Mini Arcade | Abbie Duke

LILYGO T-DISPLAY-S3 MINI ARCADE

A native ESP-IDF and PlatformIO project for a compact ESP32-S3 arcade system: custom controls, a dedicated RGB565 display pipeline, a growing library of games, and a playground for retro-inspired visual effects.

ESP32-S3 ESP-IDF PLATFORMIO RGB565 + PSRAM SPIFFS I2S AUDIO

Front of the red Mini Arcade cabinet showing its main menu, joystick, and arcade buttons — Mini Arcade front

Inside the Mini Arcade cabinet showing the ESP32 hardware and control wiring — Inside the Mini Arcade

Built natively

The Mini Arcade uses a 320 × 170 RGB565 framebuffer in PSRAM. The main application owns the display, while games remain separate C modules using shared graphics and audio interfaces.

76 C source files

Arcade controls

A physical joystick and arcade-style buttons drive the menus and games. BOOT provides shared Back/Home behaviour, while F provides shared pause and resume.

23 game entries

Storage & sound

SPIFFS holds project assets and diagnostics. Direct mono I2S audio is wired for the amplifier, with the sound path maintained as a separately testable hardware baseline.

207 project assets

Games and experiments

Arcade and strategy games including Asteroids, Battle Zone, Boulder Dash, Breakout, Galaga, Invaders, Maze Chase, Missile Command, Simon, Tempest, and more.
Board and card games including Checkers, Connect 4, Othello, Battleships, Blackjack, Poker, Poker Dice, Pig, and Yahtzee.
Creative modules including a PET-style demo, raster and plasma effects, a Mandelbrot viewer, kaleidoscope, slideshow, clock, calculator, and warp tunnel.

Still evolving

This is an active build. Some features have been proven on the physical arcade; newer games and visual experiments continue to be developed and tested as the project grows.

Mini Arcade Gallery

Real photos of the Mini Arcade hardware and the games, experiments, and tools running on it.

Explore all Mini Arcade flowcharts Browse game logic, visual effects, menus, controls, and shared systems. Expand individual functions to follow decisions and linked calls from this source snapshot.

ARCADE GAMES

Asteroids running on the Mini Arcade — AsteroidsAsteroids game overview See the overall game states, controls, and main decisions.Asteroids function flow Follow setup, ship movement, collisions, and wave progression.

Battle Zone running on the Mini Arcade — Battle ZoneBattle Zone function flow Explore game updates, landscape rendering, enemies, and radar.

Boulder Dash running on the Mini Arcade — Boulder DashBoulder Dash function flow Follow cave generation, player movement, falling boulders, and drawing.

Breakout running on the Mini Arcade — BreakoutBreakout function flow Follow wave setup, brick hits, simulation steps, and screen drawing.

Breakout automatic mode running on the Mini Arcade — Breakout AutoBreakout function flow Follow wave setup, brick hits, simulation steps, and screen drawing.

Centipede running on the Mini Arcade — CentipedeCrawler / Centipede function flow Explore moving segments, splitting crawlers, shots, and mushroom collisions.

Crawler Centipede running on the Mini Arcade — Crawler CentipedeCrawler / Centipede function flow Explore moving segments, splitting crawlers, shots, and mushroom collisions.

Defender running on the Mini Arcade — DefenderDefender function flow Follow the scrolling world, simulation steps, controls, and drawing.

Galaga running on the Mini Arcade — GalagaGalaga function flow Explore enemy updates, scoring, simulation steps, and screen drawing.

Missile Command running on the Mini Arcade — Missile CommandMissile Command function flow Explore missile simulation, surviving cities, wave bonuses, and drawing.

Missile Command game action on the Mini Arcade — Missile Command ActionMissile Command function flow Explore missile simulation, surviving cities, wave bonuses, and drawing.

Scramble running on the Mini Arcade — ScrambleScramble function flow Follow terrain handling, collision checks, controls, and screen drawing.

Scramble game action on the Mini Arcade — Scramble ActionScramble function flow Follow terrain handling, collision checks, controls, and screen drawing.

