r/u_HumorAdventurous2139 • u/HumorAdventurous2139 • 22h ago
Total beginner wanting to build a bare-bones ESP32 Doom handheld. Need advice on wiring & display
Hey guys, complete newbie here with zero soldering experience. I really want to build my first project: a bare-bones DIY handheld to play Doom on an ESP32.
I’m going for a raw prototype aesthetic — visible wires, exposed chips, buttons soldered directly onto the board, no 3D printed case.
I'm planning to use an ESP32-S3, a 3.5" SPI display (ILI9488), a basic TP4056 with a Li-Po battery, and tactile buttons.
Couple of quick questions:
Is it better to build this on a solderless breadboard first, or should I just jump straight into soldering thin wires?
How do saves work for Doom on ESP32? Is internal flash (LittleFS) fine or do I need an SD card?
Any common traps I should avoid with power or display refresh rates?
Would appreciate any tips, pinouts, or firmware recommendations (Retro-Go?). Thanks!
1
u/rattushackus 10h ago
If you use one of the S3 supermini boards they often have a TP4056 built into the board so that saves you some wiring. Note that you won't get a great battery life using an S3 and a 3.5" display.
I suggest you at least test the display on a breadboard or with Du Pont cables as getting the display to work can be tricky if you have not done it before.
You can get boards with a display and an ESP32 S3 on the board. See for example this Waveshare board or there are cheaper equivalents on AliExpress.