INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The market for traditional handheld game consoles may have diminished when compared to the glory days of the Nintendo DS, but it's
impossible to deny the intrinsic appeal of portable play
From the chunky monochrome Game Boy to the sleek-yet-pocketable Sony PSP, gaming on a handheld is a gloriously tactile and immediate
experience, and a group of developers is aiming to recapture the same core spirit with a system which is as customisable as it is
adorable.The Clockwork GameShell arrived on Kickstarter late last year and promised a Game Boy-sized device with a modular construction and
open-source operating system
Unlike a great many crowdfunding campaigns, it's actually gotten as far as becoming solid reality and the first units are now reaching
We've been lucky enough to have a fiddle with one of these early units, and have come away very impressed indeed.DIY delightsMade with
software developers and digital hobbyists in mind, the GameShell isn't the kind of device you can start using the moment you rip open the
other components have to be cut out and pieced together, just like that model Spitfire you made as a kid
This process alone takes longer than you might expect, and if you're anything like us, you'll have to disassemble the unit a few times
before all of the fiddly wires are located properly.The GameShell is comprised of five main modules, and the idea is that you can
potentially upgrade or replace any of these in the future
The motherboard includes the CPU, Wi-Fi chip and other vital components, and as technology matures it could be swapped for a more powerful
alternative without having to totally replace the entire machine
Likewise, the 320x240 pixel resolution LCD screen could be upgraded to one which packs more pixels or uses AMOLED tech; it's akin to the
way PC building works, and should ensure that GameShell enjoys a long lifespan.Handheld hackingThe system is just as versatile on the
The system supports a wide range of programming languages as well, making it the ideal portable platform for hackers and garage developers;
indeed, the GameShell packaging proudly boasts of the platform's hackability, and when you boot up the unit, it displays the message
"Happy Hacking" before dumping you into the Clockwork OS interface.Despite its gaming pretensions, hacking and programming are key focal
You can use the device to control everything from a Lego-made robot to your 's mart' home lighting system
Thanks to the modular nature of the system, you can even take the console apart and rebuild it in a different form; for example, with the
correct casing you can use the main board, battery and speaker module to create a portable wireless speaker
Speaking of casing, a wide range of color combinations are available and you can even 3D print your own using the specs supplied by the
manufacturer.However, things do tend to cycle back to games when you spend a lot of time with the unit
It comes preloaded with arcade, Game Boy Advance and NES emulators, and includes the popular Retroarch app, which can download 'cores' that
emulate pretty much every vintage console you could mention, including SNES, Mega Drive, Master System and much more besides
Thanks to the inclusion of a solid D-Pad and face button setup, playing these titles is a breeze (although the absence of L and R shoulder
buttons does make some SNES titles unplayable).Wireless convenienceThere's also a copy of the popular Metroidvania title Cave Story
supplied out of the box, as well as Free DOOM, an open-source version of the seminal FPS title from the early '90s
Files are stored on a Micro SD card, and thanks to the inclusion of an app called Tiny Cloud, you can access this using your PC or Mac as
be a slightly delay in audio across all of the emulators we tested
Speed and frame rate varies as well, although it's likely that over time the software will be tweaked to avoid these shortcomings
Clockwork is clearly keen to see the community take GameShell and run with it, so improved apps and games are likely to appear pretty
The system's 1050mAh battery has to be charged regularly, but again, it's important to remember that this can be upgraded in the
future.Following its successful crowdfunding campaign, the GameShell is now in the process of being manufactured and sent out to those who
If you're keen on programming, love homebrew development and don't mind putting in a bit of effort to get things working as they should, you
could do a lot worse than register your interest and make sure you're one of the first in the queue when orders open again
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