Space Cadet Pinball Handheld Device

This is handheld gaming device in the same vein as that Oregon Trail handheld that came out a few years ago. It features a 16:9 LCD screen, making this device the size of a small smartphone. It is held like a Game Boy, featuring 2 buttons on the front to control the paddles, and an analog nub in the middle to control the pinball shooter/plunger.

The view of the game is now directly top-down, and that’s not only to fit the screen better, but to allow for my design twist: the glass lens cover has graphics from the table printed on it, creating a 3D look.

Printing graphics on glass lens covers is nothing new. Game Boy has been doing it for decades! Just applying the technique for the static elements of the pinball table here.

Now the screen can be angled away from your eyes, like a traditional pinball machine, and the layout would look more familiar:

I went with Space Cadet here, figured that would be the most well-known pinball game. This design approach can be applied to any other table.

Other features include fully-animated backgrounds (like a starfield screensaver). Different table themes could be swapped in (but would need to fit the lens graphic overlay). The analog nub can be used to input high score initials.

A potential attachment for this handheld could be a cradle/dock, similar to what I designed a few years back.