Another Scramble screen on the Mini Arcade — ScrambleScramble function flow Follow terrain handling, collision checks, controls, and screen drawing.

Space Invaders running on the Mini Arcade — Space InvadersSpace Invaders function flow Follow collision checks, hit effects, simulation steps, and drawing.

Tempest running on the Mini Arcade — TempestTempest function flow Follow lane controls, enemy handling, web updates, and drawing.

BOARD, CARD & PUZZLE GAMES

Battleships running on the Mini Arcade — BattleshipsBattleships function flow Follow board setup, player actions, game updates, and grid drawing.

Blackjack running on the Mini Arcade — BlackjackBlackjack function flow Explore card values, hand decisions, game updates, and card drawing.

Checkers running on the Mini Arcade — CheckersCheckers function flow Explore board checks, piece selection, player actions, and drawing.

Connect 4 running on the Mini Arcade — Connect 4Connect 4 function flow Follow column selection, piece drops, line checks, and board drawing.

Othello running on the Mini Arcade — OthelloOthello game overview See the overall game states, controls, and main decisions.Othello function flow Follow legal moves, captured pieces, player actions, and board drawing.

Pig running on the Mini Arcade — PigPig function flow Explore rolling and holding decisions, computer turns, and score storage.

Poker running on the Mini Arcade — PokerPoker function flow Follow hand evaluation, betting, player actions, and card drawing.

Poker Dice running on the Mini Arcade — Poker DicePoker Dice function flow Explore dice evaluation, game updates, score storage, and dice drawing.

Poker Dice roll screen on the Mini Arcade — Poker Dice RollPoker Dice function flow Explore dice evaluation, game updates, score storage, and dice drawing.

Simon running on the Mini Arcade — SimonSimon function flow Explore sequence generation, illuminated pads, tones, and player actions.

VISUALS, TOOLS & HARDWARE

Mini Arcade demo list on the hardware — Demo ListDemo stage selection function flow Explore stage names, timeout presets, and automatic stage selection.

Mini Arcade solid 3D demo effect — Solid 3D DemoDemo function flow Explore the wider Demo module, its stage updates, visual effects, and drawing.

Mini Arcade sound test screen — Sound TestSound Test function flow Follow sound-test entry, button actions, and screen drawing.

Front view of Mini Arcade sound hardware — Sound Hardware Front

Back view of Mini Arcade sound hardware — Sound Hardware Back

SCREEN CAPTURES

Direct captures from the Mini Arcade display, showing its menus, games, visual tools, and controller test.

MAIN MENU

Mini Arcade main menu with Games selected — GamesMenu navigation function flow Follow menu selection, button and joystick input, and screen changes.

Mini Arcade main menu with Hall of Fame selected — Hall of FameHall of Fame function flow Explore the score display, melody playback, updates, and drawing.Menu navigation Follow selection and navigation on the menu shown above.

Mini Arcade main menu with Misc selected — MiscMenu navigation function flow Follow menu selection, button and joystick input, and screen changes.

Mini Arcade main menu with Settings selected — SettingsSettings function flow Follow settings controls, saved preferences, system information, and drawing.Menu navigation Follow selection and navigation on the menu shown above.

GAMES

Asteroids on the Mini Arcade — AsteroidsAsteroids game overview See the overall game states, controls, and main decisions.Asteroids function flow Follow setup, ship movement, collisions, and wave progression.

Battle Zone on the Mini Arcade — Battle ZoneBattle Zone function flow Explore game updates, landscape rendering, enemies, and radar.

Battleships on the Mini Arcade — BattleshipsBattleships function flow Follow board setup, player actions, game updates, and grid drawing.

Blackjack on the Mini Arcade — BlackjackBlackjack function flow Explore card values, hand decisions, game updates, and card drawing.

Boulder Dash on the Mini Arcade — Boulder DashBoulder Dash function flow Follow cave generation, player movement, falling boulders, and drawing.

Breakout on the Mini Arcade — BreakoutBreakout function flow Follow wave setup, brick hits, simulation steps, and screen drawing.

Checkers on the Mini Arcade — CheckersCheckers function flow Explore board checks, piece selection, player actions, and drawing.

