New year, new projects! The first thing I've been wanting to make for a while was
my very own DIY video game controller. To do this, I needed a micro controller that
had the ATmega32U4 chip, which crucially has native USB support. I bought an
Arduino Leonardo on Amazon for $14, which will do the job nicely.
Next, I cloned this
Github repository, which provides a simple library for executing controller
commands via a niche workaround with how Nintendo handles their wired controllers.
As of now, building a custom Nintendo Switch Controller from the ground up is
not feasable, as the Pro Controller and Joycon's communication protocols have not
been fully reverse engineered yet. However, the
Hori Pokken Tournament DX Pro Pad for the Wii U gained compatibility
with the Nintendo Switch after firmware update 3.0.0. This particular controller
has already been reverse engineered, allowing modders to finally gain access
to custom controller communication with the Switch!
History lesson aside, I opened up the Arduino IDE to test out the example code.
Upon hitting compile, I got the error "Property 'upload.tool.serial' is undefined". This
was actually not the library's fault, as it was last updated over 4 years ago. All I needed to do was add
myboard.upload.tool.serial=avrdude right below
myboard.upload.tool=avrdude in boards.txt.
The Arduino IDE used to be more forgiving, but at some point after this code was made,
a change was made so that the serial upload tool had to be specified instead of just
adapting the non-serial upload tool if it wasn't.
Besides that hiccup, everything else specified in installation instructions worked
just fine for me. The example code uses internal pull-up resistors for the pins, so the push-buttons must be wired to ground.
After setting up a few push buttons for L, R, A, and B, I plugged in my Arduino Leonardo
into the USB port on the Switch Dock. If you are going to test, you need at least the L or R button
set up because that's how the controller gets recognized by the Switch.
Initial testings of my set up buttons were successful! I used the input test
feature in the Switch system settings to test both short and long button presses.
My next goal is to buy some joystick sensors so I can test that functionality.
After that, it's time to make a full controller!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates!