2016-06-03 02:00:57

Hi all,

I posted here once before quite a while ago now and received a great amount of support about my project and so I thought I would post again.

My name is Aaron and for a few years now I have been developing an audio-only hand held game console with accompanying game development software. I've very happy to say the project is coming to the end of its prototyping stage and I will be looking into manufacturing soon.

The website http://www.sonusinteractive.co.uk will be re-opening and will be updated with all the latest developments. I hope this idea is still met with the support and enthusiasm it was originally and I greatly apologise for the long silence for anyone who remembers my original post

Please feel free to use the website when it opens back up for further details or in the mean time I will check back here from time to time if anyone has any questions or concerns

I hope you are all well and I look forward to progressing onwards

2016-06-03 02:52:33

oh my grandmother in heaven, an audio games hand-held gaming consol? as in just for us eyeball challenged gamers who would love nothing more than to have our own accessible gaming consol and not only that but also have it come with its own game developing software? will I'll be darned! well, just as long as it's not several hundred dollars, I'd deffinitly consider owning one. Can you tell us some of the features and will you be looking for people to test the unit out? if so, I'm your guy for testing stuff out. I've beta tested a couple of audio games before but I'm not much for audio game development but I'd love to be able to do it if only I could find some way to learn stuff in little bite-sized chunks. Have a wonderful day Arron, and I look forward to hearing more of what you have to say.

2016-06-03 04:33:36

wow, thought this thing died ages ago. Glad it's still alive, the idea intrigues me greatly.

Take care, it's a desert out there.

2016-06-03 10:48:35

aha! Ideas good
sounds good I will check it soon
Thanks
Ishan

life's battle do not always go to the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later who win the one who thinks he can!

2016-06-03 11:50:40

Hi guys. Nice to be hearing opinions again.

In reponse to Karate. I am UK based and just starting to take the prototype out for some exposure and testing, so UK based tester are welcome. As for the features, it is small, hand held with a headphone jack and a port to shove  a game in.

There are 10 buttons
4 directional
5 action buttons and a pause button.

The game developer will decide the purpose of all the buttons except for the pause button. That one is hard coded.

The GDE (Game Developmemt Enviroment)  is currently being remade. The version of it i used to make the demo games is very cluncky and not user friendly but when it is finished it will be free to download and anything made with it belongs to the developer. However the GDE doesnt make audio, that needs doing seperatly. The GDE will create the game and tell it what audio to point to and play when needed.

No programming experience needed and when its released I will try my hardest to make sure there is plenty of tutorials on how to use the GDE so any hobbyist can give it a go.

2016-06-03 23:08:05

Wow, it's so good to hear that you have progressed with this,  it sounds very promising, and I would be interested in being a tester for you if that is possible.

2016-06-03 23:44:11

Hi.
Wow. What an exciting idea.
As a game developer I'd be keen to find out more when more info becomes available about how to write games for it. .
Thanks.
Nick.

Nick Adamson.
N A SOFT
www.ndadamson.com

2016-06-03 23:44:27

sounds very interesting and I would also like to put myself forward as a tester. I live in the UK and have previous experience of testing both software and hardware. how do I apply?

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2016-06-04 01:19:49

On the subject of the port you shove your game in. Are the games on some kind of Proprietary media?

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2016-06-04 03:58:34

okay, really stupid question I know, but I live in the states. Will this console be available to purchase here in the Us? I'm asking now so as to not get my hopes up if this is only going to be a Uk based product. Also, what kind of sound quality are we talking about here? are we talking today's sound quality or are we talking like something like what sounds like something from the 80s when I was growing up. I hope you don't find that rude, I'm just curious because this kind of idea excites me. Also, is this machine going to have some kind of internal clock in it? if so, I would love to see some simulation games built that run in real time based on what the user sets the clock for in his or her own time zone. Have a wonderful day and I hope you don't mind all the questions.

2016-06-04 08:26:14

Hi guys,

Thanks for the great replies and questions. And in response to you all:

ZK and SirBadger I welcome any tester that lives in the UK but travelling outside of that becomes expensive. I probably wouldn't be able to reach everywhere but im willing to travel so if you want to discuss the details please email me at [email protected]

Hi Nick, im glad to see the idea is getting some interest from developers. I want there to be as much content for the Sonus as possible and will do all in my power to make it happen. The GDE is very basic yet (im progressing further with it today actually) and all resources and info will eventually become available on the website

And last but not least, Karate all your questions are very welcome. The more the better. Im hoping the Sonus reaches whereever there is demand and will strive to get to the US even if it isn't right away. Its something I will need to discuss with manufacturers when i get in touch with some.  The sound quality will be whatever the game developer makes it but all audio files must of the .ogg format. I plan on releasing a short video of a demo being played at some point, hopefully within the next week or two. As for the game idea, realtime games isnt something I took into consideration actually and i cant think of how the Sonus would achieve that but I cant wait to see the creations and ideas people come up with using the GDE, you never know what could get made


Thanks for all the questions guys. Im still checking back from time to time so feel free to post more

2016-06-04 16:02:42

arron
I am Ishan  welcome to the forum
dood there is a thing you can do for us and according to me it will be your great help.
What you can do?
add me in Skype at ishan.dhami add our radio at radio udaan and Danish mahajan our general secretary.
and post an add or a promo about the console.
Do you like it?
Thanks
Ishan

life's battle do not always go to the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later who win the one who thinks he can!

