: 3D space battles against alien forces.
	GALACTIC STRIKE: Survive enemy fleets, collect power-ups and defeat bosses.
	PLATFORMER: Overcome obstacles, dodge traps, and beat the levels.
	SPACE INVADERS: Survive waves of incoming aliens.
	ARKANOID: Break all bricks with an accelerating ball.
	PAC-MAN: Escape ghosts and collect all dots in the maze.
	FLAPPY BIRD: Fly carefully through the pipe obstacles.
	SNAKE: Grow your tail, don't hit the walls or yourself.
	TETRIS: Stack the blocks, clear the lines; speed up as the level rises.
	DUNGEON: Top-down dungeon crawler with boss fights, a spell system, a merchant and varied biomes.
	TOWER DEFENSE: Wave-based strategy: place towers, upgrade them and call in the waves you manage.
	2048: Combine matching numbers to reach the 2048 tile.
	RHYTHM: Keep up with the music beat and catch the falling neon notes.

3 Apps

	FLIGHT TRACKER: Near real-time flight tracking system. Track planes using the OpenSky Network API.
	TOOLS: A basic hardware tool containing a stopwatch and a metronome.
	DRAW (ETCH-A-SKETCH): Classic Etch-a-Sketch style drawing app. Change modes and draw in color.

Operating System (E-OS Launcher)

The E-OS Launcher acts as the main OS, providing a fluid, rotating (carousel) main menu interface hosting all games.

• Hardware Pause: Instantly suspend the active RTOS task by pressing the joystick button in any game.
• Double-Buffered UI: Rotating carousel menu runs completely tear-free, offering smartphone-like smooth transitions.
• OTA Bootloader: Reads binaries from SD card and writes to flash. Reboot state is remembered via RTC magic values.
• Hardware Sound Control: Mute, lower (LOW), or play games at full volume (HIGH) globally via the Settings menu.
• Live FPS Overlay: Real-time frame rate (FPS) overlay available for developers on all games.
• Asynchronous Dual-Core: Core 0 strictly handles background tasks and game logic, while Core 1 is dedicated to drawing graphics.

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Screenshot System (Over USB)

Screenshots and GIFs are captured over the USB serial connection. The asynchronous FrameDumper streams the framebuffer to the PC while the game keeps running at 60 FPS. To process and save this data as PNGs or GIFs on your computer, the Python tools (capture.py, capture_gif.py, etc.) located in the tools/ directory are used.

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How to Compile

Required Libraries

• TFT_eSPI — TFT display driver (ST7735)
• U8g2 — OLED display driver (SH1106)
• SD — SD card access
• Preferences — NVS high-score saving

Setup Steps

1. TFT_eSPI Setup: Copy the User_Setup.h file into your TFT_eSPI library folder:

   Windows: C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Arduino\libraries\TFT_eSPI\User_Setup.h
   

2. Partitions: Use the partitions.csv file provided in each game folder.
3. Board Settings (Arduino IDE):
   • Board: ESP32S3 Dev Module
   • Flash Size: 16MB (128Mb)
   • PSRAM: OPI 8MB
   • Partition Scheme: Custom (partitions.csv)
4. Compilation: Each game is compiled as a separate .ino file in its own folder. launcher.ino is the main OS.

Pin Configuration

Pin	Function
12	SPI SCK
11	SPI MOSI
42	SPI MISO
15	TFT CS
10	SD CS
41	TFT DC
8	I2C SDA (OLED)
9	I2C SCL (OLED)
1	Joystick X
2	Joystick Y
18	Joystick SW
3	Button A
21	Button B
4	Button C
6	Button D
5	Buzzer

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E-OS Console Project