Arduboy

[Skyrunner65]

Two points I really enjoyed on the Gamebuino´s campaign are:
. Great attention with hardware tweaking/messing. Files were open to users so anyone could create their own Gamebuino, from board to cover. Also, the Gamebuino is quite rich with ports. So I´d say makers are happy with it.

. Great attention with software dev. There has always been a focus on easiness of development. Rodot created a lib so to make it easy for people to code. The lib is open and is updated as the community grows with it.

Here Rodot is releasing his own games and tools, helping people out where he can and doing his work to keep this community going.
I don´t know if the Arduboy will have such attention, but by the campaign´s style so far, it doesn't seem to me it will hold up.

It is going to be interesting to follow up with how it is going to come out. Rodot´s comparing was flawless, everything delivered on time and proper updates and communication for such. Now that is not something you see everyday when it comes to crowdfunding.

Heck, we have been talking about Gamebuino alternatives on this forum even before the Gamebuino got shipped, it was never a problem. Rodot supported and supports people here even if they did not give him 1 cent for the hardware or built by themselves. These and other actions endorse a high level of commitment in my book, something I so far don´t see going on the Arduboy.

I agree with all of these points.
I honestly don't know which console to buy now: The one with the better looks, or the one with more support.
I can't(really) buy both. I'm really leaning towards the Gamebuino (It's closer to my heart).
Rodot, thanks for the community so much.

[Atomic]

I am buying both, but if I had to choose just one I would pick Gamebuino. Lack of SD card in the Arduboy is really a bummer. And I'm not sure I would say the Arduboy is the prettier one

[Drakker]

Gamebuino all the way. While the Arduboy is a neat little machine, it doesn't have most of the Gamebuino features. A lot of Gamebuino games could not run on the Arduboy because of the lack of SD card or C button. We have a real speaker on the Gamebuino, the Arduboy has a cheap buzzer. The Arduboy has none of the connectivity or expansion that the Gamebuino offers. The only thing the Arduboy has going for it is the looks. It looks amazing. But the idea of having to connect it to a computer/smartphone/somerandomusbgadget to change game is enough to put me off. With that said, I'm probably going to order an Arduboy, but I see it more as a collector item or a novelty. I don't plan to use it much.

[Sorunome]

Plus, the look of the Gamebuino is more awesome, makes you look more nerdy

[erico]

I think the Gamebuino is prettier. I haven´t taken out the paper cover of it yet, it looks superb.
I thought about drawing on it, but can´t decide on what yet. Also, check the store for different covers, or make your own with the open design.
On Arduboy, I guess you would have to get the dev version and build a cover from zero.

Like I said before, I also prefer the Gamebuino´s form factory. (ye, I own a working atari linx... )

[nownew]

Two points I really enjoyed on the Gamebuino´s campaign are:
. Great attention with hardware tweaking/messing. Files were open to users so anyone could create their own Gamebuino, from board to cover. Also, the Gamebuino is quite rich with ports. So I´d say makers are happy with it.

. Great attention with software dev. There has always been a focus on easiness of development. Rodot created a lib so to make it easy for people to code. The lib is open and is updated as the community grows with it.

I agree with you, it is a Gamebuino magic.

In comparison, the Arduboy does not seem to touch both of those points. It dosen´t look like a handheld that could be mixed with other hardware projects nor it could be extended. It just looks like a simpler version of a gaming handheld and that is it. Their attention to software development is pretty crap on the campaign and here it makes me feel like after the thing is released, the need for software and ports are going to be pushed to the users.

I agree again. I think Gamebuino is so far pretty cool than Arduboy. What I don't know is how Arduboy got a better campaign if Gamebuino is better, they already reach $259.000!

@nownew: your english is fully understandable.

Thank you, I'm trying to do my best.

I don't mean to argue about this because I think we all agree that copy-pasting others work is in principle a bad idea - when you fail to give credit.