Connect 4 — Capture 1 on the Mini Arcade — Connect 4 — Capture 1Connect 4 function flow Follow column selection, piece drops, line checks, and board drawing.

Connect 4 — Capture 2 on the Mini Arcade — Connect 4 — Capture 2Connect 4 function flow Follow column selection, piece drops, line checks, and board drawing.

Crawler on the Mini Arcade — CrawlerCrawler / Centipede function flow Explore moving segments, splitting crawlers, shots, and mushroom collisions.

Defender on the Mini Arcade — DefenderDefender function flow Follow the scrolling world, simulation steps, controls, and drawing.

Dungeon title screen on the Mini Arcade — Dungeon — Title screenDungeon system overview Explore the game states, controls, AI, procedural world, persistence, and all 11 source modules.

Dungeon — Map on the Mini Arcade — Dungeon — Map

Dungeon — Trap on the Mini Arcade — Dungeon — Trap

Galaga — Capture 1 on the Mini Arcade — Galaga — Capture 1Galaga function flow Explore enemy updates, scoring, simulation steps, and screen drawing.

Galaga — Capture 2 on the Mini Arcade — Galaga — Capture 2Galaga function flow Explore enemy updates, scoring, simulation steps, and screen drawing.

Space Invaders on the Mini Arcade — Space InvadersSpace Invaders function flow Follow collision checks, hit effects, simulation steps, and drawing.

Maze Chase — Capture 1 on the Mini Arcade — Maze Chase — Capture 1Maze Chase function flow Follow maze movement, ghost updates, collision checks, and drawing.

Maze Chase — Capture 2 on the Mini Arcade — Maze Chase — Capture 2Maze Chase function flow Follow maze movement, ghost updates, collision checks, and drawing.

Missile Command on the Mini Arcade — Missile CommandMissile Command function flow Explore missile simulation, surviving cities, wave bonuses, and drawing.

Othello — Capture 1 on the Mini Arcade — Othello — Capture 1Othello game overview See the overall game states, controls, and main decisions.Othello function flow Follow legal moves, captured pieces, player actions, and board drawing.

Othello — Capture 2 on the Mini Arcade — Othello — Capture 2Othello game overview See the overall game states, controls, and main decisions.Othello function flow Follow legal moves, captured pieces, player actions, and board drawing.

Pig on the Mini Arcade — PigPig function flow Explore rolling and holding decisions, computer turns, and score storage.

Poker on the Mini Arcade — PokerPoker function flow Follow hand evaluation, betting, player actions, and card drawing.

Scramble on the Mini Arcade — ScrambleScramble function flow Follow terrain handling, collision checks, controls, and screen drawing.

Simon on the Mini Arcade — SimonSimon function flow Explore sequence generation, illuminated pads, tones, and player actions.

Yahtzee on the Mini Arcade — YahtzeeYahtzee function flow Explore dice rolls, score calculations, turns, and screen drawing.

CONTROLLER TEST

MISC & VISUAL TOOLS

Boing Ball running on the Mini Arcade — Boing BallBoing Ball function flow Explore sphere mapping, shadow drawing, animation updates, and controls.

Calculator running on the Mini Arcade — CalculatorCalculator function flow Follow key selection, number bases, calculations, and display updates.

Clock running on the Mini Arcade — ClockClock function flow Explore time synchronization status, date and countdown updates, and drawing.

Kaleidoscope running on the Mini Arcade — KaleidoscopeKaleidoscope function flow Follow particles, trails, colourful shapes, controls, and frame updates.

Mandelbrot viewer running on the Mini Arcade — MandelbrotMandelbrot function flow Explore pixel calculations, manual views, automatic zoom, and frame rendering.

Matrix effect running on the Mini Arcade — MatrixMatrix function flow Follow column resets, animation updates, controls, and frame presentation.

Slideshow running on the Mini Arcade — SlideshowSlideshow function flow Explore slide discovery, image decoding, navigation, and screen drawing.

PROJECT NOTES

Project notes, development stories, and details about these screen captures will be added here.

Project details are taken from the current Mini Arcade firmware source and handover notes. More screenshots and build photographs will be added here as the project develops.