Gamebuino: for gamers and makers

It is the size of a credit card, has a black and white screen, and can be used to play Tetris and Pac-Man. And it goes by the name Gamebuino.

Gamebuino was created by Aurélien Rodot, a young French student who lives in Saint-Etienne.

The portable gaming console may not look like much with its small screen and its transparent shell, but the really good stuff is a little hidden.

Rodot uses Arduino circuits for Gamebuino. Arduino is a micro-controller - basically, a very small computer - that's become a favorite in so-called "maker movement."

Using Arduino circuits means the entire project is open-source and that people can create and share their own games online.

The 22-year-old Rodot created the tiny device overnight, about a year ago.

The project quickly scored positive reactions online. And last June, he launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise a modest 3,000 euros for the project.

Aurélien ended up with ten times as much - more than 33,000 euros.

He's sold more than 1,000 Gamebuinos, mostly to people in the UK, US and Germany.

"I thought I would sell 200 or 300 hundred consoles. I didn't expect to sell 1,000 of them," Rodot says. "I was very surprised because not so many people really believed in that project. They were asking me 'who is going to buy that? What's the point?'"

Totally open source

There are two key aspects to Gamebuino - the first one is retro-gaming. The console allows its users to play old-school games from the 1980's, such as Pac-Man and Tetris.

But the core aspect of the device is that it is completely open source. The code that drives Gamebuino is available online and users can toy with it as much as they want.

There are tutorials on the Gamebuino wiki as well as a forum for discussion and sharing.

"I wanted Gamebuino to be completely user based," says Rodot. "I'm very active on the online forum."

Loïc, the owner of a 3D printing shop in Saint Etienne was one of Rodot's first backers. He says he was drawn to the project because it is rooted in community.

"It's the open source aspect of the project that attracted me," explains Loic. "The retro-gaming side of the console, rediscovering old games that you haven't played for years, like Pac-Man, is quite nice. But the most interesting thing is the fact that you can create and edit games."

A surprising success

Rodot is currently finishing his studies at Saint Etienne's engineering school ENISE.

He also works part-time at a company that specializing in robotics engineering. But Rodot says Gamebuino's success could make him think about switching careers.

"I am thinking about it," he says. "Gambuino is actually taking a lot of my time. But right now I just want to focus on creating modifications."

The first thing Rodot wants to build is an accelerometer that users will be able to plug into the console.

Loïc, meanwhile, is designing new faceplates that will open a new way to customize the device.

"We now have the opportunity, with few resources, to start nice things by involving other people," says Loïc. "We are not required to have access to factories for manufacture or big PR agencies for communication. All you need is a computer, an Internet connection and a little imagination."

Poster boy

Rodot may be precocious, but since he lives in Saint Etienne, this should not come as a surprise.

The city, as others in France, is experiencing what could become a tech revival.

With only 110,000 inhabitants, the town in southern France is trying to attract as many innovators as possible - partly by offering tax incentives.

Grenoble, in south-eastern France, is part of the trend and was recently called the French Silicon Valley in the French-language Huffington Post.

Rodot and others - whether intentionally or not - are proving that not everything, when it comes to the new technologies, is created in Paris.

Saint Etienne may well have found its very own tech poster boy in the young engineer, Aurélien Rodot.