2016-06-04 16:26:21

At Exodus: I think that, in the past, he mentioned this would just be SD cards, or some similar mainstream media.

看過來!
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2016-06-04 19:01:32

Sorry Exodus I must have missed your post. Also hi CAE_Jones. Nice to see a familiar name.

The media that contains the games is yet undecided but will use the SPI interface which is used by things such as usb sticks and sd cards which is why I can test the prototype using them.

And thank you Ishan. Publicity is always welcomed and greatly needed however can I ask what country you currently reside? I have barely exposed the console publicly in the UK yet and dont want to cause too much hype for places I wont reach until later. Or at least until I have discussed such things with people who run a distibution network or have set one up myself

2016-06-05 02:12:15

Hello aaron, this is hanif from indonesia.
It'z so interesting tthat an audio game console is being developed. I would be interested to becoming a tester too. Can i do that here? Also, about getting the games, could you add a service that is similar to psn or xbl that allows you to download and purchase games into the console?
Also, will you add another things beside a gaming console? I mean, in the console there is an entertainment features like music player, video player, and even a web browser.

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training them, making them evolve, and generally making them stronger is my ultimate goal,
fighting other manamon tamers, winning the tournament, and fighting octoros are what these manamons like to do,
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2016-06-05 02:52:57

This sounds awesome! I am looking forward to this.

2016-06-05 07:28:13

Hello arron
I am from India a south Asian country.
I want to test the console.
If this is for UK then it will be not good
Please add me in your beta team you can come to our convention if you like for promoting a console.
Thanks
Ishan

life's battle do not always go to the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later who win the one who thinks he can!

2016-06-05 07:31:36

arron
you have to record a promo only. and we will edit then
it will be 30 seconds
Thanks
Ishan

life's battle do not always go to the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later who win the one who thinks he can!

2016-06-05 08:00:47

Hi Guys. Just to clarify. I understand this will be demanded in various countries and it is my goal to make it available wherever there is demand for it. However at the moment I am simply showing around my own country here in the UK until it reaches the actual production stage. Which also means only UK based testers are a viable choice. I cannot spend money that is to be used on the Sonus development on travelling.

I will be in touch when I begin distributing in india Ishan. Thank you for putting forward the opitunnity.

Also thank you Kingzombie. Nice to know you are looking forward to it.

Good questions Hanif. The concole will not download games direct but i do plan in setting up a catalog in various formats to make a list available. The games are stored on external memory.

Possibly on a custom game cartiridge. The reason im a little skeptical of using mainstream media devices like sd cards etc is they are easily copied. I wont be able to encourage high end game developers to produce content if their months worth of hard work can be copied leaving them with no return. That is of course if a developer plans on selling their creation.

As for a web broweser, I am afraid not. Also there isnt a video player but I am in the process of building an MP3Player feature into the console in order to add extra ultilization and give it a bit of multi purpose.

Thank you again guys. Great questions and thanks for the continued support

2016-06-05 09:58:17

@Aaronlp, I would be pleased to help you develop the console. Specifically, I'd be happy to help develop the consoles operating system and software. We could probably turn this into a portable computer for the blind if you'd allow me to get that to happen. If you are interested in assessing my skills and/or abilities about developing the consoles software, you can go ahead and get in touch with me by sending me an email at [email protected]

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My Github

2016-06-05 10:56:18

I would be happy to hear your views Ethin. I will message you shortly. Thank you

2016-06-05 13:22:15

Hi arron does this console available in flipcart if it is developed?
I will love to test this
external memory means that we have to buy a memory storage device after buying the console?
Thanks
Ishan

life's battle do not always go to the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later who win the one who thinks he can!

2016-06-05 17:44:12

Hi,
could something similar to Rockbox be integrated, with multiple audio formats not just an mp3 player? That way we could have a game console and a media player.

2016-06-06 08:45:33

Hi.
Wow, I thought the project was dead and we would never hear from you again. It's fantastic to see this great news...
Do I read this correctly that you will try to sell the console world wide, and if yes, I think a web shop would be the cheepest and easiest way to do that. I'm from Denmark, so it shouldn't be that difficult to send the console to my country. I have even received things from the US which was amazing. smile
Will the console have any online features such as support for online gameplay or posting scores online?Have you made any menu structure and developed any kind of screenreader, or how is the system navigated? Or is it like the old school gameboys with no menus, but just launched the game when it's inserted? I look very much forward to hear more about this...

Best regards SLJ.
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2016-06-06 10:33:41

Hi guys.

Thanks for the advice SLJ, Yes I think I will be setting up an online shop so that should open its availability up to a lot of people. I just need to clarify on all the legailities involved.

It doesnt actually have any online support, its a pretty stand alone unit and it will be as you say, Gameboy style. Insert a game and power it on and away you go.

Im not sure what Rockbox is but i assume it is an audio player which the Sonus will be able to do as well. I obviously didnt explain clear enough. Audio files must be OGG format for games but if a game isnt detected it will switch to MP3 player mode in which case more formats are supported.