3D Printed Mini Snake Game Console | DIY Project

Hello people, Hope you are excited and already know what is this instructable project is all about!

Yeah I'm talking about the retro type of game console that most of us had in their childhood days! This is the 3d printed snake game console that is powered by arduino and is very small and handy and you can plug and play this device.

I had dreamed of having such gaming consoles during my childhood days, those times were hard since there was no proper technology for users to be able to build something such unique, Now its the change and we have access to most technologies at an affordable price.

To begin with let me quickly tell you what this project is all about and why you need to build one

This small console is installed with the popular snake game and is controlled by a joystick controller and you also have option for sounds like the old game consoles.

The body of this console is 3d printed and the device is powered by USB power so that you can plug and use this device wherever you go!

with this being said now let me tell you why you need to build this project, the main reason is bringing back the old memories and pass it on to the upcoming generations!

The second reason being the support that you receive to make this project, I mean why not build this if you have all the resources to make this like the STL files, arduino program and circuit diagram. now let us hop in to building of this project.

Dont forget to check the working video which is given at the last step of this project.

These are the list of materials that you will need to make this project, Keep it handy so that the build becomes easier.

Arduino Nano

Joystick Module

Buzzer

OLED module

Jumper wires

Small breadboard

3D printer

PLA filament

Super Glue

Arduino IDE and Programming Cable

Slicing Software

The main part of this project was the design, Since i had many models in my mind i wanted a design that is small yet looks appealing with all the comforts of a real console.

I came up the most space saving design which was rectangular in this case and to design this i used the TINKERCAD

application, if you need the original files of mine you can just ask in the comments and i will be happy to give you.

After i made the design considering the size of standard components i exported the model to cura slicer

There is no need of any rafts or supports at the time of printing and you can follow the same set of placements like i did, there are 2 parts in total and the printing time is usually not longer since the parts are small.

Choice of color is left to you, in my case i will be using black filament to print the base and the white one to print the top part.

After the parts are printed there is no need of any post processing since there is no supports, Now you have the frame for this console, Now we will build the circuit and let's see how.

The circuit is simple and easy to be able to follow for a newbie also, I will still explain the circuit to make it very simpler for all of them.

The project uses joystick module, buzzer and OLED module other than arduino nano

The OLED module has 4 pins, Scl, Sda, Vcc and Gnd

Scl and Sda pins are connected to A4 and A5 in the nano, whereas the vcc and gnd to 5v and gnd pins of the nano

The Joystick module has 5 pins out of which we will be using 4 of them in this project

The Vrx and Vry is connected to A0 and A1 pins of the nano whereas the vcc and Gnd to 5v and gnd pins

Buzzer has 2 pins and you can connect gnd to gnd and the positive of buzzer to D2 pin on the nano

Now since the circuit is ready we can connect the nano board to computer via programming cable and upload arduino program, you can use the program given below

You can customise the display messages that you want to see on OLED, if you think this is cool you can simply head over and use my program.

Select the type of board and the port number and click on upload button, After the uploading is complete we can test the circuit for its working.

Simply press any button on the joystick module and you should see the game running on OLED module.

I will start by gluing the nano board to the base of the 3d printed base frame, you can use double sided adhesive for this purpose but in my case mild hot hotglue did the job very well.

You have to make a note here that the USB point should face the hole and does not interfere with cables.

After this is complete we can work on the top cover part, here in the top cover we have slots that will hold the OLED and the joystick module.

Even here also i will use some amount of hot glue to stick to the top frame, allow to dry completely and handle with care since if you pull the wires too hard it may create break in the connections.

Now attach the top and bottom frame using superglue, i recommend using only this because using hot glue will cause a additional layer that will create space.

Use small amount of glue and press the 2 parts together for some time and now you will see that the frame is ready and the console is ready for using.

We are almost in the last step of the project, Now we can head over to testing of this and see what our project can do.

Testing and using this project is very easy, all you have to have is 2 things here

One is the USB power source and the second one is the old kid in you!

Connect the USB cable to power bank and the other end to arduino board power point, and now you should see the display on OLED showing the snake game message

To begin the game you can press any button on the joystick module, now when the game starts like the usual game you can use the joystick module buttons to navigate the snake on screen and make it eat all the food on the display.

When you eat it the snake eventually becomes bigger and bigger and now the challenge arises to keep the snake body touching from itself, if it touches then the game is over with a beep sound.

Also when you make the snake eat the food the buzzer makes a small beep sound, you can see the full gameplay of this project in the working video below.

This was all about this project, if you have any questions, don't miss to ask in the comments box, have a great build and all the best with this project.

Here is the detailed video of building this project and also gameplay of this project.

I recommend you to watch the working video of the snake game so that you will know how to use this console, there is an option to add led instead of buzzer, but i think buzzer is far more appealing to this console.

This was all about this project, if you still have any questions ask me in the comments and i will be very happy to help you guys.

Thank you and have a great build, don't forget to spread this idea if you think it is wonderful.