Fan-made controllers and hardware
The same community that rebuilds old games also builds the hardware to play them: drums, light guns, podracer throttles, fightsticks and whole cockpits, with their own circuit boards, sensors and firmware, plus homebrew that gives old consoles new tricks. This page lists projects you can build or install yourself, not printed shells or stands. Most are open source; a few sell their files or kits.
Watch Joe Flaherty's X video on arcade-style gaming from DIY hardware and 3D printing. He sells props and printable files through LinsLabs, the maker of the podracer rig below.
What you need to build one
- A microcontroller. Most builds run on a Raspberry Pi Pico or an Arduino Pro Micro, which shows up on a PC as an ordinary USB controller, so games need no special drivers.
- Sensors and switches. Arcade buttons, potentiometers or Hall-effect sensors for analog axes, force-sensing resistors for pads and drums, an IR camera for light guns.
- A 3D printer and a soldering iron. Case files are usually published alongside the firmware; some projects need a custom circuit board, which you can order from a PCB maker using the published files.
Pair them with the games on this site: a Taiko drum or guitar for rhythm game ports, a light gun for arcade shooters, a fightstick for fighting game ports. For the software side, see the tools behind the ports.
Sim rigs and cockpits
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| Podracing Sim Rig (LinsLabs) Paid digital files | Twin podracer thruster handles you 3D print and wire yourself: potentiometers for each handle, buttons and toggle switches, and a Pro Micro running the maker's Arduino code. Built for Star Wars Galactic Racer through third-party input-binding software; needs a 250 mm printer bed and soldering. |
| OpenHornet Free, non-commercial licence | Full-size F/A-18C Hornet home cockpit for DCS World: MDF frame, 3D-printed consoles, backlit acrylic panels and an Arduino-based interface board system. In beta. |
| OpenFFBoard Open source | Universal force-feedback controller board for DIY sim wheels and joysticks, driving the motor and reading the encoder and pedals. |
Light guns
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| OpenFIRE Open source | IR light gun firmware for Raspberry Pi Pico-class boards: an IR camera tracks LEDs around a modern TV, with optional solenoid recoil, rumble and an OLED ammo display. Works with MAME force-feedback tools and MiSTer. |
Drums, guitars and rhythm controllers
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| Santroller Open source | Programs an Arduino or Pico to act as a rhythm game controller, such as a guitar or drums, for PC and consoles, configured from a desktop app. |
| DonCon2040 Open source | Firmware and hardware for DIY Taiko no Tatsujin drum controllers on the RP2040. |
| Ouchi Taiko Project Open source | Arcade-size home Taiko drum with a step-by-step build guide, firmware, project files and guided calibration. |
| Pico Game Controller Open source | Pico firmware for DIY Sound Voltex and beatmania IIDX controllers: 11 buttons, LEDs and two rotary encoders. |
| FSR dance pad Open source | Force-sensing-resistor code and tuning tool for building responsive DIY dance pads. |
Fightsticks and all-button controllers
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| GP2040-CE Open source | Gamepad firmware for Raspberry Pi Pico and other RP2040 boards, behind most DIY fightsticks and leverless controllers. Works on PC and many consoles. |
| Flatbox Open design | Low-profile, all-button (Hitbox-layout) fightstick with its own PCB and 3D-printed case. |
| HayBox Open source | Firmware for all-button and mixed analog controllers, with modes for Melee, Smash Ultimate, Rivals of Aether and more. |
Gamepads and adapters
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| Alpakka (Input Labs) Open source and kits | Gyro-aiming gamepad with open firmware, a KiCad PCB and a 3D-printable case, designed so a soldering iron is the only tool you need. Input Labs also sells DIY kits. |
| PhobGCC Open source | Replacement GameCube controller board that reads the sticks with Hall-effect magnetic sensors, popular with Melee players. |
| HID Remapper Open source | Programmable USB adapter that remaps any mouse, keyboard or controller, so odd DIY controllers work with games that expect something else. |
Console mods and homebrew
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| FreeMcBoot Free | Homebrew bootloader that lives on a PS2 memory card, so an unmodified console can start homebrew apps without opening it. These installers cover several versions. |
| Open PS2 Loader Open source | Game and app loader for the PS2 that runs your own disc dumps from USB, the network or an internal hard drive, with faster loading than the disc drive. |
| PSBBN Definitive Project Open source | Setup for the PS2's internal hard drive built around PlayStation Broadband Navigator, the Japanese-only PS2 dashboard, translated and extended. |
| OPL Widescreen Cheats Free | Cheat codes that force a widescreen picture in PS2 games on real hardware, ready to use with Open PS2 Loader or CheatDevice. |
Custom builds
| Project | What it does |
|---|---|
| PS2 Classic mini PC case Free STL files | 3D-printed PlayStation 2-style case that turns a mini PC into a PS2 Classic-style emulation box, with programmable LED lights, designed from scratch by Dammit Jeff and JP Printz. |
Building electronics carries some risk: follow each project's wiring guide, and take care with high-current force-feedback motors and solenoids. Know a project we should add? Tell us via the about page.