ARCADE Gamepad

Kitronik's ARCADE is a programmable gamepad for use with MakeCode Arcade. Users can develop coding skills by creating and modding games with Blocks and JavaScript in MakeCode.

The emphasis for MakeCode Arcade is education, and there are a wealth of resources available on the MakeCode Arcade website to facilitate this. Resources include guided tutorials that walk through creating simple games, more complex games and games written by community members to learn from, game concept tutorials, tutorials that explore graphics and maths, lesson plans, CS courses, printable coding cards for the classroom, video tutorials, and much more.

The Kitronik ARCADE has been specifically designed to offer the perfect platform for running these games. It offers many features and has been ergonomically designed for comfort and ease of use. For a high-level gaming experience, the ARCADE includes a full-color LCD wide viewing angle screen, a piezo sounder for audio feedback, a vibration motor for haptic feedback, six gamer input buttons, a menu button, a reset button, and an on/off switch. It also features a software volume control, a USB programming port, and two expansion ports for expert-level users.

The ARCADE can be powered by either the micro USB connector or three AA batteries, with the battery holders located on the rear of the PCB, which are positioned to act as hand-grips for maximum comfort and control when gaming. For the advanced user, there are two expansion ports and a debugging port. The expansion ports give direct access to the microprocessor pins and the debug port, allowing customization of the bootloader code.

Features

• Handheld use with the Microsoft ARCADE editor
• Educational material available to create games from the ground up or by tweaking existing code for learning the open source way
• Full-color LCD wide viewing angle screen
• Piezo sounder for audio feedback
• Vibration motor for haptic feedback
• Six gamer input buttons, menu button, reset button, and on/off switch
• Software volume control, USB programming port, and two expansion ports for expert-level users
• Can be powered by either three AA batteries or via micro USB connector