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Ask HN: Options to configure Linux as an arcade cabinet for a game I write?

4 points by sovietmudkipz ↗ HN
I am a hobbyist game dev whose engine of choice is Unity and who is interested in making an arcade game. I work on my projects at a local arcade bar and I think it would be fun to try to make an arcade cabinet.

The owners have some friends who made an arcade cabinet. However; it's run on a full windows desktop computer and the bartenders have to click into the game application using a mouse and keyboard after logging in. This happens daily due to opening up the bar and due to some game breaking bugs in their cabinet. I don't think that's a good experience because the bartenders would prefer to treat it like a kitchen appliance like all the other arcade cabinets (plug it in, it's on... Unplug it and it's off).

Assuming I'm want to use linux as the base OS, what options do I have to create that kitchen appliance experience?

Current research notes - Redhat distos have a "kiosk mode" intended to start up a single app - There might be a way using systemd and disabling the login screen to get the desired behavior - There's always the option of creating my own linux fork to jettison the parts of the OS that I don't need, similar in concept to what valve did for their steam deck product. - (constraint relaxation) I could achieve a similar experience as the windows desktop by using Ubuntu and having a "user manual" explaining how to restart the cabinet/application

P.S. In terms of hardware I may hook a graphics card up to a raspberry pi or do more research to find a chip that's reasonably capable of running a 3D game at a reasonable price.

7 comments

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trelane
Raspberry Pi builds are common. E.g. https://www.instructables.com/Full-Size-Arcade-Cabinet-Using...

There are a lot of hits for "arcade cabinet raspberry pi."

sovietmudkipz
The articles I read assume you just want to emulate a game using RetroPI. I want to create a Unity game that runs as arcade cabinet, hopefully that distinction makes sense.

I suppose I could read the sourcecode of RetroPI and see how they configure linux to run RetroPI. That seems applicable. Alternatively, I guess I can see if I can export my game for one of the supported RetroPI systems...?

trelane
Ah, if you need 3D, then probably something in the line of an AMD mobile setup would be it, for the GPU.
legrande
I have TwisterOS[0] installed on my Pi 4. It comes with loads of retro gaming tools out of the box.

[0] https://twisteros.com/

sovietmudkipz
Just curious but why are you highlighting the "retro gaming tools" features? Does that tooling help run the unity game I write?

Edit: I updated the title of this post to better describe my question. I'm not looking to emulate someone else's game but instead run my own game I create.

xenon7
I'm not an expert on any of this stuff, but have you checked out any x86 SBCs? The Rock Pi X is a good one that's reasonably cheap (USD $59). The Pi 4's GPU is absolutely pathetic in terms of power even compared to weak x86 chips.

edit: Forgot to add that I'm pretty sure the Pi shortage is still ongoing. I bought a 4GB Pi 4 kit in 2019 for $100 and it's like $200 now.

depressedpanda
The simplest way I can think of is to just install a stock distro, activate automatic login for an account that doesn't have any admin privileges, then have your game added to autostart.

Since you're creating the game, I would add an option to launch it in 'kiosk' mode, where any menu option to 'quit' is removed.

You can get more fancy of course, but I'm assuming you want to focus on developing your game rather than configuring Linux ; )