Learning hardware through ports. Building native games from what I learn.
I use practical game ports to study hardware, operating-system boundaries, rendering, input, audio, performance and release engineering. The useful results are documented publicly so each project can serve both as working software and as reusable engineering knowledge.
Open Miguel's Game Dev Lab
Development method and AI assistance
ModDB developer profile
The lab is human-directed and AI-assisted. I define the project goals, design, process, constraints, creative and critical decisions, target hardware, acceptance criteria and final approval. ChatGPT provides substantial assistance with calculations, programming, automation, analysis, documentation and repetitive technical work.
The workflow itself is part of my contribution. I use explicit checkpoints, versioned handovers, external project state, evidence bundles, hashes, clean-clone validation and real-hardware QA to preserve continuity and to compensate for AI limitations such as context loss, incorrect assumptions and repeated errors.
AI output is not accepted automatically. It can be modified or rejected when it does not meet the intended design, evidence or quality standard. ChatGPT saves significant implementation time, but it cannot independently preserve the project's intent, perform the physical-device judgment or continue these specific projects autonomously without my direction, constraints, evidence and approvals.
Read the full development method
An unofficial native Android/ARM64 adaptation based on Shockolate, developed with the Retroid Pocket 5 as the primary reference device.
The project includes handheld-focused controls, Android text input, audio integration, a preserved 4:3 no-stretch presentation, reproducible build documentation and an open engineering knowledge base. The Android IME keyboard shown during text entry is the only platform-specific visual addition to the original game presentation.
- Project page
- Public source
- Build and reproduction guide
- Engineering knowledge base
- Development method
- Releases
- Feedback and testing
- ModDB
- Native game ports and platform-specific development
- Retro hardware and constrained systems
- Android/ARM64 and handheld gaming devices
- Rendering, controls, audio and platform integration
- Reproducible builds and evidence-based validation
- Open technical documentation, lessons learned and failed experiments
- Human-directed, AI-assisted development with explicit attribution
- Applying porting knowledge to original native games