Loading from ROM cartridges plugged into the GPIO port. Just like the old days.
https://hackaday.io/project/176113-picarts-gpio-rom-carts
A cartridge hardware and software solution to possibly boot a Raspberry Pi 400 over GPIO and load software, such as games. Similar to the Commodore 64, in that you insert a cart, turn it on, and it just goes. No software to install, no updates to worry about, no distractions. Just games and programs. The Raspberry Pi 400 captures the spirit of the 8-bit home computer era better than any modern system I've seen so far. Aside from systems like the C64 Max, which are struggling to meet inital supply demands, the Raspberry Pi 400 should be able to meet demand fairly easily. As much as I love the C64 and other retro PC products out there, they're niche and not easy to get ahold of just yet. My plan is to develop a system for the Raspberry Pi, so that anyone can build a console, or just run native Pi games, assuming they ever become a thing. The Pi seems to be lacking in the games department, aside from emulation. I'd love to see the Pi 400 create new developers.
The hardware consists of the Raspberry Pi 400 computer, and special cards that attach to the GPIO port on the back of the cmputer. These cards follow the Pi HAT standard and will have onboard mass storage via the SDIO interface. SD NAND flash chips, in the LGA-8 package, have been chosen for their relatively low cost and permanent mounting solution. In addition to the SD chips, the boards will have the option of containing extra hardware, such as sensors, displays, buttons, and audio jacks. An example would combine a game with extra hardware for a gaming experience that doesn't seem to exist. Imagine the lighting in the game changes based on the lighting in the room. A simple photosensor mounted on the cartridge could easily add this function to the game. A real time clock on theboard could also allow in game timers and events to run, even when the cartridge is not powered on or plugged into the system. The cartridges could be used for more serious work as well. Such as a microcontroller development board with built in mass storage and sensor or outputs.
The software will consist of a cartridge manager program that runs at startup, and will provide everything needed for the carts to work. The first carts will only contain flash memory and an EEPROM that tells the Raspberry Pi how to set up the GPIO pins at boot time. Initial functions wll include loading a cartridge, ejecting, backing up user data, restoring user data, and possibly the ability to password protect and unlock cartridges.
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