However, I was involved with the Hackvision community before, and I know the dude who made it. His 'Asteroids' is a really top-notch game with excellent coding and ideas. Its also LGPL 2.1. Open source is not the same thing as public domain. You can't just take LGPL code, modify it a bit and pretend you've done it. Its still copyrighted work regardless of the fact that it is open source. LGPL is a license by which you allow the distribution and derivative works based on your code, but it does not (as far as I know) remove the rights of the original author to be credited for their work. Furthermore LGPL requires a) source code and modifications to be made available b) retain original copyright c) mention that the work has been published under LGPL because it is irrevocable and affects all the derivative works after that. I do not see any mention of this in Arduboy page. And they've had the nerve to change the name to "Space Rocks" to obfuscate the fact that its a 1:1 copy. I think that is just lame.

I have nothing more to comment on this, excuse my ranting. And I also understand your point about porting doom/linux... you still cant remove the copyright though. Ok enough about this. Peace.

I agree with you about copy-pasting, I didn't know that Arduboy creator copied the Hackvision version 'Asteroids', it is really bad! Sorry if i expressed bad, I didn't want to say that is correct to copy-pasting.

@jonnection: Last two week ago, I was playing with arduino TVout and your TVout SFML help me a lot because I didn't need to test on arduino every time, Congratulations! You did a good job. It would be great if you make it for Gamebuino. Your Out Run Game is very impressive!

PS: Ei Nownew, não se preocupe com o inglês, essa é uma comunidade internacional e muitos não tem Inglês como lingua primária. O que vale é o esforço na comunicação, e teu inglês está jóia.

Erico, não tinha percebido que você brasileiro, seu inglês é muito bom! Fico feliz em saber que tem brasileiros aqui =D

[erico]

...I agree again. I think Gamebuino is so far pretty cool than Arduboy. What I don't know is how Arduboy got a better campaign if Gamebuino is better, they already reach $259.000!

Each Arduino handheld is targeted for users. Arduboy is great on what it is doing, so as many other arduino handhelds or pcbs.
For me, Gamebuino is the fit, but it may not be for others.

What bothers me is the uncredited stuff, things that I have been seeing people here working on hard and then it suddenly becomes other project´s propaganda and marketing. There was a discussion here from the very beginning on open source/licenses to boot.

Kickstart and indiegogo have different reaches, while raising half of a million dollars sounds cool, it means more responsibilities.
Can your operation deliver? Would it last? That is a movie we are bound to see.

@nownew let you know about a grief of mine.... Kickstarter is happy to receive money from BR but they won´t accept our projects, oh yeah? Never mind them, Indigogo accepts BR projects... such a better place, but not THAT popular with the general people. The idea+service is what matters on the long run. Be aware there are cash-grabbers going on loose on kickstarter for quite a few years now.

edit: swear word clean up...

[Drakker]

But in this case, the Arduboy looks like a finished project. Kevin does say that they are mostly ready for manufacturing, they are using Kickstarter to gauge the market and know how many units they should build. Based on the interest so far, they will build a lot of them, so it means more profits for them and maybe even cheaper price than on Kickstarter when it goes retail.

And who knows, maybe the Arduboy 2 they keep talking about will be Gamebuino compatible. :)

[Skyrunner65]

I still find it odd that they talk of an Arduboy 2, and the first isn't even released!
Also, they used other people's games to show off their new device. Bah! Bah, I say!
Those games haven't even been ported yet.
You wanna know how they are getting money? Two reasons:
1. Kickstarter is more well-known.
2. They made the campaign look more professional(No offense, Rodot, but you're only one guy).

I feel as if the Gamebuino is better in specs, such as:
2 more channels!
20+ Games!
Micro SD Card slot!
1 Button!
2 I2C ports!
A ICSP port!
A light sensor!

Do I need to say more? (Sorry, I'm getting defensive.)

@erico:
1. What do you mean by BR?
2. The reply to nownew was a bit aggressive, but I totally agree with it.

@nownew:
Your english is pretty good.

[ajsb113]

This may be a bit petty and uncalled for, but i think it may be funny to make "Special" updates to the games they have "borrowed" that are slight nuicances. The code could be atrocious but still work the same so they have a fun time porting it to their console. If they're not going to ask, they can put in a bit of extra work trying to get our games on their console. Just a funny idea though, probably not going to follow through with it