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Hi there! I've fallen in love with Pico8 over the past few weeks. This is my first post here on the forums, and I thought I would share my Pico Pi project with you all :)

I am in the planning phase of this project, the purpose of which is to create a dedicated Pico8 machine in the style of the Commodore 64, using only keys that the Pico8 software utilises.

Planned Features:

  • Ortholinear DVORAK key layout (can make key template file for QWERTY version available)
  • Primary and Shift characters printed on each key
  • Side-loading floppy disk drive and SD card reader for loading physical game carts
  • Two front usb ports for controllers
  • Rear ports: HDMI, Ethernet, USB, Power, (and RCA, for old TVs, if I can manage it)
  • PICO8 logo key is actually the PAUSE key

I'm planning to hand-wire the key switches to an Arduino Pro-Micro inside the case, which will connect internally to the Raspberry Pi via USB. I also want to create custom controllers that can plug into the front of the unit via USB.

I've made custom mechanical keyboards before, with my own key designs printed from wasdkeyboards.com. I would prefer an SA profile key for this, but I can't find a company that will print custom labels on those for a reasonable price, so it'll have to be OEM for now.

The part that I have no experience with will be the 3D modelling and printing of the outer shell and the switch plate. If anyone wants to help with that, please let me know!

Critiques welcome :)

P#62177 2019-02-23 11:45 ( Edited 2019-02-23 11:46)

This looks really neat. Sadly I have no experience with 3d modeling or printing stuff either.
What is the MODE key for? Also, I use the CTRL key a lot and think it should be on the bottom row about where the PAUSE key is. Just my opinion.

P#62182 2019-02-23 12:31

I had renamed ESC to MODE, since ESC is used to switch modes in Pico8, but I've actually changed that back to ESC in mk2, since all instructions will say to use the ESC key:

I've also moved the Pause and ~ keys moreabouts where they usually are, and swapped CTRL and ALT in the same fashion. I had put CTRL and ALT where they were because CTRL is used a lot in Pico8, and ALT is only ever used (as far as I'm aware) in conjunction with RETURN, to toggle full-screen mode. But you're right, our muscle memory has CTRL at the bottom left corner, and it's better to have ALT in a new location since it's so seldom used.

P#62186 2019-02-23 18:54

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