History of video games/Platforms/Ocelot Arcade System

History

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The system began development in 2014.[1]

An advertisement for the system was posted on YouTube on December 15, 2017,[2] and the system attracted media attention in 2018.[1] However the advertisement was not meant to sell the system directly, as the system was explicitly said to not be for sale.[1]

Only one technical prototype was officially produced, though complete plans for that system were published online.[3]

Technology

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Compute

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The system uses a 16-bit[4] dsPIC33FJ128GP802 microcontroller as a CPU, with performance measured at 39.6 MIPS.[5] The system sports 16 kilobytes of RAM and 128 of PROM.[5]

The implementation of the system requires a program to be flashed to change games, though a project page has a layout for how adding cartridges would work.[6]

Audio Visual

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The system outputs vector graphics to an oscilloscope.[1] A Texas Instruments TLV5618A DAC is used to generate the output signals.[5][7] The DAC has two channels.[8]

A 1 bit synthesizer with 4 channels is built in.[5]

The system is 3D capable.[1]

Games

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  • Star Lynx - 3D Star Fox style game[1]
  • Mattsteroids - 2D Asteroids style game [1]

References

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  1. a b c d e f g Holt, K. (May 17, 2018). "Custom oscilloscope console pays tribute to 'Star Fox' and 'Asteroids'". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2018-05-17-oscilloscope-console-star-fox-asteroids.html. 
  2. "Interesting computer/arcade advert 80s? 90s??". YouTube. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  3. "Ocelot Arcade System - Mathew Carr". www.mrdictionary.net. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. "dsPIC33FJ128GP802". www.microchip.com. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  5. a b c d "Ocelot Arcade System - Mathew Carr". www.mrdictionary.net. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  6. "Ocelot Arcade System". hackaday.io. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  7. Kerr, Chris (15 May 2018). "The Ocelot is a home-brew console that outputs to an oscilloscope" (in en). Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-ocelot-is-a-home-brew-console-that-outputs-to-an-oscilloscope. 
  8. Panos, Kristina (10 January 2018). "Ocelot Arcade System Illustrates The Scope Of Vector Graphics". Hackaday. https://hackaday.com/2018/01/09/ocelot-arcade-system-illustrates-the-scope-of-vector-graphics/.